American Update: Mighty Marvel Firsts! Tales of Suspense #39 – the First Appearance of Iron Man
*Marvel: Iron Man’s very first appearance, in the pages of Tales of Suspense #39; abducted by Reds behind the Bamboo Curtain and forced to manufacture advanced weapons to crush capitalism, Tony Stark turned the tables on his captors by devising a cybernetic suit of armour which transformed him into an unstoppable juggernaut of justice – but at the cost of a near-fatal injury to his heart, which required constant contact with his robotic armour to keep beating! Under the artistic talents of (usually) Don Heck (who devoted special attention, bless him, to the many shapely ladies Tony Stark romanced), the sophisticated world of Tony Stark vied with the action-adventure of his Iron Man persona for the readers’ attention. Following the blockbuster success of Iron Man in the MCU, demand for this issue has never been higher.
We’ve graded this pence printed priced copy as Apparent VG. It lies tight and fairly flat with considerable cover gloss, a totally unmarred cover image and only very minor edge wear. The original staples are non-rusty and are firmly attached at both the spine and the centrefold with minimal wear. Additional (but unnecessary) staples have been added at upper and lower spine, but these could easily be removed leaving just unobtrusive tiny holes. The corners are mostly square, although the bottom of the spine has a very slightly rounded edge and a very tiny chip out. There is a barely noticeable crease across the bottom right corner which is flat but very slightly breaks the colour. A couple of other soft creases which don’t break colour run from the centre bottom cover up to Iron Man’s leg. Page quality is an excellent off-white to cream. The reason we have applied the ‘Apparent’ term is due to the extra staples and what we believe may be a micro-trim to the right edge. Finishing was a little erratic in those days, and comparison with other copies and contemporary issues is inconclusive. However, this does not detract from the considerable eye appeal of this very presentable copy, and we have priced this as a restored copy to protect the investment of a potential buyer. High resolution images are available on request.
PICTURED: TALES OF SUSPENSE #39 App VG p £5,000 SOLD