“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 172

27 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1976, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 172, galactus, George Perez, jack Kirby, Roy Thomas

Fantastic Four 172
“Cry, The Bedeviled Planet!”
Published April 1976
Writer: Roy Thomas and Bill Mantlo
Pencils: George Perez
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Jack Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Gorr, the golden alien gorilla the Fantastic Four captured last issue, explains that he was mutated by the High Evolutionary, whose Counter-Earth is now threatened by Galactus. Gorr escapes and lures the FF to his spaceship, which he crashed in Central Park as a ruse. Once in his ship, Gorr abducts the FF and heads to the moon of Counter-Earth where the Destroyer, Galactus’s latest herald, is in the High Evolutionary’s stasis field. The Thing battles the Destroyer until the arrival of Galactus.

What’s going on here?

The highlight of this issue is probably the great Jack Kirby cover, which looks like it could have been drawn in the late 1960s, complete with Kirby Krackle. The powers-that-be even adjusted the logo (and removed its floating heads) to make it work.

The rest of the issue is fine, not great. Perez and Sinnott do their normal stellar job. There is a lot of complicated backstory, as is typical of a Roy Thomas comic, with references at least three different, non-FF comics: Marvel Premier 1, Incredible Hulk 178 and Thor 228. For serious Marvel fans, this set of elaborate intertwining of stories can be really satisfying (I know, I used to be one), since it rewards all their obsessive collecting. For more causal fans, it’s a bit bewildering. At least Perez jazzes up all the exposition with a cool double-page spread.

This issue also is the Fantastic Four debut of Bill Mantlo, who provides the script over Thomas’s plot. Mantlo, a prolific writer who actually had a letter to the editor printed just a few issues ago, would fill-in on the FF over the years but never had a run of his own.

What I liked

It’s fun to see the FF back in space again and the High Evolutionary is a very worthy antagonist for the FF, although he doesn’t confront them in this comic. This arc has been rocky through the first two issues; we’ll see if Thomas can deliver a solid conclusion

This was a fun sequence:

And this is a great image of the team by Perez:

What I didn’t like

The comic felt sluggish throughout. It’s not just all the space devoted to explanation, but the fight with Gorr in the first few pages felt repetitive. There’s also the problem with Ben’s fight with the Destroyer; which feels very pro forma, particularly as Galactus was on his way. And lastly, it’s unclear why Galactus shouldn’t consume Counter-Earth. It’s an artificial construct – does anyone live there? We don’t know. It’s hard to get too upset about his arrival when the stakes seem pretty low.

This sequence with Sue was a bit of a let down. I was prepared for her to knock Gorr upside his head, and the opposite happened. It may have been a miscommunication between Mantlo and Perez.

And what does “Cry, the Bedeviled Planet?” even mean?

Anything else?

Some fun ads. This is a very weird G.I. Joe.

Overall

I give it a C+

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 171

20 Sunday Apr 2025

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1976, Fantastic Four, George Perez, Marvel comics, Roy Thomas

Fantastic Four 171
“Death is a Golden Gorilla!”
Published March 1976
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils : Rich Buckler and George Perez
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Phil Rachelson
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Jack Kirby and Sinnott

Editor’s note: This issue came out a few weeks after Fantastic Four Annual 11, so these reviews are out of order, but I’ll get to the annual soon, I promise.

Synopsis

The story opens in the Baxter Building where a de-powered Ben is getting used to his new exoskeleton while the Invisible Girl expands her powers in a training session. Meanwhile, Johnny and his new girlfriend, Frankie, stroll through Central Park discussing his future away from the Fantastic Four when a spaceship lands and a glowing yellow gorilla emerges. The gorilla quickly growing in size and climbs the Baxter Building, where it grabs the Sue. The FF battle the monster and after it is defeated, it reveals it can speak, and that it came to Earth seeking help combating Galactus.

What’s going on here?

This issue isn’t as bad as I anticipated, given the cover and subject. It’s not great, but it could have been so much worse. As an FF story goes, it follows the formula laid down by Stan and Jack: hi-jinx in the Baxter Building are followed by the team battling some threat. Unfortunately, in this issue, the threat is pretty ridiculous, and despite all the King Kong jokes, still feels like a King Kong rip-off, right down to Sue playing Fay Wray.

The story is redeemed a bit by the twist at the end, and by the interpersonal dramas, between Ben and Reed, Ben and Sue, and Johnny and Frankie. George Perez does a solid job on art, although the first three pages are by Rich Buckler.

The cover is by Jack Kirby, although it’s pretty hard to tell.

What I liked

This exchange between Ben and Sue was interesting. Here, she explains how her powers are more than just invisibility and force fields, and that it’s closer to telekinesis, a long-overdue expansion of her abilities. There’s also a poignant suggestion about Ben and Alicia one day having kids, something that takes almost 50 more years.

Sue’s line about taking a shower is a bit oddly timed.

I also liked the exploration of Johnny’s relationship with Frankie (the line about the old Central Park zoo being smelly was dead on):

And here we get a peek at Johnny’s inner turmoil, and a hint about Frankie’s background:

Here, Sue uses her expanded powers while making a crack about all the times she was held hostage in the early days of the FF (more than a dozen times, by my count):

What I didn’t like

Besides the giant gold glowing gorilla?

I also didn’t like Ben grousing about his loss of powers. With the exoskeleton, he’s got the best of both worlds. He should be happy while it lasts (because of course it won’t):

Overall

Meh.

“The Worlds’ Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 170

13 Sunday Apr 2025

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1976, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 170, George Perez, Luke Cage, Roy Thomas

Fantastic Four 170
“A Sky-Full Of Fear!
Published Feb. 1976
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: George Perez
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Phil Rache
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Ed Hannigan and Sinnott

Synopsis

Mr. Fantastic reveals to Ben that the replica Thing is an exoskeleton which will allow him to resume his place on the team. After testing the suit by battling Reed, the two fly off to confront Phillip Masters, aka the Puppet Master, whom they include has been controlling Power Man, the team’s newest member. Meanwhile, Alicia Masters is confronting her step-father in prison when he is broken out by the mind-controlled Power Man, who takes Alicia hostage. Ben and Reed intercept them in mid-air and Ben battles Luke on the speeding Fantasti-Car. The conflict ends when the Puppet Master’s clay idol of Luke falls into the river and loses its power over him.

What’s going on here?

This is one of the best issues in a long time. Often Fantastic Four story arcs start out full of promise but fizzle out when Stan Lee or Roy Thomas couldn’t stick the landing. This one is the opposite: a storyline that began feeling like a gimmick — Red hiring Luke Cage to fill in for Ben — concludes with a very satisfying comic, full of action (but not too much), character development, and an ending that makes sense. Of course, all of this is helped by the return of George Perez, who delivers probably his best issue of the FF to date, with his trademark innovative page designs and dynamic action.

Also of note is the Fantastic Four debut of cover artist Ed Hannigan, with his first and, as far as I can tell, only work on the FF. Does anyone else think Luke as two left feet on the cover?

What I liked

Ben and Reed are really the stars of this comic, and we are treated to lot of interplay between them. First, Ben apologizes for thinking Reed was replacing him with an extra-dimensional Thing:

Then Reed loses his cool when Ben starts sulking again:

After a short fight, Reed gives up:

Did Reed goad Ben into a scrap to test the exoskeleton, or did he just lose his patience? I love the ambiguity in Reed’s non-answer.

I also liked the FF’s teamwork in puzzling out the Puppet Master was behind Luke’s actions:

And I loved how Alicia took control, confronting her father and using her sensitive touch to detect where he hid the Power Man figurine:

This sequence continues with a masterful, 12-panel page from Perez. It’s stuffed with activity but never feels crowded:

I also enjoyed the fight atop the Fantasti-car. Perez does a great job of conveying the precariousness of their position while Thomas supplied some fun dialogue (calling “It’s Clobberin’ Time” a corny war-whoop is just harsh).

What I didn’t like

Not much. Sue is shuffled off out of the action without any explanation, with the assumption being she needs to look after Franklin. Not great, but at least Alicia got some attention. Also, the fight between Reed and Ben seemed silly and like a bit of unnecessary padding. But I’m picking nits — this is a very good comic book.

Anything else

A letter from Bill Mantlo, already a prolific writer for Marvel at this point but who still wrote a fan letter. Mantlo left comics in the 1990s to become a lawyer, then suffered a horrible accident that left his severely disabled. You can read more about his life and accident in an article here.

Also, Twinkies! is this the first of the long-running Hostess ads? It might be.

Overall

Two Thumbs Up!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 169

05 Saturday Apr 2025

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1976, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 169, Luke Cage, Power Man, Rich Buckler, Roy Thomas

Fantastic Four 169
“Five Characters in Search of a Madman!”
Published January 1976
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Phil Rachelson
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

Ben Grimm, still adjusting to no longer being the Thing, gets tangled up in a bar fight before he’s rescued by Mr. Fantastic and the Human Torch. Meanwhile, Power Man — the FF’s newest member — kibitzes with the Invisible Woman and Alicia Masters before he falls under the mind-control of an unknown bad guy and attacks Sue. He battles Sue and the rest of the FF before fleeing in a Fantasti-car. The issue ends with Reed showing Ben a life-size replica of the Thing.

What’s going on here?

This comic continues an arc about a de-powered Thing began last issue and is on the whole a lot more successful. Ben is still struggling with his new reality, but instead of picking needless fights like last issue, he is instead vents his frustration in a bar brawl not of his making. And Power Man’s heel turn make sense when we’re reminded of the clues dropped by Roy Thomas last issue. There’s also some interesting character development, between Ben’s brooding introspection and Sue’s chit-chat with Luke.

This issue also marks the end of Rich Buckler’s first run on the FF (he’ll return to draw another half-dozen issues in the last eighties). Buckler’s work on the FF was generally solid, with some high points and few duds. Of the three main pencil artists on the FF to this point — Jack Kirby, John Buscema and Buckler — he’s clearly the weakest, but thanks to Joe Sinnott’s steady inks, the book never diverged far from the standard set by Kirby.

What I liked

Regular readers of this blog know I have complained about Sue’s treatment under Stan Lee and Gerry Conway. Thomas has expanded her powers and slowly added depth to her character. Here, she provides an answer to a question many readers probably have about her name:

She eventually changes her name to Invisible Woman in issue 284.

I also liked how Thomas and Buckler alternate Ben’s flashbacks to fighting as the Thing with his present barroom brawl:

I also liked this tease of future (or maybe past) mayhem involving Dr. Doom’s time machine:

What I didn’t like

Thomas is up to his old tricks again, with heavy-handed narration and a title that seems designed to show off that he went to college (it’s a play on Pirandello’s “Six Characters in Search of an Author”) without making much sense.

He also rolled out the cliched “Bedlam in the Baxter Building” blurb on the cover, reprising a title used for Fantastic Four Annual 3 and FF 101.