Tags
1981, Bill Sienkiewicz, Doug Moench, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 229, Joe Sinnott, Marvel, Marvel comics
Fantastic Four 229
“The Thing From The Black Hole”
Published January 1981
Writer: Doug Moench
Pencils: Bill Sienkiewicz
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Jim Novak
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Jim Salicrup
Cover: Sienkiewicz and Sinnott
Synopsis
An ordinary day in New York for the Fantastic Four is interrupted by a monstrous space creature with incredible powers derived from a black hole. The FF battle the creature, called the Ebon Seeker, but are defeated and are left in a lightless region where they are met by Fire Frost, companion to the Ebon Seeker.
What’s going here?
Another Doug Moench issue, another retread of old ideas. In this case, the parallels to the first appearance of Galactus seem pretty obvious. What redeems this issue (sort of) is the amazing black-and-white rendering of the Ebon Seeker. I assume this is largely the work of Joe Sinnott, since Bill Sienkiewicz is only credited with layouts, but I’m only guessing. It’s a powerful effect and it’s more impressive in the context of its era, when coloring wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now, and virtually every comic was rendered in combinations of the same four colors. I think it looks more impressive on the original page than in the Marvel.com reproduction. Here is the Ebon Seeker’s first appearance from each:
Given that the Ebon Seeker is anchoring a multi-issue story, which is rare for Moench, I imagine he was hoping to introduce a major new FF villain but the character appears just once more in subsequent decades.
What I liked
The comic is almost entirely a fight scene, and Sienkiewicz and Sinnott deliver some great action sequences and panels:
There was a fun detail in the credits, with Jim Salicrup “asking” Jim Shooter what he thinks of Alicia’s sculpture of him (I don’t know the backstory but I’m guessing Shooter’s grandiosity, which became more pronounced later in his Marvel tenure, was already an issue):
What I didn’t like
The narrative is boring and derivative, and for most of the issue we have no idea who the Ebon Seeker is or what is motivating him. When we find out — he wants to destroy Earth — it has no impact on the reader because we’ve seen this movie before. It’s more evidence that Moench really didn’t know what he was doing with this comic.
Further, the explanation of the Ebon Seeker’s powers — he is a living black hole — is nonsensical.
I’ve pointed out previously how Moench doesn’t miss an opportunity to plug the other comics he’s writing, but this might be his most blatant example:
New Yorkers turn against the Fantastic Four and riot! Why? Who knows? It’s never explained.
Overall
Impressive art. That’s about it.
No disagreements from me. I’m a bit surprised that the issue had both Shooter as a king as well as Moon Knight’s statute. But there is sharp daylight fast approaching with John Byrne taking the reins in two more issues!
My goodness. You’ve more than adequately summed up Doug Moench’s struggles, but I confess that while I am a fan of Bill Sienkiewicz, I don’t see his style fitting in this book. Although apparently, Sienkiewicz was enjoying the series and was supposed to stay with it – drawing John Byrne’s stories – I can see why Editor Jim Salicrup made the art change as well. In the overall scheme of things, I’m not sure Sienkiewicz becomes Sienkiewicz had he remained on the FF.
Two more issue until John Byrne!
I think I mentioned in one of my posts I asked Sienkiewicz about his experience drawing the FF and he said it was like an apprenticeship working with Joe Sinnott. But I agree, had he stayed on the FF I doubt he would have been allowed to experiment with his art like he did on Moon Knight. The FF was still a flagship book for Marvel, and I think it was important that it maintained a house style. It was easier for him to go crazy on a book that wasn’t nearly as high profile.
And I know idea why I posted twice. I never saw that first one show up.