Fantastic Four 43
“Lo! There shall be an ending!”
Published: July 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and Colletta

Programming note: This issue actually appeared on newsstands after Fantastic Four Annual 3, but for the sake of clarity, we’re going to tackle the issues in order of continuity and get to the annual next week.

Synopsis

Continuing a story arc that began six issues ago, in issue 38, Fantastic Four 43 picks up where the previous comic left off, with the Frightful Four pursuing Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl. The Frightful Four has brainwashed the Thing, who Reed has subdued and captured with one of the Wizard’s antigravity disks, and the Human Torch, who is in pursuit of Reed and Sue. Reed and Sue escape, however, and the Wizard (and Reed) suspect the Human Torch of only pretending to be brainwashed. The villains realize Reed tampered with the brainwashing device, then re-capture Johnny.

Meanwhile, back at the Baxter Building, Reed attempts to reverse the Thing’s brainwashing with a complicated and dangerous process that leaves Ben unconscious. The Frightful Four arrive and demand Reed and Sue undergo brainwashing, or the Torch—who is strapped to a giant antigravity disk—will be sent into space. Reed and Sue stall for time until Ben wakes and destroys the Wizard’s anti-gravity controls, freeing the Torch. The reunited team then quickly mops up the the Frightful Fours, save for Medusa, who escapes the Torch. The issues concludes with a reminder Reed and Sue are to be married soon.

What’s going on here?

The Frightful Four saga finally wraps up, ushering in the wedding of Reed and Sue, and setting the stage for a 18 issue run from FF 44 through 62 that is arguably the greatest single stretch of issues in comic book history (much more on that to come). In that context, the six-part Frightful Four/Doom/Frightful Four storyline can be seen as a trial run for more the more ambitious, multi-part stories to some.

This issue, despite Stan’s grandiose title, ends with more of a whimper than a bang. It’s not a bad resolution, and it concludes with Ben back in the fold after his time in the wilderness, but the stakes don’t feel particularly high here. The Frightful Four, ultimately, aren’t all that menacing, and despite beating the FF pretty soundly twice, there’s never any real doubt Reed will find a way to win.

FF 43 does feature a great sequence when Ben revives and it’s as yet unclear whether he has escaped the brain washing. Jack keeps us in the dark by not showing Ben’s face.

The issue ends with Reed and Sue standing around Ben’s bed, reunited but still with a hint of melancholy.

It’s far from the last time Ben ends up convalescing in bed, and reminded me up Marvel Two-in-One 96, where he spend the whole issue in bed as a brawl rages outside the hospital.

FF 43 also features an odd sequence, where Johnny flies off to capture Medusa, but pulls up short, then gets scolded by Reed.

It’s not entirely clear what’s going on here, and why Stan and Jack place so much emphasis on it, but it’s likely related to the upcoming developments for Medusa and the introduction of the Inhumans.

Lo down and dirty

“Lo” is a word used very rarely, and mostly by Stan Lee (it’s both on the cover and the title of this issue). Lo is an Old English variant of “look” and to the extent it survives, it’s mostly in “lo and behold.” That doesn’t stop Stan from using it, of course, and it’s one of those archaic words and phrases he sprinkles into titles to ramp up the grandeur. There’s no easy way to track down all the uses of “lo” in Marvel comics but I found a few. Not surprisingly, they’re either by Stan or his acolytes, Roy Thomas and Gerry Conway.

They’re fighting again

Sort of a fun fight, too.

Krazy Kredits

Meanwhile

This might be the first time Stan and Jack have cut away from the action to set up a story in an upcoming issue. Here, they tease a Doom appearance in the annual.

Weird science

To reverse the Wizard’s brainwashing of Ben, Reed employs a machine that seems to leak both electricity and “deadly cosmic waves.” The whole thing is baffling and made me wonder why he didn’t just call Professor X or Dr. Strange to fix Ben’s noggin.

The sexist sixties

Sue has “no right” to distract Reed?

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Some cool panels that display Jack’s masterful of perspective for dramatic effect.

Next issue: FF Annual 3, and the marriage of Reed and Sue. What could possibly go wrong?

Fantastic Four 42
“To save you, why must I kill I you?”
Published June 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sol Brodsky

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 42 picks up where FF 41 left off, with the Frightful Four goading the brainwashed Thing into killing Mr. Fantastic, who is glued to a board. Unable to stretch his limbs, Reed inflates his chest to escape, eventually inducing Ben into destroying the board. The teams continue to battle, with Ben eventually capturing Reed and stuffing him into a jar (really). The Human Torch’s flames are doused when Medusa uses her hair to soak him, and he is captured and brainwashed by the Frightful Four. The Invisible Girl frees Reed, and the two use tear gas to flush the villains out of their lair. Reed then attaches the Wizard’s antigravity devices to Ben, rendering him helpless when the Torch attacks. The comics ends with another cliffhanger.

What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 42 is wall-to-wall action. The fight that began in issue 41 continues all the way through 42 without conclusion (presumably that happens in the next issue) and with no digressions or cutaways for other stories. Further, virtually the entire story takes place in the Frightful Four’s house in New Jersey that gives the battle a claustrophobic intensity.

Also notable is Stan and Jack’s embrace of the multi-issue story arcs and the cliff-hanger ending. After nearly 40 issues of one-and-done comics (with two exceptions), we’re now on the fifth issue of an arc that began in issue 38, each ending with a cliffhanger. As discussed in a previous entry, I think it reflects Stan and Jack’s confidence that their now large and loyal body of fans that would seek out new issues. It might also be a sign that newsstands and drug stores, impressed with the Fantastic Four’s sales, were ordering them with sufficient regularity that the creators didn’t have to worry about readers not being able to find issues.

Fantastic Four 42 also happens to be an issue I own, which means we get to check out some non-story elements of the comic. First up, some house ads and the Bullpen Page:

Another house ad (that Thor Annual was so good it was plugged twice!):

The letters page (two pages!). I learned here that a fan gave Alicia Masters her last name. No celebrity letters though.

And finally a real ad. I could probably write a whole post dissecting this ad and what it says about popular music at this point of 1965.

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

There’s a lot of excellent stretching action in this comic. Here, Reed puffs up like a blowfish:

And here, he makes a slingshot out of his fingers:

Signed, Stan

Is this the first signed editors note? It can’t recall seeing this before.

Oops

Is this a goof? it looks like Stan might be covering for Jack to explain why Medusa and the Trapster aren’t incapacitated (either way, it’s pretty clunky writing):

Deus ex machina

I guess if anyone is going to keep canisters of tear gas in their storage shed, it’s going to be a super villain.

The sixties are slightly less sexist

Sue rises to the occasion here, although opening a jar still wipes her out.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

An all fight issue means fewer opportunities for Jack to really shine, but there’s some fun panels of Ben and Reed battling:

which eventually ends like so:

Next issue: The conclusion!