Strange Tales #129
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #129 (cover-dated February 1965, on-sale November 1964) carries a double load of historical significance as a Silver Age anthology. Its Doctor Strange back-feature introduces Tiboro, the Tyrant of the Sixth Dimension — one of Ditko's most conceptually rich dimensional villains, a pre-human sorcerer whose entire premise (he gains power when civilizations decay and collapse) gives him a social-commentary dimension uncommon for early Marvel antagonists. The issue also arrives at a pivotal creative hinge point: it is one of the last self-contained Doctor Strange stories before Ditko's celebrated Eternity Saga launched the very next issue, making #129 the quiet prologue to what historians regard as one of the defining extended story arcs of the Silver Age.
In "The Terrible Trio!", Dr. Strange finds himself drawn into a supernatural crisis when three skeptical scientists, dismissing magic on a television broadcast, vanish mid-broadcast. The mystery leads him to the dimension of Tiboro, where he confronts a powerful entity threatening Earth. Written by Steve Ditko and Don Rico, with art by Ditko and inks by Ditko, this 1965 classic features a standout cover by Jack Kirby and Chic Stone, blending science and sorcery in a battle of wits and wills.
In "The Terrible Trio!" from Strange Tales #129, Johnny finds himself caught in a trap set by the eponymous trio while trying to escape Doris’s constant nagging about Peter Parker’s gentlemanly ways. With the stakes rising in a railway yard, Johnny’s desperate signal reaches Ben, who rushes in to save the day.
In "Beware...Tiboro! The Tyrant of the Sixth Dimension!" from Strange Tales #129, three skeptical scientists on a television panel mock Dr. Strange’s claims about the supernatural—only to vanish when the lights go out. Summoned to confront the mystery, Strange uncovers that their dismissal of magic opened a portal to Tiboro, a tyrannical force from the sixth dimension. With the scientists now in danger, Strange journeys to Tiboro’s realm to stop the invasion before it reaches Earth.
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The issue was released on November 10, 1964, with a February 1965 cover date, produced under editor Stan Lee at a cover price of twelve cents. Its two features had separate creative teams: the Human Torch/Thing lead story ('The Terrible Trio!') was scripted by Stan Lee from a co-plot by penciler Dick Ayers, inked by Frank Giacoia under the pseudonym 'Frankie Ray,' while the Doctor Strange back-feature ('Beware…Tiboro! The Tyrant of the Sixth Dimension!') was plotted by Steve Ditko and scripted by veteran Golden Age writer Don Rico — a rare arrangement that Lee himself flagged in the issue's letters page, where he publicly credited Ditko as the story's driving creative force and noted he had asked Ditko to come up with something new for the following issue. Rico had worked with Lee at Timely/Atlas decades earlier, and Lee hyped his return on the 'Strange Mails' letters page of the prior issue (#128), inviting reader reaction to his 'fast-paced style.' The cover was penciled by Jack Kirby and inked by Chic Stone.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First appearance of Tiboro (the Tyrant of the Sixth Dimension), a sorcerer and pre-human ruler of South America created by Steve Ditko (plot) and Stan Lee; he would return across decades of Marvel continuity in titles including Doctor Strange vol. 1 and Vengeance.
- First appearance of the Sixth Dimension as a named Marvel location, introduced as the extradimensional realm Tiboro rules and from which he attempts to reclaim dominion over Earth using the artifact known as the Screaming Idol.
- The Doctor Strange story was plotted by Steve Ditko and scripted by Don Rico — a rare non-Lee script on the feature — with Lee's own letters page commentary implying Ditko had been functioning as the solo plotter of the Doctor Strange segment for some time.
- The issue's letters page records Lee asking Ditko to 'come up with something really different for next issue,' serving as a documented editorial transition point immediately before the landmark Eternity Saga began in Strange Tales #130.
- The Human Torch/Thing lead story ('The Terrible Trio!') marks the third and final appearance of The Terrible Trio (Yogi Dakkor, Handsome Harry Phillips, and Bull Brogin), whose previous appearance was in Strange Tales #122 (July 1964).
- The cover was drawn by Jack Kirby (pencils) with Chic Stone on inks; Dick Ayers penciled the Human Torch/Thing lead interior story, inked by Frank Giacoia credited as 'Frankie Ray'; Steve Ditko handled all art on the Doctor Strange back-feature.
- The Doctor Strange story in this issue has been reprinted in Essential Dr. Strange Vol. 1 (2001), multiple editions of Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 1, the Doctor Strange Omnibus (2016), the Doctor Strange Epic Collection Vol. 1 (2018), and Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange Vol. 1 (2021), among others.
- The Human Torch/Thing story has been collected in The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales — The Complete Collection (2018), which gathers the entire run of that feature from Strange Tales #101–134 and Strange Tales Annual #2.
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Reprints
Reprinted in Terrific! #17 (1967), Fakkelen og Jernmannen #4/1968 (1968), Marvel Collectors' Item Classics #20 (1969), Marvel's Greatest Comics #32 (1971), I Fantastici Quattro #30 (1972), Eclipso #26 (1973), Doctor Strange, Master of the Mystic Arts #[1] (1978), Capitaine America #98/99 (1979), 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), The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales - The Complete Collection #[nn] (2018), Doctor Strange Epic Collection #1 (2018), Ditko Is... Strange King-Size #[nn] (2020), Mighty Marvel Masterworks: Doctor Strange #1 (2021), Los 4 Fantásticos #58
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