Strange Tales #89
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeStrange Tales #89 is the debut of Fin Fang Foom, the most enduring creature to emerge from Marvel's pre-superhero monster-anthology era — a giant dragon-like alien who would eventually become a recurring adversary across decades of Iron Man stories, crossover events, and animated adaptations. The issue stands as a snapshot of the transitional moment when the company that would soon launch the Fantastic Four was still publishing done-in-one science-fiction and horror shorts, yet occasionally conjuring characters with far longer shelf lives than anyone intended. Because Marvel did not renew the copyright after the required 28-year period, the debut story and characters as presented in this issue entered the public domain under U.S. law, giving it an unusual legal footnote among Silver Age keys. Fin Fang Foom's staying power — from a throwaway Cold War monster story to a fixture of Marvel's shared universe — is a testament to how a striking visual design and a memorably rhythmic name can outlast the genre trend that created them.
In "Fin Fang Foom!", a young historian from Taiwan journeys to the mainland to awaken the ancient, mystical dragon Fin Fang Foom and stop a looming communist invasion. With daring precision, he guides the colossal beast to destroy the enemy fleet before safely returning it to its hidden lair and restoring its slumber. Written by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, with dynamic art by Jack Kirby and inks by Dick Ayers, this 1961 Marvel classic blends Cold War-era intrigue with mythic scale—its cover by Kirby and Ayers capturing the dragon’s first explosive appearance in a striking, timeless design.
In this 1961 fantasy tale from *Strange Tales* #89, a young historian from Taiwan journeys to the mainland with a singular mission: awaken the ancient dragon Fin Fang Foom to stop a communist invasion. Using cunning and ancient rites, he draws the beast to the coast to destroy the enemy fleet, then carefully guides it back to its hidden lair before sealing it once more in slumber.
In "The Green Things!" from Strange Tales #89, a lonely retiree finds companionship in the lush garden he tends with care—until a desperate burglar breaks in, threatening his life. When the intruder turns violent, the plants he’s nurtured for years respond in a way no one could have predicted, defending their quiet guardian with quiet, unnatural precision.
In "The Touch of Midas!" from Strange Tales #89, a greedy man seeks out the legendary source of Midas’s power, confident he can control it with a pair of gloves. But when the gloves themselves turn to gold, he’s trapped in the very curse he thought he could master.
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The story was plotted by Stan Lee, scripted by his brother Larry Lieber, penciled by Jack Kirby, and inked by Dick Ayers — a production arrangement typical of Strange Tales' monster-era anthology format, where scripts were rarely credited and the 'Marvel Method' of plot-first, dialogue-after collaboration was standard. Lee has credited the name's distinctive three-word rhythm to a childhood memory of a British film called Chu Chin Chow, whose title stuck with him and later inspired the alliterative cadence of 'Fin Fang Foom.' The character was conceived as a one-off creature feature with no connection to any ongoing Marvel continuity; his placement within the shared Marvel Universe came only through later retroactive canon-building, making the book's status as a 'Marvel Universe issue' entirely a product of hindsight.
Trivia · 8 facts
- First and only Silver Age appearance of Fin Fang Foom; his next appearance would not come until Astonishing Tales #23 (April 1974), over twelve years later.
- Created by Stan Lee (plot), Larry Lieber (script), Jack Kirby (pencils), and Dick Ayers (inks); colored by Stan Goldberg and lettered by Artie Simek.
- Also marks the first appearance of Chan Liuchow (also rendered 'Chen Liuchow' in some sources), the Taiwanese scholar-protagonist who wakes Foom to repel a Communist Chinese invasion force — later retroactively established as a member of the Legion of Night.
- The issue contains three stories: the 13-page lead 'Fin Fang Foom!', a five-page Steve Ditko-illustrated tale called 'The Green Things!', and a third story, 'The Touch of Midas!', drawn by Paul Reinman.
- A cover/interior coloring discrepancy exists: Fin Fang Foom appears green on the Jack Kirby/Dick Ayers cover but orange in the interior pages.
- Stan Lee has stated the character's name was inspired by the rhythmic cadence of the title of the British film Chu Chin Chow, which he saw as a child; the Makluan translation of the name is 'he whose limbs shatter mountains and whose back scrapes the sun.'
- The debut story has been reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #2 (April 1966), Where Monsters Dwell #21 (May 1973), Marvel Monsterworks (1990), Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom #1, and in Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby Vol. 2 (2006).
- The issue was not renewed for copyright after the then-required 28-year term, placing the debut story and its characters in the public domain under U.S. law; Marvel's trademark on the name has also separately lapsed according to trademark records.
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Reprints
↩ Reprints Mystical Tales #3 (1956)
Reprinted in Fantasy Masterpieces #2 (1966), Astounding Stories #34 (1968), Where Monsters Dwell #21 (1973), Astonishing Tales #23 (1974), Thor #3 (1977), Le Fils de Satan #13 (1979), Crazy Magazine #73 (1981), Astounding Stories #171 (1984), Astounding Stories #187 (1987), Monster Masterworks #[nn] (1989), Bring Back the Bad Guys #[nn] (1998), Marvel Monsters: Fin Fang 4 #1 (2005), Marvel Monsters #[nn] (2006), Marvel Visionaries: Jack Kirby #2 (2006), Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom #1 (2008), Astonishing X-Men #7 (2012), King-Size Kirby #[nn] (2015), The A-Z of Marvel Monsters #[nn] (2017), Monsters: The Marvel Monsterbus by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber & Jack Kirby #2 (2017), Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus #1 (2019), Marvel Horror Omnibus #[nn] (2019), Astounding Stories #25, Misterios del Gato Negro #140, Sinister Tales #8
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