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“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 160

02 Sunday Feb 2025

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Fantastic Four 160
“In One World and Out the Other!”
Published April 1975
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Raymond Holloway
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Al Milgrom

Synopsis

The issue opens with Arkon, a barbarian warrior from another dimension, and the Thing battling in midtown Manhattan, but Alicia Masters discovers that this Thing is not the man she knows. Back at the Baxter Building, the Ben Grimm of this Earth summons Lockjaw to teleport him to the dimension where the other Thing originated. There, after battling robot monsters and encountering a human version of himself, he discovers he is on the alternate Earth he visited in FF 118, one where Reed Richards became the Thing. Meanwhile, on our Earth, Mr. Fantastic announces plans to sell the Fantastic Four’s holding company over the objections of his teammates, a move that is somehow connected to the alternate Earth.


What’s going on here?

This issue is jam packed, and there’s a lot to discuss. The bottom line, however, is that it’s a really good comic — fun, interesting and suspenseful, the way Fantastic Four comics should be. It’s also irrefutably a Roy Thomas creation, and bears lots of his signatures: an intricate plot, dimension hopping, call-backs to older comics and his insufferable narration. For me, the ultimate validation of this comic is that I was eager to read the next one.

The length of my synopsis above signals the story’s complexity. While a Gerry Conway plot could be summarized in a sentence or two, Thomas’s takes four. The story begin abruptly, and confusingly, with the Thing (so far as we know) battling Arkon, an Avengers villain created by Thomas, and another indication of how Thomas is drawing the FF closer to the rest of the Marvel universe. In another call-back, he then takes Ben to an alternate universe created during Archie Goodwin’s brief run running the comic in one of the most imaginative (and shortest) FF stories, one in which only Ben and Reed took the ill-fated rocket trip, and where Reed becomes the Thing.


All of it is complicated by Reed’s surprising decision to sell the FF’s holding company. The move takes the comic into the world of business and finance, a category of subplot which rarely works out but here seems to hold together. Also, Reed giving himself controlling interest seems on brand for his depictions from this era.

Also of note is the return of John Buscema, here inked by Chic Stone, as artist. It’s only a one-issue fill in, and since Buscema’s work here looks rushed, I’m guessing it was a last-minute thing. Another new credit: Raymond Holloway as letterer, his first and last time lettering the FF, although he worked at Marvel for two decades. As far as I am aware, Holloway is the first Black creator to have a Fantastic Four credit, and you can read a bit more about him here.

Lastly, the cover is by Gil Kane and Al Milgrom. The Hank Aaron reference is an interesting one; by the spring of 1975 Aaron had passed Babe Ruth as baseball’s all-time hime run hitter, and was a big enough star that he could be mentioned on the cover of comic book. While some racist fans mourned the dethroning of the Babe, Ben Grimm clearly wasn’t one of them (and it’s maybe worth noting the Thing on this cover is definitely Ben, not Reed, a bit of misdirection).


What I liked

Thomas has a lot of fun writing Ben, and he imbues him with an intelligence that some other writers ignore in favor of his wise cracking or woe-is-me pathos. This is the version of Ben that is on display in Marvel Two-in-One, the comic he starred in with a guest for 100 issues.

Here, Ben goofs around with Lockjaw:


For some reason, Lockjaw first teleports them to a Ditko-esque dimension, which looks cool but has little to do the story:


Another fun Thomasian flourish was Alicia’s interaction with a cabbie who is spooked to go near the Baxter Building:


The cabbie, of course, is referring to this sequence all the way back in Fantastic Four 1, and the introduction of the Invisible Girl (he dressed a little better in 1961):


What I didn’t like

As always, Thomas is in love with the sound of his own voice (figuratively speaking) and his self-referential narration can get very annoying. Here, for whatever reason, he seems to be making some commentary about the evening TV news:


And here, more unnecessary patter:


Thomas’s intricate, science fiction plots require a lot of explanation, which often means lots of expository dialogue. In some cases, it just about crowds out the art, as in these panels:


Anything else?

In perhaps another sign that Thomas wanted a break from the Conway era, this issue debuts a new Fantastic Four cover logo, just the third in the book’s history.

The first, of course, is the classic 60s logo, designed by Sal Brodsky:



According to longtime comic scholar Mark Evanier, via Todd Klein’s blog, it was inspired by the 1959 Twilight Zone TV show logo and which captured the spirit Stan Lee wanted in the comic.


That FF logo was modified slightly, in part to accommodate the iconic Marvel corner box, which first appeared on the cover of FF 14. By the early 70s, it’s blockier and with shadow, and the letters don’t have the same zany flair, but it’s still recognizably the same.


But that logo was dropped altogether in issue 119, in favor of a blockier logo that perhaps was a better fit for the new cover style which fit the art into a box (and which, for the record, I hated).


The new logo, which will last until issue 218, when it will revert back to the 60s logo, is an improvement over the previous one and has a zingy, sci-fi quality to it. It’s biggest departure, however, is dropping the corer box in far of four portraits of the FF (and maybe Marvel waited for Medusa to leave the team so it could include the original four on the logo).


Also, some fun ads in this comic.

Electroman wants to get you a job! (I wonder if any artist will admit to drawing this)


And is there anything more ’70s than custom van-interior upholstering?


Overall

Comics like they should be!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 159

26 Sunday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 159
“Havoc in the Hidden Land!”
Published March 1975
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joseph Rosen
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

With Quicksilver, the Fantastic Four — minus the Invisible Girl, who was forbidden to come — travel to the Hidden Land in the Himalayas to rescue the Inhumans, where they are immediately captured by Xemu, the tyrant from the Fifth Dimension. In captivity, Johnny is reunited with Valeria, a princess from the Fifth Dimension he last encountered years ago. To force Black Bolt to power his sonic cannon, Xemu both threatens Medusa and tries to provoke an air strike by China. His plan is foiled by the Invisible Girl, who stowed aboard and used her powers to disguise the Hidden Land from the Chinese air force. The rest of the team and the Inhumans, freed by Triton, subdue Xemu and return him to the Fifth Dimension.


What’s going on here?

With this issue, Roy Thomas really puts his stamp on the Fantastic Four, undoing a slew of changes that had been introduced over Gerry Conway’s tenure as writer. Most notable is the return of the Invisible Girl as a member of the team. But Thomas also gives Johnny back his old blue uniform and dismisses Medusa from the team — both on the same page — reversing two changes to the FF that added little and distracted from their unified, familial nature that makes the team unique.

Readers of this blog know I have been very critical of the treatment of Medusa, who never found her place on the team, and especially of Sue, who spent the last two-plus years shunted aside, figuratively and sometimes literally. Sue’s diminished status is nothing new, of course, and was a fixture of the Lee / Kirby era. Her treatment surely reflected the sexism of the time, but her more recent exclusion from the team was perhaps also the result of an inability by Conway (who, remember, was in his early 20s) to imagine a role for a young mother on a superhero team. In the comics, her exclusion was justified by Reed being over-protective, and in some revealing dialogue early in FF 159, Ben makes the case she should join them, perhaps another case of Thomas using the characters to argue with other FF writers.


At this point in the comics I was resigned to yet another issue without Sue, and was genuinely surprised when she not only appeared, but saved the day with new and expanded powers. Thomas, it seems, was as frustrated with Sue’s marginalization as this fan.


And like a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, all is wrapped up and forgiven in the last few panels.


What I liked

I loved Sue’s dramatic re-emergence, but Thomas also managed to surprise me with the sequence where the FF are imprisoned. This is a pretty familiar situation, and they usually use some aspect of their powers to escape, but here they are rescued by Triton, whose absence was explained last issue. This was another twist I didn’t see coming.


Thomas leans into soap opera by reintroducing Valeria, the alien princess Johnny had a dalliance with years ago and — as is his wont — jilted. I like how she reminded him that he ghosted her.


I’m not sure Valeria is the right woman for Johnny and history will prove she is not, but I like that Thomas is trying to make a clean break with Crystal and that mopey storyline.


What I didn’t like

Despite the many positive aspects of this comic, it’s plot was pretty lackluster and by-the-numbers. The FF are captured by an evil-doer, it all looks hopeless, they escape and save the day. This story was at times incoherent, in part because of Xemu’s dimension-hopping, but it was mostly forgettable.

Rich Buckler’s art looks rushed and unimaginative in this issue, which doesn’t help matters.

Also, what is a “lethargizer?”


About that name

“Valeria” is a familiar name to Fantastic Four fans, and the character in FF 159 is one of three to share it. She’s also the first, since her first appearance in 1962’s Strange Tales 103 predates the appearance of Victor Von Doom’s first true love, a Latverian woman named Valeria, who is first mentioned in 1969’s Marvel Super-Heroes 20. It is that Valeria who is the namesake of Valeria Richards, the daughter of Reed and Sue who was delivered by Doom and who claimed the right to name her.

Marvel Super-Heroes 20 was written by Larry Leiber (Stan’s brother) and I don’t know whether he was aware of the previous Valeria, who seemed like a throwaway character until she was resuscitated by Thomas. It is possible both characters were named after Valerie Barclay, a comic book inker who worked at Marvel (then Timely) in the 1950 who was described by artist Allen Bellman as “an exquisitely beautiful young lady.”


Overall

A very welcome return makes up for a dull story.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 158

19 Sunday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 158
“Invasion From the 5th (count it, 5th!) Dimension!”
Published Feb. 1975
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Al Milgrom

Synopsis

Quicksilver is teleported from Atillan, home of the Inhumans, to New York to summon Medusa home. After a brief scuffle with the Human Torch, he explains Atillan has been invaded by Xemu, a tyrant from the Fifth Dimension, and plans to use Black Bolt’s voice to power his Thunder Horn, thereby conquering Earth (Medusa is required to coerce Black But to use his powers thusly). The issue ends with the Fantastic Four vowing to end this menace and taking off in their ICBM for Atillan.


What’s going here

There’s a lot to like in this issue, one of the best in many years. It also has an interesting origin, which may or may not explain why it’s better than other recent issues: According to an answer to a letter in this issue, this story was originally created for Giant-Size Fantastic Four 5, but penciler Rich Buckler ran afoul of “personal problems” and was unable to complete the story slated for FF 158. As a result, they chopped this story in two, with the second half to run in FF 159 while Giant-Size FF 5 became a fill-in issue. Whew!

Fantastic Four FF 158 reads like Roy Thomas at the peak of his powers. The story has lots of fun touches and bits of characterization, there’s an obligatory call back to an obscure comic, and he gets to show off his erudition as Ben and Alicia discuss Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. More importantly, while the plot structure is a pretty familiar one to FF readers, it’s suspenseful, well-paced and moves along briskly.

As Thomas notes in an editor’s note, Xemu and his Fifth Dimension first appeared in Strange Tales 103 from 1962 (although he was called Zemu back then), and you couldn’t not imagine a more Silver-age-ish comic than this. It has wonderful pencils from Jack Kirby, and is inked by Dick Ayers


Teenage Johnny investigates houses sinking into the muck on Long Island, discovers it’s an alien plot, is abducted to the Fifth Dimension, is taken prisoner, escapes with the help of sympathetic locals, starts a war, leads an uprising that liberate the planet, and returns home — all in 14 pages!

It’s clear Thomas has a lot of affection for this era of storytelling and he returns to it over and over throughout his career.


What I liked

The opening sequence, when Ben and Alicia are leaving the opera, was well handled, with the right amount of humor and genuine affection between the two. I liked how the splash page was a riff on the splash page from Giant-Size FF 4 (and recall how this story was originally supposed to be in GSFF 5), with Alicia turning the tables on ben and taking him to the opera. I also liked how Thomas poked fun at the silliness of the Fifth Dimension conceit in the title.

The fun banter between Ben and Alicia continues, and when Ben falls into his familiar woe-is-me routine, Alicia harmlessly bats it aside, recognizing it’s Ben’s schtick.


Thomas checks in on the rest of the FF as well. Johnny heads to a single bar, looking to, well, get laid. I love how the woman mocks his lingo, another subtle dig by Thomas at how dated Johnny’s slang was when written by Stan Lee.


Then we have a brief interlude with Reed and Sue — Sue’s first appearance in many issues. This is the first I’ve heard of Sue becoming a private detective, and I don’t know if anything became of it but it’s a great idea for a comic (she was later retconned as a super-spy who does missions for Nick Fury in the 2019 Invisible Woman mini-series, which is sort of a similar idea).


Lastly, we get a panel of Medusa, which seems to tell us what Thomas thinks of her as as story-telling material and which I suspect is a prelude to her leaving the FF.


And, randomly, Thomas introduces Barney Slocum, who lasts all of two panels. (I would not be surprised if Thomas resurrected him decades in the future as a new villain).



What I didn’t like

While Thomas seems to be having fun digging up Xemu, he’s a pretty tired concept, and he feels like a cross between Ming the Merciless and Xemnu, the Hulk villain. And his Thunder Horn seems lot like the Climate Cannon the evil Ternak planned to use to subjugate humanity in FF 145. (At least Xemu acknowledges it’s a silly name)


The fight between Johnny and Quicksilver felt pro forma and obligatory, but it was less forced since these two have real beef and it was over fast.


And just as Sue finally reappears, she is shunted aside one again:


Anything else?

Some letter writers suggested some new outfits for Sue:


They wouldn’t be her worst look …



Overall

Fun!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Giant-Size Fantastic Four No. 4

12 Sunday Jan 2025

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Giant-Size Fantastic Four 4
“Madrox, the Multiple Man!”
Published November 1974
Writers: Len Wein and Chris Claremont
Pencils: John Buscema
Inkers: Chic Stone and Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Len Wein
Cover: Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott

Editor’s note: This comic was published prior to Fantastic Four 156 and 157 but I wanted to conclude the Doom/ Surfer story arc before tackling this issue

Synopsis

On his way to a Jets game with Alicia Masters, the Thing encounters and is defeated by Madrox, who has the power to create duplicates of himself. Ben is revived in the Baxter Building by Mr. Fantastic who says blackouts across the city are being caused by Madrox, who absorbs electricity. The team battles him, and is facing defeat when Professor X arrives, explains he knew Madrox as a child, and helps subdue him.


What’s going on here?

As discussed in previous posts, in 1974 Marvel began to publish giant-size editions of some its most popular titles. These usually included an original story and a reprint, and sort of operated as annuals, although they appeared quarterly. In this issue, the reprint is (appropriately enough) FF 28, guest starring the X-Men.

Giant-Size Fantastic Four 4 is notable for a few reasons. It marks the debut of the mutant Jamie Madrox the Multiple Man, who would go on to have a long career in X-Factor and other X books, and perhaps most significantly, it’s the first Fantastic Four issue written by Chris Claremont. In 1974, Claremont was brand new to Marvel, and this is listed as just his ninth Marvel writing credit. While he’s best known for his 15-year run on the X-Men and it’s many spinoffs, Claremont had a long run as the FF’s regular writer from 1998 to 2000. He also wrote the first Fantastic Four vs. X-Men mini-series in 1986 and frequently used FF members in his other comics.


What I liked

In many ways this is a pretty standard FF comic. The FF randomly encounter some menace, they tangle a few times, and it’s all wrapped up on the last page. That said, it’s a fun read, and the Wein / Claremont team does a good job with the opening sequence where Ben first confronts Madrox. Ben’s enthusiasm for the Jets game runs through the comic and is a nice touch. I loved his ridiculous outfit, as if he’s dressed for the Harvard-Yale game in 1922.


Later, he’s bummed that he missed the game (I checked and there’s no actual Jets game from that year that ended with that score).


What I didn’t like

Madrox is an enigma throughout the comic. His stilted speech in his first appearance suggests he’s some sort of alien, but it’s later revealed he grew up in Kansas watching TV. He seems incredibly powerful —single-handedly defeating the Thing — but it’s not clear what is powers actually are, other than multiplying himself. It’s also not really explained why he is draining the city of power – it has something to do with his suit, but what?

The appearance of Professor X reveals that Madrox is a mutant, although a flashback explains he developed his power as an infant, not at puberty as other mutants do (it’s later retconned to explain that he’s a “changeling,” a genetic predecessor of mutants).


There’s a certain deus ex machina quality to Prof X’s sudden appearance, although he seems strangely under-powered here. He does make good on his promise to look after Madrox, who next appears on Muir Island, without much explanation, in Claremont’s Uncanny X-Men 104 (art by the great Dave Cockrum with inks by Sam Grainger).


Years later he would become a significant player in X-Factor, and his “dupes” would become characters in their own right (I confess I’m not familiar with this era of the X-universe, so can’t really comment on how he was handled).


And at this point it perhaps goes without saying, but the Invisible Woman doesn’t appear in the comic, and Medusa is again a total non-factor.


Overall

A comic more interesting for its historical significance than its story.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 157

05 Sunday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 157
“The Endgame Cometh!”
Published January 1975
Writers: Roy Thomas and Len Wein
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Bucker and Sinnott

Synopsis

Trapped in Dr. Doom’s castle, the Fantastic Four battle Doomsman II, an android imbued with the Silver Surfer’s power. Meanwhile, the Silver Surfer’s lost lover is revealed to be a Latverian peasant girl, Helena, brainwashed by Doom into believing she is Shalla-Bal. The Surfer then joins the FF to defeat Doomsman, and they are about to go to battle with Doom himself when Helena begs them to spare Doom’s castle from destruction. The issue ends with the demon Mephisto, the Surfer’s nemesis, revealing that Helena was Shalla-Bal all long, put on earth to torment the Surfer.


What’s going on here?

This is Roy Thomas’s first full issue in his return gig as the Fantastic Four’s writer, and as if to announce he’s back, he’s crafted a classically complicated Thomasian story, full of odd tangents, obscure references and callbacks to plot points from earlier comics.

A big chunk of this comic’s backstory was told in Astonishing Tales 1-3, a complicated story by Thomas from 1970 that explains how Doom created the first Doomsman using cosmic rays and his own brain waves and lost control of it (the art is by the legendary Wally Wood).


The story also references Giant-Size Super Villain Team-Up 1, a comic on sale at the same as FF 157 (also by Thomas), that among other things explains how Doom survived his seeming death in FF 144 (he crashed to the ocean and was rescued by the Sub-Mariner).

The last scene in FF 157, featuring Mephisto chewing the scenery, is basically pulled from the Silver Surfer’s own comic and I don’t recall him ever appearing in the FF prior to this comic.

There’s not a lot of explanation in FF 157 about any of these plot points, and the assumption is readers would have read these other comics. If all you read was the Fantastic Four, you’d be baffled by these goings on. It’s also reminder of how tightly woven Marvel stories were back then and how much emphasis Thomas placed on continuity. (It also makes me glad I have a subscription to Marvel Unlimited).

Lastly, another example of Thomas’s zany storytelling: titling a chapter of the comic “Zugzwang!” with no explanation. (It’s a German term used in chess, a play on the chess metaphor in the comic’s title). And self-referential footnotes mocking his own writing.


What I liked

This was a fun comic, despite all its weird intricacies and jarring transitions. Thomas clearly loves writing Doom, and gives him some great, preposterous lines:


I also liked this byplay between Ben and Reed, revealing a more playful side to Mr. Fantastic.


What I didn’t like

Once again, there is no mention, much less an appearance, of Sue Richards or Franklin. And Medusa barely factors into the story at all.

The initial ending is painfully anticlimactic and hard to swallow. The FF and Doom agree not to battle to preserve the Royal Latverian treasures? This in a comic where wide swathes of New York are frequently destroyed in the FF’s battles?


The disappointment is somewhat blunted by the strange Mephisto coda, but his appearance is such a non sequitur it’s hard to know what to make of it. Again, if readers weren’t paying attention to the Surfer’s title, it would be utterly confusing.


Anything else?

This reference didn’t age well.


Overall

A Thomasian rollercoaster

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 156

01 Wednesday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 156
“Middle Game!”
Published December 1974
Writers: Len Wein and Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editors: Wein and Thomas
Cover: Bucker and Sinnott

Synopsis

To rescue his beloved Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer hypnotizes the Fantastic Four and delivers them to Dr. Doom, who further humiliates him. The FF, who submitted to the Surfer’s hypnotism to infiltrate Doom’s castle, break free of their confinement and defeat an army of Doom’s androids while Doom plans his next move.


What’s going on here?

This is the second of three comics in this arc (hence the story’s title) and a big improvement over the first one. It’s not great: there’s still a lot of purple prose, Doom’s ranting begins to get repetitive, and the FF-are-trapped-in-individual-cages plot device has become a cliché at this point. But the story is suspenseful — we really don’t know what Doom’s intentions are — and the action sequences are a lot of fun. Hopefully the conclusion of the story maintains the momentum of this one.

The credits for this issue are a bit odd, with Len Wein and Roy Thomas both credited as both writers and editors, but a note in the letters page explains that Wein intended to write the entire arc but stepped down to replace Thomas as editor. Thomas, slated to become the new regular writer, picked up the story halfway through. The Bullpen Bulletins further explains that Thomas is now “editor emeritus” (a lofty title for someone who just turned 34) while Wein is now running the show. This begins a chaotic period where Marvel went through five editor-in-chiefs in four years: Wein (1974-75), Marv Wolfman (1975-76), Gerry Conway (1976), Archie Goodwin (1976-78)and finally Jim Shooter, who took over in 1978 and restored some stability to the company.

What I liked

There’s some big, bold art from Rich Buckler, who seems to have gotten his mojo back, at least for this comic. This is a classic Doom splash page:


And I liked this action sequence:


Hidden in all of Doom’s scenery chewing, there was also this intriguing nugget of backstory, hinting at some unknown motivation for his hatred of Reed. I don’t know what he’s referring to, and I hope it’s revealed in the next issue:


What I didn’t like

As mentioned above, confining the FF in cages designed to counter their powers has probably been employed in half a dozen issues by now. At least in this one Ben and Johnny note how easy it was to escape.


Anything else?

This ad was cool. I wonder if I can still get these cars?


Overall

A marked improvement from last issue

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 155

22 Sunday Dec 2024

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Fantastic Four 155
“Battle Royal!”
Published November 1974
Writer: Len Wein
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Silver Surfer attacks the Fantastic Four in Central Park, but rather than kill them, he explains in a lengthy flashback how he discovered his beloved Shalla Bal was the captive of Dr. Doom. To save her, Doom demanded that he destroy the Fantastic Four.


What’s going on here?

This is Len Wein’s first full issue was writer of the Fantastic Four and I wish I could say it was a promising debut. It’s not. The entire issue hangs on a tired comic-book cliché — one hero must battle another because of reasons — which in this case makes even less sense than normal. The Silver Surfer, with all his cosmic power and wisdom, is really so smitten by Shalla Bal than he sees no other way to save her but killing his friends? That at no point does he think it might make more sense to enlist the aid of the Fantastic Four and the world’s smartest man, Reed Richards? I’m fairly sure that’s what will happen in the next issue, but it doesn’t make this comic any less tedious. It doesn’t help that much of it is narrated by the Surfer, who, as scripted by Wein, speaks in ornate, purple prose. “So, to the crest of this planet’s highest peak I did fly.” Seriously, why does he talk like that?


What I liked

The opening sequence, where the FF is mugged in Central Park, has a fun, gritty-New York-in-the-70s cinematic quality to it. The muggers look like extras in “Warriors.”


And while we know what’s coming, it’s satisfying to see them get their comeuppance when they attack the Thing:


I liked the Doom reveal at the end, although it was pretty obvious the Surfer was in Latveria:

And this was fun: The Surfer hit Ben so hard he knocked off his shoes

What I didn’t like

For the umpteenth issue in the row, the Invisible Girl plays no meaningful role. In fact, she’s not even mentioned or seen in the comic.

As mentioned above, much of the issue is consumed with the Surfer lengthy and convoluted explanation of why he’s attacking the FF. After he unknowingly arrives in Latveria, he then stumbles across the FF battling robots. They are later revealed to be robots themselves, and the whole sequence ultimately has no bearing on the story at all, but simply serves as padding and a way to squeeze in another action sequence.



Anything else?

There’s a letter to the editor from future comics writer Peter B. Gillis. Also, Jane Starr wants a no-prize for naming her hamster Victor Von Doom.


I kind of want this Holiday Grab-Bag:


Overall

A boring slog

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 154

15 Sunday Dec 2024

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Fantastic Four 154
“The Man in the Mystery Mask!”
Published October 1974
Writers: Len Wein and Stan Lee
Pencils: Bob Brown and Dick Ayers
Inks: Frank Giacoia, Michael Esposito and Paul Reinman
Letters: Artie Simek
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Giacoia

Synopsis

White returning from their battle with Mahkizmo, Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing are attacked by a mysterious villain, leading to a lengthy flashback from an incident when the Thing and Torch were lured by the same villain into a trap, only for it to be revealed to be Mr Fantastic trying to teach them a lesson. After battling the villain in the present, he is revealed to be Nick Fury testing SHIELD’s new weaponry on the Fantastic Four.


What’s going on here

This is an odd, interesting issue. Most of the comic is a reprint of 1964’s Strange Tales 127, from a run of stories that were nominally Human Torch solo adventures but in this case also included Ben and Reed. It’s a hugely silly story by Stan Lee and very much a Silver Age framing, where a hero tricks a colleague or friend to teach them a lesson (this plot was a staple of a great many Superman and Lois Lane comics from the era). The new framing device is almost as ridiculous, with the reveal that Nick Fury attacked the team over Manhattan to test some new gadgets.

An editor’s note helpfully, and abashedly, explains that regular penciler Rick Buckler couldn’t make his deadline, so new writer Len Wein and penciler Bob Brown stepped into to save the day with the framing sequence. I would love to know whose idea it was to use Strange Tales 127 as the filler issue; I wonder if Stan suggested it.


As I’ve explained, I chose not to include the Torch stories in Strange Tales as part of this blog, mostly because doing so would slow down my advance through the main book (and with 700+ issues to blog, this is a project that is already ambitious enough). But reading this story for the first time makes me wonder if I’ve made a mistake; there’s a goofy charm to these early stories that I miss.

This is Len Wein’s first issue as the FF’s writer. The note suggests this is a regular gig but he only lasts a few issues before returning a few years later. Notably, this issue is colored by Glynis Wein, whom I believe at the time was married to Len, making this the first FF issue with a married couple in the credits.

Gil Kane again did the cover, with inks by Frank Giacoia. One of his better FF covers, I think. The cockeyed angle of the city background adds to the action.

What I liked

Dick Ayers pencils are rough but his layouts have flair, and Paul Reinman’s heavy inks add drama. This is a great panel:


I liked this sequence too:


It’s worth remembering how early in the FF’s history this takes place, coming out around the same month as FF 33. Hence Ben’s appearance wasn’t locked down across Marvel:


Stan’s script is also light and fun, and Ben’s quips are quick and clever. There’s also a nicely poignant sequence where Ben and Johnny thinks they’re about to die:


In an effort to celebrate Jack Kirby and restore him to his place as major contributor to Marvel’s success, there’s been an unfortunate backlash against Stan Lee, to the point where he’s been denigrated as a mere figurehead and flim-flam man who coasted on Jack’s labors. Issues like this, where Jack has no involvement, reveal how talented Stan was at scripting these characters. The first 102 issues of the Fantastic Four were a true partnership between two creative powerhouses. We don’t need to tear down Stan to build up Jack.


What I didn’t like

It should be churlish to point out the goofiness of the two plots in this comic, given one is a Silver Age relic and the other is reclamation job. I will instead note that once again Sue is not in this comic, and she and Medusa are only fleetingly mentioned. There is also this puzzling sequence, and I am legitimately confused by what Ben refers to as “half’a the blamed Thing”:


Anything else?

There is an interesting letter in this issue, calling out a response to another letter in FF 150, where the Dull Competition was mocked for comics that lacked drama and instead told stories about “a reporter, say, whose biggest problem is that some schnook down the hall keeps playing practical jokes on him” — a clear reference to Superman. The irony is that Strange Tales 127 is basically a story about an elaborate practical joke.

In the response in 154, presumably written by Roy Thomas, blame is laid at the feet of Steve Gerber, who would later go on to great heights at Marvel before becoming one of its biggest critics. The two letters are below and are an interesting glimpse behind the scenes at some inter- and intra comic drama:


Also, there are some cool ads in this issue (I’m pretty sure I had that Evel Knievel toy motorcycle as a kid):


Overall

A curious artifact

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Giant-Size Fantastic Four 3

08 Sunday Dec 2024

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Giant-Size Fantastic Four 3
“Where Lurks Death … Ride the Four Horseman!”
Published August 1974
Plot: Gerry Conway
Script: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Bucker and Sinnott

Editor’s note: As mentioned in my last few posts, I recently discovered four issues of Giant-Size Fantastic Four published in 1974 contained new material, and were not just reprints of back issues as I believed. I am belatedly going back and blogging about them, with this issue, which takes place between FF 150 and 151, being the last that is out of order. We’ll resume with Fantastic Four 154 with my next post.

Synopsis

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, seemingly characters from the Book of Revelations but in actuality aliens, each appear on Earth. The Fantastic Four together defeat Pestilence, then split up to beat War and Famine, before coming together again to conquer Death, all accomplished by triggering a curse-like “protection device” that sends them back to their home world.


What’s going on here?

This is a big, ambitious comic that feels like a classic annual story, and takes 30 pages to tell across four “chapters.” Unfortunately, it’s not that good, with an incoherent plot that tries hard to be profound but ultimately just fizzles out. Structurally it’s similar to the last Giant-Size FF, with the team facing some larger, metaphysical foe and splitting up before reuniting to triumph in the end. But while last issue’s time-travel to colonial New York and gangland Chicago had a goofy charm, there’s nothing much fun about war and famine, and the story can’t bridge the gap between the metaphorical challenges represented by the Four Horsemen and the comic-book realities of needing bad guys to punch.

The script is by Marv Wolfman, who at this point had been in comics for about six years at Marvel and DC, but primarily writing horror comics. This is his first work on the Fantastic Four and he would come back in a few years to have a longish run from FF 194 to 215 before returning to DC and taking on the New Teen Titans.

Giant-Size Fantastic Four also reprints FF 21, an important early story with distinctive inks by George Roussos. Read all about it here.


What I liked


I really did want to like this comic, because I loved the swinging-for-the-fences ambition of it. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a great concept (thanks, John of Patmos, the exiled ancient Christian who wrote Revelations) and in a comic book world populated with characters like Thor and Hercules, as well as Death and Eternity, they are obvious subjects for comic writers to take on. It’s a great idea for a big, annual-type story. But as discussed, Conway and Wolfman bit off more than they could chew here.

Rich Buckler rises to the occasion here, at least initially, with some of his best FF work, including the great splash page above, and a staggering, double-page splash that follows (pictured above). Unfortunately, his work falters was the book goes on.

I liked this sequence of Ben, in classic never-say-die mode:


There were some nice character interaction, including this one which offers some insight into Reed and Ben’s relationship (the sequence also at least acknowledges Sue’s existence, although she never appears or is referenced again):


Lastly, this was a fun way to end the comic:


What I didn’t like

Rather than simply let the Four Horsemen exist as mystical entities, Conway and Wolfman construct a very complicated backstory for them, which needlessly tangles up the plot. And despite their bluster about rending galaxies, they were very easy for the FF to defeat, leading to a highly anticlimactic ending.


The attempts to use the Horsemen to make some bigger points consistently fell flat and are, once again, a reminder that social commentary in a super hero comics is very rarely successful. For example, here is the introduction to a chapter set in Cambodia, site of a destructive civil are in 1974.


Reed’s subsequent attempts to force a Cambodian boy to eat are almost painful to read (the boy was under famine’s main control):


Johnny and Medusa’s encounters with War are similarly hard to read:


And the FF’s battle with their evil doppelgängers, conjured up by Death, feels pointless and like padding. The concept was done much more successfully in FF 75.



Overall

An unfortunate mis-fire

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Giant-Size Fantastic Four No. 2

01 Sunday Dec 2024

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Giant-Size Fantastic Four 2
“Cataclysm!”
Published May 1974
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Stan Goldberg
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott

Editor’s Note: As discussed in my my last post, I belatedly discovered the four issues of Giant-Size Fantastic Four published in 1974 contained new stories worth blogging about here, so I am catching up over the next few posts. This issue takes place between the events of FF 149 and 150.


Synopsis

After completing a test flight in space for NASA, the Fantastic Four crash land in Florida and find the world is now inhabited by primitive ape-men. The Watcher appears and violates his oath (of course he does by) telling them someone invaded the Baxter Building and used Dr. Doom’s time machine to go back in history to disrupt events, changing the course of history (presumably, the FF were not affected because they were off-planet).

The Watcher sends Reed and Johnny back to the Revolutionary War, where they rescue George Washington from the British, and Ben and Medusa to Prohibition Era Chicago, where they stop gangsters from (somehow) preventing the Great Depression. Then, all four find themselves outside time, where they learn an immortal creature named Tempus engineered the events, using their mailman Willie Lumpkin as his agent, to bring about the end of time and cure his boredom. The FF defeat him and return to a restored Earth.

What’s going on here

There’s a lot to like in this comic. It has the fun, zany quality of old Lee / Kirby time-travel stories, and the chapters in revolutionary American and 1920s Chicago are well done. The story loses steam when the FF encounter Tempus, but it’s still an enjoyable read. More so than the last Giant-Size issue, this one captures the feel of an annual — a fun, meaty story outside the flow of the main comic.

Notably, the story also features the return of John Buscema, here inked by Chic Stone, and he does his normal excellent job. The cover is by Gil Kane, with Joe Sinnott’s inks.

What I liked

The sequence of Reed and Johnny rescuing George Washington was a lot of fun, and I particularly liked them sneaking around “a small town in upstate New York in the fall of 1777.”

The encounter with Washington is also satisfying.


Ben and Medusa’s trip to the 20s isn’t quite as interesting, maybe because the FF have been to the 1920s-themes Skrull planet, but it is an opportunity for Medusa to do, you know , something.

For some reason Ben was returned to human form in the 20s, and his reversion back is as tragic as always.


What I didn’t like

The sequence at the end felt forced, and as a villain, Tempus is not terribly impressive. He does show up a few times after this, most prominently in Avengers Forever, but he’s pretty forgettable and doesn’t pose that big a challenge to the FF, who basically beat him by knocking him over.


Also, the revamped timeline doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s hard to see how the British winning the Revolutionary War and the Great depression being averted leads to sub-human creatures living in Florida. But hey, what do I know?


Also, not one mention of, much less an appearence by, Sue or Franklin.

Overall

A fun romp