Fantastic Four 211 “If This Be Terrax!” Published July 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: John Byrne Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Joseph Rosen Colors: Ben Sean Editor: Wolfman Cover: Byrne and Sinnott
Synopsis
As part of their bargain with Galactus, the Fantastic Four are transported to an alien world, where they are to locate a new herald. They are captured by stone-based robots and summoned to the throne room of the local warlord, Tyros the Terrible, and after besting him in battle, it is revealed he is to be the new herald. Galactus transforms him in Terrax the Tamer, imbuing with potent earth-based powers, and, with the FF, departs for Earth to battle the Sphinx.
What’s going on here?
This is the best FF issue in quite some time, and not coincidentally, it’s the one that most feels like a John Byrne comic. Despite Marv Wolfman being credited with the writing, it would not have felt out of place during Byrne’s later run when he wrote and plotted the stories. I have no way of knowing how much of this story was Byrne’s vs. Wolfman’s but if I were to bet, I’d say it was mostly Byrne.
Much of the story involves Galactus’s transformation of Tyros into Terrax, and Byrne takes his time demonstrating both the power of Galactus and then Terrax.
I’ve always liked Terrax as a villain, in part because he featured prominently in Fantastic Four 260, my first FF issue and (I still maintain) one of the best single FF issues ever. It makes sense that he is a Byrne creation, since he contains so many traits Byrne loves in his bad guys: pomposity, arrogance and cosmic power.
What I liked
This issue spells out why Galactus chose Tyros to make into his herald: His powers are earth based, following a roster of heralds with similar, element based powers, which I’m guessing was a coincidence up to this point: the Silver Surfer (water), Airwalker (air, duh) and Firelord (also duh). And since the morality of other heralds got in the way of their service, this time Galactus deliberately chose an amoral asshole.
I’ve groused about how the effects of the Skrull’s aging ray, which is suppossed to rapidly age and kill Reed, Sue and Ben, have been more or less ignored by Wolfman since they were zapped in issue 206. But here, Byrne visibly ages Reed and Sue without calling attention to it. In fact, the only reference to their altered appearance comes from Tyros, who objects to Sue’s wrinkles (although he will still ad her to his harem):
I also liked how Ben points out that a life of servitude to Galactus is what Tyros deserves after subjugating his own people.
And lastly, there are some just great Byrne panels and sequences throughout, like this
and this:
and this:
What I didn’t like
Not much. As I said, this is a really good comic and I’m just picking nits here. I thought this was an oddly formal turn of phrase from Johnny:
I also thought is was strange that the aliens on this planet initially communicate telepathically — which makes sense because they don’t speak English! —then just start speaking English after a few page:
Anything else?
Some fun new ads. Did anyone have a banana walkie-talkie?
Fantastic Four 210 “In Search of Galactus!” Published June 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: John Byrne Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: John Costanza Colors: Ben Sean Editor: Wolfman Cover: Keith Pollard and Frank Giacoia
Synopsis
The Fantastic Four battle a meteor shower before reaching Galactus’s spaceship. After overcoming a few obstacles, they negotiate a deal whereby Galactus will travel to Earth to defeat the Sphinx and in exchange, Mr. Fantastic releases Galactus from his promise not to devour the Earth. But first, Galactus sends the FF on a quest to find him a new herald.
What’s going on here?
This is a fun issue, and much more engaging than the two that preceded it. The story is straightforward, there are some modest twists and turns, and we get some nice moments between members of the FF. It’s not a coincidence that in this issue Marv Wolfman finally jettisoned Nova, Xandar and those random characters that were weighing down the story.
The art is again strong, and although only the layouts are credited to John Byrne, with Joe Sinnott handing finishes, it’s easy to see Byrne’s style all over this comic, such as in the panel above.
The cover, by Keith Pollard and Frank Giacoia, is less successful, and proves not everyone is great at drawing Galactus.
What I liked
In an early scene, Ben refuses to come inside the spaceship because he’s needed to swat away meteors. Johnny somehow thinks he can save him. None of it makes much sense but the sequence looks amazing. Credit to Ben Sean, the colorist.
This is followed by a touching scene were Ben performs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Johnny.
There’s also a poignant scene where Sue realizes she’s going to die before her teammates, the result of a punishment meted out by the Skrulls a few issues ago.
This may be Byrne’s first attempt at drawing Galactus, a character he goes on to depict many, many times over his career. I would argue his version is perhaps the best ever.
Byrne also likes drawing weird aliens, and he goes to town with the inhabitants of Galactus’s zoo (the question of why Galactus has a zoo goes unanswered).
What I didn’t like
Not much, to be honest. I do think Reed (and thus Wolfman) is being way to lackadaisical about the team’s imminent demise from old age. Perhaps Reed figures he’ll whip a cure when he gets a chance, but he’s cutting it close. Maybe he should have asked Galactus to throw in a cure as part of their bargain?
I also thought the flashback explains why Galactus wasn’t dead was convoluted and totally unnecessary. Did anyone think Galactus was really dead?
Fantastic Four 209 “Trapped in the Sargasso of Space!” Published May 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: John Byrne Inks: Joe Sinnott Letter: Tom Orzechowski Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Wolfman Cover: Keith Pollard and Sinnott
Synopsis
The Fantastic Four head off into space in search of Galactus — whom they hope to recruit to battle the Sphinx — accompanied by the robot H.E.R.B.I.E. (hereafter just “Herbie”). They find themselves in a junkyard of abandoned spaceships where they get encounter a dying alien police officer and escaped criminals. The FF defeat the criminals, keep therefrom stealing their Xandarian spaceship, and continue on to finding Galactus.
What’s going on here?
This is issue of notable firsts. Most prominent is the FF debut of John Byrne, who will go on to become one of the Fantastic Four’s most significant creators. This, however, is Byrne’s first stint on the FF, where he will last about a dozen issues, and worked only as a penciler. At this point he was juggling penciling duties on the FF, X-Men and Avengers, which is a lot of characters to draw (!) and had no time for inks. Byrne would rejoin the book with issue 232 as writer, penciler and inker, and launch the legendary five-year run that made me fall in love with comics in general and the FF in particular. In truth, I never gave this first run much thought; considering it an odd footnote in Byrne’s career, a prelude before the big show. What little of it I had seen didn’t appear particularly Byrne-like, as he seemed overshadowed by Joe Sinnott’s inks and he was following Marv Wolfman’s lackluster plots.
So it was a pleasant surprise to realize there is plenty of quality Byrne to be found in this issue, and while Sinnott’s inks can obscure Byrne’s unique pencils, they don’t erase it. Here are some solid examples of his distinct, fluid style that would not look out of place in Byrne’s subsequent run:
This issue also marks, for better and probably worse, the comics debut of Herbie. Herbie at this point had been featured as the fourth member of the FF (replacing the Human Torch) on the 1978 version of the Fantastic Four’s Saturday morning cartoon show, leading to an urban myth that the network was afraid children would light themselves on fire in imitation of the Torch. The truth was less interesting: Marvel had previously sold the rights to the Torch for a planned movie, and so he couldn’t he used in this show (the movie never happened). Herbie was apparently the idea of Stan Lee, who was inspired by R2-D2, and it was designed by Jack Kirby.
In the comic, the FF tackles the rumors head on, acknowledging the TV cartoon but providing an alternate explanation:
For the record, I’ve always disliked Herbie, and filed him alongside the Impossible Man as gimmick designed to provoke cheap laughs. So I was pleased to see Wolfman poke fun of the concept, and he drops some hints that Herbie may have a darker side. One can hope.
Lastly, this marks the FF debut of letterer Tom Orzechowski. Best known for his work on the X-Men (and in fact, any X-book written by Chris Claremont) Orzechowski has had a long and distinguished career, which you can read more about here.
What I liked
Wolfman’s strength is interpersonal relationships, and this was a nice scene between Sue and Johnny:
What I didn’t like
Pretty much everything else in this issue seemed poorly thought out. As Reed makes clear, the Earth is in imminent danger, they need to recruit Galactus, and yet the FF are engaged in what the kids today would call a side-quest that is confusing and has no real purpose. We never learn why all these space ships are marooned, we never learn what these space criminals did, and we don’t really know what will become of them. It feels like Wolfman is stalling for time before getting to Galactus, but it’s really unclear why.
Here’s another silly element that goes unexplained: Why is there breathable air in space (and even if the team can breath, wouldn’t they surely die in seconds from the extreme cold)?
Another thing that bugs me: Wolfman makes Ankara the destination for the dying space cop, perhaps forgetting Ankara is the capital of Turkey. Like his use of “suzerain” last issue, it seems like Wolfman chooses words based on their sound and associations without considering what they actually mean.
And I didn’t much like this “one to grow on” moment at the end. It felt like a throwback to Stan’s ham-handed endings during the FF’s early years. Note the hint about Herbie.
Lastly, the cover made no sense. It seems pretty clear that Pollard was given just a rough idea of what the story was about without ever seeing an actual plot.
Anything else?
Some cool looking ads. Seems weird to see ads for Superman-related stuff in a Marvel comic but I guess a buck’s a buck.
Fantastic Four 208 “The Power of the Sphinx!” Published April 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: Sal Buscema Inks: “D. Hands” Letters: Joe Rosen Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Wolfman Cover: Keith Pollard and Joe Sinnott
Synopsis
After destroying their spaceship in a case of mistaken identity, Nova rescues the Fantastic Four, who confront the Sphinx aboard Nova’s ship. As they approach Xandar, the Sphinx senses the power of the Xandar living computer and teleports to it. Meanwhile back on Earth, the Human Torch returns to the Baxter Building where he is also teleported to Xandar, and where he rejoins the rest of the FF. The FF and the champions of Xandar then battle the Sphinx, who has tapped the living computer and has become vastly more powerful. After swatting away their attacks, he heads to Earth vowing to destroy it. The issue ends with Reed concluding they need the help of Galactus to defeat the Sphinx.
What’s going on here?
Marv Wolfman’s confusing and tedious space epic drags on. While it’s all revealed in the final few issues of Nova (also written by Wolfman), he never explains why the Sphinx seems to have joined forces with Nova, and why all these other characters are along for the ride. Dr. Sun? Powerhouse? Diamondhead? The Comet and Crimebuster? Who are these guys? Don’t expect to get any answers here. I’m repeating myself but it’s a major failing of Wolfman’s and of Jim Shooter for allowing him to be his own editor. And it speaks to the general neglect of the FF by the powers-that-be during this era.
Here’s a bunch of them fighting the Sphinx, whoever they are.
The Sphinx is an odd Marvel character. He’s powerful and cosmic, but never got the traction of other, similar characters like Galactus or Thanos. He does reappear over the years, but in second-tier books and never in the Fantastic Four or Avengers main titles. It could be because he debuted in Nova, somewhat of a Marvel backwater, or because he was so closely associated with Marv Wolfman. It’s also possible that he was pre-empted by Apocalypse, another powerful, grey-skinned villain with origins in ancient Egypt.
Sal Buscema is again the penciler, while the inks in the comic are credited to “D. Hands,” which is Marvel code for inkers by committee (sometimes it’s M. Hands). Mike’s Amazing World of Comics credits Al Milgrom with the inks, while GCD says it’s a combination of Milgrom, Frank Giacoia, and Frank Springer.
Keith Pollard contributed the cover (with Joe Sinnott inking) and it might be the best single thing about this comic.
What I liked
When preparing these reviews, I occasionally have to strain to find something positive to say, and this is one of those issues.
We do get a cool splash page from Buscema:
And I liked Johnny’s journey from the Baxter Building to Xandar:
(Incidentally “Suzerain” seems to the wrong title for Adora, since Xandar is not a vassal of another entity, but it’s own independent state. I’m guessing the editor-less Wolfman just liked the sound of it and no one told him not to use it. In later comics she is called Queen Adora, which seems more appropriate.)
What I didn’t like
We are reminded early in this comic that the FF have been subject to a Skrull aging ray, which is beginning to take effect and weaken them. Here, Reed has trouble stretching and Ben can barely lift a chair:
But that all seems forgotten it comes time to fight the Sphinx:
Anything else?
This was a good comic for ads featuring wholesome, all-American sports heroes like Johnny Unitas and, um, Pete Rose and, well, errr, hmm … O.J. Simpson.
Fantastic Four 207 “Might of the Monocle!” Published March 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: Sal Buscema Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: John Costanza Colors: Ben Sean Editor: Wolfman Cover: Keith Pollard and Sinnott
Synopsis
Hypnotized by the Monocle, the Human Torch and rest of the students at the elite Security College are forced to steal items of value to be used for world domination by the secretive Enclave, the employer of the Monocle. Meanwhile, news photographer Peter Parker gets an assignment to infiltrate Security College and take photos. Once there, he realized something is up and as Spider-Man, follows the hypnotized students to an army depot. Spider-Man rescues the soldiers from the mob of students and hypnotized Torch, and then, back in the dorms, enlists Johnny to take on the Monocle, who has broken with the Enclave and is working on a plot of his own. The Monocle briefly hypnotizes Johnny again and he fights Spidey, but comes to his senses. Neither is able to stop the Monocle from escaping and the Enclave plots its revenge in a scheme that involves kidnapping Medusa of the Inhumans.
What’s going on here?
This issue resolves the Torch/Monocle storyline and just as last issue featured the rest of the Fantastic Four with no mention of the Torch, this issue has no mention of the rest of the FF and is devoted solely to the Torch.
Except that’s not really true, since the issue’s real star is Spider-Man, with the Torch in a supporting role. In fact the comic feels more like an issue of Marvel Team-Up than the Fantastic Four, perhaps because Marv Wolfman has spent the last year writing Amazing Spider-Man along with the FF.
Also contributing the Spider-Mannish feel of the comic are the guest pencils of Sal Buscema, who had just finished a long run on Spectacular Spider-Man and will go on to draw Spidey for the next 30 years or so. Buscema recently passed away and while he was never one of my favorites, his career was legendary and he was without a doubt, along with his brother John, an indispensable pillar of Marvel in the 1970s, 80s and 90s.
Buscema picked up this issue because of the departure of Keith Pollard, who moved on to pencil Thor. Pollard, who is generally underrated, will return to the FF in about 100 issues. Buscema will draw the next issue as well before stepping aside for John Byrne, in the first of his stints on the FF.
As a story, FF 207 is perfectly adequate. Nothing too exciting, nothing too disappointing.
What I liked
Buscema certainly knows how to draw comics, and this is a great splash page. The bold, san-serif title gives it power, even if “Might of the Monocle” seems a little ridiculous.
The Spidey/Torch banter is fun, and I liked this reference to Superman.
As I mentioned, it’s basically a Spider-Man comic, but that’s OK. Here, Peter Parker finally catches a break, which is always worth celebrating:
What I didn’t like
The cover seems to think comics readers are desperate to see the Torch and Spider-Man fight before, as if they haven’t done this a million times before.
And ironically, when it comes time for the two to tangle, it’s over in a single page. Here’s the whole “battle:”
And one plot hole bugged me: Peter Parker is on campus ostensibly to meet the headmaster. He’s not the son of any one powerful or connected, so how does he end up in a dorm room that night?
Anything else?
Some fun ads, and another perceptive letter from future Eclipse editor-in-chief Cat Yronwode.
Fantastic Four 206 “The Death of … the Fantastic Four! Published February 1979 Writer: Marc Wolfman Pencils: Keith Pollard Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: John Costanza Colors: Ben Sean Editor: Wolfman Cover: Pollard and Sinnott
Synopsis
Now prisoners on the Skrull home world, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing and the Invisible Girl are brought before a court, where they are zapped with a ray while trying to fight back. It’s later revealed the ray will speed up their metabolism so they will die of old age in three days. After escaping once again, the FF steal a Skrull spaceship and travel back to Xandar, when they are unknowingly attacked by a spaceship carrying Nova, the Sphinx and other characters.
What’s going on here?
The FF’s Xandar arc continues and a storyline that started off promisingly now seems to drag. The sequence of the FF in the Skrull court did nothing to advance the plot, the lengthy scenes with Xandar’s Queen Adora and her consort Tanak don’t add anything, and while there’s some fun Skrull palace intrigue, it feels the whole issue could be told in half the pages.
By far, the most discordant element of the comic is the sudden appearance of Nova and a collection of characters who are not introduced and were utterly unfamiliar to me (save for the Sphinx, who we last saw as a villain). These are apparently the Champions of Xandar, although they won’t get that name for another few issues, and while readers of Nova might know who they are, FF readers would have no clue.
Again, this is a serious failing of Wolfman’s, who is writing and editing both the FF and Nova at this point. Besides this being a serious disservice to the reader, it’s also a bizarre lapse in marketing. I understand this is before the ear of crossovers, but surely you would signal on the cover that this issue includes a guest appearance of another Marvel hero.
As far as I can tell, Nova’s inclusion was Wolfman’s attempt to wrap up a story that he began in Nova but couldn’t complete because the series was canceled with issue 25. While this happens occasionally (Chris Claremont pulled lots of his characters from defunct series into the X-Men), it’s rarely done so awkwardly.
I did track down Nova 25 to figure out what was going on and man, it’s got some gorgeous art by Carmine Infantino, in his brief stint at Marvel, and the great Klaus Janson.
Also of note: Johnny doesn’t appear in this issue, and his Monocle subplot isn’t advanced.
And the cover (an excellent one) is the first that features Keith Pollard’s distinct lower-case signature, the first FF comic where he uses it. It’s one of my favorite signatures in comics.
What I liked
The old-age ray is an intriguing concept. I look forward to seeing how it plays out, although I think we all know it won’t be permanent.
I also liked the bickering between Skrull Emperor Dorrek and the Empress R’Klll. Like the Kree and Shi’ar, and unlike most other alien races in comics, the Skrulls have a well-developed structure and characters, giving their stories more depth and favor.
What I didn’t like
After what was arguably Pollard’s best FF issue last month, his work here is much more pedestrian and it feels like Joe Sinnott is carrying him across the finish line. Aside from the great cover, the art is a disappointment.
As mentioned earlier, the court scene dragged on and offered little. And strangely, the FF are accused of treason, which doesn’t seem possible, because they are not Skrulls. Although I liked the idea of the Skrulls having archaic rules of procedure dating to the Convention of Fornax.
Lastly, the Adora / Tanak romance would be a lot more interesting if we had been given any reason to care about these characters. As it is, it’s incredibly dull.
Note: If you are here solely for Fantastic Four content, you may want to skip this post. While this blog is almost all FF recaps these days, I occasionally still post things like this.
Last year was my sixth tracking the books I read. I again reached my goal of at least 24 (two a month) but the contours of my reading felt much different this year. I read more genre fiction, less non-fiction, and the total number of pages read declined to 7,908 from 8,986. There’s a few reasons for this. Probably the biggest is I had knee replacement surgery in March which meant I spent two months on serious painkillers which affected my concentration, leading me to read fewer weighty books. Also, for the first time in several years, I didn’t judge a business book contest, which meant I had less non-fiction. And I joined a fun science fiction and fantasy group on Facebook, which gave me a lot of ideas for new books and authors to read.
As is my practice, what follows are the books I read in the order I read them, with an image of the version I read (if I can find it). Apologies for any formatting wonkiness; WordPress is a frustrating platform in many ways.
1, The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula K. Le Guin (1971), 144 pages 2, The Farthest Shore, Ursula K. Le Guin (1972) 197 pages
I began the year completing The Wizard of Earthsea trilogy I began in 2024 (and hadn’t read since I was teenager). While these books are slim, they are not slight. Le Guin is wonderful writer, combining lyrical prose with measured, nuanced storytelling that belie these books’ young adult marketing. They concern the further adventures of Ged, who was introduced as an impulsive young wizard in the first book and in these volumes matures into someone both wiser and more relatably human. Unlike in the first book, in these he isn’t the sole protagonist, and in Atuan, the story really belongs to Tenar, a young woman trapped in a priesthood. I have since learned Le Guin wrote two more Earthsea books, and I look forward to eventually reading them as well.
3, The Harvest, Robert Charles Wilson (1992), 394 pages
I’ve liked most of what I’ve read by Wilson, an underrated science fiction author, but this one was a dud. Some of that is due to the plot, about most of humanity joining a unified world-mind that promises immortality while a few stragglers resist. The story felt familiar, and echoes Arthur C. Clarke’s Childhood’s End (and seems to anticipate TV’s Pluribus). But the bigger disappointment is the pacing, which drags, and Wilson’s attempts at profundity, which fall flat.
4, Nicked, M.T. Anderson (2024), 215 pages
This madcap, quasi-historical romp was a Christmas present, and a welcome one, because it’s unlikely I would have found this gem on my own. It concerns a medieval monk who gets roped into a scheme to steal the bones of St. Nicholas from Asia Minor and bring them to Bari, in present day Italy, where they will cure the plague (and bring power and prestige to the city). Along the way he encounters a dog-headed man, a gay romance and all sorts of hijinks. Anderson writes with brisk confidence and humor, making this book a short delight.
5, The Door into Summer, Robert Heinlein (1957), 291 pages
I loved Robert Heinlein’s juveniles as a kid, and his The Moon is a Harsh Mistress remains one of my favorite science fiction novels, so I’m always looking for a book of his that captures that spirit. Unfortunately, most of what I’ve read by him lately has been lacking and The Door Into Summer falls into that category. The premise is harmless — it’s basically a time-travel heist with some fun ideas. But the purported romance – between the protagonist and a woman he knew as a child and is now an adult — feels seriously inappropriate and and taints the whole book. I try not to judge books written decades ago by the standards of today but I don’t think grooming was OK in the 50s either.
6, Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card (1986), 382 pages
The best science fiction book I read last year and one of the best books, period. A sequel of sorts to Ender’s Game, Card had the idea for Speaker first, then wrote Ender’s to set up the moral and philosophical questions that Speaker wrestles with. It’s an astonishingly ambitious book that takes on the nuances of Catholicism and Brazilian culture (in the form of an extra-terrestrial colony), the consequences of genocide, the ethics of cultural anthropology, and what it means to confront truly alien civilizations. There’s so much going on in this book, and it’s so elegantly written, I can’t recommend it highly enough. I know Card has written and said some deplorable things since it was published, but that doesn’t discount the power of this work.
7, Stories of Your Life and Others, Ted Chiang (2002), 304 pages
I tend not to read short story collections, but I was happy to make this exception. This is another terrific science fiction book, with stories that display Chiang’s incredible range and depth. In these stories, Chiang’s demonstrates his fluency in fields ranging from Mesopotamian engineering to Victorian alchemy to higher-order mathematics. The title story is the basis of the movie Arrival (the film is much altered, although still wonderful) but my favorite is perhaps an account of the building the Tower of Babel, from the perspective of a stone mason.
8, The Second Sleep, Robert Harris (2019), 297 pages
I started reading Robert Harris a few years ago and he’s quickly become one of my favorite genre authors. Most of his books are grounded in historical events, making this an outlier. It appears set in medieval England, but without giving too much away, the plot veers into the realm of speculative fiction and out of Harris’s typical territory. I’m not sure it’s among his best works but I admire him for trying to do something different and it certainly kept my attention.
9, Earthlight, Arthur C. Clarke (1955), 177 pages
Along with Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, Clare is regarded as one of the three grand masters of science fiction, and as with Heinlein, I feel I’m reading Clarke to chase the thrill I got after reading his books as a teenager. Unlike Heinlein, Clarke’s books tend to be more predictable in their quality, and Earthlight is a typically solid example of his early work. Basically a spy thriller set on the moon, the story is a bit of a slow boil before reaching an impressive and memorable climax. It suffers from a lot of the same dated qualities of most sci-fi from this era (everyone is white and male) but it’s not as egregious as many.
10, The Prize, Daniel Yergin (1992), 790 pages
One of two big non-fiction books I read last year, I picked it up years ago at my local library’s book sale but began it in January when I interviewed for an energy editor job (reader, I didn’t get it). It’s an exhaustive and fascinating history of the global oil industry, starting in Western Pennsylvania in the 1800s and traveling from Texas to Baku to Romania to Indonesia to Iran to Alaska. In many ways it’s a history of the 20th century (it ends with the Gulf War) and it’s startling to see the role oil played in so many major events, from Pearl Harbor to the Suez Crisis to every conflict in the Middle East. And of course, the U.S. recent adventures in Venezuela makes understanding the history of oil exploration and exploitation all the more urgent.
11, The Leopard, Tomasi di Lampedusa (1958), 230 pages
Arguably the best book I read last year, it’s another one that sat on my shelves for years before I finally picked it up. Set primarily in Sicily in the 1860s, against the backdrop of Garilabldi’s unification of Italy, it’s ostensibly the story of the Prince of Sicily (his family crest bears a Leopard) and his family. But it’s really a lyrical elegy for a vanishing way of life, as modernity creeps across Sicily and the aristocracy struggles to adapt. It’s beautifully written with a wry sympathy by an author who understand the inevitability of change but wants to take the time to remember the silly, elegant world that has vanished. The coda, set in the early 20th century, is heart breaking.
12, Bel Canto, Ann Patchett (2001), 318 pages
Another candidate for best book I read last year, and another book I picked up more-or-less at random at a library book sale. I’ve admired Ann Patchett’s writing since I encountered it in The New Yorker years ago, and this novel — probably her breakout book — is amazing. Telling the story of an American opera singer taken hostage in a South American country, it’s an ingenious exploration of the power of art and beauty within the framework of an engrossing narrative. By the end, we feel part of the community she has created.
13, The Songs of Distant Earth, Arthur C. Clarke (1986), 319 pages
My second Clarke book of the year, this was written 30 years later and while more ambitious, it was less satisfying. Set on a remote, oceanic colony of Earth, the story is set in motion when a spaceship carrying the last refugees from Earth arrive. There’s a lot going on and Clarke has interesting ideas but the characters never feel very compelling and ultimately it’s less than the sum of its parts.
14, Archangel, Robert Harris (1998), 421 pages
Another book by Robert harris, this one is more in line with the historic fiction I associate with him and represents Harris at the peak of his powers. A thriller set in Russia in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, it follows a dissolute English academic in Moscow who gets sucked into a revanchist plot by former Soviet officers. The book is at its best when ties the horrors of Stalinism to the evils of the present. The ending is a bit baroque but it’s a fun, engrossing read.
15, Pronto, Elmore Leonard (1993), 373 pages
I read a few Elmore Leonard crime thrillers as a teenager but didn’t really get the appeal. But a enthusiastic reappraisal of Leonard’s oeuvre by Anthony Lane in The New Yorker this summer piqued by interest and I read a few more I pulled from my father’s book shelf. In a word, they’re terrific. Leonard is a gifted stylist, writing with clipped economy while managing to convey both color and character. There’s a tone of bemusement under it all, even as he created page-turning tension. This book introduces Raylan Givens, a sneakily smart U.S. Marshall who pursues a fugitive to Italy. Givens becomes a recurring Leonard character and the basis of the TV show Justified. It’s a fun story with a satisfying payoff.
16, Unknown Man #89, Elmore Leonard (1977), 264 pages
More Leonard. This one, written a decade before Pronto, is grittier and set in in Leonard’s native Detroit. The protagonist is a street-wise process server who gets sucked into a morass of dead criminals, jovial murderers and tarnished dames. The noir oozes off the pages and stains your fingers. Anther fun read.
17, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain (1884), 325 pages
Yes, I had never read Huck Finn until this year and yes, this was a source of some embarrassment. But I decided to rectify this after reading the glowing review for James, the retelling of the book from the perspective of Jim by Percival Everett, and deciding I needed to read the source material first. Given how significant this book is in the American canon, I doubt I have much original to add, but it seems pretty clear Twain is trying to do two things at once. On the surface, the book is very much a story about a clever child on a big adventure. But beneath that surface, it’s a sly commentary on the social conventions of the American South and a stinging critique of slavery. The book is at its best when Jim takes the stage and we feel the weight of his bondage. Unfortunately, those scenes are too few, and the books is dominated by the shenanigans of Huck and the characters he encounters on the Mississippi. Those vignettes can be fun, but especially by the last few chapters — a long and painful sequence involving Tom Sawyer — they can feel very tedious.
18, Powers and Thrones, Dan Jones (2021), 639 pages
This is the big work on non-fiction I read last year. I have an amateur historian’s fascination of the early Middle Ages and this book grabbed my attention a few years ago at Dussman’s in Berlin (one of the world’s great book stores imho). Jones, the kind of English historian who hosts shows on the BBC, has written a number of popular histories and this is probably his most ambitious, spanning 1,000 years from the fall to Rome to the discovery of the New World. Jones breaks it up thematically, with each chapter focusing on a segment of medieval society, such as monks, merchants and Crusaders. Some of it felt familiar but a lot of it was new and Jones has a breezy style that make it all easily digestible. It’s so good I can forgive the nakedly transparent Games of Thrones marketing ploy
19, Shoot at The Moon, William Temple (1966), 238 pages
I took a flier on this book after seeing it at a bookstore. I never heard of the author but the British Library’s imprimatur suggested it was worth my time. Unfortunately, it fell short. While it contained some interesting ideas and a colorful scoundrel of a protagonist, it was too hard to set aside its very dated ideas about how space travel would be organized (in this book it’s something like a Victorian polar expedition) and the dynamics between men and women. I still think there are hidden gems in mid-century sci-fi but I concede they are getting harder to find.
20, City Primeval, Elmore Leonard (1980), 222 pages
My third and last Elmore Leonard book of the year. This is another fun one set in Detroit. The hero is a beleaguered cop who gets drawn into a twisty story involving corrupt judges and a violent gunman from Oklahoma. It feels like peak Leonard, and maybe for that reason serves as the basis of the TV show Justified: City Primeval, in which Raylan Givens is inserted into the plot but otherwise is pretty faithful to the book.
21, Coffin Moon, Keith Rosson (2025), 305 pages
Coffin Moon was a selection of my local book store’s book club, and a departure for me a in few ways. It’s a new release, which I almost never read, I bought it in hardback (ditto) and it’s a horror novel, a genre I generally skip past. All that said, it was a very fun book and I’m glad I took the plunge. Stephen King’s influence is clearly present, but that’s not a bad thing (if you’re going to steal, steal from the best) and Rosson injects it with his own flavor, particularly in the protagonist, a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD who crosses paths with a nasty vampire.
22, The Nice House on the Lake, James Tynion and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (2021)
I debated whether to include this graphic novel on this list, in part because I read a digital version, but I’ve included a comic collection every year since I started this project, and of all the comics I read last year, this felt the most novelistic. Ironically, after declaring I don’t read much horror, this is also a horror story, although of a very different nature than Coffin Moon. Twelve young adults are invited to a weekend at a luxurious Wisconsin lake house by Walter, their common friend. His secret purpose was to shield them from the end of the world, and as they remain trapped at the house, it’s soon revealed he is not who they thought he was. Each of the 12 chapters (which were release as individual issues) focuses on one of the characters and their complicated relationships with Walter and each other. Much of it is told in flashback to their times in high school and college, and Tynion has a deft touch writing about young people navigating friendships, resentments and LGBTQ identities. A sequel, A Nice House by the Sea, about another 12 people in a similar circumstance, began in 2024 but to my knowledge hasn’t been completed.
23, Old Man’s War, John Scalzi (2005), 303 pages
I really wanted to like his book more than I did. Described as a modern science fiction classic in the Facebook group I joined, it felt like a deliberate homage to earlier space-military books I loved like Heinlein’s Starship Troopers or Joe Haldeman’s Forever War. The wrinkle in this book is that senior citizens are recruited to fight in space, where their consciousness is transferred into younger bodies. The premise was fun, but the characters were flat and lifeless and the big twist was telegraphed mile away. The is Scalzis first book and I may pick up something he wrote later to see if he improved with age.
24, The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri (2003), 291 pages
Another contender for best book I read last year. This was an achingly beautiful novel, written about an ordinary family living an ordinary live but whose stories become extraordinary in Lahiri’s telling. The focus is on Gogol, a young Indian-American named after the Russian author (hence the title), and his life as the son of immigrants who remain deeply tied to their home country. Lahiri writes with incredible empathy and you can’t help caring for all the characters, even those who are later revealed to be less than trustworthy.
25, Storm Front, Jim Butcher, (2001), 355 pages
Another Facebook group find. This is the first in a long and apparently beloved series about Harry Dresden, a wizard who works as a Chicago private investigator. Butcher is very clearly playing with the hard-boiled pulp style of Chandler, and it was fun reading this after all the Elmore Leonard. There’s nothing deep about this book, but it’s well-crafted genre fiction and a nice departure after the Lahiri.
26, The Word for World is Forest, Ursula K. Le Guin (1976) 113 pages
Technically a novella, I was able to sneak this one last book in in the last days of the year. I’m glad I did, as it’s a great story. Le Guin intended this a parable about Vietnam, set on a colony planet where blundering humans terrorize a population of natives who then rise up and fight back. But it’s much richer than just an allegory, and she infuses her imagined world and its inhabitants with vivid details that bring it all alive. It’s a masterclass in economy and simplicity of story telling, and much more memorable than many books far longer. Le Guin is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors.
A final note: This year I tried, and failed, to readThe Vorhh by B. Catling. Hailed as a landmark book of modern fantasy, I found it impenetrable and gave up after 100 pages. Oh well.
Fantastic Four 205 “When World’s Die!” Published January 1979 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: Keith Pollard Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Jim Novak Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Wolfman Cover: Pollard and Sinnott
Synopsis
Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl and the Thing travel by “teleportation ray” to the Andromeda Galaxy where Xandar is attacked by the Skulls. The FF battle on the side of the Xandarians before they are captured by the Skulls. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Human Torch is hypnotized, along with other students at his new colleges, as part of some nefarious scheme of the Monocle and his unknown employer.
What’s going on here?
This comic does a capable job of advancing the two storylines that were kicked off in the previous issue. The main story is very much a space opera, with the Fantastic Four as players in the bigger struggle between Skulls and Xandar.
The fact that the FF are on Xandar came as a surprise, since it was never mentioned in the first issue. I confess I am not a reader of Nova, so I wasn’t familiar with the planet’s unique set-up, but I did think the soldiers looked suspiciously Nova-like. For a comic published in the era where it was assumed every issue was someone’s first, omitting the name of the planet seems like a big goof, and yet another reason why writer’s shouldn’t be their own editors.
While Wolfman’s story hums along, the star is really Keith Pollard, who delivers some incredible images, including a stunning double-page spread, which needs to be seen in a comic to really do it justice. With each issue, my appreciation for Pollard grows. Like John Buscema, he seems very comfortable within the official house style, as established by Kirby and policed by Sinnott, yet brings a flair for storytelling and dynamic panel designs.
What I liked
Here’s some more Pollard:
What I didn’t like
There are a number of odd elements in this comic, such as the narrator’s description of Ben as a “monstrous orange-hided Thing.”
The Watcher shows up and, of course, violates his oath. has there been a comic where he actually honors his oath? I would never lend that guy money because his word is just no good.
For an alien race, the Skulls seem very obsessed with dogs. Do they even have dogs?
Fantastic Four 204 “The Andromeda Attack!” Published December 1978 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: Keith Pollard Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Jim Novak Colors: Françoise Mouly Editor: Wolfman Cover: Al Milgrom and Sinnott
Synopsis
Mr Fantastic, investigating lingering damage caused by Quasimodo, discovers a ray leading from Earth to the Andromeda Galaxy. It delivers an alien woman, who is quickly followed by a Skrull. The FF subdue the Skull and learn the woman’s home planet is being attacked. When the team prepares to journey to space to save it, Johnny says he wants to remain on Earth and enroll in a new college, which unbeknownst to him is a trap set by The Monocle.
What’s going on here?
Despite it being a bit of a jumble, I liked this comic. It’s very much a setting-the-stage issue, putting into motion two plots but still leaving plenty of room for the character work that Wolfman excels at. There is an overly-long flashback that goes into great length about the history of the alien race, but it’s sort of fun and feels like a story from the golden age of science fiction. It’s also good to see the Skrulls again; a successful comic rotates stories between new menaces and old, familiar villains and it had been a while since we heard from the Skrulls.
Keith Pollard and Joe Sinnott are again solid on the art. The cover is by Al Milgrom, with inks by Sinnott.
What I liked
Johnny is really the star of this issue, and Wolfman returns to his feelings of loneliness and lack of independence. There is a cutting sequence where he tries to impress a girl and ends up doing the opposite:
(We later discover she may be a plant from The Monocle to undermine his confidence).
Johnny also runs into Franke Ray again, with similar results.
Johnny’s frustrations are revealed at this family conference, a reminder of how the FF is different from other teams:
I also liked this action sequence with Reed, Ben and the Skrull:
What I didn’t like
Comics often play fast-and-loose with science, and lord knows I’m no physicist, but everything about the ray from outer space makes no sense (and in fact seems borrows from the zeta-beam Adam Strange uses to jaunt around the galaxy). Since when do rays contain minerals?
There is an extended scene of Johnny moping around the city looking for a friend, which begins to feel a little maudlin. If I was a cynic, I would suspect this was just a ploy to plug ASM 190.
Anything else?
Future Marvel writer Peter Sanderson writes another long letter from his Columbia dorm, this time about issue 200. His analysis of that story just happen to agree with mine.
Some more cool house ads, for a pair of comics I never really read (that looks like Gil Kane on the PM/IF ad).
Edited to add: It’s actually Rich Buckler and Dave Cockrum on the PM/IF . A few readers set me straight.
Fantastic Four 203 “…And a Child Shall Slay Them!” Published November 1978 Writer: Marv Wolfman Pencils: Keith Pollard Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: John Costanza Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Wolfman Cover: Dave Cockrum and Joe Sinnott
Synopsis
After Reed cleans up left-over radiation from the FF’s fight with Quasimodo last issue, he and Sue are summoned to a hospital to treat Willie Evans Jr., a young boy who is in a coma because his father was exposed to cosmic radiation as a soldier. In his coma, Willie, a mutant and Fantastic Four fan, manifests evil versions of the FF that rampage throughout New York. The FF struggle to contain them until Reed figures out their source and uses his radiation-absorbing device to neutralize them. Willie recovers and Reed suggests the family take him to Professor X for training.
What’s going on here
This is a perfectly fine one-and-done. Nothing of great consequence happens and while the premise is hard to swallow — why does the boy create evil versions of the FF if he’s a fan? — it’s resolved neatly and in classic FF fashion, with Reed saving the day with science. And at least in this issue, Marv Wolfman introduced the device Reed used at the beginning of the story, unlike in the Stan and Jack days, where it would just appear at the end, deus ex machina.
In his ability to create super-powered entities out of radiation, Willie Evans Jr. appears to be an enormously powerful mutant, on a par with the Scarlet Witch and adult Franklin Richards. Apparently there were plans for him to become part of an early version of the New Mutants (along with Kitty Pryde) but Jim Shooter killed that idea. He does reappear many years later, in Iron Man Annual 8, where a manifestation of his power — an evil frog called Grunt — pushes him to battle Iron Man and X-Factor. It’s a pretty good story and worth seeking out.
Iron Man Annual 8 (1986), Words by Bob Harras, art by Paul Neary, Ian Akin and Brian Garvey)
Also of note: the cover is by Dave Cockrum (with Joe Sinnott’s inks). One of the few Cockrum FF covers. I don’t think it’s a particularly good cover, but there it is.
What I liked
There was some fun kibbitzing among team members. Team dynamics is Wolfman’s strength, here and later in the Teen Titans.
There’s also time for some domesticity, and a glimpse into Franklin’s growth (although it seems like he stays this age for the next two decades):
And I liked this image of Reed and Sue arriving at the hospital, like benevolent deities granting mortals a favor:
What I didn’t like
As mentioned earlier, Wille’s creation of the evil FF didn’t make a lot of sense to me. Buy, hey, mutant powers. They cover up a lot of plot holes.
Anything else?
Some pretty good house ads in this issue, especially for Micronauts (Michael Golden!) and Master of Kung Fu (Mike Zeck!)
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 