Strange Tales #120
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #120 marks the first meeting and team-up of the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Iceman (Bobby Drake), making it the earliest crossover between the Fantastic Four and the X-Men's rosters in Marvel continuity — a bridge that would be revisited just a few months later in Fantastic Four #28 when the two teams clashed in full. Beyond that superhero milestone, the issue's Doctor Strange back-up feature is the first place where Stephen Strange sheds his earlier 'Master of Black Magic' designation and is formally billed as 'Master of the Mystic Arts,' the signature title that would define the character for decades. The issue also served as a calculated promotional spotlight for the then-fledgling X-Men title, using Johnny's newspaper envy over Iceman's press to seed reader interest in both books at once.
When a snippy newspaper comparison sparks a rivalry between the fiery Johnny Storm and the cool-headed Iceman, their clash takes a backseat on a sweltering cruise liner—until a real threat emerges. The Barracuda and his crew hijack the ship, forcing the two heroes to set aside their differences and join forces to save the day.
In "The House of Shadows!" from Strange Tales #120 (1964), Stephen Strange arrives at a haunted house rumored to be broadcasting live, only to find his usual spirit form blocked from entry. When the TV signal cuts out, Strange ventures inside—only to realize the house itself is alive, its walls and halls pulsing with a hidden intelligence.
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Released on newsstands February 11, 1964, with a May 1964 cover date, the issue was plotted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, with Kirby handling the pencils on the lead Human Torch story — a notable departure from the book's regular penciler Dick Ayers. According to editor and Marvel veteran Tom Brevoort, Kirby's involvement was deliberate: the story was conceived as an in-universe advertisement for Lee and Kirby's still-young X-Men series, making it natural for Kirby to return to the Human Torch feature he had largely ceded to others. The Doctor Strange back-up was scripted by Lee and co-plotted by Steve Ditko, who also provided the art, with lettering by Sam Rosen.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First meeting and team-up of the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) and Iceman (Bobby Drake), two characters whose elemental powers made their pairing an obvious creative choice.
- First appearance of Captain Barracuda, a modern-day pirate villain who later resurfaced in Sub-Mariner (1968 series) #10.
- The issue contains cameo appearances by the other X-Men — Angel (Warren Worthington III), Marvel Girl (Jean Grey), and Professor X (Charles Xavier) — along with the full Fantastic Four roster (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Girl, and the Thing).
- The lead story was penciled by Jack Kirby (with inks by Dick Ayers), making it one of the rare Strange Tales Human Torch installments where Kirby, rather than the book's regular penciler, handled the art — brought in specifically to cross-promote the X-Men title.
- The Doctor Strange back-up, 'The House of Shadows!', written by Stan Lee and co-plotted/drawn by Steve Ditko, is the first story to bill Strange as 'Master of the Mystic Arts' rather than 'Master of Black Magic,' establishing the definitive tagline the character would carry for years.
- In the Doctor Strange story, the haunted house is revealed to be a living interdimensional entity that Strange ultimately banishes from our dimension; that entity, the House of Shadows, later reappears in Rom #5.
- The lead story's Marvel chronology places it between X-Men (1st series) #4 and #5, with Iceman depicted covered in snow — consistent with his pre-#8 powerset before he mastered the ability to transform into pure ice.
- Both stories in this issue have been widely reprinted, appearing in collections including Marvel Tales #22, Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 1, The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales — The Complete Collection (2018), and the Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 1: Master of the Mystic Arts (2018).
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Mystic #51 (1956)
Reprinted in Terrific! #9 (1967), Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #11 (1967), Fantastic Summer Special #1 (1968), Marvel Tales #22 (1969), I Fantastici Quattro #21 (1972), Secrets of the Unknown #131 (1972), Eclipso #20 (1972), Giant-Size Defenders #3 (1975), Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts #[1] (1978), Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts #[nn] (1979), Le Fils de Satan #13 (1979), Doctor Strange Master of the Mystic Arts #[nn] (1979), Strange Spécial Origines #205 (1987), Marvel Masterworks #23 (1992), Essential Doctor Strange #1 (2001), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #1 (2003), Essential Human Torch #1 (2003), Marvel Masterworks: The Human Torch #2 (2009), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #1 (2010), Marvel Famous Firsts: 75th Anniversary Masterworks Slipcase Set #5 (2014), Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #1 [Third Edition] (2015), Doctor Strange Omnibus #1 (2016), L'ère des Comics Marvel 1961-1978 #[nn] (2017), The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection #[nn] (2018) + 9 more
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