(This cover image on Marvel Unlimited is irritatingly cropped, so this is the best I can do – sorry)
Fantastic Four 33 “Side-by-Side with the Sub-Mariner!” Published: Sept. 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Artie Simek Cover: Kirby and Stone
Synopsis
FF 33 opens with the team in the Baxter Building, examining a strange undersea creature that washed up on shore. Sensing something is amiss beneath the ocean, Mr. Fantastic sends the Human Torch to patrol the shoreline, where he discovers Lady Dorma of Atlantis, last seen in FF Annual 1, surfacing. Johhny brings her to the Baxter Building, where she explains the barbarian warlord Attuma has attacked Atlantis. Worse, she betrayed the Sub-Mariner and aided Attuma because Namor spurned her affections. Now she asks the FF for help.
The team, aided by an “Oxy-Spray” that allows them to breath underwater, descend with Dorma to Atlantis, where Namor is battling Attuma’s forces. The team surreptitiously helps him, with Sue making Namor invisible at a critical juncture, helping him defeat Attuma. The FF runs out of oxygen, however, and flees to the surface, leaving Namor unaware they aided him. The issue concludes with Namor forgiving Lady Dorma for her betrayal.
What’s going on here
FF 33 is a pretty straightforward story, told in the traditional style: It opens in the Baxter Building, the plot unfolds slowly, the second half is mostly action, and it’s all tied up in a few panels at the end. To the extent it adds to the FF’s larger narrative, it does signal Sue seems to be over her infatuation with Namor (although we don’t know if Namor is done with her, since he doesn’t know she’s helping him) and it’s another step in recasting the Sub-Mariner as a hero. Here, he is a noble warrior fighting for his kingdom. The story also introduces Attuma, who becomes a main antagonist of Namor’s over the years. Surprisingly, it’s one of the few times he appeared in the FF’s own comic.
The sexist sixties
The whole plot hinges on Lady Dorma betraying Namor because her feelings are hurt. It’s a trite and lazy story-telling device, and the same result—Dorma enlists the FF—could have been achieved in a number of other ways.
On the flip side, Stan and Jack give Sue a rare star turn in combat, where she uses her force field power to cause some real damage.
Weird science
FF 33 is a gold mine for zany, pseudo-scientific devices, starting with Reed’s “subionic analysis structure-scope.”
There’s also Oxo-Spray…
and Explo-Grenades (it’s unclear how these are different than normal exploding grenades)…
and Globules of Darkness …
and Ionic Rays …
and when that fails, Disintegrator Rays. All this stuff works underwater, too.
The Incredible Mr. Fantastic
Reed changes his shape into a manta ray, which is kind of cool
Krazy Kredits
A little more sedate in this ish.
All’s well that ends well
Stan and Jack stuff a whole lot into the last three panels here: We learn Namor is unaware of the FF’s help, Reed is convinced of Sue’s love, and we get a bit of snappy banter between Ben and Johnny.
Dig that Kirby Krackle
Jack gives us another pair of collages, with one on the cover, and this one:
Also, there are some great fight scenes, like this:
And this:
Pin up!
For sale
In near mint (9.8) condition, FF 33 will cost you $32,000. A Fine version (6.0) is $240. Both seem high to me, to be honest.
Fantastic Four 32 “Death of a Hero!” Published: Aug. 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Kirby and Stone
Synopsis
FF 32 opens in the Baxter Building with Mr. Fantastic, once again, trying to return the Thing to human form. The procedure works, but Ben loses his memory of the team and Alicia, so Reed reverses the process. Meanwhile, a ray from outer space blasts open a volcano on earth, and an unknown creature emerges. The creature enters the prison cell of Franklin Storm, the father of the Human Torch and Invisible Girl introduced last issue, and takes his form, sending Storm to outer space.
Sue and Johnny Storm, attempting to visit their father, find him transformed, and he uses new powers to blast out of prison. Sue and Johnny summon Reed and Ben, and together the team confronts Franklin, who is now costumed and calls himself the Invincible Man. They fight, but Sue and Johnny can’t bear to hurt their father, and the Invincible Man escapes, much to the chagrin of Reed.
The team retreats to the Baxter Building, where Reed devises a gizmo to defeat their foe, who, he tells Sue and Johnny, is not really Franklin Storm. When the team confronts the Invincible Man, Reed tells him he is communicating via “ultra-sonic radio transmitter” to his home galaxy, and demands Franklin Storm be returned. The Invincible Man then reveals himself to be the Super-Skrull, who had been trapped in the volcano since FF 18, and he is transmitted back to his home planet while Franklin Storm is returned.
Storm, however, is booby-trapped with a bomb, and he absorbs the blast rather than endanger the FF and his children, dying a heroic death in the arms of his children.
What’s going on here
FF 32 marks the second half of Franklin Storm’s story arc. Introduced last issue as a fugitive surgeon, it seems Stan and Jack liked his character so much they used him again. They also tied up any potential messy loose ends by killing him off, but not before we hear his sad story.
He then has a poignant—and long!—death scene, told in part with this nice perspective from Jack:
Unlike in FF 31, where Franklin’s appearance was awkwardly jammed into the comic, FF 32 is much more coherent, and tells a satisfying story. Not that there aren’t some holes in the plot: It’s not obvious why the Super-Skrull needed to take the form of Franklin Storm to defeat the FF—Reed says it was to discredit the team when the Storm children refuse to fight their father—and Reed defeats the Super-Skrull by basically threatening to fight him to the death, leading him the Skrull to run away. Some warrior.
Stan and Jack also spend nearly four pages on Reed’s latest unsuccessful effort to transform Ben back to human form. While it gave us some nice character moments, with Johnny torn about whether he wants Ben as a happy human or his monstrous teammate, the episode has no further bearing on the plot and feels like padding.
Krazy Kredits
Byrne Baby Byrne
John Byrne borrowed the Invincible Man for a throwaway character in 1986’s FF 287 (inks by the legendary Joe Sinnott!).
Reed Richards is a jerk!
Reed gets a bee in his bonnet when the Storms won’t fight their father.
He stays pissy about it for several more pages.
Finally, he sort-of apologizes.
Snappy banter
Reed’s peevishness is contrasted by his playful dialogue with Ben earlier.
Midcentury modern
The Baxter Building looks a bit more tasteful in this issue.
Weird science
I’m not sure how trillion laser beams are faster than one, but maybe it’s Skrull technology.
Dig that Kirby Krackle
Jack returns to the photo collage, with stunning effect.
The splash page is pretty cool too
And so is this little sequence:
For sale
A mint (9.8) copy of FF 32 could cost you $17,000. A fine version (6.0) is a more reasonable $80.
Fantastic Four 31 “The Mad Menace of the Macabre Mole Man!” Published: July 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Kirby and Stone
Synopsis
Earthquakes rock the Baxter Building and New York City. The Fantastic Four investigate, but as they rush out, the Invisible Girls sees a newspaper article about a man escaping from prison that gives her pause, and tells the rest of the team to go without her.
At the scene, the team discovers a city block has disappeared, leaving only a deep hole. Unbeknownst to the team, the Mole Man is responsible. The team returns to the Baxter Building to find the Invisible Girl has been take hostage by the Mole Man. The three use a Pogo Plane to descend to the Mole Man’s subterranean kingdom, avoiding obstacles along the way. There, the Mole Man demands the FF stand aside as he conquers the surface world, or risk losing Sue.
The team ascends to the surface to find the Avengers preparing to attack the Mole Man. After a brief scuffle, the FF convinces the Avengers to let them handle it and Mr. Fantastic invents a device that allows him to pinpoint Sue’s location. He then directs the Human Torch to blast a new tunnel down to the Mole Man’s kingdom, and Reed and Ben follow. With Johnny’s help, Sue escapes and the team returns the city blocks to the surface. But as the team ascends, Sue is hit by debris and is rushed to the hospital.
There, the doctors say only one surgeon can perform the necessary life-saving surgery, and he just escaped from prison. That man just appears, announces he is Sue and Johnny’s father, and successfully operates on Sue. He and Johnny have a moment at Sue’s bedside before the police arrive to return him to prison.
What’s going on here?
Fantastic Four 31 is notable for a few reasons, One is that Jack Kirby’s art seems to reach a new level of dynamism and creativity in this issue. Really, starting in issue 28, the Kirby’s art has been notably stronger, and FF 31 is a new peak. Some of that is Chic Stone’s inks, but it’s mostly Kirby who is using bigger panels, and more inventive perspectives and angles. Check out this page, for instance:
Or this one:
It seems light-years more sophisticated and interesting than the first few issues of the FF. I don’t know exactly why his art made a leap in 1964, but one idea may have been the increased popularity of the FF, and the sense that he and Stan were creating something special. Jack was famously overworked, so it’s to be expected that he would rush through most of his projects. But it also makes sense that he would take his time on a comic that he knew was being widely read and appreciated.
Also, FF 31 is marked by the appearance of Sue and Johnny’s father, Franklin. This is the first time any of the FF’s family has appeared in the book, and perhaps, after the lengthy unveiling of Dr. Doom’s origin in the FF Annual 2, Stan and Jack realized we knew more about Doom’s past than the FF’s. Even Reed claimed he didn’t know about Sue’s father, and assumed she and Johnny were orphans (or maybe he just didn’t pay attention when she told him). Over the years, we’ll meet more and more of the FF’s family and learn much more about their backstory.
Of course, Franklin Storm’s initial appearance is milked for maximum melodrama. First comes the foreshadowing in the newspaper:
then the deus ex machina revelation at the hospital:
and finally the reunion at Sue’s bedside:
But even while it’s clear Stan and Jack were building up to the conclusion, Sue’s injury and Franklin’s dramatic appearance seems strangely shoehorned into the story. We never actually see Sue get hurt, and the whole business with her hospitalization and operation is stuffed into the last two pages of the story.
Stan and Jack clearly thought introducing Franklin Storm was a big deal, though, teasing his appearance both on the cover and the splash page. But the story has a weird rhythm to it, and feels like an episode of Perry Mason or some other show where all plots are wrapped up in 22 minutes.
We will learn more about Franklin Storm in the next issue, but he doesn’t become as significant character as reed’s father, Nathaniel. He is, of course, the namesake of Franklin Richards, who gets his name in FF 94 (the B is for Benjamin):
Lastly, FF 31 includes a brief appearance from the Avengers. While from an in-universe perspective it’s not particularly surprising—if city blocks started disappearing in New York, the Avengers should show up—but at this point in the Marvel Universe, super teams weren’t routinely crossing paths. The encounter, which of course includes a brief fight, only lasts about a page, and doesn’t even warrant a mention on the cover.
The sexist sixties
I’ve lost track of how many times Sue has been kidnapped or taken hostage in the first 31 issues (and I don’t have the heart to count) but I’m sure it’s approaching double digits. And if it isn’t Sue who’s taken hostage, it’s usually Alicia.
Snappy banter
The brawling between the team has been replaced by witty repartee, at least for this issue.
Krazy Kredits
It’s Clobberin’ Time!
For sale
A mint (9.8) copy of FF 31 should cost around $26,000. An issue in fine condition (6.0) is about $120.
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.
Fantastic Four 30 “The Dreaded Diablo” Published: June 1964 Story: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Art Simek Cover: Kirby & Stone
Synopsis
The Fantastic Four, lost while vacationing in Transylvania (don’t ask), stumble upon the castle of a centuries-old alchemist, Diablo. Before they enter, a local Baron warns them away, and invites the team to stay with him. In the middle of the night, the Thing is entranced, and frees Diablo from his crypt. The next day, the rest of the team discover Ben has been transformed by Diablo to something closer to his human form, and he has pledged his service to Diablo for a year. After a scuffle, the rest of the team leaves to plot its next move.
Soon, news of Diablo’s powers have reached the outside world, and he performs amazing feats, such as making barren deserts fertile. Meanwhile, Reed analyzes the formula Diablo used to transform Ben and realizes he’s a fraud. Ben, too, has a change of heart once he has reverted back to his old rocky self, but Diablo subdues him.
The FF launches an attack on Diablo’s castle, and after a battle with Diablo and his henchmen, discover Ben trapped in a glass-like cylinder. Unable to free him, the team is then captured by Diablo and also sealed in cylinders. Ben, however, finally escapes and defeats Diablo, chasing him back into his crypt. As Ben brings the castle down, the vibrations shatter the glass holding the rest of the team, and the four escape back into the Transylvania wilderness.
What’s going on here?
Fantastic Four 30 is pretty much wall-to-wall action. Like last month’s issue, it opens in media res, with the team already lost in Transylvania, and the entire issue takes place there. There’s no Baxter Building, no Alicia, and none of the normal set pieces. To the extent there’s any character building, we see Sue become more accomplished at using her powers in combat, and Ben, although tempted by the offer to return to normal, quickly comes to his senses and regrets his disloyalty.
FF 30 also marks the debut of Diablo, a second or third-tied FF villain whose appearances are always fun. By making Diablo an alchemist, Jack and Stan are reaching back into the bag of quasi-historical tricks that sustained so many horror and mystery stories. Stuff like alchemy, fabled lost cities, mythic creatures, ancient heroes etc. consistently pop up over the years in the FF and elsewhere as creators hunt for stories. Diablo wasn’t the first villain to practice alchemy (here’s a list) but he’s one of the more prominent.
Interestingly, Diablo was the first villain John Byrne used in his landmark FF run of the 1980s, in FF 232, as a not-too-subtle signal that he was embracing the FF’s Lee/Kirby past (and if Diablo didn’t convince you Byrne was looking backward, the issue’s title should have).
Also interesting is the version of the Thing Ben is transformed into by Diablo: essentially human in appearance, but with orange, rocky skin. Of the many various forms Ben has taken over the years, I’m only aware of seeing that specific one once, in The Thing 8, when Ben is transformed into the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian warrior.
Thing 8 (1983) art by Ron Wilson and Hilary Barta
Krazy Kredits
They’re fighting again
At least this time there’s a reason for it.
Read all about it
Print definitely isn’t dead in 1964.
Great lines in villainy
Bah!
The incredible Mr. Fantastic
I like the way Reed sort of oozes out of the hole in the ceiling.
Weird science
This is bizarre sequence. Ben grabs a suit of armor Diablo says weighs more than a ton (who can wear armor that weighs more than a ton?) Then, after smushing into a sphere, Ben manages to bounce it like it’s a tennis ball.
The sexist sixties
After telling Sue to shut up so she doesn’t distract the Torch, Reed yammers on while mansplaining.
Dig that Kirby Krackle
This is pretty awesome:
And so is this sequence:
And this one:
For sale
A mint (9.8) condition FF 30 is worth $23,000. A copy in fine (6.0) condition is a more reasonable $170.
Next issue: Time for FF Annual No. 2 and return of Dr. Doom!
Fantastic Four 29 “It Started on Yancy Street” Published: May 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Kirby and Stone
Synopsis
The Fantastic Four, visiting Yancy Street to investigate a rise in crime, are assaulted by the hidden Yancy Street Gang. The team escapes, pursued by a drone. Once back at the Baxter Building, Ben and Alicia come close to breaking up before reuniting. The team then turns to its fan mail, when Ben opens a package from the Yancy Street Gang, which explodes after he opens it. The package contains a note daring the team to return to Yancy Street.
But back on Yancy Street, the team is attacked not by the gang but by three apes with super powers, who are eventually revealed to the Red Ghosts’s super apes. The Red Ghost, last seen in FF 13, who vowed revenge, used a ruse to lure the FF to Yancy Street. After a battle, the apes take the Human Torch hostage—for once, it’s not the Invisible Girl—and the Red Ghost orders the FF onto a spaceship and they return to the moon.
He jettisons the team on the moon (surely there was a simpler way of killing them) but the Invisible Girl creates a force filed around the team containing enough air to save them until they reached the Blue Area and the home of the Watcher. Mr. Fantastic uses the Watcher’s technology to draw the Red Ghost’s ship back to the moon, where the team defeats him but his apes escape. The FF are then returned to Yancy Street by the Watcher.
What’s going on here
Fantastic Four 29 is a fun combination of old and new elements. There’s a lot that’s familiar: the Yancy Street schtick, the drama between Ben and Alicia, the hanging around the Baxter Building, the opening of fan mail. But there’s some new stuff as well. The issue opens in media res (fancy-talk for in the middle of things) rather than the slow build up to the action that’s customary. There’s the continued expansion of Sue’s powers, which prove indispensable in this issue. And there’s this amazing photo collage by Jack, the first (but certainly not last) that he will deploy in the Fantastic Four:
I was unable to find the source of the photo used by Kirby. It’s likely it was taken in 1959 by Luna 3, a Soviet satellite, since the first images of the moon from a US spacecraft didn’t appear until July of 1964, several months after the issue appeared.
It’s what’s inside that counts
FF 29 is one of the earliest issues I actually own, and so I was able to read it as Stan and Jack intended. That means I got to see awesome ads like this:
and letters like this:
Krazy Kredits
These are becoming a fixture.
Mid-century modern
The FF haven’t lost their decorating touch.
Those crazy kids
Ben and Alicia pour on the melodrama.
Oops
Looks like Stan is writing away a goof by Jack here
Fantastic Four 28 “We Have to Fight the X-Men!” Published April 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: Chic Stone Letters: Art Simek
Synopsis
At the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four discuss the exploits of the X-Men, whom they read about in the newspaper. Meanwhile, the Mad Thinker summons the Puppet Master, and enlists him in a plan to defeat the Fantastic Four. Following the Thinker’s instructions, the Puppet Master creates a replica of the X-men’s leader, Professor X with his “radioactive clay,” then uses it to control Prof. X, who orders the X-men to attack the FF.
The X-Men fly to the Baxter Building in their “jetcopter,” and are welcomed by the unsuspecting FF. They then launch an attack and the teams battle until Mr. Fantastic, unable to understand the X-Men’s motives, orders the FF to surrender. The X-Men take the Invisible Woman as a hostage (of course they do), and the FF pursue the X-Men to a desert mesa, where the Mad Thinker and Puppet Master reveal themselves.
Still under the sway of the Puppet Master, Prof. X orders the X-men to battle the FF until the Puppet Master’s clay figurine of Prof. X is destroyed. The two teams then join forces to fight the Mad Thinker and his Awesome Android until Prof. X, still in Westchester, uses his telepathic powers to shut down the android. The villains escape before they can be captured, and the two teams of heroes part as allies.
What’s going on here?
A fun issue! Yes, the fight between the X-Men and FF is contrived, and yes, it is clearly designed to promote Marvel’s new X-Men title—FF 28 is published between issues 4 and 5 of the X-Men—but it still delivers. The action is dynamic, the story moves along, and Kirby particularly is on his game. It might help that Chic Stone inked this issue, after a run by George Roussos, giving Kirby’s pencils a crisper look than what we’ve seen in the last few issues.
The big development is the appearance of the X-Men, marking the first of many meetings between the teams. The X-Men, of course, go on to become a global phenomenon, but in these early days, they were very much a work in progress (Cyclops fires “power beams” and not optic blasts, for instance, and Prof. X’s powers work on an android). However, as Austin Gorton notes, in his always X-cellent blog, X-amining the X-Men, the X-Men more than hold their own against the FF and it’s Prof. X, not Reed, who saves the day.
Tracking down all the joint appearances between the teams would be exhausting, but here the covers from some notable ones:
The teams interacted in less splashy ways over the years too. One of my favorites came in Uncanny X-Men 522, when the X-Men have relocated to San Francisco and are in one of their periodic us-against-the-world phases. Magneto is using his powers to pull an enormous, bullet-shaped rocket carrying Kitty Pryde from deep space, and Cyclops doesn’t want anyone on earth to know about it. Reed isn’t having it:
Read all about it
Once again, the FF use the strange and awesome technology of the newspaper to keep up with events. They are also surprisingly up to date on the activities of the X-Men.
Kooky Kredits
Stan is at it again
The sexist sixties
Would it be an issue of the FF if Sue wasn’t taken hostage?
Oops
Cyclops references the Mad Thinkers plan here, although at this point, he is unaware of the Thinker and Puppet Master’s control over Prof. X and thinks he’s merely following the professor’s inscrutable orders.
Dig that Kirby Krackle
There’s a ton of great Kirby art in this issue, but here are a few highlights:
For sale
A mint (9.8) issue of FF 28 will set you back around $22,000.
Fantastic Four 27 “The Search for the Sub-Mariner” Published: March 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: George Roussos Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Kirby and Chic Stone
Synopsis
At the Baxter Building, Reed experiments with a new thought projector, then tells Ben and Johnny of his intentions to propose to Sue. Meanwhile, under the ocean, the Sub-Mariner stews in loneliness, then declares his plan to wed Sue.
While Reed is out shopping for a ring, Namor uses new technology to subdue Ben and Johnny and abduct Sue. When Reed returns, he is overcome with rage and insists Ben and Johnny remain behind as he pursues Namor. Unsure of how to find Namor beneath the ocean, Johnny contacts Dr. Strange, who uses his mystic powers to locate Namor’s citadel, where he watches Reed fight Namor.
Dr. Strange then uses his to magic to transport Ben and Johnny to the fight, where Johnny frees Sue. After a battle with Namor and his henchmen, Sue ends it by telling Namor she loves Reed. Before Namor can react, Dr. Strange whisks the Fantastic Four away to Reed’s submarine, where Reed worries that Sue only pledged her love to save him from Namor.
What’s going on here?
FF 27 falls in the middle of a busy run of Marvel cross-promotion. Starting with a guest appearance by Ant-Man in FF 16, then with Nick Fury in FF 21, the Hulk and Avengers in FF 25-26, and with Dr. Strange in this issue, it’s clear Stan is leveraging the popularity of the Fantastic Four to introduce readers to other Marvel heroes. (The X-Men will also appear soon). But while those other appearances tended to have some internal logic to them, Dr. Strange doesn’t add much to this story. It’s not obvious why the Torch contacted him to find Namor, given the FF had just battled him in Atlantis in the first FF annual. He mostly serves as a teleportation device, moving the FF from place to place. He does, however, manage to unleash a full arsenal of Dr. Strange-y oaths, invoking the Vishanti, Hoggoth and Dorammu, as he does.
The more significant development is the further evolution of the relationship between Reed and Sue, which has sort of lurched along for the first few years of the FF. Now, finally, we’re on the verge of progress: a proposal! Reed is uncharacteristically exuberant about the idea and (understandably) distraught when she is adducted.
Stan and Jack really lean into the melodrama of the Reed-Sue-Namor love triangle in this issue, even though it feels like all of this was settled in the annual. As a result, none of it feels pareticularly suspenseful.
The denouement, however, does create a bit of uneasy tension, as Reed is agony about Sue’s true feelings.
The issue is really devoted to Reed, and features several pages of him in combat with Namor. Here’s a cool one”
Fantastic Four 26 “The Avengers Take Over” Published Feb. 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Script: Lee Pencils: Kirby Inks: George Roussos Letters: Art Simek Cover: Kirby and Sol Brodsky
Synopsis
Fantastic Four 26 picks up right where the last issue left off. As the Hulk rampages through New York looking for the Avengers—who he feels abandoned him—the Thing again tried to stop him. The Human Torch, injured in the last issue, leaves the hospital to rejoin the fray, but the Hulk overpowers them both and eventually make his way (by subway!) to Avengers mansion. There, he tangles with both the FF and the Avengers but escapes with his erstwhile sidekick Rick Jones to a skyscraper under construction. There, the Hulk battles most of both teams individually until Jones gets him to swallow a “Gamma-ray treated capsule,” which turns him back to Bruce Banner.
What’s going on here?
Action! FF 26 is really just a prolonged action sequence, with almost no breaks for character development. There’s none of the shenanigans in the Baxter Building, no squabbling between Ben and Johnny, no pontificating by Reed. In fact, Reed is almost entirely sidelined in these two issues with an illness, and when he does appear in FF 26, he’s mostly ineffectual. It’s Rick Jones, with an assist from Bruce Banner, who saves the day.
The issue does give us an extended look at the Avengers, and we get the same character beats that have lasted 60 years. Iron Man is arrogant, the Wasp is ditzy etc. Notably, this is just Captain America’s second appearance since he was unfrozen from the ice in Avengers 3 (FF 26 came out between Avengers 3 and 4) so in some ways Stan is still feeling his way around Cap’s character.
About that cover
Something about it looks familiar ….
Alert the media
Throughout FF 26 radio and TV reporters pop up to narrate the action, acting as a sort of Greek chorus and helping magnify the stakes of the battle.
While it’s a device used in lots of movies and TV shows, it only occasionally is used in comics as well. In the Dark Knight Returns, the TV news features prominently, both to provide commentary on the events and a comment about the role of media in society. But I most associate the device with the “Fall of the Mutants” storyline in the Uncanny X-Men from 1988, where a TV crew becomes part of the storyline:
UXM 226 and 227 (1988, art by Marc Silvestri and Dan Green)
They’re fighting again
In the grand tradition of all superhero team-ups, the FF and Avengers first must fight with each other before tackling their common foe
Weird Science
Transistors were still a novel technology in the early 1960s, and Iron Man was really into them.
More sixties technology: Iron Man has a built-in short-wave radio, complete with a shoulder antenna. Incredible!
Also, asbestos were a thing back then. Apparently even pajamas were made out them.
The sexist sixies
This time is Jane Van Dyne who gets written like a dingbat
Dig that Kirby Krackle
Great sequence here:
These panels, too:
For sale
A mint edition (9.8) of FF 26 will run you about $22,000.
Next issue: The return of the Sub-Mariner (plus Dr. Strange)!
Fantastic Four 25 “The Hulk vs. The Thing” Published: January 1964 Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby Pencils: Kirby Script: Lee Inks: George Roussos Letters: Sam Rosen Cover: Kirby & Roussos
Synopsis
In a lab in the Baxter Building, Mr. Fantastic tries to persuade a reluctant Thing to try a formula that will revert Ben back to his human form. Just then, Alicia Masters walks in with news that the Hulk has left the Avengers and been replaced by Captain America.
Meanwhile, in New Mexico, the Hulk returns to the lab of Bruce Banner (called Bob Banner here) and, discovering a newspaper article about Captain America replacing him, vows to destroy the Avengers. Leaping across the US, he arrives in New York as Reed falls ill from the experimental microbes he used to make the formula for the Thing.
As the Hulk rampages through the city, first the Human Torch, then the Thing try to subdue him while Sue tends to the ailing Reed. After a lengthy battle, the Hulk escapes Ben, who vows to stop him or die trying.
What’s going on here?
Fantastic Four 25 is probably most notable for the scale of the fight between Ben and the Hulk. At about 12 pages, it takes up nearly half the comic, and is significantly more dramatic than their first fight, in FF 12. Here, we have a sense there are real stakes involved: With Reed out of commission, only Ben can stop the Hulk from destroying Manhattan as he pursues the Avengers. It’s another example of Ben rising above his wise-cracking, goof-ball persona and showing the heart of a true warrior.
FF 25 is also the first real cliffhanger in the comic’s short history. While a few stories have carried over from one issue to the next, in all previous cases the main story was resolved. But after more than two years of publishing the FF, Stan and Jack must have had enough confidence in their readers to trust them to come back for the second half of a story. In other words, they knew their readers were no longer causal buyers but fans invested in the FF for the long haul.
In another first, FF 25 marks the Avengers’ debut in the Fantastic Four, although it’s only for a brief few panel and they don’t interact with the FF (I assume we’ll see more of then in FF 26). As with the previous guest appearances of the Hulk, Ant-Man, and Nick Fury, the Avengers appear here shortly after the launch of their own comic (Avengers 3 was published the same month as FF 25), and it seems clear Stan was hoping the leverage the FF’s popularity to juice sales of a new comic.
Lastly, FF 25 introduces the gag credits that became a signature Marvel feature. We’re not yet at the nickname state, but those are coming.
Ben and Alicia
Ben makes it pretty explicit here that he doesn’t want to revert back to his human form because he fears Alicia is only attracted to him as the Thing
That makes the big reveal in FF 245—in which John Byrne discloses why Ben can’t return to human form (as discussed here) — a bit less surprising. It is, however, further evidence of how deeply Byrne mined these early FFs for plot points.
FF 245, art by Byrne
Who’s Bob?
Throughout FF 25, the Hulk’s alter ego is referred to as “Bob Banner,” years after he was introduced as Bruce Banner. As Brian Cronin helpfully explains, Stan simply forgot his name and retroactively changed his name to “Robert Bruce Banner” to cover his goof.
A new ‘do
Sue Storm reveals yet a new hairstyle in FF 25, in what appears to be a bee-hive or bouffant.
Sue’s hair in the first few years of the FF is like a catalog of women’s hair styles from the 1960s. Here are some other looks:
FF 2, a “flick up”
FF 18, “the artichoke”
FF 21, a “bouffant”
FF 24, a “bouffant flip”
FF Annual 1 “bouffant
Dig that Kirby Krackle
We get lots of examples of Jack’s Hulk in FF 25. Maybe because we’re used to a different, more stylized Hulk as drawn by artists like Herb Trimpe and Sal Buscema, but there’s something particularly monstrous about this more human-like Hulk of Kirby.
We also get a lot of cool action sequences as Ben and the Hulk tussle.
For sale
FF 25 in mint (9.8) condition will cost you about $66,000, a lot more than FF 24 but not unexpected given Hulk-Thing battles are always popular.
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 