Review of
Fantastic Four (1961) #1
Published:
November 1961
Avg User Rating:
(3.67)
Ah, Fantastic Four vol. 1 #1, the beginning of The Marvel Age of Comics, and my beginning in my reading of the Marvel Reading Order. To preface, I have developed a certain fondness for The Fantastic Four despite my limited experience with the group, so I am definitely excited to see how they started.
The first thing that jumps out about the issue is, without a doubt, Jack Kirby’s cover art. While the white background that seemingly trails off into nothingness is somewhat off-putting, the position and design of the subterranean creature so prominently featured is striking and dynamic, and this manages to make up for the ridiculous things that Sue and Reed are preoccupied with. Namely, Sue is trying to turn invisible IN ORDER TO ESCAPE A BIG ASS MONSTER THAT IS CURRENTLY HOLDING HER and Reed is using his abilities for the astonishingly mundane purpose of escaping from some ropes. Which brings us to the other writing on the cover. I don’t really see much wrong with Ben and Johnny’s lines(aside from Ben lacking his trademark manner of speech, but that probably hadn’t been conceived yet, so I won’t fault Stan for that one) but what Reed and Sue are saying is astonishingly stupid. “It’ll take more than ROPES to keep Mister Fantastic out of action!” is not exactly awe-inspiring combat dialogue. “I-I can’t turn invisible FAST enough!! How can we stop this creature, Torch?” makes up for what it lacks in lameness with a basic lack of understanding of how her powers work by the man who created her. The misleading statement that the titular Four are “together for the first time in one mighty magazine!”(which is technically true, but implies that the Four were already established separately at this point) isn’t much better.
The story begins on a much better note than the partly nonsensical cover would lead one to believe. A mysterious figure launches a flare that spells out “The Fantastic Four” in the sky, much to the surprise of the local populace. Meanwhile, Sue sees the signal and turns invisible, rushing away from her tea with her society friend, pausing only to mess with a cab driver.
The scene then shifts to Ben, dressed in a campy outfit that I actually kind of like, which consists of the expected over-sized trench-coat, an equally expected fedora, and…glasses. The Thing is apparently wearing glasses made by the same company that did Peter Parker’s in the early Spider-Man issues. For some reason, this amuses me.
Ben then goes outside and rips off a manhole cover in order to get away from some annoying cops that insisted on trying to shoot him. On these pages, I was struck by how…strange The Thing initially looked. I’m used to the moderately grotesque but otherwise amiable appearance that he sports later on. However, I do feel that this look does help to distinguish Ben from other superheroes and helped to justify and help reader’s sympathize his discontent with his transformation.
Johnny gets quite a good line right off the bat, with “Remember me saying there was only one thing I care about more than cars? Well THIS is it!”. The line oozes badass to me, as if Johnny seemed a completely normal teenager to his friends beforehand, and then instantly switches to getting shit done mode the moment he sees the “4” in the sky above him.
And just as that bit of good writing comes in, we’re treated to a page that mostly consists of Johnny talking to himself about how he “tried to warn them”, “them” being luckless national guard pilots who would have undoubtedly had to endure consequences had they not attempted to engage him in combat. In addition, I’m not very fond of the way Johnny’s flaming form is drawn on this page. The fire looks almost liquid-y, and it creates an effect of solidity that I don’t much like. Oh, and then a nuclear warhead starts heading directly at Johnny, presumedly from the now downed National Guard jets, who I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR authorized to carry one. That happens too.
Then Reed just grabs it and tosses it in the ocean like it’s nothing. I’m sorry, but the nonchalant attitude toward nuclear armaments is already kind of getting to me. If one is going to be included, it should at least be treated as a serious threat and not disposed of in less than a page. The man who summoned them is then revealed to have been Reed, which is somewhat cool to me, even though it was pretty obvious. Also, Ben somehow got his trench-coat + fedora + glasses combo back after ditching them while clothes shopping a few pages back. Ah, well, maybe he gets them from Reed. I like the idea that Reed has a closet full of copies of the exact same over-sized clothing so that Ben can dispose of it at his leisure, so let’s go with that. The scene then changes to show the start of The FF’s origin story.
The first thing that strikes me about this original incarnation of The Fantastic Four’s beginnings is that they are trying to study cosmic radiation in order to contribute to winning the space race. It’s funny that I didn’t realize it before, because it was so topical at the time of this story’s writing. It’s very lucky that Reed is such a naturally inquisitive person, and would probably do this without the space race, otherwise the FF might have had to have a major origin story overhaul later on.
Sue easily convinces Ben to go in the space of two panels, and the group is off to board the rocket. I’ve wonder why Sue and Johnny went up with Reed and Ben, and this question is answered quickly with the explanation that Sue is already engaged to Reed, and refuses to simply wait for Reed to return, while Johnny won’t allow his sister to go without him.
Have I mentioned that I really don’t like the term cosmic rays yet? Because I do. It’s just so…unscientific, and there isn’t even an inkling yet that they have a more official name. Gamma radiation sounds much more official when compared to cosmic rays, so I know that the Marvel team of this issue’s time can come up with better power-giving fictional science names.
Upon their landing after being exposed to the cosmic rays, I was surprised to see that Ben hadn’t already taken on his rocky appearance. In addition to the that, the first thing the team does upon discovering their new abilities is fight amongst themselves, which I think is quite the odd way to establish that these people are going to be effective when working together, though it is effective in showing that there’s more to these characters than one-dimensional heroism.
On a side not, Ben made me feel sorry for him here. “I ain’t Ben anymore- I’m what Susan called me- THE THING!!” While a bit heavy-handed, the line is effective in making me feel Ben’s disgust at his new form.
After the telling of the FF’s origin story, we are treated to a scene in “French Africa” where one of the Mole Man’s monsters is treated to a nasty surprise upon reaching the surface. Namely, an overly detailed french-man pointing at it. I mean, I know that the stereotype is that the french are rude, and the sixties’ wasn’t exactly a culturally sensitive time, but this is too far, Stan.
I’m looking at you too, Jack. How would you feel if an american was this startlingly rude to a friendly dweller of the dark?
All joking aside, the french-man did kind of weird me out, despite, or perhaps because of, the drawing’s quality. Check out page 17 to see for yourself.
After the creature is commanded by The Mole Man, The Four head to a place called Monster Isle, which is surely inspired by monster movies that were presumably popular around the time this issue was released. At the island, we’re treated to a very strangely designed monster who is dispatched by…being startled by invisibility, and then being thrown into the ocean. Okay, I would have expected a little more, but I understand that Stan and Jack only had so many pages to work with. Also, Reed has a really stupid hat on this page. Well, actually the hat itself isn’t that bad, it’s just that Reed Richards shouldn’t wear a hat. For some reason, it just doesn’t work.
Reed and Johnny then fall through some thin earth and wind up in a chamber, where they are blinded by light, put in strange outfits, and taken to The Mole Man. On the topic of The Mole Man, he actually looks kind of creepy, which is a surprise.
Meanwhile, Sue and Ben are still on the surface, where Sue is attacked by another interesting looking monster, which is dispatched in a somewhat less lame way than the original(Ben throws it into the sea as opposed to Reed). We are then treated to The Mole Man’s backstory, which is surprisingly interesting, although I have absolutely no idea how he managed to tame these giant creatures, being a tiny blind man.
Then The Mole Man falls prey to the well-known cliche of a villain explaining their master-plan before killing those who could oppose him. While he’s doing this, Ben and Sue arrive, and they trash him and his biggest monster in no time. They are then pursued by the rest of The Mole Man’s army of underground creatures until they reach the surface, when Johnny cause a rock-slide to seal them in, which is compounded by The Mole Man’s own explosive method of keeping himself from the surface world.
Overall, this issue is much better than I expected it to be. There are definitely flaws in it, but it is exciting and held my interest throughout the entire story. I give it four stars out of five because, although it is quite satisfying, it wasn’t anywhere near perfect, though the series shows promise and may have stories of that caliber later on.
The first thing that jumps out about the issue is, without a doubt, Jack Kirby’s cover art. While the white background that seemingly trails off into nothingness is somewhat off-putting, the position and design of the subterranean creature so prominently featured is striking and dynamic, and this manages to make up for the ridiculous things that Sue and Reed are preoccupied with. Namely, Sue is trying to turn invisible IN ORDER TO ESCAPE A BIG ASS MONSTER THAT IS CURRENTLY HOLDING HER and Reed is using his abilities for the astonishingly mundane purpose of escaping from some ropes. Which brings us to the other writing on the cover. I don’t really see much wrong with Ben and Johnny’s lines(aside from Ben lacking his trademark manner of speech, but that probably hadn’t been conceived yet, so I won’t fault Stan for that one) but what Reed and Sue are saying is astonishingly stupid. “It’ll take more than ROPES to keep Mister Fantastic out of action!” is not exactly awe-inspiring combat dialogue. “I-I can’t turn invisible FAST enough!! How can we stop this creature, Torch?” makes up for what it lacks in lameness with a basic lack of understanding of how her powers work by the man who created her. The misleading statement that the titular Four are “together for the first time in one mighty magazine!”(which is technically true, but implies that the Four were already established separately at this point) isn’t much better.
The story begins on a much better note than the partly nonsensical cover would lead one to believe. A mysterious figure launches a flare that spells out “The Fantastic Four” in the sky, much to the surprise of the local populace. Meanwhile, Sue sees the signal and turns invisible, rushing away from her tea with her society friend, pausing only to mess with a cab driver.
The scene then shifts to Ben, dressed in a campy outfit that I actually kind of like, which consists of the expected over-sized trench-coat, an equally expected fedora, and…glasses. The Thing is apparently wearing glasses made by the same company that did Peter Parker’s in the early Spider-Man issues. For some reason, this amuses me.
Ben then goes outside and rips off a manhole cover in order to get away from some annoying cops that insisted on trying to shoot him. On these pages, I was struck by how…strange The Thing initially looked. I’m used to the moderately grotesque but otherwise amiable appearance that he sports later on. However, I do feel that this look does help to distinguish Ben from other superheroes and helped to justify and help reader’s sympathize his discontent with his transformation.
Johnny gets quite a good line right off the bat, with “Remember me saying there was only one thing I care about more than cars? Well THIS is it!”. The line oozes badass to me, as if Johnny seemed a completely normal teenager to his friends beforehand, and then instantly switches to getting shit done mode the moment he sees the “4” in the sky above him.
And just as that bit of good writing comes in, we’re treated to a page that mostly consists of Johnny talking to himself about how he “tried to warn them”, “them” being luckless national guard pilots who would have undoubtedly had to endure consequences had they not attempted to engage him in combat. In addition, I’m not very fond of the way Johnny’s flaming form is drawn on this page. The fire looks almost liquid-y, and it creates an effect of solidity that I don’t much like. Oh, and then a nuclear warhead starts heading directly at Johnny, presumedly from the now downed National Guard jets, who I’m pretty sure wouldn’t be anywhere NEAR authorized to carry one. That happens too.
Then Reed just grabs it and tosses it in the ocean like it’s nothing. I’m sorry, but the nonchalant attitude toward nuclear armaments is already kind of getting to me. If one is going to be included, it should at least be treated as a serious threat and not disposed of in less than a page. The man who summoned them is then revealed to have been Reed, which is somewhat cool to me, even though it was pretty obvious. Also, Ben somehow got his trench-coat + fedora + glasses combo back after ditching them while clothes shopping a few pages back. Ah, well, maybe he gets them from Reed. I like the idea that Reed has a closet full of copies of the exact same over-sized clothing so that Ben can dispose of it at his leisure, so let’s go with that. The scene then changes to show the start of The FF’s origin story.
The first thing that strikes me about this original incarnation of The Fantastic Four’s beginnings is that they are trying to study cosmic radiation in order to contribute to winning the space race. It’s funny that I didn’t realize it before, because it was so topical at the time of this story’s writing. It’s very lucky that Reed is such a naturally inquisitive person, and would probably do this without the space race, otherwise the FF might have had to have a major origin story overhaul later on.
Sue easily convinces Ben to go in the space of two panels, and the group is off to board the rocket. I’ve wonder why Sue and Johnny went up with Reed and Ben, and this question is answered quickly with the explanation that Sue is already engaged to Reed, and refuses to simply wait for Reed to return, while Johnny won’t allow his sister to go without him.
Have I mentioned that I really don’t like the term cosmic rays yet? Because I do. It’s just so…unscientific, and there isn’t even an inkling yet that they have a more official name. Gamma radiation sounds much more official when compared to cosmic rays, so I know that the Marvel team of this issue’s time can come up with better power-giving fictional science names.
Upon their landing after being exposed to the cosmic rays, I was surprised to see that Ben hadn’t already taken on his rocky appearance. In addition to the that, the first thing the team does upon discovering their new abilities is fight amongst themselves, which I think is quite the odd way to establish that these people are going to be effective when working together, though it is effective in showing that there’s more to these characters than one-dimensional heroism.
On a side not, Ben made me feel sorry for him here. “I ain’t Ben anymore- I’m what Susan called me- THE THING!!” While a bit heavy-handed, the line is effective in making me feel Ben’s disgust at his new form.
After the telling of the FF’s origin story, we are treated to a scene in “French Africa” where one of the Mole Man’s monsters is treated to a nasty surprise upon reaching the surface. Namely, an overly detailed french-man pointing at it. I mean, I know that the stereotype is that the french are rude, and the sixties’ wasn’t exactly a culturally sensitive time, but this is too far, Stan.
I’m looking at you too, Jack. How would you feel if an american was this startlingly rude to a friendly dweller of the dark?
All joking aside, the french-man did kind of weird me out, despite, or perhaps because of, the drawing’s quality. Check out page 17 to see for yourself.
After the creature is commanded by The Mole Man, The Four head to a place called Monster Isle, which is surely inspired by monster movies that were presumably popular around the time this issue was released. At the island, we’re treated to a very strangely designed monster who is dispatched by…being startled by invisibility, and then being thrown into the ocean. Okay, I would have expected a little more, but I understand that Stan and Jack only had so many pages to work with. Also, Reed has a really stupid hat on this page. Well, actually the hat itself isn’t that bad, it’s just that Reed Richards shouldn’t wear a hat. For some reason, it just doesn’t work.
Reed and Johnny then fall through some thin earth and wind up in a chamber, where they are blinded by light, put in strange outfits, and taken to The Mole Man. On the topic of The Mole Man, he actually looks kind of creepy, which is a surprise.
Meanwhile, Sue and Ben are still on the surface, where Sue is attacked by another interesting looking monster, which is dispatched in a somewhat less lame way than the original(Ben throws it into the sea as opposed to Reed). We are then treated to The Mole Man’s backstory, which is surprisingly interesting, although I have absolutely no idea how he managed to tame these giant creatures, being a tiny blind man.
Then The Mole Man falls prey to the well-known cliche of a villain explaining their master-plan before killing those who could oppose him. While he’s doing this, Ben and Sue arrive, and they trash him and his biggest monster in no time. They are then pursued by the rest of The Mole Man’s army of underground creatures until they reach the surface, when Johnny cause a rock-slide to seal them in, which is compounded by The Mole Man’s own explosive method of keeping himself from the surface world.
Overall, this issue is much better than I expected it to be. There are definitely flaws in it, but it is exciting and held my interest throughout the entire story. I give it four stars out of five because, although it is quite satisfying, it wasn’t anywhere near perfect, though the series shows promise and may have stories of that caliber later on.
