Thursday, March 13, 2014

Fantastic Four #56.

Somehow, I hadn't bought a copy of this issue for my collection. I suspect I know why I missed getting one, and that is because this was during the absolute explosion of creativity that had come from Kirby on the FANTASTIC FOUR title. Beginning around issue #44 he had proceeded to come up with one mind-boggling concept after another, creating characters that are generating hundreds of millions of dollars in income for Marvel Comics to this day.

 This explosion of creativity did not taper off until issue #67 when, I am convinced, Kirby just go sick of handing his intellectual property off to the thieves for whom he labored. There are so many comics in this run (from #44 through #67) that blew my mind as a kid that I just forgot to add this one. It features one Kirby villain that I just never cared for: Klaw, the master of sound energy. Like most Kirby characters, he has a singular appearance, but the concept just fell flat for me.

 What I had not recalled was the artwork from this issue! It is amazing! Kirby and Sinnott were on a tear with this one. I'll have to photograph pages and panels from this issue and post them later. For now, just the cover.

My copy of Fantastic Four #56.

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2 comments:

  1. Kirk G - The Thrifty Rocketeer7:07 PM

    I'm right there with you on this high point of the FF run, Robert. My first spinner rack purchase was #55 and I almost missed #56 coming out, cause I didn't understand the monthly periodical nature of comics yet! Klaw also felt "off" for me, but having all 44-50 and 53 in one fell swoop, I knew who he was, and recognized his return. I also caught these were "individual adventures" for the team... #54-Torch, #55-Ben, #56- Reed & Sue...and the team returns for the Doom/Surfer arc #57-60. It was a silver age and high water mark period of two years for Kirby, and this is smack in the middle of that 2 year run of brilliance!

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  2. James Robert Smith9:29 PM

    I hadn't read this one in decades. The artwork and the storytelling is just as good as it gets.

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