Fantastic Four 223 “That A Child May Live …” Writer: Doug Moench Pencils: Bill Sienkiewicz Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Jim Novak Colors: George Roussos Editor: Jim Salicrup Cover: Sienkiewicz and Sinnott
Synopsis
As the Fantastic Four — plus Agatha Harkness and Gabriel — race to New Salem to save Franklin from possession by Nicholas Scratch, Scratch works from the Dark Realm to free Salem’s Seven from captivity. When the FF arrive, they are defeated and captured by the Seven, and Scratch announces his intentions to use Franklin’s power to spread darkness over Earth. But Gabriel and Harkness harness the Fantastic Four’s love of Franklin into a psychic weapon that eventually drives out Scratch. The issue ends with Harkness rendering Scratch an ordinary human and pledging to remain in New Salem to keep an eye on him.
What’s going on here?
This is a pretty uninspiring issue. It resolves the immediate two-part Franklin / Scratch arc, and seems to finally end Scratch as an ongoing threat (he’ll make only a handful more appearances over the next 46 years). But as a story it’s pretty lackluster and a big chunk of the comic seems devoted to exposition. The fight with Salem’s Seven feels abbreviated and Gabriel, a potentially interesting wildcard, disappears for most of the comic. And the finale was just, well, lame. Even the art feels mailed-in, as if Joe Sinnott had to take over for a distracted Bill Sienkiewicz.
What I liked
There were a few nice moments of character development. This sequence between Sue and Johnny felt pretty authentic (and Johnny was totally right, Salem’s Seven again defeated the FF).
I also liked this interaction:
This wasn’t Sienkiewicz’s strongest effort, but a few panels stood out, like this action sequence of Brutacus:
And this one of Vertigo:
What I didn’t like
As mentioned, a lot of this comic felt overly didactic. Here’s an example of a lot of unnecessary explaining:
And this declaration of the power of love just felt cheesy, and a bit like Doug Moench discovering an easy way to wrap up his story:
Lastly, what kid talks like this?
Anything else?
Some notable ads in this issue. In honor of Norm MacDonald, I will never stop posting OJ ads when they appear. And the trademark house ad is weird: what counterfeit comics was Marvel worried about? Aside from DC, no one else was really publishing superhero comics by 1980, and the other publishers of horror, like Warren, and humor, like Harvey, were well established. Comics were just entering the direct-sales era, but was Marvel really worried about indy start-ups like Cerebus the Aardvark? Odd.
Fantastic Four Annual 14 “Cat’s-Paw!” Published October 1979 Story: Marc Wolfman and Geore Perez Pencils: Perez Inks: Pablo Marcos Letters: Jim Novak Colors: Carl Gafford Editor: Wolfman Cover: Joe Sinnott
Synopsis
After a brief battle with Sandman, the Fantastic Four return to the Baxter Building to find Agatha Harkness, who convinces the team plus Franklin to accompany her to New Salem for her annual visit. Meanwhile, a group of Salem witches is plotting to restore Nicholas Scratch — defeated by his mother, Harkness, and the FF in issue 186 —and then reveal themselves to be Salem’s Seven. They battle and subdue the FF, but Franklin escapes and is found by Harkness. Back in New York, Salem’s Seven harnesses the powers of the unconscious FF in order to summon Scratch, creating a powerful force field around the Baxter Building that resists the military and the Avengers. With Franklin, Harkness withstands Scratch’s assaults and once in the Baxter Building, Franklin’s latent powers restore the hostile, mind-controlled FF back to normal. Harkness then defeats Salem’s Seven and prevents Scratch from returning to Earth.
What’s going on here?
This is a big, fun, rollercoaster of an annual that only barely makes sense and is held together by George Perez’s amazing layouts and pencils. He is ably assisted by Pablo Marcos on inks, who has a nice light touch. If Perez had not worked on this book I would likely have a much lower opinion of it but thankfully we’ll never know. More on this great art in a bit.
Like a lot of annuals, this story feels a bit padded, particularly the opening sequence with Sandman, which serves no real purpose. It’s filled out at the end with a series of pinups. The story hinges entirely on the FF’s impromptu decision to join Harkness, and she ultimately is the hero of the story. After they are captured, the FF are barely players in their own annual.
This annual brings back Salem’s Seven, a fun group of villains who are surprisingly underused. They only appear a handful of times after this issue, despite seemingly tailor-made for fighting other super teams. Couldn’t the X-Men have fought these guys?
Also of note, the cover is by Joe Sinnott working solo, which is rare. It’s unfortunately not a particularly exciting or interesting cover, and my guess is Perez either couldn’t deliver his cover on time or it was rejected by Jim Shooter, necessitating a quick fill-in job by Sinnott.
What I liked
This is the first comic I’m aware of where we really see Perez’s layout innovations take hold. He was a master of propelling the story with panel designs, and often can fit seven, eight or nine on a page without it feeling cramped (most artists don’t exceed six). We can see the beginnings of that here, where he uses the bottom panel on four consecutive pages (I can only show three here) to introduce the main plot of the story through the sinister villainy of Salem’s Seven. Another artist might gave simply broken away from the main action and used four contiguous panels, but by using one panel per page, Perez undergirds the FF’s triumph over the Sandman with a portent of menace.
Here’s another page where Perez creates simultaneous action through page design. The small light blue panels show the machinations of the villains at the same time Harkness invites the FF to the evening’s big event. It’s a technique unique to comics; the movie or TV equivalent would be a picture-in-picture with separate characters and dialogue, which would be awful (you do sometimes see this in sports, but it’s hard to watch).
Perez uses 10 panels on this page, and it allows him to give the readers a sense of New Salem’s weirdness while advancing the plot.
The high point of Perez’s panel wizardry was probably Crisis on Infinite Earths, six years later, where he had roughly a zillion characters to include and a lot of story to tell. Here, in issue seven, he uses an insane 16 panels to record the death of Supergirl.
Today, one wide-screen artist like Brian Hitch would probably use half of a comic for the same sequence.
There’s lots of other great Perez art FF Annual 14, too, like this crazy double page splash:
Although the design is pretty rudimentary, with its one-point perspective, it’s full of fun details, like Johnny making time with a New Salem native (later revealed to be a succubus) and Franklin and Sue (and what is Sue wearing on her head??)
While this issue (and blog post) is really about Perez, Marv Wolfman has his moments. This was a fun sequence that followed the team thwarting the Sandman’s bank robbery and getting a kitten-themed calendar for their troubles:
And to finish up, just a few more amazing pages from Perez (the one with Avengers is stunning):
What I didn’t like
This being a Wolfman comic, there were all sort of odd plot devices and inconsistencies that seems could have been avoided with a bit of thought or (cough) an editor (cough) who wasn’t the same person as the writer.
Here, Harkness invites the FF to join her on a trip across the country and they decide to drop everything and go. Apparently world-class scientists like Reed don’t have meetings or lectures or experiments that keep him tied down. Would it have ruined the story to have made this a trip they planned in advance?
Then, instead of flying one of their several vehicles, they fly commercial. Because who doesn’t like an easily avoidable trip to the airport? (Also, note Reed is smoking a pipe on the plane. It was the seventies).
Later, the Salem witch Gazelle announces she’s a “beast of prey.” Really? Her name is Gazelle and she’s a predator??
And this feels like an own-goal, but when the Defenders show up and Iron Man says they’re helpless against this mystical, magical forcefield, it kinda begs the question about a certain missing Defender. Wears a cape. Lives in the village. Sometimes called the Sorcerer Supreme. Maybe he could have helped.
Anything else?
The pinups in the end are by Keith Pollard and Marcos. It’s called a gallery of the FF’s most famous foes but most of these guys are pretty obscure (there were six in total). I like that they each get a custom designed logos.
Fantastic Four 186 “Enter: Salem’s Seven!” Published June 1977 Writer: Len Wein Pencils: George Perez Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: John Costanza Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Len Wein Cover: Perez and Sinnott
Synopsis
Captured last issue by Nicholas Scratch in New Salem, his town of witches, the Fantastic Four watch as Scratch prepares to execute Agatha Harkness for the crime of revealing the town to the outside world. Although Scratch takes Franklin hostage to ensure the FF’s docility, they escape their cell only to confront Salem’s Seven, a group of super-powered minions. The Seven are defeated when they encounter Reed’s artificial arms (no, it doesn’t make much sense) and the FF manages to turn New Salem against Scratch by revealing it was he, not Harkness, that revealed their location of the outside world when he abducted Franklin. The town’s witches banishes Scratch and as the FF depart, Harkness reveals she is Scratch’s mother.
What’s going on here?
This is a pretty satisfying comic, despite a few questionable plot holes. It neatly wraps up the New Salem arc that has been percolating for a few issues, introduces some fun new villains, fills in some of Agatha Harkness’s backstory and adds some desperately needed dimension to Sue and her power set. All of these developments are proof of Len Wein’s confidence as writer and his willingness to both plumb the FF’s history for ideas while forging ahead with new ones.
The most obvious development in the comic is the introduction of Salem’s Seven, who are later revealed to be the children of Scratch (and grandchildren of Harkness). There’s a fun, goofy quality to these villains, who don’t really seem supernatural at all but rather like generic characters created by rolling dice in a role playing game. They’re generic enough that they could sub in for other Marvel villains-of-the-month, like the Wrecking Crew or Seprent Squadron, and it’s a bit surprising that they are not more frequently used. Nor did they ever become first tier FF villains.
(It’s also a bit odd their debut doesn’t at get a full splash page).
Also interesting is the glimpses into Harkness’s history. Her mysteriousness was a defining part of her persona, and while peeling back the curtain on characters with a murky past is not always a good thing (see: Puck, Han Solo), what we learned in this issue adds depth and a bit of tragedy to Harkness. Dropping the line about Scratch being her son in the final panel was definitely a dramatic twist I didn’t see coming.
The art in this issue is much like last issue’s, with Perez contributing layouts and breakdowns and Sinnott finishing it up. It works but lacks the richness of detail Perez is capable of when he fully applies himself.
What I liked
Wein seems determined to expand Sue’s use of her powers and with them, her role on the team. While there’s still a bit of her being treated like a hysterical mother when Franklin is abducted, she rises to the occasion by breaking the FF out of their jail cell (the key was it has to be done stealthily as not to raise the alarm and endanger Franklin).
Later, she uses her invisibility in a way we’ve seen many times but it still comes at a pivotal point in the story.
Perhaps not coincidentally, this expanded role for Sue comes in an issue when there are three letters to the editor making the case for just that. Notably one of the letters is from Kurt Busiek, who went on to become a longtime writer for Marvel and DC (but sadly, never of the Fantastic Four). Did Wein, who was also the comic’s editor, choose these letters to advance the case about Sue he was making in the story? It certainly seems possible.
Also: Star-Lord!
What I didn’t like
The resolution of the story, where Reed and Johnny convince the town of New Salem that Scratch is the bad guy, seems a bit too pat. Why would the town believe these outsiders over their leader (It’s possible he had them ensorcelled, and when he loses his staff he loses his power over them, but that is never explained).
There is something very silly about how Salem’s Seven introduces themselves by announcing their names in the third person. To be clear, all seven of them do this.
And the FF’s defeat of Salem’s Seven makes no sense. Somehow encountering Reed’s artificial arms negates their powers?
Anything else?
I remember this ad for the Orca movie when I was a kid and thinking it was very exciting. In retrospect it looks a lot like a Jaws rip-off, even if has a decent cast (fwiw, it gets an 11% rating from Rotten Tomatoes). Also, I’m pretty sure I had no idea who Johnny Unitas was when I first saw the ad for Daisy BB guns. Still not sure why he was a pitch-man for these things.
Fantastic Four 185 “Here There Be Witches!” Published May 1977 Writer: Len Wein Pencils: George Perez Inks: Joe Sinnott Letters: Gaspar Saladino Colors: Glynis Wein Editor: Len Wein Cover: Perez and Sinnott
Synopsis
In search of missing Franklin and Agatha Harkness, the Fantastic Four track their whereabouts to a small town in the Rocky Mountains. Despite several indications that something is amiss, the town seems normal until Harkness alerts the FF to its supernatural nature. The town is then revealed to be a haven for witches and the FF battle stone gargoyles before succumbing to the power of the coven’s leader, Nicholas Trask.
What’s going on here?
This is a solid comic that introduces Nicholas Trask and sets the table for the debut of the Salem Seven, who will appear next issue and in a subsequent annual. Having the FF battle supernatural foes is an interesting idea, since they are very much a science-based team. Over the years Reed, in particular, struggles with sorcery and it creates an intriguing challenge.
The notable aspect of this comic is the looseness of George Perez’s pencils, and it appears he really only did breakdowns, because Joe Sinnott’s inks really dominate the panels. Here’s an example:
Compared to last issue, which was Perez as the peak of his powers, the difference is jarring. There’s much less detail, the panel designs are less intricate and it’s all a bit bland. My guess is that Perez was still getting used to the demands of a monthly comic, and fell behind, so Sinnott picked up the load for him.
What I liked
Sue gets a nice action sequence, and it seems like Len Wein sees more potential for her powers than previous writers.
Wein also gives Johnny a speech that, while out of character for the Torch, reads like Wein’s declaration of principles for the FF. (It also feels like it could have been in the new Fantastic Four movie).
I liked this sequence, although it should have been bigger in the comic:
What I didn’t like
Reed seems to think the location where metal is mined is also where it is manufactured. Pretty sure that’s almost never the case.
Johnny can apparently assemble a sports car from its parts in a matter of minutes:
And there seems no getting rid of the Impossible Man:
Overall
A perfectly fine comic, although a let down after last issue
Percival Henry: The Fantastic Four and more 