“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. 3

19 Sunday Dec 2021

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1965, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four Annual 3, jack Kirby, Stan Lee, wedding

Fantastic Four Annual 3
“Bedlam at the Baxter Building”
Published: July 1, 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Arie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Mike Esposito

Note: Fantastic Four Annual includes one original story, which we will discuss here, and reprints three others, from FF 6 and FF 11.

Synopsis

The story opens with Dr. Doom reading about the planned wedding for Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl. Seeing an opportunity to take his revenge, he deploys his “high-frequency emotion charger” to spur other villains into attacking the Fantastic Four.

As the wedding guests arrive at the Baxter Building, an array of bad guys begin to attack, only to be beaten back by the FF’s guests, which include the X-Men, Dr. Strange, Daredevil, Spider-Man and the Avengers. Eventually the FF gets pulled into the fray, and the Watcher appears, whisking Reed off to his home on the Moon. In a very legalistic interpretation of non-interference, he says Reed can take any device he finds and use it on the villains. Reed selects a “sub-atomic time displacer” which sends the villains into the past with no memory of recent events.

The story concludes with Reed and Sue’s much-anticipated wedding.

What’s going on here?

As far as stories go, this plot is about as thin as they get. Doom arranges for the villains to attack, we get about 15 pages of fun battle scenes as virtually every hero and villain in the nascent Marvel universe shows up, the Watcher swoops in to fix things, and we end up with a wedding. But a thin story doesn’t mean a boring story, and this comic is a lot of fun, as Stan and Jack clearly enjoy reaching into their bag of characters and throwing them all into the stew.

The basic concept—all the good guys vs. all the bad guys—will be repeated over the years, maybe most notably in 1984’s Secret Wars, which was a 12 issue series based pretty much on that premise and little else.

*Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars 2 (1984). Story by Jim Shooter, art by Mike Zeck and John Beatty*

FF Annual 3 is also notable for mixing and matching heroes and villains, creating new pairings of combatants. For example, the X-men vs. the Mole Man:

Or Dr. Strange vs. the Red Ghost and his Super Apes:

Or Captain America vs. Cobra, the Executioner and the Enchantress

Or Thor vs. the Super Skrull:

Or Daredevil vs. Hydra:

Or Iron-Man vs. the Awesome Android:

This kind of matching heroes against unfamiliar villains became the basis for another 1980s cross-over event, Acts of Vengeance, in which Marvel’s biggest bad guys arranged to fight each other’s traditional antagonists.

*Avengers 313 (1989) Story by John Byrne, art by Paul Ryan and Tom Palmer*

Wedding bells

The other notable event in FF Annual 3, of course, is Reed and Sue’s marriage. As far as I am aware, this is the first super-hero wedding in the modern Marvel era, and it sets the template for dozens of similar issues to come. They usually take place in an annual or anniversary issue, a wedding is planned, villains interfere, and the nuptials finally comes together at the end.

While there have been dozens of weddings with super heroes, two heroes marrying each other is less common, in part because there are so few female heroes (the male-male super hero wedding is way, way in the future, of course). Notable pairing include the Wasp and Yellowjacket, Green Arrow and Black Canary, the Vision and Scarlet Witch, and Luke Cage and Jessica Jones.

There are way too many super-hero weddings to list, but here’s a few that took place in the pages of the Fantastic Four:

The marriage of Crystal and Quicksilver in FF 150 (Crystal had been a de facto member of the FF for years):

*FF 150 (1974, story by Gerry Conway, art by Rich Buckler and Joe Sinnott*)

The marriage of Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters, later revealed to be Lyja the Skrull, in FF 300:

*FF 300 (1987, story by Roger Stern, art by John and Sal Buscema*)

In FF 27 (Vol. 3), in a bizarre storyline, Sue marries Dr. Doom, who was actually Reed’s consciousness in Doom’s body:

*FF 27 (Vol. 3) (2000, story by Chris Claremont, art by Salvador LaRocca and Art Thibert)*

Lastly, Ben Grimm and the real Alicia finally married in FF 5 (vol. 6):

*FF 5 (vol. 6) (2018, story by Dan Slott, art by Aaron Kuder)*

Let’s talk about us

Stan and Jack, absent from these pages for a while, reappear as uninvited wedding guests:

Also making a cameo was Patsy Walker and her friend Hedy, marking their first appearance in the Marvel universe. The star of teen romance comics dating from the 1940s, Patsy would later become the heroine Hellcat.

Who are these guys?

Stan and Jack dug deep to find some obscure villains. I believe the guy to the right of the Mandarin is the Unicorn, but I have no clue who is between him and the Beetle. Anyone out there know?

Call my lawyer

I hope Murdock & Nelson bill their usual rate for running errands like this.

Deus ex machina

Once again the Watcher makes a big deal out of his vow to not interfere while doing a lot of interfering.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This issue features another Kirby Kollage

Next issue: The return of Medusa and introduction of the Inhumans!

(Edited to remove a reference to The wedding of Bouncing Boy and Duo damsel, which I somehow placed in the 60s, not the 70s)

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 40

21 Sunday Nov 2021

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1965, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 40, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 40
“The Battle of the Baxter Building”
Published: April 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby:
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and Frank Giacoia

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 40 picks up where FF 39 left off, more or less, in one of the few multi-issue adventures so far. While Mr. Fantastic and Daredevil split up at the end of FF 39, now they’re working together again to battle Dr. Doom, who has taken control of the Baxter Building and is using Reed’s devices against the (literally) powerless team. While Daredevil acts as a distraction, Reed joins Johnny and Sue in evading the defenses in the Baxter Building lobby. They are eventually joined by Ben, in human, form and as Daredevil fights Doom, the team works their way up to the top of the building.

There Reed uses the power stimulator the team last used in fighting the Skulls, in FF 37, to re-power the team, including a reluctant Ben. One again the Thing, Ben then battles Doom single handedly, eventually tearing apart his armor. Before he can hurt or kill Doom, the rest of the team intervenes, and Doom slinks off in defeat. But as the rest of the team rejoices, a bitter Ben quits the team.

What’s going on here?

Another issue that’s pretty much wall-to-wall action, save for about three panels of character development at the end. There’s another (rare) guest appearance from Daredevil, but he fades into the background in the second half of the book. The Thing is really the star of this issue, and his battle with Doom takes up more than five pages. It’s another early version of a Thing-Doesn’t-Quit sequence, which becomes a defining part of Ben’s character. We saw a bit of it in FF 17, when Ben, in human form, penetrated Doom’s aircraft, and then in FF 25-26, when he fights the Hulk.

In this issue, Stan and Jack set up Ben’s story arc when Reed subjects him to the power stimulator, without giving him a choice in the matter.

His transformation is suitably dramatic, and Jack devotes a half splash to his return as the Thing:

In the battle, we get some never-say-die from Ben:

Then, after he defeats Doom, he realizes what he has sacrificed and quits the team in disgust.

Deus Ex Machina

After all the angst last issue about the FF losing their powers, and Reed’s feverish attempts to reconstruct their power through artificial means, the are restored surprisingly easily. So easily, in fact, that Ben and Daredevil have the same questions we do.

Reed’s explanation falls a bit flat, too. If the stimulator was all they needed to regain their powers, why didn’t Reed just make a new one instead of building a Thing robot and a flaming flying suit for Johnny?

The sexist sixties

Sue is ready for her fainting couch again.

It’s (not) Clobbering Time!

Further evidence that his signature line really hasn’t been baked into Ben’s character yet. If ever there was a place to say it, it’s here:

Who’s the new guy?

Vince Colletta takes over the inking in this issue. Colletta is both of one comic’s most prolific inkers and most controversial, particularly for his sometimes slap-dash handling of Kirby’s work. It’s explained in great detail here. It’s hard to see a big drop off here from Franck Giacoia’s inks in the last issue, but we’re still just killing time before we get to Joe Sinnott.

Thicc Reed

Reed is noticeably buff in this issue. It’s not a particularly new development—Jack has been drawing him as a typically muscular super-hero for some time now—but it’s a pretty big departure from his tweedy, professorial look from the early issues.

Holy Billy Club, Daredevil!

Daredevil’s billy club has more gadgets and gizmos that Silver Age Batman’s utility belt. In just this issue, it turns into a gun and a “telescoping flexi-shield.”

Twanggg!

What could be more classically Daredevil than DD bouncing off of a flagpole?

Weird science

Reed invented … a drone.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

There is some great art in this issue, starting with the splash page (and check out Stan’s modest blurbing):

There are also some great fight scenes. Here’s DD vs. DD:

And Ben vs. Doom is just titanic:

Next issue: The return of the Frightful Four!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 39

14 Sunday Nov 2021

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1965, Daredevil, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 39, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 39
“A Blind Man Shall Lead Them”
Published: March 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Frank Giacoia (credited as Frank Ray)
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and Chic Stone

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 39 picks up where FF 38 leaves of, after the detonation of the Frightful Four’s Q-Bomb leaves the FF floating unconscious on a raft and with the Thing reverted to human form. FF 39 opens with the team being rescued by a US Navy submarine, and realizing they have all lost their powers.

Back at the Baxter Building in New York, Reed builds devices to mimic the team’s lost powers, reasoning that the team will be vulnerable to its enemies if they were thought powerless. Meanwhile, in Latveria, a hypnotist causes Dr. Doom to remember being tricked by Mr. Fantastic into thinking he defeated the FF (as show in FF Annual 2). Doom vows revenge and flies to New York.

In New York, blind attorney Matt Murdock meets the FF at a warehouse where they are rehearsing their new devices. As Reed explains he wants Murdock to ensure the FF’s affairs are in order if something happens to them, the warehouse is attacked. Murdock quickly changes in his Daredevil costume and helps the FF evade the attacks from Doom, who has seized control of the Baxter Building and is using the FF’s devices against them. The FF scatters and Daredevil draws Doom’s fire on the streets of New York. The issue ends with another cliffhanger as the powerless FF plans their assault on the Baxter Building.

What’s going on here?

There’s a lot going on in FF 39, although not necessarily what you might expect. While readers of last issue’s cliff-hanger ending might have reasonably anticipated a showdown with the Frightful Four, those villains aren’t even mentioned. Instead, we’re off on a new adventure with Doom. The FF’s powerlessness is the big event in this issue, and it’s framed as a major disaster for the team, even for Ben who might otherwise be pretty happy not to be the Thing again. It sends Reed into a inventing frenzy, and gives Jack an opportunity to whip up some fun devices.

While the FF’s need for these mechanical powers is short lived (I assume!) Reed’s artificial, extendable arms reappear in FF 185, when he again has lost his powers.

*FF 185, from 1977 (written by Len Wein, art by George Perez and Joe Sinnott)*

The Thing robot doesn’t reappear, but it’s a precursor of a Thing exo-skeleton worn by Ben and others on numerous occasions.

*FF 170 1976 (Roy Thomas/Perez/Sinnott)*

*Thor Annual 14, 1989 (Roy Thomas/Al Milgrom/Don Heck)*

At various points, all the members of the FF have lost their powers, although the only other time I am aware of them all being powerless was in a 1982 What If? by John Byrne, which imagines the team as a Challengers of the Unknown-type team of adventurers.

About that cover

If the cover of FF 39 looks familiar, it’s because it’s been frequently homaged (or swiped, depending on how charitable you’re feeling). Here’s a handful of homages just with Doom (including one from Kirby himself):

And while it’s not a cover, this double-page splash from Byrne in FF 236 is a literal interpretation of the cover metaphor, since the FF in this issue has been reduced to tiny size.

Get me my lawyer

Daredevil makes a rare guest appearance in the FF. Unlike Spider-Man, who is in dozens of issues and eventually becomes a team member, DD shows up only sporadically. This appearance slots between Daredevil issues 6 and 7 and was doubtless an opportunity for Stan to goose DD’s sales. This is technically their second meeting, after Matt Murdock was hired at their lawyer in Daredevil 2.

*Daredevil 2, 1964 (Lee/Orlando/Coletta)*

Who’s the new guy?

FF features inks by Frank Giacoia, a longtime comic artist with credits that date from 1942 to 1987. He was a regular inker on Daredevil and later on Spider-Man but inked the FF only a few other times after this issue. Here he is credited as Frank Ray, which FF fans might recall is very similar to Frankie Raye, the name of the Human Torch’s girlfriend in the 1980s before she became Nova and a herald of Galactus. Is there a connection? Knowing John Byrne’s obsession with these early issues of the FF, I would bet on it.

Krazy Kredits

Reed Richards is a Jerk!

Reed doesn’t care about your feelings.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

FF 39 features another photo collage, although I’m not sure this one is as successful as the previous, cosmic ones.

This is a great image of the FF after losing their powers. The body language says everything.

Another cool panel.

And Doom with Reed’s gizmos in the Baxter Building:

Next issue: The Battle for the Baxter Building!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four Annual No. 2

05 Sunday Sep 2021

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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Annuals, Dr. Doom, Fanastic Four Annual 2, Fantastic Four, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four Annual 2
“The Fantastic Origin of Dr. Doom” and “The Final Victory of Dr. Doom”
Published: July 7, 1964
Stories: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Scripts: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Chic Stone
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sol Brodsky

This is a big one! Strap yourselves in, because a giant-size comic book means a giant-size blog post.

The Fantastic Four’s second annual contains three stories. One is a reprint of Fantastic Four 5, the first appearance of Dr. Doom. The other two are new, and both contain major contributions to the story of Dr. Doom, the Fantastic Four’s (and arguably the Marvel Universe’s) most significant antagonist.

First up is Doom’s origin story in a 12-page retelling that expands greatly on this brief, five-panel origin in FF 5:

In Annual 2, we learn that Doom was a gypsy, the son of a sorceress and and healer. As a child, the cruel local Baron demands Doom’s father heal his ailing wife. When he can’t save her, the Baron vows revenge, and Werner Von Doom flees with young Victor, eventually dying of exposure while saving his son. Now an orphan, Victor discovers his mother’s magical artifacts and devotes himself to learning her secrets.

As a young man, Doom becomes a sort of con-man Robin Hood, selling inventions like a self-playing violin to the wealthy before they fell apart. He (somehow) attracts the attention of the dean of Empire State University, who offers him a scholarship. At ESU, Doom meets Reed Richards, and haughtily rebuffs his offer to be roommates. Doom spends his free time working on a device designed to “contact the nether world” and arrogantly dismisses Reed when he warns Doom about his miscalculations. The device explodes, scarring Doom’s face, and he is expelled from ESU.

Still seeking occult knowledge, he travels to the Himalayas and joins a hidden order of monks, eventually becoming their master. He commands them to build him a suit of armor, and he leaves as Dr. Doom.

The story wraps up with Doom striding through Latveria, where his subjects seem to both love and fear him.

What’s going on here?

A lot. For the first time we learn about Doom’s sorceress mother, the tragic death of his father, and the origin of his armor. Notably, FF Annual 2 also introduces Doom as monarch of Latveria, one of Marvel’s most important fictional nations (Wakanda, Atlantis, and Genosha are the others). Remember, up to this point, Doom’s castle was in the Adirondack mountains in upstate New York. Making Doom a sovereign—giving him both diplomatic immunity and threats from coups and insurgencies—opened up dozens of story angles for FF writers over the years.

While Annual 2 expands Doom’s origins, it’s hardly the last word on the subject. Given Doom’s centrality in the Marvel universe, it’s not surprising his story has been continually revisited, tweaked, and retconned. While the same basic elements are always in place, over the decades writers have played with the specifics.

For example, here’s the scene where Reed tries to alert Doom to his miscalculations. First, in Annual 2:

Here’s how John Byrne depicted the same scene 20 years later, in a flashback in FF 278 (inks by Jerry Ordway):

And here’s how Ed Brubaker treated the same scene in 2006’s Books of Doom, a six-part series that expanded Doom’s origin at even greater length (art by Pablo Raimoni and Mark Farmer):

And finally, in 2013’s Fantastic Four, vol. 4, issue 9, Matt Fraction has a host of interdimensional Dooms visit what Doom here calls his “nativity” (art by Mark Bagley and Mark Farmer):

Interestingly, “dimensional warps” appear in all four tellings.

Here’s the various tellings of another critical scene, when Doom first puts on his mask.

First, in Annual 2:

Then, in FF 278:

Books of Doom:

And FF Vol. 4, No. 9 (Ben and Reed are also revisiting Doom’s origin):

The second new in Annual 2 story is a more straight forward FF adventure, with Doom as the villain.

Synopsis

The story opens with the Fantastic Four barely managing to land a balky Fantasticar on a New York City street. After some hijinks with the locals, we turn to outer space, where Doom, last seen drifting in the void in FF 23, is rescued by Rama-Tut. There, they discuss how they may in fact be the same person in different times, and they agree they must defeat the Fantastic Four.

In a spacecraft borrowed from Rama-Tut, Doom returns to Earth and Latveria’s embassy in New York (technically, it should be a consulate since the embassy would be in Washington, but we’ll let it slide) to launch his plan. Meanwhile, the Fantastic Four are back in the Baxter Building, clowning around, when they are invited to a state dinner at the Latverian embassy. There, they are served a berry juice which causes hallucinations, leading the FF to fight with each other. Doom, however, attracts their attention when he breaks a glass mirror (after looking at his unmasked face), and the team pursues him to the Baxter Building. There, after a scuffle with the rest of the FF, Doom is challenged to a duel by Reed. After drinking a toast, they square off using the “encephalo-gun,” a device that will send the one with the lesser brain power “to a timeless limbo.”

Doom appears to win as Reed disappears, and walks off in triumph, only for Reed to reveal he tricked Doom into drinking the Latverian berry juice, and Doom only hallucinated defeating Reed.

What’s going on here?

The whole business with the berry juice and encephalo-gun make this one of the sillier FF stories in a while, but there some interesting nuggets are revealed along the way. One detail is that while the earlier story established Doom is ruler of Latveria, it’s apparently not common knowledge outside the country, which is why the FF wouldn’t be suspicious of an invitation to the embassy. Stan and Jack have a bit of fun with this idea here:

The story also helps establish the weird relationship between Doom and Reed, where they are enemies but have a grudging respect for one another that at times get very close to a friendship. We see that in the toast scene (which also suggests Doom is far stupider then we think if he falls for that trick):

FF Annual 2 also gives us an early glimpse into the time-twisting storylines featuring Rama-Tut/Kang/Immortus so beloved of later Marvel writers like Steve Englehart, Roger Stern and Kurt Busiek. Like most of those stories, I found this exchange between Rama-Tut and Doom completely baffling. Maybe in a future blog post I’ll try and unravel it all.

We also get a bit of drama about Doom’s face. We are told this is the first time in years he has taken off his mask.

But his discomfort with his unmasked face seems to fade over the years, since he removes his mask to play the piano in FF 236 (by Byrne):

Krazy Kredits

Two stories means two opportunities for goofiness:

and

The sexist sixties

After a few issues where Sue was coming into her own as an effective member of the team, this story seriously back-slid into embarrassing sexism. First, there’s a return to Sue’s obsession with clothes:

Then this painful dialogue:

After Sue has proven her worth in about a dozen issue, Reed still wants to shunt her aside. Johnny, of all people, comes to her defense.

Then, after Sue battles Doom to a standstill, Reed intervenes to say:

It’s clobberin’ time!

I believe this is only the second time we hear Ben use his signature phrase:

Weird science

Not the Encephalo-Gun!! Not that!!

They’re fighting again

The juice made them do it.

Mid-Century Modern

Doom also has a creative decorator.

Speaking of art

A bystander pays Ben to destroy a car to create a piece of modern art:

This would be just another example of Stan and Jack making fun of the excesses of 60s culture, expect artist John Chamberlain had a successful career making sculpture out of demolished cars:

Pin-ups!

FF Annual 2 has a collection of run-of-the mill pin-ups of villains, and some exquisite pin-ups of the FF (and Alicia). Kirby put a lot of attention to detail in these, particularly Reed’s and Johnny’s (and despite Ben only saying “it’s clobbering time” once before this issue, it’s already identified as a catch-phrase in is pinup).

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Check out this panel, of the party at the Latverian embassy:

And this is a great sequence:

For sale

A mint (9.8) copy of FF Annual 2 could cost you $50,000. An issue in Fine (6.0) condition is about $800.

Next issue: The return of the Mole Man!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 23

19 Saturday Jun 2021

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1963, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 23, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 23
“The Master Plan of Dr. Doom”
Published: November 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: George Roussos
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Roussos

Synopsis

A small dinosaur escapes into the Baxter Building from Dr. Doom’s time machine, leading Mr Fantastic to berate the rest of the team for their inattentiveness. Frustrated with Reed’s brusque leadership, the Human Torch, the Thing, and the Invisible Girl decide to vote on a new leader, and when all three vote for themselves, a fight breaks out which ends only when Reed asserts his command over the team.

Meanwhile, three criminals are bailed out of jail by a bald man revealed to be a robot controlled by Dr. Doom. The three have been assembled because of their special talents—strength, superior hearing, and resistance to flame—which are augmented by Doom, and they become the Terrible Trio. The trio use their new powers to capture the Human Torch, Thing, and Invisible Girl, while Doom uses a Thing robot to lure and attract Reed.

The four heroes free themselves from their shackles, then battle Doom only to find he has imprisoned them in a warehouse coated in ionic dust particles, making it vulnerable to a “solar wave” that is transporting the room into outer space. The team is able to escape the room, but Doom plunges into the void.

What’s going on here?

Honestly? Not much, particularly after all the big developments in the last issue. This is fairly inconsequential issue, both for having very little impact on future stories, and for a fairly banal plot, even one involving Doom. If anything, while FF 23 further cements Doom as the team’s primary antagonist, it weakens his impact by dragging him into such an uneventful story. There is a some character building, mostly involving Reed being a jerk and then getting a bit of comeuppance, but it’s not a subplot that is really developed. We do get almost two full pages of Ben and Johnny fighting, though.

The Terrible Trio

The only new characters introduced are the Terrible Trio, a bunch of D-listers who make a handful of appearances over the years. Here they are in Marvel Two-in-One 60, where they crash Alicia’s art opening:

Marvel Two-in-One 60 (1980), art by George Perez and Gene Day

They don’t appear again for almost 40 years, when they show up in Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street

4 Yancy Street (2019) Art by Mark Bagley (I think)

Reed Richards is a jerk

He is extra-unpleasant in this issue

He kinda, sorta apologizes after Johnny rescues him after Doom’s freezes him solid.

They’re fighting again

Are they ever

The sexist sixties

Weird science

The ionic dust/ solar wave business is completely perplexing. I have no idea what Stan and Jack were doing here

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

Some cool stretching action.

You call that a trap?

After several issues where Doom builds individual cells to counter the FF’s powers, here he just chains them to a wall (and puts Reed in a box, which Ben smashes. Not even Doom can bother to try very hard in this issue.

He’s a bad man

Doom flexes his bad-guy muscles in disposing of his henchmen

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Jack does get to draw some outer space stuff, so that’s a plus.

For sale

A mint issue (9.8) of FF 23 will run you about $21,000. At least that’s what it says here.

Next issue: The FF confront the Infant Terrible!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 17

02 Sunday May 2021

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1963, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 17, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 17
“Defeated by Doctor Doom!”
Published May 9, 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and Ayers

Synopsis

After last issue’s adventure, the Fantastic Four bid farewell to Ant-Man and begin searching for Dr. Doom on the streets of New York. Doom, disguised as the Baxter Building’s janitor, implants tracking devices on the team, who are soon followed by floating, immaterial robots. Doom then abducts Alicia Masters to use as a hostage, and blackmails the US government, disrupting the nation’s electronics in order to gain a seat on the president’s cabinet (!).

The FF launch a plan to rescue Alicia and defeat Doom but Reed recognizes Doom’s floating headquarters are protected with disintegrator rays. The rays are keyed to the team’s unique molecular structures, which were scanned by the floating robots. To bypass the rays, Reed gives the Thing a serum that changes him back to Ben Grimm, rearranging his molecules and foiling the disintegrator rays. Once aboard Doom’s ship, Ben—now changed back—destroys the ray device, and the other team members join him. Doom briefly detains the team members with individually designed traps (again) but the team escapes (again). Finally, Sue switches places with Alicia, getting close enough to Doom to stall him until the rest of the team arrives. Doom, however, escapes.

What’s going on here

Another satisfying, action packed issue, and one that helps establish both the characters of Doom and Ben. Like last issue, the story starts slowly, with comedic bits as the team tries to live normal lives in New York, before building to a crescendo aboard Doom’s ship.

While this is Doom’s fifth appearance, it’s the first where his motivations are revealed. He’s not just a power hungry villain, but an insecure man, tortured by feelings of inadequacy tied to his disfigurement.

But unlike future issues, where Doom’s plans involve world domination, here all he wants is a cabinet seat. (Which one is left unsaid: Secretary of Housing and Urban Development? Postmaster General?)

Meanwhile, after Reed changes Ben back to human—something which happens with regularity in these early issues—we learn that Ben’s heroism isn’t a function of his monstrous form. After spending much of the FF’s first year serving as the team’s comedian and hot head, we get a glimpse of the inner strength that helps define him and make him one of Marvel’s most beloved characters.

Heroic Sue

The Invisible Girl also gets some more dimension in this issue. One consequence of the introduction of Alicia to the FF’s world is Sue is no longer the most helpless woman, and she is replaced by Alicia as the designated hostage. But Sue also is toughened up a bit (although she attributes her fighting prowess to Reed’s tutelage—even when she triumphs it’s because of a man).

Byrne Baby Byrne

John Byrne references this issue at least twice in his subsequent comics. First, there’s this cover:

There’s also this great Kirby sequence of Sue evading a trap of rods…

…which Byrne homages (or swipes) in Alpha Flight 3:

The Incredible Mr. Fantastic

Some cool Reed action here:

They’re fighting again

Ben is understandably upset Alicia has been captured by Doom.

Geo-politics

In this issue we meet JFK (or at least his hair) as he drops some identifying verbal clues, like “vigor” and his daughter’s name (and speaking of Carline Kennedy, it appears the First Lady is lecturing the future Mrs. Schlossberg in silhouette). The rocking chair may be a reference to Kennedy’s back problems.

We also meet Khrushchev, here identified as Comrade K.

All dressed up

The FF looks pretty spiffy here:

Believe the hype

This issue features more the than the usual bombast from Stan. On the cover, as well as inside. The second feels like a direct attack on the Justice League of America.