“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 207

14 Saturday Feb 2026

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1979, Fantastic Four, marv wolfman, Marvel comics, Sal Buscema, Spider-Man

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.

Overall

A perfectly fine issue of Marvel Team-Up

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 206

08 Sunday Feb 2026

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

1979, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 206, marv wolfman, Marvel comics, Nova, Skrulls

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.

Overall

A misfire

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 205

31 Saturday Jan 2026

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

1979, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 205, Keith Pollard, marv wolfman, Marvel comics, Skrulls

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.