“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 194

26 Sunday Oct 2025

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1978, Bill mantlo, darkoth, Dave Hunt, Diablo, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 194, Keith Pollard, Marvel comics

Fantastic Four 194
“Vengeance Is Mine!”
Published February 1978
Plot: Len Wein & Keith Pollard
Script: Bill Mantlo
Pencils: Pollard
Inks: Dave Hunt
Letters: Annette Kawecki
Colors: George Roussos
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Cover: George Perez

Synopsis

After surviving the crash of the Solar Shuttle, the Thing confronts Darkoth, who eventually overcomes a spell by Diablo and reveals to Ben he is his old friend Desmond Pitts. Ben then battles Diablo and is about to be killed by a solar cannon when Darkoth turns against Diablo, sacrificing himself to save Ben.

What’s going on here?

This comic efficiently wrap up the two-part Ben solo story while resolving the Darkoth storyline. If you didn’t think Darkoth was going to die in some noble fashion, then I guess you haven’t read many comic books. But despite its predictability, it’s a solid story and enhanced by the attractive Keith Pollard/ Dave Hunt artwork.

The next solo story, featuring Sue and the Sub-Mariner, is teased in a short cutaway, but other than that, the story is all Ben’s. No Reed or Johnny.

This the rare FF of this era not inked by Joe Sinnott but Hunt’s inks look great over Pollard’s pencils. Hunt is an interesting case; he seems like a true comic’s journeyman who has hundreds of credits as inker, letterer and colorist, and who spent a big chunk of his career on second- and third-tier titles like The Little Mermaid and Scooby-Doo. This is his second and last issue of the Fantastic Four.

Annette Kawecki is credited as the letterer, her first and only Fantastic Four credit. And George Perez returns to deliver an amazing cover.

What I liked

Even though we could see it coming from a mile away, there was a poignancy to Darkoth reclaiming his humanity by turning on Diablo, knowing it meant his death. Also note the great, over-the-top dialogue by Bill Mantlo, a master of purple prose.

And then, of course, comes his classically melodramatic death scene.

What I didn’t like

Even for a comic book, Diablo’s explanation of how he survived his seeming death and discovered Darkoth is hard to swallow.

Also, these “firehorns” are dumb.

Anything else?

More Star Wars-related ads this month:

Plus some other interesting ads, including another odd one for Pizzaz. Again, I can’t imagine buying this magazine based on these ads.

Overall

A perfectly fine comic book

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 193

19 Sunday Oct 2025

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1978, darkoth, Diablo, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 193, Keith Pollard, Marvel comics

Fantastic Four 193
“Day of the Death-Demon!”
Published January 1978
Plot: Len Wein and Keith Pollard
Script: Bill Mantlo
Pencils: Pollard
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Françoise Mouly and Janice Cohen
Editor: Marv Wolfman
Cover: Pollard and Sinnott

Synopsis

After the breakup of the Fantastic Four, the Thing is lending his services to NASA as a test pilot. As he prepares for a space shuttle flight, the NASA facility is attacked by Darkoth, the cyborg demon created by Dr. Doom who was supposedly killed with Doom in issue 144. It’s later revealed that Darkoth was once Desmond Pitt, a former test pilot and friend of Ben’s who was accused of selling secrets to Latveria. Darkoth is now under the sway of Diablo, who picks up the pieces of a plot begun by Dr. Doom, who had sabotaged the plans of the space shuttle so it could be controlled by an outside agent. Diablo then attacks the shuttle while Ben is orbiting Earth, and Ben tries to land the craft before it explodes into flame upon crash landing.

What’s going on here?

The recent death of guitarist Ace Frehley (RIP) reminded me of an odd marketing stunt by Kiss. In 1978, the four members simultaneously released four solo albums, before reforming and releasing albums as a band again.

That feels a little like what’s going on during this period of the Fantastic Four. Ostensibly broken up (but, like Kiss, destined to regroup), the team members went off in four separate directions and are having four separate solo adventures. Last issue featured Johnny’s adventures in the wild west, and in that issue and this one, we are teased with glimpses into the current activities of Reed and Sue, which promise to blossom into their own solo stories before the team presumably gets back together before issue 200.

This issue features the return of Darkoth and a noir-ish mystery involving disgraced old friends and sinister plots. It doesn’t always work, but it’s an ambitious attempt and I give the writing troika of Len Wein, Keith Pollard and Bill Mantlo credit for trying it.

This issue marks the first of Pollard’s run on the Fantastic Four, and closes the door on George Perez’s all-too-short stint. Perez will return for two FF annuals, and will continue to draw the Avengers and Marvel Two-in-One before departing permanently for DC in 1980. Perez ultimately drew 17 issues of the FF over three years, and while their quality was uneven, they mark some of the best pencil work on the FF between the Kirby and Byrne runs.

Pollard is a solid artist, but rarely spectacular. I would slot him in a tier with Rich Buckler, Ron Frenz and Sal Buscema: reliable but not terribly exciting. He will work on the FF until issue 206, then have a second run in the late 1980s.

What I liked

As mentioned, the Darkoth / Desmond Pitt storyline gives the story some depth, while also giving us some glimpses into Ben’s previous life as a test pilot. I enjoyed about the mystery unfolds, first with a mysterious phone call:

Then an investigation into Pitt’s disappearance:

And then a flashback:

It’s of course one of those only-in-comic books coincidences that the man Doom turned into Darkoth happened to be an old friend of Ben’s, but it’s still a satisfying development.

I also liked seeing Ben in his element as a pilot, first kibitzing with ground control as Alicia proudly listens in …

… then trying to land a powerless space shuttle …

… a sequence which ends with this dramatic and alarming end to the comic:

What I didn’t like

Darkoth is revealed to be normal-sounding Desmond Pitt, and it’s clear he made the call to Ben, sounding like a normal guy. So then why does he spend the rest of the comic sounding like an Asgardian?

The comic opened in media res, with Darkoth bursting through a wall at NASA. I found it confusing, and I struggled to remember if I missed some issue or scene that had Ben at NASA. And the explanation of how Diablo was taking over Doom’s scene was hard to follow as well.

This sequence with Sue was a bit tedious. It didn’t really advance her story, but offered another lame joke about Hollywood. It also reintroduced the Impossible Man, with whom I thought we were finally done.

Anything else?

More Star Wars merch advertising

Overall

An entertaining comic, mostly

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 142

17 Saturday Aug 2024

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1973, darkoth, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 142, Gerry Conway, Marvel comics, Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four 142
“No Friend Beside Him!”
Published Oct. 1973
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Thing, disgusted with Mr. Fantastic’s actions in the last issue, flies to Eastern Europe to join Alicia Masters, only to be attacked and subdued by the villain Darkoth. Meanwhile, a distraught Reed —accompanied by Medusa — attend his college reunion, where they are confronted by Dr. Doom.

What’s going on here?

The biggest development in FF 142 is the introduction of Rich Buckler as penciler, replacing John Buscema. Buscema, who took over with issue 107 and penciled almost every issue for more than three years, was responsible for establishing the post-Kirby look of the Fantastic Four, a style reinforced by inker Joe Sinnott, who kept the book’s art uniform even as it changed pencilers. I suspect many collectors wouldn’t have noticed the change if hadn’t been announced. Buscema will return to the FF several times over his career.

Buckler was relatively new to comics, starting in 1970, but would go on to have a long career, primarily at Marvel and DC but also at places like Archie. He may be best known for creating Deathlok, a cyborg killing machine from the future and an amazing character, and for drawing the notorious KISS comic. Buckler sadly died in 2017.

There’s no denying the dynamism of his art, and the Kirby influence:

The other newcomer of note is Darkoth, the villain. This is my first exposure to the character, despite owning a Steve Rude drawing of him and the Thing, for a playing card almost certainly inspired by this comic. So far as a villain, there’s not much to him. He’s got an odd set of powers, and he speaks with Gerry Conway’s over-the-top grandiosity. A little online research reveals there’s more to the character than meets the eye but we’ll deal with that if and when we get to it.

Here’s is my Rude drawing of Darkoth:

What I liked

This was a fun, satisfying issue. It’s been a while since we had the Thing in what’s basically a solo adventure, and it was well structured and paced, starting with the Alicia subplot established in the last two issues. The Darkoth fight was fun, and the jumps between Ben’s story and that of Reed and Medusa, Johnny and Sue, rather than distracting from the flow, added dimension and which all paid off in the climactic scene, the Doom reveal. Doom, of course, makes any FF comic better.

For those keeping track, Chris Claremont, John Byrne and Terry Austin used this same set-up, including the climactic last panel revealing the bad guy, in X-Men 111 about five years later:

As mentioned above, Rich Buckler’s art packs a (literal) punch. I really liked this splash (who couldn’t?):

What I didn’t like

Oddly, some of Buckler’s panels were annotated with arrows, pointing out details that readers might otherwise have missed. That seems like either a failing of Bucker to make his art clearer, or of Conway and/or editor Roy Thomas, not giving him better direction. Either way, I found them distracting.

Anything else?

Some more ads of note. I have no idea what iced cologne is, and even less of an idea why a 12-year-old comic reader would want some (reading more closely, it seems like an ad to entice women to become saleswomen in a vertical marketing scheme. Even more confusing for 12-year-old comic readers).

The Evel Kneivel toy, on the other hand, is exactly what 12-year old me would have wanted (and I think I did have some version of this as a kid).