Strange Tales (1951) #120 (1st story)

Cover by Jack Kirby

Cover Date: May 1964

On-Sale Date: March 1964

Synopsis: Iceman and the Human Torch stop Captain Barracuda from robbing a cruise ship.

CHRONOLOGICAL NOTES

This newspaper headline indicates a recent battle between the X-Men and the Brotherhood, so this story must take place after X-Men (1963) #4 (the Brotherhood's first appearance).  Given that issues #4 and #5 are a continuing story, it should probably be happening after issue #5. The article is probably referring to the fight in the train station in issue #5, where the Angel was captured.

This is the first meeting between Iceman and the Human Torch.  It's also the first time Iceman meets Captain Barracuda, but something tells me that won't be particularly relevant.

COUNTING THE DAYS

Given the newspaper above, this story should be happening the day after X-Men (1963) #5.  The various Official Indexes usually place it between pages of X-Men (1963) #5, for reasons I don't understand. Assuming the newspaper article refers to the battle I think it does, this story has to happen after that story, not during it.

Also, I should note here that I'm paying no attention to the phases of the moon. This story shows a full moon, so I could probably pinpoint it to a specific date if I wanted, but that's a level of detail that I'm not willing to get into. I have to be able to keep things at least a little bit loose, so I'm ignoring things like the moon and the weather unless they're used as a specific plot point.

• Day 1: Page 1 to 14. This story all takes place in a single day.