Marvel Comics · Tales to Astonish #91 · May 1967 · 12¢ · 36 pages
Grade: F- 5.5
Edited by Stan Lee.
Cover by Gil Kane.
The Hulk half opens with “Within the Monster Lurks a Man!” — the issue that introduces Emil Blonsky, a Soviet spy who deliberately exposes himself to a lethal dose of gamma radiation using the same tech Banner fears most. The result: the Abomination, a creature that emerges from the process stronger than the Hulk himself, at least at the jump. Penciled by Gil Kane, the story wastes no time establishing Blonsky not as a tragic accident but as a calculated villain — someone who wanted this — which gives the character a nastier edge than Banner ever had. The conflict escalates fast: Abomination immediately looks to exploit his new power, and the Hulk is left in a genuinely bad spot by the issue's end.
The Sub-Mariner story runs in the book's back half, continuing the split-feature format Tales to Astonish had been running since #70. Namor's storyline in this period kept him entangled in Atlantean politics and surface-world conflict — standard operating procedure for the title at this point in the run, with solid if less historically significant material rounding out the issue.
The Abomination is one of the few Hulk villains to sustain a recurring presence across five decades of Marvel continuity — Avengers crossovers, major story arcs, and the broader MCU. Issue #91 is where that starts. Gil Kane's design work here locks in a look that barely changed.
Condition F- 5.5 — .
We use what the scientists are calling artificial intelligence to research and write our descriptions — it gives us more time to add books to our website and provide you with a wider array of inventory. We think Klaatu would approve. Details are verified but the robot does slip up. We're not infallible. Every book is graded by a human collector who has actually held it. If anything ever looks off, reach on out at robopictocomics@gmail.com.
Marvel Comics · Tales to Astonish #91 · May 1967 · 12¢ · 36 pages
Grade: F- 5.5
Edited by Stan Lee.
Cover by Gil Kane.
The Hulk half opens with “Within the Monster Lurks a Man!” — the issue that introduces Emil Blonsky, a Soviet spy who deliberately exposes himself to a lethal dose of gamma radiation using the same tech Banner fears most. The result: the Abomination, a creature that emerges from the process stronger than the Hulk himself, at least at the jump. Penciled by Gil Kane, the story wastes no time establishing Blonsky not as a tragic accident but as a calculated villain — someone who wanted this — which gives the character a nastier edge than Banner ever had. The conflict escalates fast: Abomination immediately looks to exploit his new power, and the Hulk is left in a genuinely bad spot by the issue's end.
The Sub-Mariner story runs in the book's back half, continuing the split-feature format Tales to Astonish had been running since #70. Namor's storyline in this period kept him entangled in Atlantean politics and surface-world conflict — standard operating procedure for the title at this point in the run, with solid if less historically significant material rounding out the issue.
The Abomination is one of the few Hulk villains to sustain a recurring presence across five decades of Marvel continuity — Avengers crossovers, major story arcs, and the broader MCU. Issue #91 is where that starts. Gil Kane's design work here locks in a look that barely changed.
Condition F- 5.5 — .
We use what the scientists are calling artificial intelligence to research and write our descriptions — it gives us more time to add books to our website and provide you with a wider array of inventory. We think Klaatu would approve. Details are verified but the robot does slip up. We're not infallible. Every book is graded by a human collector who has actually held it. If anything ever looks off, reach on out at robopictocomics@gmail.com.
