''Iron Man and Sub-Mariner'' is a one-shot

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

published by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

in 1968. It is notable for being the first Marvel title to be intentionally published for only one issue, as it existed to use up two half-length stories left over after Marvel began its expansion and the characters were to be given their own solo titles. ''Iron Man and Sub-Mariner'' does not feature a team-up of the title characters, nor a complete story for either. The

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

tale is continued from ''

Tales of Suspense ''Tales of Suspense'' is the name of an American comic book anthology series, and two one-shot comics, all published by Marvel Comics. The first, which ran from 1959 to 1968, began as a science-fiction anthology that served as a showcase for s ...

'' #99 (

cover-date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...

d March 1968) and continues in ''Iron Man'' #1 (May 1968). The Sub-Mariner story continues from ''

Tales to Astonish ''Tales to Astonish'' is the name of two American comic book series, and a One-shot (comics), one-shot comic, all published by Marvel Comics. The primary title bearing that name was published from January 1959 to March 1968. It began as a scie ...

'' #101 (March 1968), and continues in ''Sub-Mariner'' #1 (May 1968). The cover-logo

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

uses "and" while the

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

ed title noted in the postal indicia uses an ampersand. The stories were: an 11-page Iron Man tale, "The Torrent Without, The Tumult Within", written by Archie Goodwin, with art by

penciler A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations. In the American comic book industry, the penciller is the first step ...

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the Social Security Death Index via ...

and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. After the penciller creates a drawing with pencil, the inker interprets this drawing by outlining and embellishing ...

Johnny Craig John Thomas Alexis Craig (April 25, 1926 – September 13, 2001),John T. Craig
at the ...

, a former

EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...

mainstay; and an 11-page Sub-Mariner story, "Call Him Destiny, or Call Him Death", written by

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

, with art by Colan and inker Frank Giacoia.

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...

was the editor for both stories. The latter tale retold the Sub-Mariner's origin and introduced the

supervillain A supervillain, supervillainess or supercriminal is a major antagonist and variant of the villainous stock character who possesses Superpower (ability), superpowers. The character type is sometimes found in comic books and is often the primary ...

Destiny Destiny, sometimes also called fate (), is a predetermined course of events. It may be conceived as a predetermined future, whether in general or of an individual. Fate Although often used interchangeably, the words ''fate'' and ''destiny'' ...

.''Iron Man & Sub-Mariner'' #1
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information use ...

At least one previous Marvel title had lasted only one issue, though unintentionally. ''

Red Raven Comics ''Red Raven Comics'' was a title of Timely Comics (the predecessor of Marvel Comics). Only a single issue was published, cover-dated August 1940. It was replaced by the title '' The Human Torch'', which began with issue #2 (Fall 1940), continuing ...

'' #1 (Aug. 1940), from Marvel predecessor company

Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...

, became ''

The Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and arti ...

'' with issue #2, dropping all features from the debut issue. The

notes of the first and only issue, "No blurbs at the end of the stories in this issue indicate that there will be a ''Red Raven Comics'' #2. Instead they all advertise either ''

Marvel Mystery Comics ''Marvel Mystery Comics'' (first issue titled simply ''Marvel Comics'') is an American comic book series published during the 1930s–1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books. It was the first publication of Mar ...

'' or in one case ''

Mystic Comics ''Mystic Comics'' is the name of three comic book series published by the company that eventually became Marvel Comics. The first two series were superhero anthologies published by Marvel's 1930-1940s predecessor, Timely Comics, during what fans a ...

'', suggesting that perhaps ''Red Raven Comics'' was cancelled even before it went to press."''Red Raven Comics'' #1
at the Grand Comics Database

Reprints

''Iron Man & Sub-Mariner'' #1 has been reprinted in two '' Essential Marvel'' collections, ''Iron Man'' vol. 2 (2004, ) and ''Sub-Mariner'' vol. 1 (2009, ).

References

1968 comics debuts Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Roy Thomas Defunct American comics Iron Man titles Marvel Comics one-shots {{Marvel-title-stub