Tag Archives: Inhumans

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four Annual No. 12

28 Sunday Sep 2025

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Fantastic Four Annual 12
“The End of the Inhumans … and the Fantastic Four!”
Published October 1976
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Pencils: Bob Hall and Keith Pollard
Inks: Bob Wiacek
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Glynis Wein
Editor: Wolfman
Cover: John Buscema and Joe Sinnott

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four are summoned from their leisure activities — Johnny is racing a car, the rest are in Hollywood supervising a movie — by Crystal and Lockjaw, who report the rest of the Inhuman royal family have been captured and the Atillan has become a fortress. The FF eventually overcome the would-be ruler, Thraxon the Schemer (yes, that’s what he calls himself), only to discover he is a pawn of a much greater power, the Sphinx. The Sphinx, an ancient Egyptian wizard who is now immortal, requires Black Bolt’s powers to conquer Earth, and is holding the Inhumans aboard a spaceship. The FF travel to space and are helpless against the Sphinx, but in the melee, Lockjaw frees the Inhumans and Black Bolt defeats the villain in one-on-one combat.


What’s going on here?

This annual is very much a mixed bag. It contains some fun moments and characterizations, and the art is interesting, but the story is padded out with unnecessary fights and flashbacks and some truly painful attempts at topical humor. The story, written and edited by Marv Wolfman, comes in at 48 pages, yet somehow feels much longer. It’s a good example of why writers shouldn’t be their own editors.

The story falls out of the FF’s current continuity, and since Reed can stretch without apparent issue, it probably takes place a good deal earlier than the events in the main title, where the FF have broken up due to Reed’s loss of his powers. The villain, the Sphinx, is an attempt at a new big bad guy but he’s not very convincing, in part because his name and costume are both pretty silly. He debuted in Nova 6, also written by Wolfman, and will pop up every once in a while. He never becomes a top tier FF villain, and frankly, his ancient Egyptian evil schtick was handled much better by Louie Simonson a decade later with Apocalypse.

The pencils are credited to both Bob Hall and Keith Pollard, and it’s hard to tease out who did what (Incidentally, I’ve met Bob Hall at a few conventions and had him draw sketches for me. A very gracious man). Bob Wiacek handled the inks and they look much different — thicker and rougher —than the more refined lines I associate him with from his X-Men run. Still, the art has its moments and between the three artists I see echoes of Kirby and Gil Kane:


What I liked

Like his close friend Len Wein, Wolfman seems determined to elevate Sue’s usage as a member of the Fantastic Four. This page is a pretty good demonstration of how she’s been upgraded, both in her attitude toward her teammates and in her powers:


As I’ll get to later, the FF’s Hollywood sequence, where they fight a robot version of the Thing designed for a movie, is beyond tedious. But using the Gong Show’s gong as a weapon is a fun idea.


As anyone how follows this account on Twitter knows, I am perturbed by artists who draw the Thing as a giant. Here, Ben makes the same point:


There were a few good sequences that featured a maturing Johnny reconciling with Crystal being married to Quicksilver. Here, he combines some introspection with commentary about his powers:


And here, we see three adults acting like adults (it won’t last):


I did like the sequence of Black Bolt wailing on the Sphinx. It really establishes him as a true heavy weight, given that the four members of the FF could barely touch the Sphinx:


What I didn’t like

As mentioned, the Hollywood sequence is long, silly and feels engineered to pad the page count. The conceit is a heavily accented Italian producer — I assume a Dino DiLaurentis parody — is making a movie about the FF, which they agree to for “tax money.”


Sue’s comment about never wearing “anything like that” is sadly ironic, given what was to come.

(FF 374, by Tom DeFalco, Paul Ryan and Danny Bulanadi)


As if if couldn’t get more inane, the Thing’s fight with the robot Thing crashes into the set of the Gong Show, producing lots of unfunny jokes about a show that wasn’t particularly funny. The effect is a bit like an unsuccessful MAD magazine parody.


There are several instances in this comic of holes being blown through the walls of a space ship and people being sucked outside, and everyone surviving just fine. I’m sure Wolfman knew better, but didn’t want to take the effort to make it plausible.


Lastly, the FF’s pogo plane is nuclear powered? In midtown Manhattan?


Anything else?

House ads. I’ve never heard of The UFO Connection.


Overall

Would have been just fine as a 22 page story.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 159

26 Sunday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 159
“Havoc in the Hidden Land!”
Published March 1975
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joseph Rosen
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

With Quicksilver, the Fantastic Four — minus the Invisible Girl, who was forbidden to come — travel to the Hidden Land in the Himalayas to rescue the Inhumans, where they are immediately captured by Xemu, the tyrant from the Fifth Dimension. In captivity, Johnny is reunited with Valeria, a princess from the Fifth Dimension he last encountered years ago. To force Black Bolt to power his sonic cannon, Xemu both threatens Medusa and tries to provoke an air strike by China. His plan is foiled by the Invisible Girl, who stowed aboard and used her powers to disguise the Hidden Land from the Chinese air force. The rest of the team and the Inhumans, freed by Triton, subdue Xemu and return him to the Fifth Dimension.


What’s going on here?

With this issue, Roy Thomas really puts his stamp on the Fantastic Four, undoing a slew of changes that had been introduced over Gerry Conway’s tenure as writer. Most notable is the return of the Invisible Girl as a member of the team. But Thomas also gives Johnny back his old blue uniform and dismisses Medusa from the team — both on the same page — reversing two changes to the FF that added little and distracted from their unified, familial nature that makes the team unique.

Readers of this blog know I have been very critical of the treatment of Medusa, who never found her place on the team, and especially of Sue, who spent the last two-plus years shunted aside, figuratively and sometimes literally. Sue’s diminished status is nothing new, of course, and was a fixture of the Lee / Kirby era. Her treatment surely reflected the sexism of the time, but her more recent exclusion from the team was perhaps also the result of an inability by Conway (who, remember, was in his early 20s) to imagine a role for a young mother on a superhero team. In the comics, her exclusion was justified by Reed being over-protective, and in some revealing dialogue early in FF 159, Ben makes the case she should join them, perhaps another case of Thomas using the characters to argue with other FF writers.


At this point in the comics I was resigned to yet another issue without Sue, and was genuinely surprised when she not only appeared, but saved the day with new and expanded powers. Thomas, it seems, was as frustrated with Sue’s marginalization as this fan.


And like a Gilbert & Sullivan operetta, all is wrapped up and forgiven in the last few panels.


What I liked

I loved Sue’s dramatic re-emergence, but Thomas also managed to surprise me with the sequence where the FF are imprisoned. This is a pretty familiar situation, and they usually use some aspect of their powers to escape, but here they are rescued by Triton, whose absence was explained last issue. This was another twist I didn’t see coming.


Thomas leans into soap opera by reintroducing Valeria, the alien princess Johnny had a dalliance with years ago and — as is his wont — jilted. I like how she reminded him that he ghosted her.


I’m not sure Valeria is the right woman for Johnny and history will prove she is not, but I like that Thomas is trying to make a clean break with Crystal and that mopey storyline.


What I didn’t like

Despite the many positive aspects of this comic, it’s plot was pretty lackluster and by-the-numbers. The FF are captured by an evil-doer, it all looks hopeless, they escape and save the day. This story was at times incoherent, in part because of Xemu’s dimension-hopping, but it was mostly forgettable.

Rich Buckler’s art looks rushed and unimaginative in this issue, which doesn’t help matters.

Also, what is a “lethargizer?”


About that name

“Valeria” is a familiar name to Fantastic Four fans, and the character in FF 159 is one of three to share it. She’s also the first, since her first appearance in 1962’s Strange Tales 103 predates the appearance of Victor Von Doom’s first true love, a Latverian woman named Valeria, who is first mentioned in 1969’s Marvel Super-Heroes 20. It is that Valeria who is the namesake of Valeria Richards, the daughter of Reed and Sue who was delivered by Doom and who claimed the right to name her.

Marvel Super-Heroes 20 was written by Larry Leiber (Stan’s brother) and I don’t know whether he was aware of the previous Valeria, who seemed like a throwaway character until she was resuscitated by Thomas. It is possible both characters were named after Valerie Barclay, a comic book inker who worked at Marvel (then Timely) in the 1950 who was described by artist Allen Bellman as “an exquisitely beautiful young lady.”


Overall

A very welcome return makes up for a dull story.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 158

19 Sunday Jan 2025

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Fantastic Four 158
“Invasion From the 5th (count it, 5th!) Dimension!”
Published Feb. 1975
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Joe Rosen
Colors: Janice Cohen
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Al Milgrom

Synopsis

Quicksilver is teleported from Atillan, home of the Inhumans, to New York to summon Medusa home. After a brief scuffle with the Human Torch, he explains Atillan has been invaded by Xemu, a tyrant from the Fifth Dimension, and plans to use Black Bolt’s voice to power his Thunder Horn, thereby conquering Earth (Medusa is required to coerce Black But to use his powers thusly). The issue ends with the Fantastic Four vowing to end this menace and taking off in their ICBM for Atillan.


What’s going here

There’s a lot to like in this issue, one of the best in many years. It also has an interesting origin, which may or may not explain why it’s better than other recent issues: According to an answer to a letter in this issue, this story was originally created for Giant-Size Fantastic Four 5, but penciler Rich Buckler ran afoul of “personal problems” and was unable to complete the story slated for FF 158. As a result, they chopped this story in two, with the second half to run in FF 159 while Giant-Size FF 5 became a fill-in issue. Whew!

Fantastic Four FF 158 reads like Roy Thomas at the peak of his powers. The story has lots of fun touches and bits of characterization, there’s an obligatory call back to an obscure comic, and he gets to show off his erudition as Ben and Alicia discuss Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. More importantly, while the plot structure is a pretty familiar one to FF readers, it’s suspenseful, well-paced and moves along briskly.

As Thomas notes in an editor’s note, Xemu and his Fifth Dimension first appeared in Strange Tales 103 from 1962 (although he was called Zemu back then), and you couldn’t not imagine a more Silver-age-ish comic than this. It has wonderful pencils from Jack Kirby, and is inked by Dick Ayers


Teenage Johnny investigates houses sinking into the muck on Long Island, discovers it’s an alien plot, is abducted to the Fifth Dimension, is taken prisoner, escapes with the help of sympathetic locals, starts a war, leads an uprising that liberate the planet, and returns home — all in 14 pages!

It’s clear Thomas has a lot of affection for this era of storytelling and he returns to it over and over throughout his career.


What I liked

The opening sequence, when Ben and Alicia are leaving the opera, was well handled, with the right amount of humor and genuine affection between the two. I liked how the splash page was a riff on the splash page from Giant-Size FF 4 (and recall how this story was originally supposed to be in GSFF 5), with Alicia turning the tables on ben and taking him to the opera. I also liked how Thomas poked fun at the silliness of the Fifth Dimension conceit in the title.

The fun banter between Ben and Alicia continues, and when Ben falls into his familiar woe-is-me routine, Alicia harmlessly bats it aside, recognizing it’s Ben’s schtick.


Thomas checks in on the rest of the FF as well. Johnny heads to a single bar, looking to, well, get laid. I love how the woman mocks his lingo, another subtle dig by Thomas at how dated Johnny’s slang was when written by Stan Lee.


Then we have a brief interlude with Reed and Sue — Sue’s first appearance in many issues. This is the first I’ve heard of Sue becoming a private detective, and I don’t know if anything became of it but it’s a great idea for a comic (she was later retconned as a super-spy who does missions for Nick Fury in the 2019 Invisible Woman mini-series, which is sort of a similar idea).


Lastly, we get a panel of Medusa, which seems to tell us what Thomas thinks of her as as story-telling material and which I suspect is a prelude to her leaving the FF.


And, randomly, Thomas introduces Barney Slocum, who lasts all of two panels. (I would not be surprised if Thomas resurrected him decades in the future as a new villain).



What I didn’t like

While Thomas seems to be having fun digging up Xemu, he’s a pretty tired concept, and he feels like a cross between Ming the Merciless and Xemnu, the Hulk villain. And his Thunder Horn seems lot like the Climate Cannon the evil Ternak planned to use to subjugate humanity in FF 145. (At least Xemu acknowledges it’s a silly name)


The fight between Johnny and Quicksilver felt pro forma and obligatory, but it was less forced since these two have real beef and it was over fast.


And just as Sue finally reappears, she is shunted aside one again:


Anything else?

Some letter writers suggested some new outfits for Sue:


They wouldn’t be her worst look …



Overall

Fun!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 150

27 Sunday Oct 2024

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Fantastic Four 150
“Ultron 7: He’ll Rule the World!” and “The Wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver!”
Published June 1974
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Rich Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Linda Lessman
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Frank Giacoia

Editors note: Apologies for skipping a week. This post was delayed, ironically, because I spent a few days at New York Comic Con. We should be back on track going forward.

Synopsis

Ultron 7, whose head is attached to the gigantic form of Omega, unleashes a mental blast that stirs the powers in comatose Franklin, and the resulting feedback shuts down Ultron while awakening Franklin, to the delight of his parents. In an epilogue / second story, Crystal weds Quicksilver while the gathered heroes consider their own love lives.


What’s going on here

After the jumble of Avengers 127, things finally cohere in FF 150 into an intelligible plot. The confrontation with Ultron is thankfully brief; mostly the robot rants and raves, explains how Maximus launched it upon the Inhumans, and then is disrupted by Franklin’s psychic energy. Ending the threat of Ultron while wakening Franklin was a neat plot twist I didn’t see coming, and combined with Sue’s rapprochement with Reed last issue, serves to end a two-year period of disharmony between Reed and Sue. My guess is that this will also end Medusa’s tenure as a member of the FF, but we will see.

The wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver still doesn’t make a ton of sense, but they stuck it out for almost two decades in real time and had a daughter, Luna, before Pietro went nuts and the marriage fell apart. While it lasted, it was a fun inter-Marvel relationship, connecting the Inhumans, the FF, the Avengers and the X-Men.

Gil Kane again did the cover. Not his strongest work, but Johnny looks cool.


What I liked

I’m a sucker for quiet moments comics—where heroes aren’t in the middle of epic battles and can reflect on their lives—and this issue’s second story provided a lot of that. There was a nice moment between Reed and Sue, and an odd sequence where Thor and Iron man discuss their romantic troubles. (Not sure what “Scenario” means here but whatever).


We finally get some angst from Jonny about his ex getting married:


And there are some big, Kirby-esque splash pages from Rich Buckler:


What I didn’t like

For a robot, Ultron talks sooo much. Here is but a sample of its blather:


Anything else?

There is a curious panel that identifies the Golden-Age hero the Whizzer as the father of Pietro and Wanda. This was an idea introduced briefly in Giant-Sized Avengers 1, but was eventually swept aside when it was revealed their father was actually Magneto (and eventually this too would be retconned away).


This ad seems to have a bit of everything: Kung Fu and SportsAction!



Overall

A surprisingly successful issue.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Avengers No. 127

12 Saturday Oct 2024

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Avengers 127
“Bride and Doom!”
Published June 1974
Writer: Steve Englehart
Pencils: Sal Buscema
Inks: Joe Staton
Letters: Tom Orzechowski
Colors: Englehart
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Gil Kane and Mike Esposito

Editors note: Yes, I know this isn’t an issue of the Fantastic Four. But Avengers 127 is the immediate precursor to FF 150 and the FF play a major role in it, so I felt it made sense to give it the full, TWGCM treatment. We will resume our march through the FF next week.

Synopsis

Gorgon and Lockjaw, the Inhumans, summon the Avengers to the wedding of Quicksilver and Crystal, although there is friction between Quicksilver and his sister, the Scarlet Witch. The Avengers and the Fantastic Four arrive in the Great Refuge (not yet called Attilan) for the festivities, but soon fall victim to mind control attacks, seemingly at the hands of the Maximus and Alpha Primatives, who are later revealed to be pawns of the evil robot Ultron.


What’s going on here

This issue is a bit of a jumble, with a lot of moving parts that don’t really cohere. The wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver, announced by Gorgon in the splash page, takes the Avengers by surprise, and presumably readers were equally taken aback. There was no hint that Crystal and Quicksilver’s relationship had advanced to the wedding stage in recent issues of the Fantastic Four, nor, as far as I can tell, in the Avengers. My guess is that editor Roy Thomas, wanting a big event for FF 150, thought up the wedding, and the writers made it work as best they could. The Alpha Primatives/Maximus/Omega/Ultron plot is particularly janky.

I’m not really familiar with this era of the Avengers, so it’s interesting to see Joe Staton inking Sal Buscema. I have never been a Steve Englehart fan, and I consider his run on the FF in the late 80s once of the worst ever, but I was surprised to see him get a coloring credit. The Gil Kane cover is amazing.

What I liked

I’ve mentioned before that the FF at times seems cut off from the rest of the Marvel Universe, and true cross-over events in this period are pretty rare. I believe the last was FF 73, but I may be missing something. So it’s fun to see the FF as part of a greater whole, even if I don’t love how they are handled here (more on that in a bit). Of course, cross-over events went from fun to a painful obligation for comic collectors pretty quickly, but as a young reader I loved them.

One small highlight from this period of comics is Iron Man’s nose. It always makes me smile.


What I didn’t like

I was disappointed with how the FF was dropped into the story, almost as an afterthought and without a scene of Johnny reacting to the news of Crystal’s engagement. Surely that would have merited a few panels in the FF’s own issue. Here is there first appearance:


When Johnny finally speaks to Crystal, it feels perfunctory and rushed:


It’s slotted into a sequence of exchanges between various characters — Johnny and Crystal, Crystal and Quicksilver, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch, Mantis and the Swordsman — that has a distinctly soap opera-ish quality. All of it is very melodramatic, and written in anguished tones. (Plus, is Crystal really a “maiden?”)


Speaking of Englehart’s purple prose, this is as cringey a bit of writing I’ve yet encountered:


And Sue is suddenly back on the team, as if nothing over the last 20 issues in the FF ever happened:


I also thought this panel was odd. The Avengers and FF are performing tricks for the crowd at a wedding banquet? With Black Bolt elevated on a throne? There’s a weirdly medieval vibe to how Buscema envisioned Attilan.


Lastly, this panel was almost laughably weird. The giant Omega pulls off a mask to reveal he’s Ultron, like in the last scene of a Scoobey-Doo episode. Does Ultron really need to wear a disguise when he’s a 50-foot monster?


Anything else?

As mentioned, the Kane cover is incredible. It also is an echo of his cover for FF 146, and both foreshadow his cover of Giant-Size X-Men 1, and all of which seemed to inspire Mike Zeck’s Secret Wars 1, which in itself is much homaged. (Hat tip to sharp-eyed reader Jay Weintraub for pointing out the similarities between the covers of FF 146 and GS X-Men 1).



Overall

An Englehart / Thomas mess.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 149

05 Saturday Oct 2024

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Fantastic Four 149
“To Love, Honor, and Destroy!”
Published May 1974
Writer: Gerry Conway
Pencils: Rick Buckler
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Roy Thomas
Cover: Buckler and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Sub-Mariner, with the Invisible Woman at his side, attacks Manhattan, ostensibly to avenge Mr. Fantastic’s treatment of Sue and their child, Franklin. After a long battle, the Thing convinces Sue to forgive Reed, and Namor’s attack is revealed to be a plot cooked by him and the Inhumans Medusa and Triton to bring Reed and Sue back together.


What’s going on here?

This is a really frustrating issue with a flimsy story doesn’t hold up to much scrutiny. It has the feel of a Julie Schwartz-era Silver Age comic, where a silly situation involving Lois Lane is revealed to be a scheme by Superman. Here, Namor’s invasion of the surface world was never a very convincing threat, because it was never fully explained, nor were Sue’s motivations for joining him. But it’s also not convincing that Namor would agree to take part in a elaborate plot to reunite Reed and Sue either. And Sue’s decision to forgive Reed doesn’t work, either (more on that later).

The comic is also padded with a long flashback of the FF’s first battle with the Sub-Mariner, and double-page spread that serves no real purpose other to take up space. The reconciliation of Reed and Sue deserved a better story than this gimmicky, ill-conceived nonsense.


What I liked

Suddenly, Thundra seems to be part of the team, or is at least tagging along until she can defeat Ben in combat. It’s not really clear what’s she doing here, but she’s a fun addition.


We haven’t seen much of Sue lately, so it was good to see her in action, and particularly using her powers to new and devastating effect.


What I didn’t like

As noted above, the whole issue is a failure. But the biggest flaw is Sue’s decision to reunite with Reed, without Reed ever offering her an explanation or apology. Here,. Ben says Reed admitted his mistake, but did he? If so, it’s not in this issue and I don’t recall him ever telling that to Sue in the preceding issues.


And despite that lack of admission of fault, Sue accepts Reed back by saying he knows how to say he’s sorry – which he never does!

Further, throughout all of this, there is no discussion of Franklin, whether he is still in a coma or vegetative state, or what Sue intended to do with him if she ran off with Namor. Was he going to grow up underwater? Go to Atlantean childcare? It all feels slapdash and rushed, as if Roy and Gerry needed to get Sue and Reed back together before the big 150th issue.

And the reveal at the end, with Triton pulling off his mask, had a goofy Scooby-Doo feel to it.


Overall

One to forget

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 132

01 Saturday Jun 2024

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Fantastic Four 132
“Omega: The Ultimate Enemy!”
Published December 1972
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: John Buscema
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Constanza
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Jim Steranko and Frank Giacoia

Synopsis

The Fantastic Four (minus the Invisible Girl), Quicksilver and the Inhuman royal family confront the monstrous Omega, later revealed to be the personification of the Inhumans’ racial animus toward the Alpha Primitive underclass. The comic ends with Medusa joining the FF to replace Sue, and Johnny and Crystal breaking up.


What’s going on here

There’s a lot of action and angst in this comic, but the biggest developments come at the end. Medusa joins the team —or to be accurate, declares she is joining the team — in an arrangement that lasts more than 20 issues, a surprisingly long time. Again, it was another decision by Roy Thomas to shake up the status quo he inherited from Stan and inject some new dynamics into the team. Medusa also uses an Inhuman device to generate new costumes for herself and Johnny (Ben passes and when it’s aimed at Reed, nothing changes, which is mildly amusing).

The other major development is the official end of the romance between Crystal and Johnny after approximately 70 issues. Johnny’s obsession with Crystal frequently propelled his character and FF stories, to the point here it seems he had no other interests or character traits. Yet another example of Roy shedding the past for something new.

The cover was by Jim Steranko, with inks by Frank Giacoia, the last, and I think weakest, of the three covers he did to spell John Busecma.

There was also slight change to the interior art, flagged in a letters column an issue or two back: Instead of doing fun pencils, starting in this issue Buscema would be doing rough breakdowns, with Sinnott doing finishes. Since Sinnott had a pretty assertive inking style anyway, I’m not sure how much difference it makes. The change was made to give Buscema time to also draw Conan the Barbarian, giving him four regular books a month (the FF, Conan, Thor and a monster comic, which varied).

What I liked

The break-up of Johnny and Crystal was handed with admirable subtlety. Johnny clearly got his anger out last issue, so by the time Crystal tells him its over, he puts on a brave face and even mentions rekindling things with long-forgotten Dorrie Evans. But the final panel says everything. All in all, a pretty mature ending to a significant relationship.


What I didn’t like

In my blog post dealing with the last issue, I took Roy to task for seemingly siding with the Inhumans in their fight to put down the revolt of the Alpha Primatives, their servant class. Given that Roy has skewered South Africa’s apartheid regime in issue 119, championing the oppressors seemed inconsistent at best.

I should have given Roy more credit, because in the end, the Inhumans are shown the error of their ways. Omega, the villain, is powered by the Inhumans’ guilt and racial hatred — it’s not entirely clear which — toward the Alpha Primatives, channeled by a device constructed by Maximus the Mad. But while Roy’s sentiments are laudable, the effort feels ham-handed and falls flat.


First, leaving aside the implausibility of a machine that turns racial animosity into a living thing, Omega is designed just like a standard super villain, complete with a mask. There’s nothing about him or his powers that suggest his origin or purpose.

Secondly, Reed discovers the secret by eavesdropping on Maximus, who just happens to be ranting about his plan while leaning outside his window. It’s too convenient and not ingenious enough for Reed. And thirdly, of course Maximus is behind it all. If there’s an Inhumans’ story, Maximus is the bad guy. It’s predictable and boring.

Lastly, nothing seems to change. The Alpha Primatives return underground and the Inhumans go on being the superior race. Maybe we’ll learn more about how Inhuman society evolves in future comics but at the end of this issue, all that happens is that Inhumans feel a bit guilty.


Also, is there a word missing on the cover? “Until Last Destroy You?” I’m sure someone could win a No-Prize explaining that away.


Anything else?

Fun letter comparing the FF to the Beatles. Who is Allen Klein in this analogy?


Overall

A valiant effort that falls short

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 131

25 Saturday May 2024

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Fantastic Four 131
“Revolt in Paradise!”
Published Nov. 1972
Writer: Roy Thomas
Pencils: Ross Andru
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: John Costanza
Colors: Petra Goldberg
Editor: Thomas
Cover: Jim Steranko and Sinnott

Synopsis

The Human Torch discovers his erstwhile girlfriend Crystal in a romance with the ex-Avenger Quicksilver. Before they can hash it out, the Inhuman stronghold of Attilan is rocked by tremors, and the Alpha Primatives, a race of worker drones, revolt against their overlords.

What’s going on here?

This is another interesting issue. The big development, and one I genuinely didn’t expect, is the reveal of Crystal and Quicksilver’s relationship. Of course, I knew it was coming at some point—their marriage was a major fixture of Marvel comics in the 80s— but since Roy left no clues that this was impending, it took me by surprise (more on this later).

This issue is also notable in that it’s penciled by Ross Andru, who is amazingly just the fourth artist to pencil the FF in 131 issues (after Jack Kirby, John Romita and John Buscema). Andru had been around a long time at this point — his first credits were in 1951, and I think it’s fair to say he’s a bit of a journeyman, although he would go on to have a long and distinguished run on Amazing Spider-Man. This is the only issue of the FF he drew, and was a fill-in issue. Big John was back in the saddle by the next issue (although 133 is also a fill-in). Also, note that is the second of three Steranko covers.


What I liked

The Johnny /Crystal / Quicksilver love triangle is a fun plot twist that accomplishes a couple of things. One, it ties the FF more closely to the rest of the Marvel Universe. Save for about 20 issues in the mid 1960s, when almost every Marvel hero made a guest appearance in the Fantastic Four, the FF have been relatively isolated from other Marvel heroes. The appearance of Quicksilver is a reminder they inhabit the same universe as the Avengers (and the X-Men), and it makes sense that it’s Roy Thomas who cross-pollinated these comics, since at this point he had written all three.

Two, it helps establish the template of Johnny Storm as forever unlucky in love. Crystal may be Johnny’s first romance that fizzled (not counting high school crush Dorrie Evans) but she’s far from the last. Others love interests have included Frankie Raye (who became Nova), Lyja the Skrull (whom he thought was Alicia Masters), Namorita, and most recently Sky, the winged alien. After 60 years, his romantic woes have now become such a part of his character that I wonder if any writer would be willing to have him permanently settle down.

What I didn’t like


While the Crystal / Pietro relationship is a welcome addition, as far as I can tell, it comes out of nowhere. This comic refers to Avengers 104, as if it explains the beginning of the relationship, but Crystal does not appear there. In that comic, Quicksilver battles a Sentinel while attempting to rescue his sister, the Scarlet Witch, and is left injured in the Sentinels’ lair by the other Avengers , who don’t know he’s there.

An end note promises that readers will learn his fate in the next issue, but Avengers 105 is Steve Englehart’s first issue, and he takes the comic off in another direction. It’s not until FF 131, which was published five months later, that Crystal’s rescue of Pietro is shown (and is described as a random event).

My guess is that Thomas wanted to resolve his Pietro arc, and saw an opportunity to make life interesting for Johnny at the same time. But if his appearance in this issue surprised me, I can only imagine how FF readers on 1972 must have felt.


Thomas’s handling of the Alpha Primatives is a bit peculiar, too. It’s pretty clear they are subjugated race who live underground and serve as slaves to their Inhuman masters. When they revolt, it’s not depicted as a heroic uprising, but more like an insurrection that needs to be put down. That dynamic is a pretty strong contrast to issue 119, where Thomas very successfully wrote about he evils of apartheid. We’ll see how he handles the Alpha primitives revolt in the next issue.

Anything else

Not one but two letters from future comic writers in this issue: Mike W. Barr (Camelot 3000, Batman and the Outsiders, among others) and Charles “Chuck” Dixon (Punisher, Detective Comics, among others).



Overall

An excellent comic with some issues.

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 99

29 Saturday Apr 2023

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Fantastic Four 99
“The Torch Goes Wild!”
Published: March 1970
Story: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Artie Simek
Cover: Kirby and John Verpoorten

Synopsis

The Thing is preparing for a ski trip with Alicia when Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl report the Human Torch is flying around the world to take on the Inumans and reclaim his girlfriend, Crystal. We cut to the Torch flying across Europe before he takes refuge in a cave in the Himalayas, where he is accosted by what appears to be a talking yeti. Meanwhile the rest of the team take off in a flying saucer, only to be grounded by a meteor strike in the Himalayas as well.

The yeti turns out to be an Inhuman and Johnny, realizing he has reached his destination, battles his way through Attillan, the city of the Inhumans, and confronts Crystal and the rest of the royal family. The Torch fights them, until Crystal, peeved at his immaturity turns against him. Johnny, feeling betrayed, threatens to destroy Attillan with a fireball when the rest of the FF show up and neutralize him. Eventually Crystal explains she was needed by her family because Black Bolt was sick. A chagrined Johnny learns his lesson and Ben is pleased he can still go skiing.


What’s going on here?

This is a pretty weak issue, and it’s hard not to connect it to the the upcoming end of the Lee/ Kirby run, which is coming in just four more issues. The plot is thin, the art feels rushed and the comic as a whole lacks much substance. At this point, we’ve had a number of stories about the Torch’s pursuit of Crystal, and this one didn’t add much to our understanding of them. If anything, it revealed Johnny to be as immature as ever.

If there’s one redeeming quality, it’s that Sue not only joined the mission—after being sidelined for so many because of pregnancy or motherhood—but she’s the voice of maturity and reason, calling out Johnny for being a selfish jerk. So that’s progress.


Comic relief

At some point Ben’s character tipped from being a tragic figure who uses humor to cope, to being the team clown. It’s been evolving that way for many issues, but this silly splash page seems like a good example of how Stan and Jack are treating him lately.



Flying saucer

Yes, the FF have a flying saucer. No, they don’t explain how or why. If I had to create an in-continuity explanation, I would say it’s from the Skrull planet they visited in issue 93, but maybe Reed just decided to make one.


Stan’s survey

From the Bullpen Bulletins page. Note Stan didn’t ask who was the favorite writer. I would love to see the results of this.


Dig that Kirby Krackle


Only one interior splash in this issue, but it’s a fine one of the Inhumans:


I like this sequence of the Torch’s world tour:

And here the rest of the FF meet some elegantly attired Tibetans:


Also on newsstands

What else was on sale in March 1970? Covers by Adams, Kane and Franzetta


Next issue: The big one! Fantastic Four 100!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine!” Fantastic Four No. 83

11 Sunday Dec 2022

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Fantastic Four 83
“Shall Man Survive?”
Published November 1968
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Script: Lee
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: Joe Sinnott
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Sinnott

Synopsis

After the events of last issue, in which Maximus the Mad imprisoned the Inhumans and the Fantastic Four, Mr. Fantastic, the Human Torch and the Thing attempt to escape a sealed room, but can’t because Maximus’s hypno-rays leave unable to fully use their powers.

Elsewhere, as Maximus prepares to unleash his hypno-gun on humanity and conquer the earth, Black Bolt uses his voice power to shatter the glass enclosure, freeing the rest of the Inhumans. Separately, the Fantastic Four breaks free after Reed convinces Ben and Johnny to concentrate and realize they weren’t actually trapped. The three then quickly defeat Zorr, Maximus’s robot, before it can use the hypo-powers that beat them last issue.

The Inhuman and the FF then converge on Maximus, and as Crystal destroys his hypno-gun, Maximus escapes.


What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 83 is a mostly satisfying conclusion to the events of last issue. It’s full of action, has some fun art, and lots of Ben cracking wise. The Inhumans’ escape seems a bit too easy—surely Maximus would have accounted for Black Bolt’s voice—and ultimately Maximus’s plan is foiled without much trouble. But the story is well paced, and we get a lot of Maximus as a mustache-twirling super villain.

The only big development in FF 83 is we finally see Sue and her baby, three issues after his birth in FF Annual 6. It’s only a few panels, but it’s a sign of life!

Silent Night

Unusually, FF 83 has a long sequence of the Inhumans battling without word balloons, sound effects or narrations. It’s the first time I’ve seen this in the FF, and I wonder if it’s related to Black Bolt’s silence. It reminds me of a sporting event, when the announcers shut up after a big moment (in this case, it was after the Inhumans freed themselves).

Those Wacky Inhumans

Jack clearly has fun coming up with zany Inhuman characters. A centaur, a flying guy, a tree guy etc.


The sexist sixties

This may be the most pathetic example of Sue’s helplessness. I can accept her needing Reed’s help to fight Dr. Doom, but to name a baby????


It’s Clobberin’ Time

These get better and better


Reunited

This is a fun panel


Dig that Kirby Krackle

We get two full page splash pages in this issue. If I’m being honest, I don’t love the Inhumans one – Black Bolt’s proportions seem off.

Some other cool panels

Also on sale

What else was on the newsstands in November 1968?


Next issue: The return of Dr. Doom!