Strange Tales #122: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 28

Strange Tales #122, page 11, panel 1

Strange Tales #122: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 28

Rapidly written by Stan Lee

Speedily sketched by Dick Ayers

Instantly inked by Geo. Bell

Lazily lettered by S. Rosen

I can't work out if Stan Lee is, at this point, just taking the piss with his dialogue. A grey door does not signify that it's made from asbestos, and considering all Bull does with the door is wield it threateningly, it's hard to imagine how asbestos would have made any difference to the offensive properties of the door - namely, that it's really big and hard and would hurt if he whacked someone with it.

As for what exactly an automatic water cannon is, I'm completely lost. Although, as the man in the brown suit is struggling to turn it on, it can't be that automatic...

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #122 on our thirty-first episode: Just Three Of The Guys, with special guest-host Shawn Engel.

Strange Tales #122: Flamin' 'Eck 45

Strange Tales 122 Flamin' 'Eck 44

Strange Tales #122: Flamin' 'Eck 45

Rapidly written by Stan Lee

Speedily sketched by Dick Ayers

Instantly inked by Geo. Bell

Lazily lettered by S. Rosen

As I'm going through this story, I'm finding that I have absolutely no recollection of it. I don't remember the asbestos-lined caravan. I have no memory of the special shower which dries Johnny out by blasting him with steam. This story feels completely new to me.

Sadly, this also means that I don't remember this moment where Johnny uses an asbestos rope - the same rope which previously caused his flame to die out instantly - to grapple one of his fireballs and... er... hurl it at one of the Terrible Trio. Quite why he needs to do this when he's previously been able to control his fireballs with an unlikely degree of accuracy is truly beyond me.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #122 on our thirty-first episode: Just Three Of The Guys, with special guest-host Shawn Engel.

Strange Tales #122: It's... ASBESTOS 27

Strange Tales #122, page 7, panels 1-2

Strange Tales #122: It's... ASBESTOS 27

Rapidly written by Stan Lee

Speedily sketched by Dick Ayers

Instantly inked by Geo. Bell

Lazily lettered by S. Rosen

Some ideas are so crazy, you assume that they'll stick with you for a long time. I remember asbestos lassos, and asbestos sheet, but for the life of me, I have no memory of reading a comic featuring an asbestos-lined caravan. (Yes, I know the dialogue refers to it as a trailer. But it looks suspiciously like the exact caravan we were bundled into every summer by my Dad, and that would get destroyed on a weekly basis in early seasons of Top Gear).

It's a wonderfully crazy idea. Not only have the Terrible Trio got hold of asbestos rope and asbestos blankets, but somehow they've managed to get hold of some kind of easily-applicable asbestos lining. I like to imagine that it was something similar to sheets of vinyl, and they spent ages with credit cards trying to smooth the air pockets to the edge of the sheet. And failing, because let's face it, the Terrible Trio are completely terrible.

The worst.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #122 on our thirty-first episode: Just Three Of The Guys, with special guest-host Shawn Engel.

Strange Tales #122: It's... ASBESTOS!!! 26

Strange Tales #122, page 6, panel 3

Strange tales #122: it's... asbestos!!! 26

Rapidly written by Stan Lee

Speedily sketched by Dick Ayers

Instantly inked by Geo. Bell

Lazily lettered by S. Rosen

The Terrible Trio are back, and the only redeeming feature of their return is that they've seemingly stopped off at World of Asbestos for a few accessories before conning Johnny. Of course, what they didn't pick up was a copy of 'Asbestos For Dummies' (presumably they thought it would be too high-concept for them), as if they had done so, they'd have learned that the asbestos blanket doesn't need to be airtight to extinguish the Human Torch's flame.

Idiots.

Check out our coverage of Strange Tales #122 on our thirty-first episode: Just Three Of The Guys, with special guest-host Shawn Engel.