“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 88

22 Sunday Jan 2023

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

Tags

1969, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 88, jack Kirby, Mole Man, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 88
“A House There Was!”
Published April 1969
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four, which now includes Crystal, arrive back at the Baxter Building following their adventure in Latveria and greet Alicia, who is watching the still-unnamed baby of Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl. After a joyful reunion, the team then heads off to inspect the suburban house Sue first visited a few issues ago, and which has featured in some forboding vignettes in subsequent issues.

The house, which is mostly subterranean and unusual in almost every way, emits a low-level buzzing, and seems to affect the eyesight of the FF members, yet despite all that, Reed and Sue buy it and begin to move in. Reed, however, is attacked by the house’s security system when he attempts to drill holes in its walls. It is then revealed the house is connected to the Mole Man and his plan to conquer the surface world by blinding everyone. On the last page, the FF (minus Ben, who is remaining in the city with the baby and Alicia) are blinded as the Mole Man reveals himself.

What’s going on here?

There’s a lot to like about this issue. After the high drama and high stakes of the last four issues, the team needs time to relax at home, and the first few pages show the Fantastic Four as a family, cooing over the baby and gently teasing each other. The house-hunting excursion (which was preceded by hints over the last few issues that something wasn’t right about the house) has the feel of the prelude to a horror story, with an oblivious family stepping into something evil. And Jack seems to have a lot of fun drawing both the extremely modern house, and the clothes the FF are wearing on the visit.

There are, of course, some inexplicable plot developments, like why Reed and Sue buy a house that gives them headaches and blurry vision.

The Mole Man is a genuinely surprising villain (as teased on the cover) and so surprising I forgot he was in it since the first time I read it. His connection to the house isn’t made very clear, and it seems odd that the FF should stumble into a trap he didn’t lay for them, but crazy coincidences are pretty standard for this comic at the point.

Dynamite threads!

Jack drew back-to-back splash pages which both show off the FF’s amazing outfits (what exactly is Crystal wearing?) and create tension as they enter the house.

Domestic bliss

These scenes are quite charming and really drive home that the team is first and foremost a family.

The sexist sixties

Not only do Sue and Crystal serve the men, but they wear frilly aprons to do so. (I am assuming “hot buns” was not a double entendre).