Fantastic Four: In Search Of Galactus

Reprints Fantastic Four #204-214
Written by Marv Wolfman.
Penciled by Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema, John Byrne and Diverse Hands.
Inked by Joe Sinnott and Diverse Hands.

Variant cover.

Summary:

The Fantastic Four are in the Baxter Building, relaxing after a recent battle, but Reed Richards is worried because he has discovered someone is siphoning power from the FF's computer into space.

Suddenly, a woman beams into the building, followed by a skrull! This skrull calls himself Skrull X. He has super powers and is a handful for the FF. Reed zaps him with a stasis ray, ending the fight. 

They learn that the woman is Queen Adora of the planet Xandar. She fled her homeworld when it was attacked by the skrulls. Adora came to Earth seeking the aid of the Fantastic Four. Without assistance, Xandar and its people will be destroyed by the Skrulls. The team meets and decides to help free Xandar.  

But Johnny Storm, the Human Torch declines. He says he needs to return to college and take a leave of absence from the FF. Coincidentally, Johnny receives a recruitment letter from Security University, a college designed to provide privacy for the "wealthy and famous." But strange things are happening at the university. We learn that, behind the scenes, Security U. is run by the Fantastic Four's old foe, the Monocle. He's working with a mysterious criminal organization called the Enclave and Security is a front that will help them take revenge on the Torch and his teammates.  

Peter Parker shows up on campus, doing undercover reporting for the Daily Globe. Parker observes Security's students, including Johnny, attack a military base. He goes into action as Spider-Man and is attacked by the Torch. If Spider-Man wants to bring the Monocle to justice, he'll have to free the Human Torch from hypnosis, or go through him.

Meanwhile, in outer space, the Fantastic Four arrive on Xandar and find it under attack by the skrulls.  The FF join the battle, they seem to be gaining the upper hand, when they're zapped by the skrull's stun ray. They are captured and skrull emperor Dorrek says they will be tried for treason against the Skrull Empire.

 

During the trial, Reed tries to reason with the judge and is gunned down. Ben and Sue get the same treatment. But they're not dead and they escape from their jail cell and escape to Xandar. Dorrek lets them escape, saying the FF will be dead in a few days. They were shot with a ray that will make them die of old age. Plus, their ship is set to explode.  

When it explodes, they are rescued by the Champions of Xandar, led by Nova. They are traveling with the Sphinx (who previously battled the FF), who suddenly disappears.  

Sphinx reaches the computers of Xandar, which make him a virtual god. The universe will not be safe until the Sphinx is defeated. Sphinx is angry at Earth for the way its people treated him, so he vows to destroy the planet. 

The Sphinx attains near godhood.

So Reed gets an idea. He will recruit Galactus, devourer of worlds, to stop the Sphinx. Galactus agrees, but only if the FF can find a new herald for him.

The FF try to get Galactus' attention;
Nice artwork from John Byrne & Joe Sinnott.

The heroes find Tyros the Terrible and bring him before Galactus. The Big G turns Tyros into Terrax The Tamer. As Galactus' herald, Terrax has the power to fly through space and create earthquakes with his cosmic battleaxe. Galactus follows through on his agreement and goes to Egypt to battle the Sphinx.

Can Galactus save Earth from the Sphinx? If so, will Galactus then devour Earth? Will the Fantastic Four die of old age? 

Plus, Reed creates a new "ally" for the FF: Herbie the robot!

Review:

This is a very good, epic-length story that could have been an all-time great saga, if not for...well, see below. But it still contains a good story and even better art.  

Story:

Marv Wolfman wrote every issue reprinted here, and it's good from cover-to-cover. You're never in doubt that the FF will survive the aging ray, but it's always entertaining. The battle between Galactus and Sphinx is the high point of this book. 

The Human Torch/Spider-Man vs. Monocle portion has nothing to do with the main storyline, other than serving as an excuse for the Torch to be absent, but it's a fun side story. Spidey and the Torch were always a good duo. It feels more like a Marvel Team-Up story than an FF tale, but that's okay.

The FF challenge Tyros the Terrible.

The Sphinx's flashback was good, and his battle with Galactus was a good fight, even if it was one-sided. The Fantastic Four interacted nicely with Nova and the Champions of Xandar. That makes sense, since Wolfman was writing both series at the time.

Sphinx looks back on life & origin.

Speaking of Galactus, it seems like every Fantastic Four scribe took a shot a writing a story that featured "The Big G", as the Torch calls him. Wolfman does a good job with Galactus, reminding us that he's not a "villain", but an entity that is above simple good and evil. Terrax/Tyros is a Wolfman creation and he went on to menace the FF for years after this story.  

Galactus gets a new herald, transforming Tyros into Terrax.

Wolfman found a clever way to introduce Herbie the robot.  For those too young to recall, Herbie took the Torch's place in the FF when the Fantastic Four cartoon aired in 1978-79. Another company owned the rights to the Human Torch, which is why Herbie was created. In the panel below, Wolfman provides  a sly explanation for why Johnny Storm didn't appear in the cartoon:

Reed creates Herbie.

But In Search Of Galactus has some problems.  

First off, I've never been crazy about the skrulls as primary villains. The skrulls rarely use their shape-shifting powers here, which makes them just generic aliens with guns.  

Skrull X is the only skrull who uses shape-shifting abilities. He has other powers and even mimics the Human Torch's power. He tells Johnny, "like the Super-Skrull, I have been given the ability to dulplicate the powers of the Fantastic Four." So why didn't Wolfman just bring back Super-Skrull?  Skrull X has an unimaginative name and he just feels like a "poor man's Super-Skrull."

Skrull X attacks the Torch.

The Skrull-Xandar conflict is dominant for the first 160 pages of the book. Then Wolfman drops it in favor of the Galactus/Terrax/Sphinx story. We get a few token mentions about Xandar after that, but we never learn how/if they survive the Skrull's attack. 

And there's a bit of a continuity error. At the end of one issue, Sphinx disappears from his ship. But when the story resumes, Sphinx is still present.  

It's still a good story, but it could have been even better if Wolfman had tied up some of the plots and subplots.

Art:

The art here is excellent, with one exception. The portion reprinted from Fantastic Four #208 is credited to "D.Hands", meaning "diverse hands" served as inkers.  

Other than that, we get gorgeous pencils from Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema and John Byrne, all inked by Joe Sinnott. Here's a great two-page spread from Byrne and Sinnott:

How does it look?:

  Here's a scan from Fantastic Four #205:

And here's how it looks in the book:

Fantastic Four: In Search Of Galactus is a fun romp through space with art from some of the Bronze Age's finest pencilers and inkers. It's recommended, but the unfinished plot threads keep me from giving it my highest rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

.5

3 and a half Sals.

Nova Classic Vol. 2

 

Reprints Nova #13-19, Defenders #62-64, Fantastic Four Annual #12 and Marvel Two-In-One Annual #3

Written by Marv Wolfman and David Anthony Kraft.

Penciled by Sal Buscema, Carmine Infantino, Bob Hall, Keith Pollard and Don Perlin.

Inked by Joe Sinnott, Dick Giordano, Tom Palmer, Bob Wiacek, Jim Mooney, Don Perlin, Frank Giacoia, Dave Hunt and Bruce Patterson.

Summary:

Richard Rider is in a bank withdrawing some money. Suddenly, a robbery occurs, led by the Sandman!  Richard is in street clothes and can't turn into Nova. Thankfully, a new crimefighter, the Crimebuster goes after the villain.

Nova & Crimebuster foil a robbery attempt by the Sandman.

They take out his henchmen and lock Sandman in a bank vault. But he turns to sand and gets away.  When Sandman gets to his hotel room, he has a visitor waiting for him. The man claims to be a psychologist and says that Sandman's problems are all in his head.  

Then he uses a device called the encephalogrammer to take control of Sandman's mind.    

Nova stops a kidnapping near the United Nations headquarters. He learns that the target was a Dr. T'Kora, a nuclear scientist from Wakanda. Sandman shows up and captures Nova and T'kora. Nova is able to beat Sandman, but learns later that the brain behind the scheme is the villain know as Yellow Claw! Nick Fury and his SHIELD agents team up with Nova to fight Yellow Claw.  

In addition to T'Kora, Yellow Claw has captured another nuclear scientist, Samuel Burley. The villain wants them to use their knowledge to create a tidal wave that will destroy New York City! It ends with Nova in hand-to-hand combat with Yellow Claw.

Nova battles Yellow Claw & tries to save New York from a tidal wave.

Sometime later, Nova is flying around New York and notices the sky is getting dark in the daytime. He gets zapped by a ray of some kind. It's the work of a criminal named Blackout. After a brief fight, Blackout encases Nova in solid black light, then takes off.  

Nova comes face to face with Blackout, winds up imprisoned in solid light.

Through a flashback, we learn that Blackout was a criminal named Marcus Daniels. He volunteered to be a test subject in exchange for the government dropping charges against him. The experiment was an attempt to harness "the power of the black star", but it resulted in Daniels gaining superpowers.  Blackout uses those powers to kill the scientists when they fail to cure his condition.  

Nova goes after Blackout and they fight to the finish on top of a skyscraper!

Later, Dollar Bill, an aspiring filmmaker and friend of the Defenders, has made a documentary about the non-team of superheroes. The documentary is shown on a local tv station. In the film, Dollar Bill reveals the location of the Defenders' unofficial headquarters and says that since the Defenders have no formal rules or roster, anyone can join. This angers the team, since their existence is otherwise unknown to the general public. Nighthawk is especially angry at Dollar Bill, since the Defenders' HQ is also his home!

The next morning, more than a dozen superheroes, including Nova, knock on the Defenders' door.  Since the Defenders roster is more or less open, all the heroes now claim to be Defenders. Nighthawk is furious and his anger leads to various skirmishes among the heroes.  

Nova & Marvel Man play "cowboy";
Nighthawk chases the Falcon.

But they come to their senses when they hear that New York is under attack from dozens of villains who also claim to be Defenders! The Defenders and "neo-Defenders" come to their senses and unite to stop the villains.  

Lastly, Nova encounters a gigantic green humanoid standing on a street in New York. A flying saucer appears next to him and starts drilling in to the ground. Nova attacks the giant, but is no match for him.  Realizing he's outclassed, Nova heads to the Baxter Building, home of the Fantastic Four, to seek help.  The Thing joins Nova and they go after the giant. Similar "drilling" attacks are occurring in major cities all over the world.

The Monitors go on a rampage in Tokyo.

An alien woman arrives and explains the scenario to the Ben and Nova. Her name is Milandra and she says the giants attacking Earth are aliens known as the Monitors. They visit planets throughout the universe to test the worlds to see if they "are fit to survive!" The Thing and Nova will need Milandra's help if they want to save Earth from the Monitors.

Plus, Nova's enemy the Sphinx battles the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans!

Review:

Nova Classic Vol. 2 isn't a bad book, but it's a step down from the previous volume.

Story:

Nova's creator, Marv Wolfman, writes all the Nova solo stories in this tpb. It starts off with a bang, with Nova and Crimebuster stopping bank robbers. Nova's battle with the Sandman is an exciting story.  Sandman has and long been one of my favorite characters and Wolfman writes him well here. The presence of the Crimebuster makes things a bit more fun. I enjoyed his interaction with Nova, as they're both still learning how to be superheroes.  

But the next part of the book is where things go a bit wrong. The Yellow Claw three-parter isn't very compelling. I just didn't care much about Mike Burley or his brother, or Yellow Claw's plan to destroy New York.  

For that matter, Yellow Claw himself is problematic at best. He's a product of the "Yellow Peril" stereotypes found in Western Culture during much of the 20th century. But beyond that, I just don't think he's a very interesting villain. And the Yellow Claw story takes up 53 pages of the book (more than that if you count his shadowy "behind the scenes" appearances).  

Things pick up a bit with the Blackout story. I've always thought his powers were pretty cool, and he battled the Avengers a few times in the 1980s. Blackout also recently appeared in an episode of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., so Wolfman deserves credit for creating a villain with staying power.  

Nova & Fury prepare to battle Yellow Claw's minions.

The Sphinx/Fantastic Four battle really has no business being in this tpb. Nova only appears in one panel during Sphinx's flashback and this story doesn't directly tie in to Nova's series beyond that.  Wolfman also wrote the Fantastic Four's series at the time and I'm guessing he wanted to tie his titles together, but it just feels like filler in this book. I reviewed the story in an earlier review when it was published in Fantastic Four: Reunited They Stand, so read that review for more details about the story.

The Defenders issues also have very little to do with Nova. He just briefly appears as one of the many superheroes who show up to be a "Defender For A Day",  but it's a fun story. David Anthony Kraft writes great scenes of (mostly) B-level heroes bickering and sometimes brawling with one another.  Plus, we get to see the Hulk learn how to throw a frisbee! I'll admit that I'm biased, since Defenders was one of my favorite series of the Bronze Age. 

The final story, from Marvel Two-In-One Annual #3, also written by Wolfman, isn't that great either.  The Monitors are generic aliens and Milandra isn't particularly interesting. But I enjoyed the interaction between Nova and the Thing. Wolfman wrote the Fantastic Four in the late-70s and always had a good grasp of Ben Grimm's character. I think it would've worked better as a regular issue of Marvel Two-In-One, rather than an "annual-length" story.  

Art:

Sal Buscema pencils the first few issues reprinted here, delivering his usual high quality Bronze Age work. Carmine Infantino takes over after that and I don't have a problem with Infantino's art here. It reminds of his pencils in Star Wars, but Buscema and Infantino had such different styles at the time that the change is quite jarring.    

Buscema also penciled the stories from Defenders and Marvel Two-In-One Annual. He's inked by several different inkers. Some inkers work better than others with Sal's pencils here, but Buscema gives us plenty of entertaining fight scenes.  

Nova is attacked by Spider-Man, Hulk & Iron Man...
or are they robot versions of the heroes?

Keith Pollard and Bob Hall penciled the story reprinted from Fantastic Four Annual #12, with inks by Bob Wiacek. Their art is okay, not great but not terrible either.

How Does It Look?:

Here's a scan from a copy of Nova #16, courtesy of supermegamonkey:

And here's how it looks in the tpb:

Extras:

Several pages of original art.

Nova Classic Vol. 2 is a bit of a disappointment, since the first volume was a lot of fun. But the solid art from Sal Buscema makes up for some of the lackluster stories. I'm a huge fan of the Defenders, which earns this tpb a half-Sal more than I would've otherwise given. But if you're not a Defenders fan, you probably won't enjoy this tpb. 

J.A. Morris' rating:   

 .5                

2 and a half Sals.

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers Vol. 2 and Avengers: Korvac Saga

Note from your trusted blogger:
I was in the process of reviewing Avengers: Korvac Saga when I received the Guardians vol. 2 tpb. The first half of the Guardians book reprints the entire Korvac Saga, plus other stories that featured the Guardians, so I thought it would be more efficient to post a joint review of these books.

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers Vol. 2
Reprints Thor Annual #6; Avengers #167-168, 170-177, 181; Ms. Marvel (1977) #23; Marvel Team-Up (1972) #86; and Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #61-63 and #69

Written by Jim Shooter, Len Wein, Roger Stern, George Perez, David Michelinie and Bill Mantlo.
Penciled by George Perez, Sal Buscema,Dave Wenzel, John Byrne, Mike Vosburg, Bob McLeod, Jerry Bingham, Ron Wilson and Tom Morgan.
Inked by Klaus Jason, Pablo Marcos, Ricardo Villamonte, Gene Day, Dan Green, Joseph Rubenstein, Bob McLeod, Bruce Patterson, Rick Bryant, Winslow Mortimer and "Diverse Hands".

Avengers:The Korvac Saga
Reprints Thor Annual #6 and Avengers #167-168, 170-177

Summary:
The Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers star in one of the most epic sagas of all time...and more!

In the 31st century, the Guardians were formed by Vance Astrovik, AKA Vance Astro, who time-travelled from the 20th cenutry. They serve as a protectors of the future Earth and occasionally time-travel back to our present day. 

Thor, Norse God of Thunder, is foiling a terrorist attack on a nuclear facility when he's transported into the 31st century. He winds up on the spaceship of the Guardians of the Galaxy! They're attacked by evil cyborg Korvac and his minions. But the attack on the Guardians is merely a distraction.

Korvac hates Earth. He wants to destroy it and all who inhabit the planet. His hatred of Earthlings led him to side with the Badoon when they conquered Earth. But the Badoon overworked Korvac until he passed out due to exhaustion.

Thor & Starhawk faceoff against Korvac, while the
rest of the Guardians tackle Korvac's minions.

They turned him into a cyborg and wired his brain to circuits. But Korvac's computer skills helped him make himself a dangerous villain. The combined might of Thor & the Guardians is enough to defeat Korvac and save Earth, just in the nick of time. But Korvac escapes.

The Guardians & Beast get off to a bad start, but cooler heads prevail.

Korvac time-travels back to 1977 in order to kill Vance Astro, who is still a teenager in the present time. This will prevent Astro from growing up, traveling into the future and founding the Guardians, allowing Korvac to rule his time unopposed. The Guardians get a house near young Vance's home so they can watch over him, while the "adult" Astro stays in space.

The Guardians explain how Korvac has changed 
and become more dangerous than ever.

But Korvac is more dangerous than before. He has aquired the Power Cosmic by using knowledge he stole from Galactus.This has made Korvac a virtual god and one of the most powerful beings that ever lived! He uses the knowledge to return himself to his human form. Korvac calls himself "Michael" and lives in a house in Queens, NY. Unbeknownst to the Guardians and Avengers, Korvac is omniscient and sees their every move.

Korvac, as "Michael", monologues on how the most powerful
beings in the universe don't know of his existence.

Korvac talks of bringing peace and order to the universe and making himself its all-powerful benevolent dictator.

Guardians' member Starhawk discovers where Korvac is hiding and seeks him out. Korvac says they will battle on every plane of existence. Their fight rocks the Earth's orbit, causing extreme weather events. Korvac wins and kills Starhawk, then resurrects the hero. But Starhawk will have no memory of the battle or where Korvac is hiding. He will also be unable to perceive Korvac in any way.

Korvac gains the upper hand in his cosmic battle with Starhawk.
Great artwork from George Perez & Pablo Marcos!

The Avengers and Guardians search for Korvac continues until they finally track him down in Queens. It leads to a showdown between the heroes and Korvac. Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Guardians of the Galaxy will be in for the toughest fight of their lives!

Korvac gets angry & attacks the heroes!

But Korvac is not the only menace the Avengers have to worry about. One of their greatest foes has returned: Ultron! The mechanical madman sends his creation Jocasta to the Avengers mansion and she leads the heroes to Ultron. The Avengers are surprised to find Ultron hiding out in a convent!

On top of that, the evil, super-strong Atlantean Tyrak attacks New York Harbor.

Vision zaps Tyrak with his thermo-optic beams!

Plus, a fashion show organized by the Wasp is attacked by the Porcupine!  
(The following stories are reprinted ONLY in the Guardians Of The Galaxy: Tomorrow's Avengers Vol. 2):

After the Kovac saga, the Guardians go on to further adventures.  

On the Drydock space station, Vance Astro teams up with Ms. Marvel against the alien villain known as the Faceless One!

Vance Astro doesn't recognize Ms. Marvel (due to her
recent costume change) and thinks she's a villain.

Nikki, Starhawk and Martinex return to Earth and encounter Spider-Man. After an initial misunderstanding, they realize they're all good guys. Which is good, because Spidey and the Guardians will need each other's help when they're attacked by Hammer and Anvil!

Her, the genetically engineered demigoddess emerges from a protective cocoon. She seeks out Ben Grimm's girlfriend, Alicia Masters.

Her interrupts the Thing & Alicia's dinner date.

Her is seeking Adam Warlock (formerly know as Him) and believes Alicia can help her locate him.  Ben gets some surprise assistance when Starhawk shows up and offers to help find Alicia. Moondragon also gets involved and informs Her that Warlock is dead.     

After that, Vance Astro visits 20th century Earth. Starhawk learns of this and asks the Thing to help the Guardians find Vance. The 16-year-old version of Vance Astro is alive on Earth and a meeting between the two "Vances" would create, in Starhawk's words, "a catastrophe." Ben says he will help and also enlists the aid of his Fantastic Four teammates and the Avengers.

Review:
A great story featuring plenty of great fight scenes, high drama and a little bit of suspense. Korvac is an interesting character, invented as a throwaway opponent for Doctor Strange for a few pages in a Defenders story. He ended up being the deadliest foe the Avengers faced in the Bronze Age.

Story:

The first story, from Thor Annual #6 is a perfect example of a good Bronze Age annual. It's a story that stands on its own, with guest stars, a major villain and a threat to the world itself, all done in one issue. Len Wein penned this very entertaining story and it makes for a great "Chapter 1" for the tpb.

The Korvac Saga is often cited as a high point of the Bronze Age and it's a story that lives up to its hype. Jim Shooter (with a plot-assist from Roger Stern in the first issue) wrote the bulk of the story and it's his crowning achievement. Korvac always comes across as rational and reasoned, never devolving into a mustache-twirling maniac. Shooter gets credited with the plot of every of the Korvac stories, with Bill Mantlo and David Michelinie scripting some of it in Shooter's absence.   

He's another in a long line of powerful people who believe they know what's best for everyone else.  Shooter wrote a great "villain" in Korvac, and also makes good use of Ultron in this story. Only in the Korvac saga could Ultron be upstaged by another Avengers adversary.

The rest of the stories reprinted in this book aren't as strong as the Korvac material, but they're still solid, fun Bronze Age tales.

Chris Claremont wrote the Ms. Marvel story that guest stars Vance Astro. The villain they battle, the Faceless One, had only one prior appearance and has not been seen since the story that's reprinted here.  This ended up being the last issue of Ms. Marvel's first solo series.

The Faceless One takes Carol Danvers captive;
The villain doesn't know Carol & Ms. Marvel are one & the same.

The Guardians' team up with Spider-Man was also written by Claremont. Marvel Team-Up was always a hit-and-miss series, but Claremont wrote a good story here, even if it uses the trope of "two heroes each think the other is a villain before teaming up".

The Marvel Two-In-One stories were written by Mark Gruenwald and are excellent. The three-parter that centers on Starhawk and Her is good. Gruenwald does a nice job bringing Her back from obscurity. These were the first stories to deal with Adam Warlock since his death a few years earlier. I recently reviewed the previous Warlock story, the Thing/Her/Starhawk tale serves as a nice sequel to that
saga.

Vance Astro meets with his younger self.

 
If there's a low point in this tpb, it's in this in this image below, where the Thing spanks Moondragon.

I'm a big fan of Gruenwald's work, but that's not one of his better moments.

Art:
If there's a weakness in this book, it's the lack of a steady artist in the primary storyline. The "Korvac" portion gives us a bunch of artists. The Thor story contains pencils & inks by Bronze Age stalwarts Sal Buscema and Klaus Janson, respectively and it looks great. When we get to the Avengers portion, George Perez and Pablo Marcos give us some excellent art for the first four chapters, giving way to Buscema's pencils for the next two.

I love the way the credits are displayed on this great splash page!

Dave Wenzel (inked by Marcos) finishes up the story. While Wenzel is no Perez or Buscema, he does a decent job here.

Bob McCleod provides great art for the Marvel Team-Up story. I don't recall him drawing Spider-Man very often, but the webhead looks great here. Check out the splash page, inked and penciled by McCleod:

The Marvel Two-In-One stories feature pencils by Jerry Bingham and Ron Wilson, with inks by Gene Day. Their art is good as well.

The heroes & the High Evolutionary look at Counter Earth.

How Does It Look?:
Great. Here's a scan from a copy of Avengers #167:

And here's the same page, reprinted in Guardians Of The Galaxy:Tomorrow's Avengers Vol. 2:

Looks like a good, accurate reproduction of the original page.

Extras:

This tpb contains The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for each member of the Guardians, plus Korvac and the Collector. We also get several pages of original art and an essay by Ralph Macchio about the Korvac stories.

Both the tpbs reviewed here are highly recommended. If you don't own the Korvac Saga tpb, picking the Guardians Vol. 2 is a no-brainer. But even if you own it, the extra stories make it worth buying, especially for the Marvel Two-In-One stories it contains.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!