FANTASTIC FOUR 100
cover by Marie Severin (design), Jack Kirby & Joe Sinnott
The FF, en route home from The Great Refuge (like FF #84 all over again) are attacked by android replicas of almost every villain they ever fought before. Behind it are The Mad Thinker & The Puppet Master, and the chaos continues until they make the mistake of creating a Hulk android-- which promptly refuses to follow orders, and their lab is destroyed when The Puppet Master shoots at it, accidentally hitting a control panel. The team, whose saucer had been destroyed earlier, make it back thanks to a passing NATO jet.
If the idea here was to emulate FF ANNUAL #3-- every villain imagineable coming out of the woodwork-- it failed miserably compared to the earlier story. There's a rumor FF #100 was intended as a double-size issue-- like an Annual, except in the regular run of the book. That would take until #200 to actually happen (at which point some distributors detoured the issue for 2 months, allowing convention dealers to charge more than double for fans to get it!). As a result of this apparently cut-down, many of the pages have 9 panels to a page-- NOT something you buy a Jack Kirby comic to see!!
Things go south right from the first page, when "ye editor" opens with "In a flying craft borrowed from Black Bolt..." WRONG!!! He must have been thinking of FF #84 again. The flying saucer is the same one they arrived in from New York the previous issue-- which "ye editor" had also erroneously said was taken from The Skrulls in FF #2, when, in fact, it came from Planet X in FF #7. Sadly, this treasure is totalled on page 2, in a small way, marking the "end" of an era. On page 2, Ben asks Crystal, "You some kinda witch or somethin'?" --as if he'd never seen her powers before. On pages 3-4, they're attacked by "Kang The Conqueror"-- who they recognize-- even though, they NEVER fought the guy-- they only knew him in his earlier incarnation as Rama-Tut. When "Dr. Doom" shows up, he says, "while you ponder the problem of whether Kang and myself are two separate beings..." HUH? W--T--F??? This comes from an exchange in FF ANNUAL #2 between Doom & Rama-Tut. It was a BAD, BAD idea then, seemingly inspired (to my eyes) by too many late hours and too many cups of coffee, but it's something that "ye editor" (and his sidekick Roy) have just REFUSED to let go of!! If Doom is an android replica, HOW would anyone involved even know about this??
We discover that The Mad Thinker & The Puppet Master-- TWO villains who've each outlived their expiration dates-- are working together again, and somehow, between them, have apparently found a way to combine their specialties into a new breed of android. But on pages 7-8, Sue says "Only one man can create such deadly monstrosities", which Reed continues with "Yes! This has to be the work of... The Puppet Master!" WHAT? HUH? Is "ye editor" KIDDING? WHY would they think that? HOW could they think that? If androids are involved, it would have to be The Mad Thinker-- that's his SCHTICK! The Puppet Master has always been using his sci-fi "voodoo" thing to take control of normal people. It just goes on like this for the whole issue. What a waste of talent-- and paper & ink. It's sad to see a once-GREAT series completely fall apart like this.
(7-17-2008)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN 86
cover by JOHN ROMITA
The Black Widow decides to "begin her career anew". Seeing Spidey swing past, she gets the idea that if she could find out how his powers work, and combine them with hers, no one would be able to stop her. Thinking on her tragic past, she feels nothing but action can help her forget. Designing a new, sleeker costume, "more in keeping with the swingy seventies", she goes out in search of Spidey. Pete, meanwhile, feeling totally out of it and not knowing why, returns home to find Gwen & her father waiting for him. Seeing his face bruised up, Gwen worries that Spider-Man might have done it, and tries to get Pete to promise that he'll have nothing more to do with Spider-Man ever again, and as she leaves, says, "You can CALL me... when you PROMISE!" Trying to clear his head, Spidey is attacked by The Widow, who is "disappointed" when he doesn't seem to even fight back. That is, until he does, which shocks her into realizing his powers seem like something he was "born with". Back home, Pete wonders if he's losing his powers, and begins a blood test, afraid of the results one way or the other.
John Romita returned to layouts again, with Jim Mooney continuing on pencils & inks. Much nicer than the previous 2 issues-- especially their rendition of The Black Widow, who is not only very beautiful, but really HOT in that new costume of hers (which she would keep until the early 80's when someone else had to come along and ruin things). I have this in the 1976 MARVEL TALES reprint, and unfortunately, that issue the quality of the reproduction PLUNGED terribly compared to previous ones. The whole book is fuzzy, and I have a hard time appreciating it. I'd sure love to see what the original comic looked like-- it HAD to be much better than this.
The main problem is, the writing seems to be just "phoned in". Everyone is reduced to one-dimensional characterization, and none of them seem to be thinking too clearly. It's obvious to me-- having read the previous issue-- that Spidey caught THE FLU after that dip in the FREEZING river. Gwen is more the "typical" girlfriend than ever before, and her behavior is NOT something I believe the Peter Parker near the end of Steve Ditko's run would EVER have tolerated! He was growing up then, becoming more confident, more self-assured, less willing to take garbage from ANYBODY. It's been a big step backward ever since John Romita arrived, and unfortunately, lately he's taking even more steps backward. On top of all that, there's The Black Widow. WHAT the HECK is going on in her head? The other month, we saw her suddenly appear to Clint and tell him they can "never" see each other again-- and she gave NO explanation for this whatsoever! That incident isn't even mentioned here! You'd think it would be. Even the flashback is so badly scripted, it's clear "ye editor" has NO memory at all of the stories he refering to, as when he has Natasha say they gave her powers-- and then came "the day I met Hawkeye", which actually happened the other way 'round. The next scene suggests she & Hawkeye had a tender parting before she ever worked for SHIELD or with The Avengers-- it's just totally messed up.
The whole point of this episode was to entice readers to check out The Black Widow's new series in AMAZING ADVENTURES, which would begin the following month. The '75 reprint, the notation was changed to promote her appearances in THE CHAMPIONS! In any event, writing like the one in this issue really hurts my admiration for characters like this. No matter HOW hot they look.
(7-17-2008)
IRON MAN 27
cover by Marie Severin & Joe Sinnott
CAPTAIN AMERICA 127
cover by Marie Severin & Wally Wood
Cap helps Fury test a new protection suit for SHIELD. After, he tells Fury Sharon is an "off-limits" topic. Out in the field, AIM finds a way thru the new suit's protective field, and the possibility of an inside traitor quickly arises. INCREDIBLY, Cap comes under suspicion, as Fury says, "How can we even be sure-- he's the REAL Captain America? ANYONE can make 'imself a mask 'n costume!" Sharon adds, "Even the way he's been avoiding me! What if he's not the REAL Cap?" Cap finds his SHIELD security clearance has been voided, and Joe Robertson of The Bugle is asking Fury about rumors that Cap is under suspicion. Fury goes to Tony Stark for his newest, most sophisticated Android, Stark not believing he actually plans to use is against Cap-- even as a "test". But that's exactly what Fury does-- until the android goes completely out of control, and Sharon finds SHIELD's newest technical wiz, Dr. Ryder, was the real traitor all along. Cap departs, asking, "How does a man protect himself from-- his FRIENDS?"
This Cap-Sharon soap is already tiring. But having her-- AND Fury-- both suspect Cap so fast, so easily, makes them look STUPID-- and I don't like it when a writer makes some of my favorite characters look stupid. On top of that, having Joe turn up seems out of left field, even more so when Fury says they've been "friends for years". SINCE WHEN? The ongoing AIM thing is a travesty compared to the old days, when they were a big, dangerous threat-- instead of all this endlessly lurking in the shadows for issue after issue. And it's mind-boggling that Fury should get an "android" from Stark-- and never ONCE refer to it as an "L.M.D."!!!
The big SURPRISE this issue was the inks by WALLY WOOD. Wood is possibly the BEST in the business-- maybe the BEST the business has EVER seen. Some have said he overpowered anyone he worked over, including Kirby & Heck. In the case of those 2, I'd say no-- their collaborations really were an amazing 50-50, each artists' style fighting for attention, and creating a greater whole. But over Gene Colan... MAN, Gene's one of the most outstanding, unique, unmistakeble stylists the biz has ever seen-- and yet here, I'm having trouble seeing his work! It's like, almost ALL I can see, screaming at me from the pages, is Wood's style. WHOA. It's just a hint, I suppose, of what I've often wished had happened on an ongoing basis-- Wood on SHIELD. Except, when Kirby was doing SHIELD, the writing was 10 TIMES BETTER.
NOT-- A -- CLUE to this under the Marie Severin-Wally Wood cover. I love her stuff-- but "ye editor" having her do so many covers that should have been done by various books' interior artists was just a BAD idea.
(7-18-2008)
SUB-MARINER 27
cover by Sal Buscema & Mike Esposito
Namor is frustrated that the UN has not yet "recognized" Atlantis. Making matters worse, ships are being sunk by a giant "kraken" (monster-size octopus), and HE's getting blamed for it. To straighten things out, he gets Diane Arliss to set him up with a passport and the pair book passage on a ship he knows from studying reports is likely to be the monster's next victim. IT IS! Namor discovers the monster is really a submarine DISGUISED as a giant octopus, commanded by "Commander Kraken", a long-haired dandy with "Captain Hook" delusions. He wants Namor to join him in taking on the world (seeing as Namor's already considered an "outcast") but he won't have it. Meanwhile, Dorma, jealous, has followed, and good thing, she was able to rescue Diane from drowning, then set about to "prove" SHE's Namor's woman, NOT Diane. But her sub gets grabbed by the "monster", and Namor has to save them both. And then, he draws Kraken down, down, down into a deep crevasse... where a GENUINE Kraken, MUCH larger than the sub, waits and grabs the villains... unfortunately, taking the "evidence" of Namor's innocence with them.
Nice episode. I bought all the issues from this period completely out of sequence over the last 10 years, so it's nice to re-read them in the right order. It makes it a lot easier to follow events as they unfold & evolve. Commander Kraken reminds me a lot of Captain Barracuda-- another villain with old-fashioned "pirate" tendencies, except this guy's less crude & more dandified. One letter comments it's very unlike Lady Dorma to be getting jealous, as with her regal status she should be "above" such things, at least outwardly. (I guess EVERYBODY in a Roy Thomas comic lives with their heart-- and overblown vocabulary-- on their sleeve!) The giant kraken in the climax is actually the same one from TALES TO ASTONISH #93, a nice bit of continuity. Better than having it come out of left field...
Sal Buscema & "Joe Gaudioso" (Mike Esposito) are okay, but that's it. I would swear Jack Abel inked page 10... that one looks TOO GOOD (and a lot smoother).
(7-18-2008)
THE INCREDIBLE HULK 129
cover by HER TRIMPE
THOR 178
cover by John Buscema & John Verpoorten
THE AVENGERS 78
cover by John Buscema & Tom Palmer
DAREDEVIL 66
cover by Marie Severin & Syd Shores
TOWER OF SHADOWS 6
cover by MARIE SEVERIN
Beowulf, veteran of a thousand campaigns, and his army of Vandals, arrives on the Northern Islands and approaches the castle of Vanaria, intent on conquest. One of his own men goes insane and he's forced to kill him. Next, he finds a maiden decked out for sacrifice to a "beast-god", which attacks-- and then is killed as well. Welcomed into the castle as "liberators", things take an ugly turn when Beowulf's men begin looting & pillaging, and he decides to take the king's daughter as his handmaiden. When her father objects, he's the next one to die! (What a bastard!) To keep a magical ring of his from the barbarian, the king's daughter grabs it and plunges off the parapet. As days go by, the "ghost" of the beast keeps appearing, and Beowulf's men are whittled down one by one. Alone, he's overpowered by the locals, who now put HIM out for sacrifice! The king's daughter turns up alive, and gives him the ring... He momentarily collapses, then battles the beast-- until it disappears. Turning around, he sees himself laying on the ground-- DEAD! The ring was poisoned, and now, having done the land a "service", HE haunts the area as a ghost...
All this in 7 pages! You see a heroic-looking guy with a sword, you tend to expect he's the "hero" of the story. Wood was clearly a lot more cynical than that. You know, with the amount of detail and the absolute pristine cleanness of it all, I can't help think he would have been perfect for a BLACK KNIGHT revival. But maybe his ever-darkening attitude was better served doing stuff like this instead.
At this point, TOS had already begun to deteriorate. THAT soon! Maybe it wouldn't have happened so quick if "ye editor" had only been doing 1 book instead of 2-- who knows? The cover-- another one from Marie Severin-- highlights "The Man In The Rat-Hole", which is in fact, a REPRINT of "The Worm Man" by "ye editor" & Steve Ditko, from STRANGE TALES #78 (Nov'60). With new Wood, Sutton & Colan material inside, THAT's what he decided to put on the cover??? I think it's easy to see why this book's sales were plunging...
(7-19-2008)
(Continued in August 1970)
All Text (C) Henry R. Kujawa
Artwork (C) Marvel Comics
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
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