“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 108

26 Sunday Nov 2023

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1970, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 108, jack Kirby, John Buscema, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 108
“The Monstrous Mystery of the Nega-Man!”
Published: Dec. 1970
Story: Stan Lee
Pencils: Jack Kirby, John Buscema and John Romita
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Buscema and John Verpoorten

Synopsis

In a lengthy flashback, Reed reveals the origin of Janus, the Nega-Man, a former colleague who tapped the power of the Negative Zone to heal an injury only to divide into good and evil versions of himself.

What’s going on here?

Jack’s back! Well, sort of. The comic’s pencils are credited to Jack Kirby, and quite a bit of the comic is drawn by him. But there’s a lot of John Buscema in here, too. It’s pretty clear from reading the story that Marvel decided to salvage some unpublished artwork by Kirby, using it in a flashback device to explain the origin of the new villain, Janus. In his blog, longtime Marvel editor Tom Brevoort confirms as much, explaining the Kirby sequences were intended for FF 102, but Stan Lee, unsatisfied with the story, set them aside. This was taking place in the weeks prior to Jack’s departure for DC, so there may have been some bad blood involved as well. It makes sense the ever-parsimonious Stan would find a way to reuse those Kirby pages, even if they are shoe-horned into a story that makes little sense.

What I liked

The Kirby art! Duh. This may not be peak Kirby, but it’s a reminder of what we lost when Jack decamped for DC. Check out this awesome panel:

Also, after years of cataloging all the times Sue is slighted by Reed, here’s a rare example of Reed actually taking her on a mission (not that she gets to do much, but baby steps):

What I didn’t like

The story is unfortunately incoherent. The flashback structure doesn’t help, adding a layer of complexity to an convoluted story, but the way the ploy unfolds is just a mess to begin with. The story does end with a tease of an appearance of Annihilus in the next issue, so here’s hoping things get back on track.

Anything else?

Here’s some more Kirby art:

Overall

A melancholy reminder of what was

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four 107

18 Saturday Nov 2023

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1970, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 107, John Buscema

Fantastic Four 107
“And Now … the Thing!”
Published: Nov. 1970
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Buscema and Sinnott

Synopsis

Reed finally succeeds at returning Ben to human form, and this time with the ability o revert back and forth to the Thing. But as Alicia suspects something is not quite right with Ben, a new villain, Janus, breaks into the Negative Zone.

What’s going on here?

The big news here is that this is the debut Fantastic Four issue for Big John Buscema. Buscema had been drawing comics since the 1940s, but only started doing Marvel superhero comics in the late 60s. He’ll be the regular FF artist for the next 30 issues or so and I think of him as the defining Bronze Age Fantastic Four artist. Of course, Sinnott is still inking, so the art has the same consistent feel. In a lot of ways, the ’70s is actually the Sinnott age.

This is also the debut of the villain, Janus, who is a pretty minor figure, only showing again much later in 2001, when Carlos Pacheco was writing the comic, and much later again in Alex Ross’s Full Circle graphic novel, which came out last year.

What I liked

The comic itself is excellent. Along with the drama of Ben reverting back to human—and with it, the unspoken question of how long will it be before he returns to being the Thing permanently—there’s some character development with Johnny, Sue and even baby Franklin, who seems to be manifesting signs of his powers. It’s been a while since the FF had what is sometimes called a “quiet issue,” and this one was very satisfying.

What I didn’t like

More jerk-like behavior from Reed. “He’s never spoken to that way before?” Lady, I can find a dozen issues where he has, and worse.

Also, the title makes no sense. “And Now .. the Thing!” What does that even mean? It’s not like he hasn’t been in every issue for the last nine years. If anything, it should be “And Now … Ben Grimm.”

Anything else?

Some fun ads in this issue.

Overall

An auspicious start to the Buscema era.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 106

12 Sunday Nov 2023

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1970, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 106, John Romita, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 106
“The Monster’s Secret”
Published: Oct. 1970
Writer: Stan Lee
Pencils: John Romita
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Romita and Sinnott

Note: Apologies for the long delay since my last post. I have been dealing with some personal business. I’m hoping to get back to regular, weekly posts.

Synopsis

To save Sue and the city from a rampaging energy monster, Reed leaves Johnny to ice down Ben, who is mid-way through a process that could return him to human form. The energy monster turns out to be the son of a scientist and former colleague of Reed’s, part of an experiment gone awry, and with Reed’s help he is restored to normal.

What’s going on here?

This is a much more satisfying comic that last issue, which was notably disjointed. There are still plenty of plot holes—why, exactly, does Johnny need to put Ben in a deep freeze?—but the story is pretty straightforward and the reveal, that the monster is Dr. Rambow’s son, adds a poignant (if predictable) note.

The issue is also notable for the return of Joe Sinnott, who missed the last three issues. John Verpoorten did a credible job in his absence, but under Sinnott the comic looks and feels more like Kirby hadn’t left. That includes a panel like this:

Dig that ~~Kirby~~ Sinnott Krackle!

What I liked

The Romita / Sinnott combination is pretty effective, and the art hits some high notes. I particularly liked this sequence:

There’s also one of Stan’s moral lessons, about Dr. Rambow’s hubris. These maxims can be a bit corny, but I like how Stan is reaching for an elevated purpose in his stories. (Also: more Krackle)

What I didn’t like

The story feels like a bit of a throwback to one-and one plots of early issues, where the FF tangles with some bad guys and Reed whips up some gizmo to save the day. Outside of the twist about Rambow’s son, it’s all very obvious and linear. There’s no way of knowing for sure, but the lack of originality in the storiy may be a result of Kirby’s departure, with a distracted Stan cooking up plots on his own and resorting to old, clichéd story lines.

Anything else?

The cover is another in a line of “quad” covers that dates back all the way to issue 17 and extends far into the future. Here are a handful: