MARVEL TALES #1

Fairly early on in the game Martin Goodman and Stan Lee realized that they could make a heapin' helpin' of extra cash by reprinting the superhero stories that Kirby and Ditko had made so popular. Fans were pouring into the Marvel Universe by the truckload every hour. Many of them had no access to back issues and were hungry for the earlier books that they had missed.

Therefore, the publisher decided to begin reprinting those early appearances. It didn't take long for them to start doing this, recognizing that there was an untapped income stream in doing so. Enter MARVEL TALES ANNUAL #1. This book reprinted the origin stories from the very earliest appearances of the following characters:

The Amazing Spider-Man, created, written, and illustrated by Steve Ditko (from Amazing Fantasy #15).

The Incredible Hulk, created, written, and illustrated by Jack Kirby (from The Incredible Hulk #1).

Ant Man, created, written, and illustrated by Jack Kirby (from Tales to Astonish #35).

Giant Man and the Wasp, created, written, and illustrated by Jack Kirby (finishes by Dick Ayers) from Tales to Astonish #49.

Sgt. Fury and His Howling Commandos, created, written, and illustrated by Jack Kirby (from Sgt. Fury #1).

Iron Man created and written by Jack Kirby with art over Jack Kirby layouts by Don Heck (from Tales of Suspense #39).

Iron Man's new armor created, written, and illustrated by Steve Ditko (from Tales of Suspense #48).

The Mighty Thor created, written, and illustrated by Jack Kirby (from Journey Into Mystery #83). 

That was a heck of a package of great Kirby and Ditko superhero stories to be collected into one square bound 72-page comic book. A real treasure for the fans who had missed the initial boat.

My copy of Marvel Tales Annual #1.