“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 30

28 Saturday Aug 2021

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1964, Diablo, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 30, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

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!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 29

24 Tuesday Aug 2021

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1964, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 29, jack Kirby, Red Ghost, Stan Lee

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

Weird science

The Watcher has some cool gizmos

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Some great stuff in this issue.

For sale

A mint (9.8) copy of FF 29 should sell for $46,000. A 9.6 copy sold for $11,000 in 2018.

Next issue: Diablo!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 28

07 Saturday Aug 2021

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1964, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 28, jack Kirby, Stan Lee, X-Men

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.

Next issue: The Red Ghost returns!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 27

01 Sunday Aug 2021

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1964, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 27, jack Kirby, Namor, Stan Lee

**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”

Secret agent man

Namor, who previously appeared as a movie mogul to entangle the FF, is now dressed like a James Bond villain.

The sexist sixties

Sue is imprisoned for about the 12th time in the FF’s first 27 issues.

Weird science

Namor has all sorts of technology. Where does it come from? No idea.

Then there’s Reed’s underwater breathing pills.

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

Lots of creative stretching in this issue.

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This splash page is amazing

For sale

A mint condition Fantastic Four 27 (9.8) will cost about $21,000.

Next issue: The X-Men!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 26

19 Monday Jul 2021

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1964, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 26, Hulk, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

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)!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 25

04 Sunday Jul 2021

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1964, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 25, Hulk, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

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.

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:

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.

Next issue: Part 2!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 23

19 Saturday Jun 2021

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1963, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 23, jack Kirby, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 23
“The Master Plan of Dr. Doom”
Published: November 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: George Roussos
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Roussos

Synopsis

A small dinosaur escapes into the Baxter Building from Dr. Doom’s time machine, leading Mr Fantastic to berate the rest of the team for their inattentiveness. Frustrated with Reed’s brusque leadership, the Human Torch, the Thing, and the Invisible Girl decide to vote on a new leader, and when all three vote for themselves, a fight breaks out which ends only when Reed asserts his command over the team.

Meanwhile, three criminals are bailed out of jail by a bald man revealed to be a robot controlled by Dr. Doom. The three have been assembled because of their special talents—strength, superior hearing, and resistance to flame—which are augmented by Doom, and they become the Terrible Trio. The trio use their new powers to capture the Human Torch, Thing, and Invisible Girl, while Doom uses a Thing robot to lure and attract Reed.

The four heroes free themselves from their shackles, then battle Doom only to find he has imprisoned them in a warehouse coated in ionic dust particles, making it vulnerable to a “solar wave” that is transporting the room into outer space. The team is able to escape the room, but Doom plunges into the void.

What’s going on here?

Honestly? Not much, particularly after all the big developments in the last issue. This is fairly inconsequential issue, both for having very little impact on future stories, and for a fairly banal plot, even one involving Doom. If anything, while FF 23 further cements Doom as the team’s primary antagonist, it weakens his impact by dragging him into such an uneventful story. There is a some character building, mostly involving Reed being a jerk and then getting a bit of comeuppance, but it’s not a subplot that is really developed. We do get almost two full pages of Ben and Johnny fighting, though.

The Terrible Trio

The only new characters introduced are the Terrible Trio, a bunch of D-listers who make a handful of appearances over the years. Here they are in Marvel Two-in-One 60, where they crash Alicia’s art opening:

Marvel Two-in-One 60 (1980), art by George Perez and Gene Day

They don’t appear again for almost 40 years, when they show up in Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street

4 Yancy Street (2019) Art by Mark Bagley (I think)

Reed Richards is a jerk

He is extra-unpleasant in this issue

He kinda, sorta apologizes after Johnny rescues him after Doom’s freezes him solid.

They’re fighting again

Are they ever

The sexist sixties

Weird science

The ionic dust/ solar wave business is completely perplexing. I have no idea what Stan and Jack were doing here

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

Some cool stretching action.

You call that a trap?

After several issues where Doom builds individual cells to counter the FF’s powers, here he just chains them to a wall (and puts Reed in a box, which Ben smashes. Not even Doom can bother to try very hard in this issue.

He’s a bad man

Doom flexes his bad-guy muscles in disposing of his henchmen

Dig that Kirby Krackle

Jack does get to draw some outer space stuff, so that’s a plus.

For sale

A mint issue (9.8) of FF 23 will run you about $21,000. At least that’s what it says here.

Next issue: The FF confront the Infant Terrible!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 22

13 Sunday Jun 2021

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1963, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 22, jack Kirby, Mole Man, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 22
“The Return of the Mole Man”
Published: October 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: George Roussos
Letters: Sam Rosen
Cover: Kirby and Dick Ayers

Synopsis

As Mr. Fantastic experiments on the Invisible Girl, she reveals two new powers: the ability to summon force fields, and to make other objects invisible. Meanwhile, the FF are besieged by complaints from neighbors about the noise and disruption they cause, so the team flies to investigate an island off the coast of New Jersey where Reed can conduct experiments and launch the team’s ICBM.

Once on the island, the team is trapped by the Mole Man, who lured them by instigating the complaints. To get his revenge on the FF from their first meeting in issue 1, he announces a plan to sink the earth’s major cities, provoking a nuclear war. The team is surrounded by a radioactive wall, but they surmount it with Sue’s new force field. The team is then trapped individually in cells designed to counter their powers (much like with Dr. Doom) but through ingenuity they each escape. Reed then hustles them off the island, and when the Mole Man initiates his plan to skink the cities, it’s revealed that Reed rewired the circuits, so only his island sinks.

What’s going on here

The story is a pretty conventional one: Hijinks in the Baxter Building, confronting a foe who traps them, then a frenzied finish. The issue, however, is notable for a few reasons: A big one is Sue’s new powers. Eventually, it appears, Stan and Jack realized the story-telling limitations of invisibility—there was only so many times Sue could use it to sneak up on a bad guy—so they added a few new wrinkles.

Initially Sue’s force fields were entirely a defensive power and it wasn’t until decades later that she began to wield them offensively, and use them to travel. They’ve effectively become a powerful form of telekineses, leading many to consider her the most powerful member of the FF.

While John Byrne traditionally receives credit for her transformation from weakest to strongest—which culminates with the symbolic adoption of the name Invisible Woman in issue 284—“The Great American Novel” blog makes a compelling case that lots of earlier writers had Sue deploy her force fields in creative, non-defensive ways. That said, I believe it’s fair to note the Byrne made it a project to expand Sue’s arsenal and was deliberate about powering her up.

He was, for instance, the first to have her “fly” on her force fields, an idea which may have come from reader (and author) Carol Strickland:

And Byrne has her consistently use her power as a battering ram, something rarely depicted before:

FF 22 also debuts Sue’s power to make other things invisible

While not as potent as her force fields, it has come in handy over the years, and maybe is best used here, when she shows the Wizard what his heart looks like:

FF 549 (2007), Written by Dwayne McDuffie, art by Paul Pelletier and Rick Magyar

It’s Clobberin’ Time!

The other big debut in FF 22 was the Thing’s signature phrase (“Yay Bo!” didnt seem to catch on in the same way). “It’s clobberin’ time” quickly becomes as much part of Ben’s identity as his orange rocky appearance. It would be absurd to try to find every use of it, since he says it in virtually every issue, but here are some memorable covers:

Not only does it to become closely associated with Ben, but it becomes one the handful of comic book phrases that have escaped the genre and become part of pop culture. (“It’s a bird, it’s a plane…” “Up, up and away!” and “Hulk Smash!” are maybe the others). There’s no shortage of clobberin’ time merchandise available:

And it’s apparently been adopted / stolen by pro wrestler CM Punk:

Aunt Petunia

Lastly, FF 22 marks the first reference to Ben’s Aunt Petunia, another recurring catch phrase.

For more than 200 issues readers heard about, but never met, Ben’s Aunt Petunia, and it was assumed she was a prim older lady, not unlike Peter Parker’s Aunt May. So Byrne naturally subverted expectations by make her a young-ish country doctor.

What year is it?

Topical references abound in FF 22, with children’s comedian Pinky Lee and folk artist Grandma Moses among those getting name-dropped.

Oops

Looks like Stan is covering for Jack here to explain how this stranger wandered past the FF’s vaunted security system

Red menace

The Cold War is again evoked

This is the end?

Even by Stan and Jack’s standards, the ending of FF 22 feels awfully abrupt. The story could have used another page at a minimum instead of cramming all that exposition into the last panel.

They’re fighting again

Aren’t they always?

Dig that Kirby Krackle

This is just a great splash page that captures the personalities of all the members, plus shows off some cool gee-whiz science stuff. George Roussos returned to ink this issue, giving it a different look than most of what came before.

Here’s some other fun stuff from The King (note Reed’s face, and that he’s talking to Mrs. Frobush, a possible precursor to Marvel mascot Irving Forbush):

For Sale

FF 22 in mint condition (9.8) should cost you around $18,000

Next issue: The return of Dr. Doom!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 21

06 Sunday Jun 2021

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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1963, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 21, Hate Monger, jack Kirby, Nick Fury, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 21
“The Hate Monger
Published: Sept. 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Inks: George Roussos (credited as George Bell)
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and Paul Reinman

Synopsis

The Thing startles the rest of the Fantastic Four by lashing out at a punching bag; the cause of his frustration is newspaper articles about the Hate-Monger, a rabble rouser peaching hatred. Taking a walk, the team quickly stumbles across a Hate-Monger rally on a New York Street. When they confront him, he turns his “H-Ray” against them, causing them to fight amongst each other.

Mr. Fantastic, under the Hate-Monger’s influence, declares himself free of the rest of the FF, and, on returning to the Baxter Building, is greeted by Nick Fury, a former colleague from WWII and now a spy and CIA agent. Fury has come to recruit the FF to confront the Hate-Monger in the South American country of San Gusto, a US client state where he is whipping up a rebellion. Reed decides to go himself, and leaves in the FF’s Pogo Plane. The rest of the team, still under the effects of the H-Ray, are goaded by Fury into pursuing him in their ICBM.

Once in San Gusto, Reed takes on the rebel army before he is captured by the Hate-Monger. He is rescued by Fury, who forces the Hate Monger to administer the antidote. The two then capture the rest of the team and restore them to normal, before confronting the Hate Monger. After his H-Ray is turned on his henchmen, the Hate-Monger is unmasked and revealed to be Adolf Hitler (or a clone there of).

What’s going on here?

Fantastic Four 21 marks the first issue where Stan and Jack get anywhere near contemporary social issues. Wearing what looks like a purple Klan hood, surrounded by henchmen dressed like Nazi brown shirts, the Hate-Monger is as close to a real-world villain as exists in early 1960s Marvel. His presence also gives the FF an opportunity to call out the evils of prejudice and “unamerican sentiments” (with a gratuitous swipe at Sue).

The story, unfortunately, doesn’t got much farther in exploring the issues of hatred and bigotry. There is an opportunity there for Stan and Jack to examine why the Hate-Monger’s message is able to find purchase in the American psyche, but instead the story rumbles on in classic FF fashion. The Hate-Monger becomes just another FF villain, with a secret headquarters and zany gadgets. The twist at the end, that he is actually Adolf Hitler, is essentially shrugged off. Future stories reveal him to have been a clone created by Arnim Zola, and he pops up over the decades, but never as a major FF villain.

The story is also notable for the first appearance of Nick Fury as a modern spy. Fury, who debuted in his own World War II comic a few months earlier, is brought up to the present here as a CIA agent and soon goes on to star in his own stories as an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Strange Tales (and later his own book). Notably, he still has two eyes, since he doesn’t begin to wear his eye patch until Strange Tales 135.

He becomes a central figure in the Marvel universe (and Marvel cinematic universe) often serving as a mastermind moving chess pieces, but in this early appearance in the FF, Fury is still more of the WWII brawler. On the cover, he’s dressed as Sgt. Fury, complete with torn Army fatigues.

The issue also establishes a shared history between Nick and Reed in World War II, with an editor’s note plugging Sgt. Fury 3, conveniently on sale, and an early example of marvel using guest stars to promote new books. Here’s their encounter at Massacre Mountain:

Sgt. Fury 3, 1963 (art by Kirby and Dick Ayers)

Fury’s appearance also launches a long tradition of him showing up early in Marvel comics books to set the story in motion. It’s an exceptionally convenient way to drop heroes into stories without a lot of build up: Fury just sends them on a mission and off they go. Often, he summons the heroes to the SHIELD helicarrier, where they confer around a big table that lights up, like here with the Avengers:

Avengers 199, 1980 (art by George Perez and Dan Green)

Or here with the FF:

Sometimes he just appears on a monitor, like here with the X-Men :

(X-Men 1, 1991, art by Jim Lee and Scott Williams)

And to prove the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, Nick Fury Jr. is up to the same plot-speeding-up tricks decades later:

(Invisible Woman 1, 2019, art by Mattia De Iulis

About those inks

FF 21 was inked by George Roussos, who is credited in the comic as George Bell. Roussos had a remarkably long career at Marvel, with credits stretching from 1941 to 1995, spending his last three decades as a colorist. His style is very distinctive here, and Kirby’s FF take on a very different appearance, looking more like they did in their first issues.

They’re fighting again

This time, at least, it’s with good reason.

Going underground

Instead of flying to San Gusto, the Hate-Monger burrows his way there, using a device that Stan assures us in an editor’s note is *very* plausible.

Speaking of San Gusto

This is the first and only appearance of San Gusto (future Marvel writers tend to use the imaginary country of San Marcos when they need a banana republic) but it does show up in the Marvel Atlas between Colombia and Venezuela.

Mid-centry Modern

The FF’s unique taste in decorating shows up again

The sexist sixties

Sue relaxes by trying on wigs and dresses

The incredible Mr. Fantastic

More creative stretching

Dig that Kirby Krackle

For sale

FF 21 in mint condition (9.8) will cost you about $13,000.

Next issue: The return of the Mole Man!

“The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine” Fantastic Four No. 20

30 Sunday May 2021

Posted by percivalhenry in The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

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Tags

1963, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four 20, jack Kirby, Molecule Man, Stan Lee

Fantastic Four 20
“The Mysterious Molecule Man”
Published: August 1963
Story: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Pencils: Kirby
Script: Lee
Inks: Dick Ayers
Letters: Art Simek
Cover: Kirby and George Roussos

Synopsis

As the Fantastic Four help Mr. Fantastic in his lab, a glowing ball of energy appears on the streets of New York. The team is eventually drawn within it, and it’s revealed to be a gateway sent by the Watcher, who violates his oath of non-interference (again) to alert the team of a new threat to earth. An employee of a nuclear plant suffered an accident, he tells them, and was transformed into Molecule Man, a villain capable of manipulating matter.

The team returns to New York to find the Baxter Building has been moved to Times Square, where the Molecule Man declares he is now ruler of the earth. After a long battle, the FF is unable to subdue him. They retreats into hiding after the Molecule Man announces he will hold Manhattan hostage unless the FF are delivered to him. The FF are rescued by a member of the Yancy Street gang, who delivers them to the apartment of Alicia Masters. There, Reed is inspired by Alicia’s sculptures and devises a trap for the Molecule Man. Deducing he can’t manipulate organic molecules, Reed and the team cover themselves in plaster and pretend to be statues. After he is lured to Alicia’s by a flare, the Molecule Man is overcome with feedback after trying to alter the “statues.” Then the Watcher reappears, and after determining the FF defeated the Molecule Man, he disappears with him after returning the Baxter Building to its normal location.

What’s going on here

Fantastic Four 20 repeats the same basic plot points of earlier issues, such as FF 16, when they battled the Super-Skrull. As in that issue, after an unsuccessful battle with an overpowering villain, the team relies on Reed to outwit the bad guy.

Owen Reece, as the Molecule Man is later identified, goes on to occupy an interesting niche in the Marvel Universe. Although he made occasional appearances as a standard-issue bad guy, he really is too powerful for normal comic purposes and is instead deployed in Marvel’s big events, like Secret Wars and its various sequels, where his power matches the magnitude of the stories.

Here he is in Fantastic Four 188 (written by Len Wein), one his last appearances as an ordinary bad guy (he has taken over Reed’s body in this issue):

FF 188 (1977), art by George Perez and Joe Sinnott

In the first Secret Wars, where earth’s heroes confront the all-powerful Beyonder, writer Jim Shooter writes him as a neurotic nebbish who’s true potential is revealed to him by Dr. Doom (who at this point as stolen the Beyonder’s power):

Secret Wars (1984), art by Mike Zeck and John Beatty

By Secret Wars II, the almost-unreadable sequel about the Beyonder’s sojourn on earth, Reece is now living comfortable in suburbia when he realizes he must confront the Beyonder.

Secret Wars II (1985), art by Al Milgrom and Steve Leialoha

Three decades later, in a new Secret Wars, Johnathan Hickman redeploys the Molecule Man, this time as a human battery powering Doom’s Battle World.

Weird science

Throughout FF 20, Stan and Jack toss around various notions about molecules, some of which may surprise chemistry teachers:

I guess newspaper ink contains zinc and lead, but mostly I think they’re paper, ie., carbon (this may be Stan working around Jack’s pencils, since later in the issue it’s revealed that the Molecule man can’t affect “organic” molecules, which presumably includes carbon).

We also have this odd moment of Reed finding proof of life in outer space, as if they hadn’t been to an alien plant in FF 7, much less encountered Skrulls and the Watcher.