Fantastic Four 42
“To save you, why must I kill I you?”
Published June 1965
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Vince Colletta
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sol Brodsky

Synopsis

Fantastic Four 42 picks up where FF 41 left off, with the Frightful Four goading the brainwashed Thing into killing Mr. Fantastic, who is glued to a board. Unable to stretch his limbs, Reed inflates his chest to escape, eventually inducing Ben into destroying the board. The teams continue to battle, with Ben eventually capturing Reed and stuffing him into a jar (really). The Human Torch’s flames are doused when Medusa uses her hair to soak him, and he is captured and brainwashed by the Frightful Four. The Invisible Girl frees Reed, and the two use tear gas to flush the villains out of their lair. Reed then attaches the Wizard’s antigravity devices to Ben, rendering him helpless when the Torch attacks. The comics ends with another cliffhanger.

What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 42 is wall-to-wall action. The fight that began in issue 41 continues all the way through 42 without conclusion (presumably that happens in the next issue) and with no digressions or cutaways for other stories. Further, virtually the entire story takes place in the Frightful Four’s house in New Jersey that gives the battle a claustrophobic intensity.

Also notable is Stan and Jack’s embrace of the multi-issue story arcs and the cliff-hanger ending. After nearly 40 issues of one-and-done comics (with two exceptions), we’re now on the fifth issue of an arc that began in issue 38, each ending with a cliffhanger. As discussed in a previous entry, I think it reflects Stan and Jack’s confidence that their now large and loyal body of fans that would seek out new issues. It might also be a sign that newsstands and drug stores, impressed with the Fantastic Four’s sales, were ordering them with sufficient regularity that the creators didn’t have to worry about readers not being able to find issues.

Fantastic Four 42 also happens to be an issue I own, which means we get to check out some non-story elements of the comic. First up, some house ads and the Bullpen Page:

Another house ad (that Thor Annual was so good it was plugged twice!):

The letters page (two pages!). I learned here that a fan gave Alicia Masters her last name. No celebrity letters though.

And finally a real ad. I could probably write a whole post dissecting this ad and what it says about popular music at this point of 1965.

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

There’s a lot of excellent stretching action in this comic. Here, Reed puffs up like a blowfish:

And here, he makes a slingshot out of his fingers:

Signed, Stan

Is this the first signed editors note? It can’t recall seeing this before.

Oops

Is this a goof? it looks like Stan might be covering for Jack to explain why Medusa and the Trapster aren’t incapacitated (either way, it’s pretty clunky writing):

Deus ex machina

I guess if anyone is going to keep canisters of tear gas in their storage shed, it’s going to be a super villain.

The sixties are slightly less sexist

Sue rises to the occasion here, although opening a jar still wipes her out.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

An all fight issue means fewer opportunities for Jack to really shine, but there’s some fun panels of Ben and Reed battling:

which eventually ends like so:

Next issue: The conclusion!