Fantastic Four 174
“Starquest!”
Published June 1976
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Jack Kirby and Frank Giacoia

Editor’s note: This may be the last blog update for a few weeks. I will be traveling and it’s unlikely I’ll have time for blogging while I’m on the road. Hang tight, we will wrap up this arc when I get back!

Synopsis

Frustrated that the High Evolutionary won’t act to rescue the rest of the Fantastic Four, the Invisible Girl uses his machinery to teleport herself to them, only she sends herself to the wrong planet where she risks running out of air. Meanwhile, on the planet Mekka, the Thing and Mr. Fantastic escape from Torgo and and subdue his world of robots, only to free them rather than have them consumed by Galactus. Torgo, in turn, gives them permission to leave. And on the medieval planet, where the Human Torch and Gorr the gorilla were captured, it is soon revealed the inhabitants were Skrulls play-acting as knights of the round table. With no planet available to serve up to Galactus, the High Evolutionary prepares to battle him.

What’s going on here?

This is the fourth installment in an arc that will reach five issues, making it one of the longest since the end of the Lee / Kirby era. This comic didn’t have the same energy as the previous issue, but it’s still a satisfying story and a solid prelude to the fifth and final issue. The Skrull reveal is a fun twist, and there’s nice pieces of character development throughout.

John Buscema returns as a fill-in artist, with mixed results (more about that later). Jack Kirby turns in another lackluster cover (inked by Frank Giacoia) and colorist Janice Cohen makes her Fantastic Four debut.

What I liked

The resolution with Torgo was well handled. After engaging in a fight neither side really wanted, the parties reach an understanding based in mutual respect.

Torgo hangs around as a peripheral Marvel character for decades, appearing in a comic as recently as 2019.

The entire sequence with Reed and Ben on Mekka was nicely done, starting with Ben’s escape from his ex-skeleton, which creates an odd visual.

The banter between Ben and Reed continues with Reed’s admission that his powers no longer work properly, while Ben disguises his concern with another wisecrack where Reed plays along.

What I didn’t like

After being left out of the action in the last issue, Sue takes the initiative, only to end up stranded. Once again her powers and abilities are squandered.

While the Johnny / Gorr arc was quirky and amusing, it’s resolution was crammed into six panels that revealed the RenFaire people were Skrulls, that the dragons were intelligent vegetarians, that there was only one left and it was just killed, that the damsel in distress was a robot, and the Skrulls were leaving. Whew!

Buscema’s art seems rushed in this comic, and there’s two examples of mistakes I doubt he would normally make. First, in the panel of Ben punching up, he has five fingers, not his normal four:

And here, Reed stretches with his left arm, but it’s his right hand that pulls the switch:

We all have bad days. Most of us are lucky that we don’t have bozos blogging about them 50 years later.

Anything else?

I liked this ad for Spalding baseball gloves on the back cover. Art by Jack Davis, best known for his work in MAD Magazine.

Overall

Another solid comic book