“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 60

15 Sunday May 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 60, jack Kirby, Silver Surfer, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 60
“The Peril and the Power!”
Published: Dec. 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 60 picks up where issue 59 left off, with Dr. Doom preparing to conquer Earth with the stolen power of the Silver Surfer. As the Thing rages in frustration, Mr. Fantastic urges patience as the Army is building a weapon he designed. But when Wyatt Wingfoot tells the team the Human Torch has gone after Doom on his own, the rest of the FF flies off in pursuit.

Johnny is defeated by Doom, and when the rest of the FF approach, he destroys their aircraft before battling the Thing in hand-to-hand combat. Doom and the FF then fight for most of the rest of the issue until Reed’s “anti-cosmic flying wing”—which we saw a glimpse of in the last issue—appears and stuns Doom. Doom then chases it into the stratosphere when he loses his powers, the result of the barrier Galactus placed around earth to prevent the Silver Surfer from escaping. This issue ends with the Surfer’s board heading back to the castle in Latveria where he was imprisoned.

What’s going on here?

FF 60 wraps up the four-issue arc start that started when Doom stole the Surfer’s powers in FF 57, and the 16 issue stretch, starting in FF 44 with the introduction of the Inhumans, that marks the apex of the Lee/Kirby run. To recap, in a bit more than a year, Stan and Jack introduced Gorgon, Crystal, Karnak, Triton, Lockjaw, Black Bolt, Maximus, Attilan, the Silver Surfer, Galactus, “the power cosmic”, the ultimate nullifier, Wyatt Wingfoot, Wakanda, the Black Panther, Klaw, Prester John, and Quasimodo, and along the way wrote FF 51, a one-shot many consider one of the greatest stand-alone comics of all time. It’s not that there weren’t great issues before and after, but every mountain has a peak, and FF 44-60 is Stan and Jack’s.

Given all that, FF 60 feels like a bit of a let down. The concept animating this arc—Doom stealing the Surfer’s power—is brilliant, and as I’ve said before, really cements Doom as a formidable villain. Up until this point he’d been crafty, but stealing the Surfer’s power added an element of ruthlessness and grandiosity that we’ll see again and again over the years. But the story’s end doesn’t live up to its beginning and middle: the business with the flying wing feels rushed, and when Doom is stripped of his powers, it happens basically off-camera and explained only in Reed’s narration.

The scene seems designed for a dramatic Kirby panel, with Doom crashing into Galactus’s barrier, so it’s a puzzle why we don’t see it. It’s possible Jack ran out of room to finish the story, something we have seen in earlier issues. Or maybe plans for another issue wrapping up the arc were dropped, meaning they had to cram the endinging into this one. In any event, it’s shame, because as a story-telling mechanism, it’s a great device: Doom, like Icarus, challenges the gods and is pushed for his hubris.

Who invited them?

FF 60 features a few odd cameo appearances. The Inhumans show up for a few panels, as the the royal family makes its way from its refuge. We’ve been following their story for a while now, so the subplot isn’t too surprising, but it is jarring when it appear in the middle of a the FF’s fight with Doom.

Stranger is the appearance of the Watcher, who observes the FF’s struggles, when (for once) obits his vow of non-interference and goes on to do something else. It’s a great excuse for Jack to draw some cosmic stuff but otherwise a peculiar insertion.

Hero time

Since most of the issue features the FF fighting Doom, there’s chance for each of the four to get a moment in the spotlight. In a rarity, Sue gets to use her powers creatively, and she rises to the occasion to take on Doom here.

Ben also battles Doom, and it’s another opportunity to showcase his tenacity and resolve.

Plus, we get an excellent …

Clobberin’ Time

This is one of the best matches between story, art and catch phrase to date.

They’re fighting again

The sexist sixties

It was probably too much to ask for a whole issue without a woman being demeaned. Here, in the Bullpen Bulletins, Stan manages to belittle Marie Severin while trying to praise her.

Oops

Not sure if this is a legit goof, ad Jack forgot to add the sound effects, or if Stan and Jack were just having fun.

For sale

Just $7 for a nuclear sub? I might get two.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This image has become iconic:

Also cool:

Also on the newsstand this month:

Next issue: The return of the Sandman!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 59

01 Sunday May 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 59, Inhumans, jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Silver Surfer, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 59
“Doomsday!”
Published: Nov. 1966
Story: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby & Sinnott

Synopsis

After Dr. Doom’s defeat of the Fantastic Four in the previous issue, FF 59 is another stage-setting comic, where a number of storylines are advanced without any reaching their climax.

In the first, main thread, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing and the Invisible Girl are regrouping in the aftermath of Doom’s victory. Reed warns the nation’s of Earth to prepare for the menace of Doom, then, goaded by Ben, begins making plans to defeat him. Toward the end of the comic, we get a glimpse of what Reed’s working on: an explosive flying device that saps power from this it comment with.

Meanwhile, Doom is plotting his conquest of Earth. He dismisses an attack by (presumably) the Soviet Union, taunts the helpless Silver Surfer, a prisoner in Latveria, then circles the globe displaying his power, for example, by throwing cities into darkness for 24 hours.

In the third storyline, the Inhumans, trapped in their city behind a negative zone barrier for many issues now, finally break free after Black Bolt uses his voice to destroy both the barrier and the city. The Inhuman royal family then travels to help Crystal reunite with Johnny Storm.

And in the last storyline, the Human Torch decides he alone has the power to take on Doom, and despite his misgivings, his friend Wyatt Wingfoot joins him on his quest.

What’s going on here

This is a transitional issue, but a good one, enhanced by some of the best art on this book to date. Lots of character is developed here: Ben’s needling of Reed is revealed to be more cunning than buffoonery, Doom’s mania becomes more apparent, the Surfer’s resolve becomes more clear, and we finally see Black Bolt cut loose with his power. It had been hinted at for a few issues now, but we now understand why he is silent, breadcrumbs first dropped all the way back in issue 46.

It’s always a big deal when Black Bolt uses his voice, and comic book writers have generally been pretty sparing with it. Here’s a pretty good run down in Comic Book Resources of 20 times he used his voice, including in 2009’s War of Kings, where he uses it to defeat Vulcan (the crazy brother Cyclops and Havok never knew they had—it’s a long story) and then detonate a Terrigen bomb which tears a hole in spacetime. That’s a not-untypical use case for Black Bolt’s voice.

War of Kings 6 (2009, Pelletier, Magyar & Hennessy)

The F-Team

I may be dating myself here, but in the 1980s TV show The A-Team, there was invariably a sequence of rapid cuts where the team, having suffered some defeat, works energetically to build a device or hatch a plan to save the day as the theme music plays. That is what I thought of when Reed and Ben get busy working to defeat Doom.

The sexist sixties

Of course, while Reed and Ben are making their plans, Sue is in the kitchen, worrying.

They’re fighting again

It’s been a long time since we saw this kind of thing. It makes me nostalgic.

Red menace

Doom is attacked by .. it’s not exactly clear. It sure looks like the Soviet Union, but for some reason Stan is reluctant to say as much.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Sinnott

Every now and then Sinnott’s inks just jump out at me, like they do in this sequence

Weird science

It’s “a solar-beam gun”

Nice ride

Johnny’s Ferrari is apparently courtesy of a rich grandfather. I don’t think we ever learn more about him.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This issue has so much great Kirby art that I could have picked something from virtually every page. I restrained myself, but it’s really an amazing issue.

For example:

Or:

Or:

Or:

Or:

Or this:

Trust me, there’s much more.

Also on the newsstand this month

Next issue: The rematch with Doom!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 58

23 Saturday Apr 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 58, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 58
“The Dismal Dregs of Defeat!”
Published: Oct. 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

For the second time in two issues, FF 58 opens in medias res, with an apparition of Dr. Doom appearing above the Baxter Building during a lightening storm. Mr. Fantastic dismisses is as a freak occurrence but the Things knows better, and has a premonition of something terrible happening. As soon as Reed and Sue depart for a weekend in the Hamptons, Ben is attacked by Dr. Doom, who has stolen the power of the Silver Surfer (as seen last issue). They battle, but Doom gets the better of Ben and leaves him frozen, statue-like, in Central Park.

Doom then attacks Reed and Sue in their Hampton’s cottage. They are soon joined by the Human Torch, who was teleported back to New York with Wyatt Wingfoot by Lockjaw. The Torch left Wyatt to rescue Ben while he takes on Doom. Soon Wyatt and Ben arrive as Johnny battles Doom but he too is beaten. As Doom gloats, Reed admits defeat, and Doom leaves them to suffer the humiliation of his victory.

What’s going on here?

This is an excellent comic, one of the best of the Lee/Kirby run to date (it’s also one I own, so we have letters and ads to check out!). It’s got a few things going for it: First, it’s the product of several issues of build-up, so we’ve been primed for something big. Second, as discussed in my last post, Doom stealing the Surfer’s powers really ratchets up the stakes, both in terms of Doom’s ruthlessness but also making him an even more formidable opponent. Third, the story is effectively paced, from the low-key opening and Ben’s ghost-story jitters, to the final, pitched fight in the Hamptons. Lastly, the FF is rarely beaten (more on that later), and Reed’s surrender signals a low point for the team. In all, it’s just a satisfying story that delivers a powerful punch.

The cover does a great job of summarizing the book’s mood, with the FF humbled and Doom triumphant. Structurally, it reminds me of images of Adam and Even being cast out of the Garden of Eden. I don’t know if that was Jack’s inspiration but it has a similarly mournful quality.

Byrne Baby Byrne

It wouldn’t be a Stan and Jack FF issue if it wasn’t referenced by John Byrne at some point. In this case, issue 268 from 1984.

Weird science

After Doom slows Ben’s metabolism to barely moving, he is freed by a “portable metabolism accelerator,” which Reed of course has just lying around. Doesn’t everybody?

Say what?

I knew Johnny’s super-nova blast was powerful but killing several billion people seems like a bit much.

It’s Clobberin’ Time

That’s two issues in a row now.

Say what? (part 2)

Doom says the FF have never been vanquished but he clearly missed Fantastic Four 38, when they got their asses kicked pretty thoroughly by the Frightful Four.

Oops

Speaking of goofs, here’s an odd panel where the Torch is entirely off-screen, as Stan apparently is trying to explain what happened to him in the previous panel.

We get letters

The issue features one from cultural critic and Vanity Fair writer James Wolcott. How do I know it’s the same James Wolcott? He writes about it here.

For sale

These binoculars can help you see up to 18 miles. It says so right here.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

No splash pages this month but plenty of cool stuff, like this sequence

And this panel

And this one

Also on the newsstand this month

Next issue: More Doom, plus the Inhumans!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 57

17 Sunday Apr 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 57, jack Kirby, Sandman, Silver Surfer, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 57
“Enter Dr. Doom!”
Published: Sept. 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

The main story begins in the middle of the action (in medias res, if you want to be fancy), with the Fantastic Four (minus the Human Torch) fighting the Sandman and Wizard in a prison, as the Thing explains the team were summoned to the prison under a ruse. The Wizard is easily subdued but Sandman escapes. He eventually resurfaces at the Baxter Building, where Reed and Sue fight him (the Thing is off looking for him at this point) and eventually chase him away.

That plot line alternates with another, in which Dr. Doom lured the Silver Surfer to his castle in Latveria. After asking the Surfer to demonstrate his powers, Doom traps him in a devices that siphons his cosmic power to Doom.

Lastly, two other sub-plots are advanced: Johnny and Wyatt continue to teleport around the universe with Lockjaw—this time landing on a planet filled with monstrous creatures before escaping—and in the Inhuman’s city of Attilan, Black Bolt shows signs of life while Maximus the Mad reveals that he could speak the entire time (the powers of his voice has yet to be revealed).

What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 57 is very much a transitional issue, as Stan and Jack continue to move their chess pieces around in advance of some bigger events. The only traditional story in this issue—one with a beginning, middle and end—concerns the fight with Sandman, and despite some nifty Kirby art, it feels like filler (and it can’t really be said to have a beginning, since it opens in the middle of the action). After seeing the FF fight Galactus, it’s hard to get too worked up about the Sandman.

The centerpiece is of FF 57 is the interaction between Doom and the Surfer. Doom is at his most duplicitous, lulling the Surfer into believing he is a benevolent monarch, then cruelly clamping him in a device that steals his power. It could be argued that this scene is where Doom really makes the leap from a generic bad guy into a truly fearsome villain. Certainly, nothing up to this point suggests he was capable of a plot as ambitious or nefarious as this.

It’s also an opportunity for Jack (and Joe Sinnott) to go absolutely nuts with the Kirby Krackle:

Years later John Byrne recreated this sequence in a flashback in 1983’s FF 258 when Doom once again tried to harness the power of a herald of Galactus, but in that case it was Terrax, not the Silver Surfer.

The sexist sixties

There’s some strange stuff going on with Sue in this issue. Early on, as the FF are recapturing the Wizard, she gives a very grim assessment of the FF’s status quo.

We then get a fairly typical sequence of Reed barking orders and Sue following them faithfully:

Followed by some more worrying and fretting. Every time Stan and Jack’s characterization of Sue seems to have turned a corner, she reverts back to the wingeing, cringing dish towel. Blech.

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

A fun sequence:

It’s Clobberin’ Time

It’s been a few issues since we got one of these.

Let’s talk about us

Ben is watching “The Marvel Super Heroes Show,” a short-lived animated series that ran in syndication in 1966. The stories were taken directly from comics, and the animators used the original art by Kirby, Steve Ditko and Don Heck. You can check it out here.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Lots of cool stuff in this issue, starting with this sandy sequence:

And this (there’s a bit of an oops in this panel, with Stan using the guard to explain what Reed’s doing):

And this amazing splash page:

Also on the newsstand this month

(courtesy of Mike’s Amazing World):

Next issue: The FF vs. Doom!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four Annual No. 4

10 Sunday Apr 2022

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1966, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four Annual 4, jack Kirby, Jim Hammond, Joe Sinnott, mad Thinker, Quasimodo, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four Annual 4
“The Torch That Was!”
Published: August 1966
Story: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

(Note: Fantastic Four Annual 4 came out a week before FF 56, but follows it chronologically, which is why I’m writing about after issue 56. The annual also included reprints of FF 25 and 26).

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four’s fourth annual opens like many issues, with the FF hanging around the Baxter Building reading fan mail. The Human Torch and Wyatt Wingfoot suddenly appear, teleported by Lockjaw from the Himalayas, where they had sought to rescue Crystal and the Inhumans. Johnny, despondent that his efforts to find Crystal failed, flies to the desert to experiment with his powers.

Meanwhile the Mad Thinker, last seen in issue 28, has a new scheme: reviving the original Human Torch, the android knows as Jim Hammond. Threatening him with destruction via Quasimodo, a sentient computer, the Thinker sends the original Torch to battle the Johnny Storm. The two fight to a standstill when the rest of the FF arrive, teleported by Lockjaw. Lockjaw then teleports them all to the Thinker’s lair, where the original Torch turns on the Thinker and is rendered inert by Quasimodo. The Thinker escapes and Lockjaw teleports Johnny and Wyatt back to find the Inhumans.

What’s going on here?

The story in FF Annual 4 isn’t particularly momentous—it’s not a wedding or birth issue, like many annuals—but it does feature the return of a Marvel golden age character. Similar to Stan and Jack’s revival of the Sub-Mariner, way back in FF 4, they retroactively insert Jim Hammond into the Marvel universe, tying the golden age to the present.

While Jim Hammond never plays as prominent a role as Namor, he occupies an interesting place in Marvel continuity.

He first appeared in Marvel Comics 1, in 1939, as one of the earliest super heroes. Stan and Jack recap his origin in the annual, and are fairly faithful to Carl Burgos’s original version. Here Burgos describes his invention by Prof. Phineas Horton:

Here it is as told by Stan and Jack:

As drawn by Kirby, Jim Hammond looks like a Greek god (and I guess why not, since he’s a robot, he can look like anything).

The Human Torch fought crime and Nazis in the 1940s and essentially disappears after the golden age. He was later ret-conned into the Invaders, a WWII era super hero team, along with his sidekick, Toro.

*Invaders 1 (1975, by Thomas,Robbins and Colletta).*

After his appearance and apparent destruction in FF Annual 4, it was generally established that the Human Torch’s body was used by the robot Ultron and transformed into the Vision.

*Avengers 135 (1975, by Englehart, Tuska and Chiarmonte)*

That chronology got muddled when John Byrne revived the Human Torch in West Coast Avengers 50, suggesting that he never became the Vision, but that the Vision was assembled from Horton’s spare parts.

*West Coast Avengers 50 (1989 Byrne/Machlan)*

It’s all cleared up (sort of) in Avengers Forever, a limited series that tried to untangle some continuity, albeit in a very confusing way. As described by Kurt Busiek, Immortus, the tame-manipulating villain, split the Human Torch into two timelines, one of which became the Vision, the other of which remained the Human Torch. Hopefully that clears everything up.

Avengers Forever 8 (1998, Busiek, Pacheco and Merino)

The Jim Hammond Torch has resurfaced over the years, but never as a major character.

Quasimodo

Avengers Annual 4 also marks the first appearance of Quasimodo, a third-tier villain who shares only a name with the Victor Hugo character. Apparently the name is derived from “Quasi-Motivational Destruct Organ,” whatever that means. He, too, reappears on occasion, but never as a major villain.

Everybody plays the fool

I get the story-telling purpose of Ben not knowing there was another Human Torch, but it’s a little hard to swallow. Ben did serve in World War II as well.

Frequent Flier

In between panels Johnny flies from the Baxter Building in midtown to … the desert? is that in New Jersey?

Crazy Credits

Weird Science

Of course, everyone knows the one infallible way to destroy a flaming android.

Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Sinnott!

Check out the inks on this page:

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This one is hot!

Also on the newsstand this month

(This is a new feature I am experimenting with. Thanks to Mike’s Amazing World for the info.

Next issue: Dr. Doom and the Silver Surfer!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 56

03 Sunday Apr 2022

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1966, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 56, jack Kirby, Klaw, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 56
“Klaw, the Murderous Master of Sound!”
Published: Nov. 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script:Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Like last issue, Fantastic Four 56 is split between the Human Torch and Wyatt Wingfoot’s quest to rescue the Inhumans, and the rest of the team in New York. In the second story, which makes up the bulk of the issue, Mr. Fantastic and the Thing are working a lab when Klaw, the villain from issue 53, reappears, now transformed into a creature of solid sound. After trapping Reed and Ben in the lab, he battles Sue, then Ben after he escapes the lab. Utilizing vibranium devices delivered from the Black Panther in Wakanda, Reed is able to absorb Klaw’s soil energy, rendering him unconscious.

In the other story line, Johnny and Wyatt try to coax Loackjaw into teleporting them back to Atillan and the Inhumans. In another arc, we check in with the Inhumans, last seen in issue 54, and learn that Black Bolt did not activate the absorb-bomb as intended because it would have destroyed the Inhumans. Medusa continues to despair. Issue 56 closes with a few panels of Dr. Doom spying on the Silver Surfer, teasing issue 57.

What’s going on here?

After a year of multiple-issue story arcs, FF 56 feels like a bit of a throwback to earlier, one-and-done issues. The story opens in the Baxter Building, with Reed and Ben kibitzing in a lab and Sue fretting about Reed’s inattentiveness. The fight with Klaw ends with the sort of deus-ex-machina reminiscent of earlier issues, too, with Reed cooking up some stratagem or device to defeat the bad guy. In this case, he calls on the Black Panther in Wakanda, signaling that he will be an ongoing part of the FF and Marvel universe into the future. In all, it’s a pretty satisfying story, and the Johnny/Wyatt/Medusa panels keeps that subplot moving as well.

FF 56 also reintroduces Klaw as a super villain in the form we are more familiar with. It’s a great Kirby character design, and could easily have been one of the New Gods Kirby created five years later. One question is whether Stan and Jack had this transformation, and his sonic cannon in mind, when they named him Klaw in issue 53, or if his name inspired the character design. If anyone has the answer, I’d love to know.

The sexist sixties

Sue is worried about her roast, and wonders why they can’t live like other people.

Sue does rise to the occasion later in the issue, taking on Klaw by herself.

Oops

Does Klaw have two hands here, instead of a sonic cannon where his right hand should be?

Medusa is back

She gets a melodramatic star turn in this subplot, a reminder of her status among the Inhumans, and that Stan and Jack created her long before the others.

Weird Science

Reed and Ben appeared armed with with a movie camera and reel-to-reel tape recorder.

Comanche Blood

Up to now Stan and Jack have done a pretty good job of steering clear of Native American stereotypes in their treatment of Wyatt Wingfoot. Not so much here.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Just an amazing page here. I am pretty sure that creature makes a subsequent appearance, probably in a John Byrne FF, but I can’t place it. Anyone out there know if it reappears?

Klaw looks appropriately weird and menacing in this panel:

Some actual Krackle here:

And some great energy here:

Next issue: The original Human Torch returns in Annual No. 4!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 55

27 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 55, jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, Silver Surfer, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 55
“When Strikes the Silver Surfer!”
Published: July 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Much like last issue, there are two parallel stories in FF 55. In one, the Human Torch and Wyatt Wingfoot continue their quest to rescue Crystal and the Inhumans from the negative zone that surrounds their city. Johnny and Wyatt travel to a valley in the Himalayas, where they encounter Lockjaw, the Inhuman’s teleporting dog.

The other story, which takes up most of the issue, revolves around the Thing, who after his trip to Wakanda, visits his girlfriend Alicia. Unbeknownst to Ben, the Silver Surfer has chosen that moment to visit (quite the coincidence!) and when Ben discovers the two together, he assumes the worst. The two spend most of the issue fighting before Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl settle Ben down. Ben grudgingly apologizes and the Surfer chalks it up to the strange behavior of earthlings.

What’s going on here?

Not much! As a story goes, this issue is pretty thin. It moves some chess pieces around, setting up the eventual return of the Inhumans, and reintroducing the Silver Surfer, essentially establishing him as an ongoing character.

But most of the issue is devoted to the silly fight between Ben and the Surfer, all of which—like almost all super hero fights—is based on a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up in two seconds. To a certain extent, yes, it does reveal how plagued Ben is by his insecurities and fear of losing Alicia. But mostly it’s an excuse for a massive fight. Jack and Joe do not disappoint—the fight is full of amazing art—but it’s all pretty much in the service of nothing.

The fight kicks off with this great sequence, one of the best combinations of script, art and timing in the Lee/Kirby run:

Comic relief

There are more gags than usual in this issue, including this sequence:

And this rim-shot worthy line from Ben

Crazy Credits

Another Forbush mention:

Weird science

Reed seems to have invented a Ring home security system

Zit!

A fun sound effect, unless you’re a self-conscious teenager.

Joltin’ Joe

Check out Sinnott’s inking in these panels

Dig that Kirby Krackle

A lot to choose from, but here are some highlights:

Another great fight sequence:

And this is just awesome:

Next issue: The return of Klaw!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 54

20 Sunday Mar 2022

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1966, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 54, Inhumans, jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Wakanda

Fantastic Four 54
“Whosoever Find the Evil Eye ..!”
Published June 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 54 opens with the FF still in Wakanda, where they relax by playing baseball with the Black Panther. The Human Torch is plagued by visions of Crystal, the Inhuman trapped by the negative zone within her city of Attilan, and as the team prepares to leave Africa, he declares he will return to Attilan to try and free her. T’Challa makes him gift of a special gyroscopic vehicle, and Wyatt Wingfoot joins the Torch on his quest.

Meanwhile, in Attilan, the Inhumans are still trying to escape and the royal family attempts to coax Maximus the Mad—now truly insane—to reveal the secret of the negative zone. Running out of options Black Bolt enters the “cyclo-electronic chamber,” where he uses his power to energize the “asorba-bomb” in order to break through the barrier. The pressure is so great Black Bolt screams for the first time.

Johnny and Wyatt, traveling north through the African desert in the Wakandan vehicle, plunge through a crevice and land deep below the surface in a crypt that reveals a slumbering figure in armor. He awakens and tells the pair he is Prester John, who served Richard the Lionhearted during his crusades and afterward traveled the world before discovering Avalon, where he was given a powerful weapon called the Evil Eye. Johnny, realizing the device could be used to free Crystal and the Inhumans, steals it before Prester John can warn him it will exploded in his hands. As the Torch flees, Wyatt shoots the Evil Eye out of his hands, saving Johnny but leaving him despondent.

What’s going on here?

A lot! This comic is jammed packed, and one of the best issues to date. We get the FF enjoying some downtime, which builds their characters while simultaneously deepening our understanding of T’Challa and Wakanda. The Human Torch’s torment over Crystal, now well-established with several mentions over the last few issues, gives the story some emotional depth and drives the plot. The Inhumans arc becomes more complex as they develop into heroes, and the debut of Prester John adds an element of science fiction fantasy. Tying together the issue is some fantastic art from Jack and Joe Sinnott. The whole issue is busy, fun and very satisfying.

Who is this guy?

As with Thor, Hercules, the Black Knight and many other characters, Stan and Jack plucked the name and some basic facts about Prester John from mythology. Prester John was said to be a Christian king, descended from one of the three Magi, who ruled in a far-off kingdom in Asia or Africa. He was supposed to come to the aid of the Crusaders, but never arrived.

In Stan and Jack’s telling, he was instead an ally of Richard the Lionhearted, and at the conclusion of the crusade, traveled the world before finding Avalon, normally a fixture of Arthurian legend and not normally associated with the Crusaders. Apparently, for Stan and Jack, if it was old and English, it was good enough. It does give Jack an excuse to draw this awesomeness:

Prester John never is a major Marvel figure but he pops up a few times over the years in Thor and Defenders comics, and—bizarrely—in Deadpool & Cable:

Deadpool & Cable 14 (2004, art by Patch Zircher)

And is it just me, or does Jack’s version of Prester John look like the guy in those adds for Simplisafe home security systems?

Batter up

FF 54 opens with the Fantastic Four, Wyatt and the Black Panther playing baseball in Wakanda:

If you think a splash page of a super team playing baseball looks familiar, well, that’s because you’ve seen it many times in the ages of the X-men and related X-books. Here are a few examples from over four decades:

Uncanny X-men 110 (1978, art by Tony DeZuniga)

Uncanny X-Men 444 (2004, art by Alan Davis and Mark Farmer)

(Thanks to Brian Cronin at Comics Should be Good and Austin Gorton at The Real Gentlemen of Leisure for the history lesson.)

I don’t know if Chris Claremont, the man behind many of these X-Men, ever acknowledged that he was borrowing from FF 54 but given how influential the Lee/Kirby FF run was to all of Marvel, perhaps it was just assumed.

Crazy Credits

Weird Science

If you think Wakandan science is strange …

… you should check out what the Inhumans are up to.

**The sixties are sexist**

Ok, maybe this one is a bit unfair. While Sue gets new dresses as a gift from the Wakanadans—reinforcing the narrative that she only cares about clothes and her appearance—it appears that Reed gets a new outfit too. And Sue *does* look great here. (Note the further development of Wyatt’s backstory here).

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Really, the entire issue is great, and here are too many panels to choose from (I’ve added as many above as I could). But if I had to pick just a few:

There’s this epic splash page:

This panel, full of personality:

And this:

And this:

Next issue: The return of the Silver Surfer!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 53

13 Sunday Mar 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 53, jack Kirby, Klaw, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 53
“The Way it Began!”
Published: May 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

After defeating the Black Panther in the last issue, the Fantastic Four (plus Wyatt Wingfoot) are now his guests. T’Challa explains his kingdom’s wealth and technological prowess derives from vibranium, a rare mineral that can absorb vibrations. He then tells the FF his origin: His father, T’Chaka, was murdered by Klaw (later named Ulysses Klaw), a villainous scientist who attempted to steal Wakanda’s vibranium. A young T’Challa chased them off by seizing Klaw’s sound weapons, and maimed Klaw in the process. T’Challa then devoted himself to revenge by adopted the mantle of the Black Panther.

Meanwhile, strange red monsters are rampaging through the Wakanda. The FF join T’Challa to battle the creatures, which are revealed to be made of solid sound by Klaw. As the FF fight the monsters, T’Challa tracks Klaw to a cave, where they battle until the Black Panther overload’s Klaw’s machinery, causing the cave to collapse as T’Challa escapes. With the FF’s encouragement, T’Challa pledges to continue to fight injustice while a battered Klaw enters his “sound transformer” machine.

What’s going on here?

FF 53 unveils the origin of the Black Panther, a story expanded on in much greater length over the decades. The main elements remain the same: T’Challa is from a royal lineage that venerated the Black Panther totem, and he swore revenge after the murder of his father by a plundering European. Stan and Jack seem aware how cliched the story sounds, so they employ Ben to wink at the audience.

Despite the relative progressivism of the idea that Wakanda is a technologically advanced society hidden in the African jungle, it’s hard for Stan and Jack to escape the exoticism that feels inevitable when comic characters travel to Africa. The splash page, as wondrous as Kirby makes it, embodies the contradictions in the treatment of T’Challa and Wakanda.

FF 53 is also the debut of Klaw, who goes on to become a major Marvel villain, who will debut a much different look in a few issues. He’s most associated with the Black Panther, but over the years battles the FF, Avengers and Daredevil, and plays a starring role in the first Secret Wars series (written as a loopy idiot by Jim Shooter).

Black Panther 15 (1979, J. Buscema/Milgrom)

Crazy Credits

An Irving Forbush reference

Living in the future

Reed is impressed by T’Challa’s hi-fi system, which includes … a tape recorder. And note the nod to Hugh Hefner.

Comparative Religion 101

Stan educates the reader via footnote.

It’s Clobberin’ Time

There’s something muted about its use in this panel, which is one of the first when Ben says it without simultaneously delivering a punch. This might mark it’s transition from an exclamation to an all-purpose catch phrase, as Ben even notes how “cornball” it sounds.

The sexist sixties

Only Sue is scared of the loud noises.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Lots of cool stuff from Jack in this issue. Like this:

And this:

And this:

Next issue: The return of the Inhumans!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four 52

26 Saturday Feb 2022

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1966, Black Panther, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 52, jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Wakanda, Wyatt Wingfoot

Fantastic Four 52
“The Black Panther”
Published: April 1966
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 52 opens with Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl and the Thing (the Human Torch is off at college) tooling around in a new flying car they received as a gift from “an African Chieftain” called the Black Panther. The Black Panther’s emissary offers the car to Reed permanently if the team accompanies him to Wakanda to take part in a hunt. Reed, saying the team needs a vacation, takes him up on the offer, first stopping to pick up Johnny and his roommate, Wyatt Wingfoot.

Wakanda is revealed to be technologically advanced, but when the team arrives, the emissary vanishes and the team is attacked by the Black Panther. He manages to subdue each member of the team but Wyatt manages to free them, ultimately foiling the Black Panther’s conquest. The issue ends with him beginning to explain his motives to the team.

FF 52 also cuts away from the main story to reveal the Inhumans are struggling to escape the Negative Zone that has imprisoned them, an indication that we will be seeing much more of them.

What’s going on here?

Obviously, the big development of FF 52 is the introduction of the Black Panther, a character who goes on to be a member of the Avengers (and a fill-in member of the FF for a time) and be the star of his own on-again, off-again solo title. With the success of the MCU Black Panther movie in 2018, he’s only become a bigger deal, moving in to the upper tier of Marvel characters.

The significance of the Black Panther isn’t just that he’s a black, or African, hero—although both were rarities at the time—but that he upends so many of the stereotypes of blacks and Africans that were (and to some extent still are) pervasive in comics. Wakanda, as created by Stan and Jack, isn’t a primitive backwater, but a sophisticated enclave. T’Challa isn’t a hot-blooded savage, but a calculating scientist. The Fantastic Four wasn’t lured to Africa by a villain, but by a hero. In a world where B’wana Beast was still waiting to debut, Black Panther is a remarkable creation.

Given the Black Panther’s impact, it’s easy to overlook the other big development in FF 52, which is the realization of Wyatt Wingfoot as a bona fide member of the FF’s supporting cast. Wyatt was introduced as Johnny’s college roommate in issue 50 and we learned a bit more about him last issue—his dad was a standout athlete but Wyatt had no interest in joining the college football team—but he really comes into his own here.

Like the Black Panther, Wingfoot, a Native American, refuses to conform to the comic book stereotype. He doesn’t wear a fringed jacket or a feather, he doesn’t talk like Tonto, and even if he does evince skill as a tracker, he’s more adept at thinking than fighting. Wyatt doesn’t have the same profile of the Black Panther—surprisingly, he never gains powers or becomes a real super hero—but remains a classic member of the FF’s supporting cast.

He later becomes She-Hulk’s love interest, adding a new dimension to his character (even if he is wearing the same T-shirt). They meet in FF 269-270 (written and illustrated by John Byrne).