Four & Thor 6

Hey Ho!  Let's Go!

Fantastic Four #11
by Jack Kirby on Story/Pencils, Dick Ayers on Inks, and Stan Lee on Plot/Dialogue

Story:  Actually, we get two short stories in this one.  In the lead story, we get a day in the life of the FF, as they hang out with street kids dressed as the FF and Read Fan Mail (including another Thing directed gag gift from the Yancy Street Gang).  We get the story of how Reed and Ben met in college and fought in WWII.  We also get a bunch of letters from people saying that Sue is useless, which pisses off Reed.  Also, it's Sue's Birthday.  In the second story, the Impossible Man who can not only shapeshift, but actually evolve his body to suit the needs of the environment, shows up on earth for a vacation, and causes a bunch of trouble.  Reed figures out the best way to get rid of Impy is for everyone on the whole planet to ignore him, so that's what everyone does.  Impy gets frustrated and leaves.  The End.

Notes:  Well, this does mark the debut of the moderately noteworthy Impossible Man.  That's something, I suppose.  Other than that, we get more of "Hey, Reed is finally starting to admit his feelings for Sue, but Sue's still got a girl boner for Namor".

The Art:  It's always fun to watch the King draw Shapeshifters.

Whatta I Think:  Kind of a filler issue, really.

Fantastic Four #12
by the same as above

Story:  Ben and Alicia are out on the town, when they see soldiers marching through the streets.  The soldiers mistake the Thing for the Hulk (I could see that during this time period) and attack him.  Eventually the confusion is cleared up.  Thunderbolt Ross shows up at FF HQ and requests that they deal with the Hulk, accusing the Hulk of wrecking a bunch of secret Military Experiments.  The FF, in their newly redesigned Fantasticar fly off to the desert, where they meet up with Bruce Banner and Rick Jones.  Unbeknownst to our heroes, the actual sabateur is revealed to be some skinny Commie guy who kidnaps Rick.  Thing gets used as a crash test dummy for a rocket sled, which wrecks because of the sabateur (called the Wrecker by Banner).  Discovering Rick has been captured, Bruce turns into the Hulk and immediately gets into a Fight with the Fantastic Four.  There are a few pages of Magic Fightyness before the Hulk is conked out by an underground laser.  Turns out the Commie Spy has his own Robot, which the Thing smashes.  Ben and Sue capture the wrecker and free Rick.  The Hulk turns back to Banner, and the FF leave.

Notes:  Ahhhh.  What a wonderful comic.  I read some criticism about this issue, as some people claim the actual fight between the FF and the Hulk is too short and not all that cool.  Pish-tosh, I say!  If you're reading the books in sequence, this issue is the most wonderful issue of the FF up till this point, and just a wonder of Magic Fightyness.  Besides all of that, this is the first major character cross over in an issue of the Fantastic Four, and it marks the debut of the more recognizable version of the Fantasticar.  The only oddity I've found in this issue is that Thunderbolt Ross looks fatter than usual.  I may need to double check my Hulk collected edition.  Oh!  And Ben likes down and dirty Jazz.  Who knew?

The Art:  First, this issue has one of the most ICONIC covers in all of Comic Book History.  The scene of the Hulk waiting around the corner to Smash the FF is just a thing of beauty.  Other than that, the interiors are pretty rock on as well, even with Dick Ayers's so-so inks.  The first look at the Fantasticar and the wild melee in the desert (which includes the Hulk picking up an entire building!  Yes!) are just beautifully rendered.

Whatta I Think:  Best Issue of the Fantastic Four up to this point, and one of the Best Issues of the Comic in General.  Worth picking up the Essential Volume for this story alone.

Journey Into Mystery featuring Thor #93
Pencils/Story: Jack Kirby, Inks: Dick Ayers, Script: R. Berns, Plot: Stan Lee

Story: Over in India, they're having a problem with the Red Chinese.  Dr. Donald Blake is inexplicably out in the trenches providing support for the Medical staff, and, not surprisingly, Thor shows up to wreck up a buncha Chinese tanks and missiles.  The Chinese respond by creating the Radioactive Man, a Chinese Scientist who makes his entire body into a nuclear reactor.  Woo.  The Radioactive Man goes to New York and starts wrecking up the joint.  Thor, already back in America, takes the fight to R-Man, but the stinking Commie's Radioactive Shield repels Thor's Hammer (really?).  The Radioactive Man uses light pulses to hypnotize Thor (again?  really?), forcing Thor to throw away his hammer.  While R-Man chases after the hammer, Thor reverts to Blake (thus ending the hypnotism...again).  After using an X-Ray Device back at his office, Blake finds the Hammer at the bottom of the Hudson River (waitwaitwait...WHAT?).  Dr. Blake, despite being a lame weakling, shows good old American Courage, dives into the river, and retrieves the Hammer, turning back into Thor.  Thor whips up a Tornado and sends the Radioactive Man flying all the way to China where he promptly explodes on impact.  Ouch.

Notes:  We get a change of pace this issue.  Instead of the dastardly Russians, we get the dastardly Chinese.  Eh.  Anyway, the most noteworthy thing about this issue is that it features the debut of the Radioactive Man.  The R-Man is worth mentioning for a few reasons.  1)  He's one of the few early Thor villains besides Loki who was a credible threat to Thor.  2)  The Radioactive Man would later return as a member of the Original Master of Evil in the pages of Kirby's "Avengers".  3)  Although he's something of a minor character, I believe the R-Man is still floating around the Marvel U in some form or another to this day.  At the very least, I remember him being a member of the Thunderbolts a few years ago.

The Art:  We get an issue with Kirby!  Hallelujah!  The art is so much better than the previous issues it almost made me weep with joy.  Other than that, the design of the Radiation Man is somewhat uninspired, BUT, the "Radiation Effects" surrounding him are well done.

Whatta I Think:  The Good News is that Kirby drew this issue, and it features a somewhat formidable opponent who will actually pop up later to menace Thor again.  The Bad News is that this issue features a lot of stuff we've already seen (someone deflecting Thor's Hammer, Thor getting hypnotized and revert to Don Blake and being un-hypnotized, Thor taking out the seemingly unstoppable foe in less than a page).  Kinda 50/50, really.  1000 Times Better than the Next Issue I'm gonna Review.

JIM feat. Thor #94
Art: Joe Sinnott, Script: R. Berns.  Plot: Stan Lee

 The Story:  There's a Missile that's out of control!  Thankfully, Thor is there to save the day.  Meanwhile, in Asgard, Loki's been chained to a wall.  Loki can still use his magic to control the missile.  Thor stops the missile, but Loki creates an illusion, causing Thor to turn his head, so that when his Hammer returns it hits Thor in the head.  Let me say that again.  THOR GETS HIT IN THE HEAD WITH HIS OWN HAMMER!  This, of course, makes Thor into an Evil Jerk.  Thor goes to Asgard, pushing over Heimdall like a schoolyard bully, and frees Loki.  Thor and Loki join forces, flip off Odin and his posse, and take off for Earth.  The two gods proceed to destroy every noteworthy monument on the planet (the Eiffel Tower, the Leaning Tower of Pizza, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Taj Mahal, ect.), until a bunch of UN Ambassadors beg them to stop.  Thor and Loki go to the UN, but Thor falls down a trapdoor (oh, my head hurts), and then his hammer falls down behind him and bonks him on the noggin.  Yep.  Thor gets hit in the head with his own hammer twice in the same story.  Turns out, the entire UN Assembly was really Odin and the other Norse Gods in disguise.  Thor becomes Good again and beats Loki in a single panel, while Odin declares that they will use their amazing god powers to fix all the crap Thor and Loki broke and erase everyone's memories so they won't remember the time that Thor destroyed the Eiffel Tower.  I wish Odin would erase my memory so I wouldn't remember this comic.  Oy.

Notes:  Apparently, Missile is not spelled Missle.  Who knew?  Anyway, This comic is stupid and pointless.  That is all.

The Art:  Joe Sinnott, whose art was pretty good in previous issues, seemed to be slacking here.  Also, I don't like the very Viking-way that Sinnott draws Odin.  Doesn't look right. 

Whatta I Think:  Thor getting hit in the head with his own hammer is the equivalent of Michael Jordan getting hit in the Nuts with a basketball.  Also, it was funny when Guy Gardner got bonked in the head and went from being a jerk to being a sensitive guy.  It's not funny when Thor gets bonked on the head and turns full on evil.  Not funny at all.  This is just a terrible, stupid story.

So, we get a Weak Issue of the Fantastic Four, followed by an absolutely Classic Issue.  And we get a mildly noteworthy issue of Thor followed by an issue of Thor that should have never been reprinted in any form ever.  Don't worry, these will start to even out before long.