Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3

Reprints Fantastic Four #251-257, Fantastic Four Annual #17, Avengers #233 and Thing #2
Written by John Byrne and Roger Stern.
Penciled by John Byrne and Ron Wilson.
Inked by John Byrne and Joe Sinnott.  

Note from your trusted Bronze Age Reprint Reviewer:
60 years ago today, Fantastic Four #1 was published. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby collaborated on the creation of the FF and it lead to the creation of the Marvel Universe. Today's review is dedicated to Lee and Kirby and I will be posting reviews of Fantastic Four reprints and FF-related reprints through the end of this month. Thanks for stopping by!

Summary:
The Fantastic Four's leader Reed Richards has decided it's time for the team to once again explore the Negative Zone. He's designed a new vehicle that will safely take them through that dimension.  

They encounter many different alien life forms in the Negative Zone, some friendly, some hostile.

Unfortunately, the moment the FF leaves their dimension, Annihilus, the greatest menace of the Negative Zone, arrives in the Baxter Building! He terrorizes Reed and Sue's son Franklin and the Thing's girlfriend Alicia Masters. 

Annihilus also creates a null field that surrounds the Baxter Building and keeps growing, threatening to destroy the universe. The Avengers notice this and try to shut down the null field. The Vision attempts to phase into the field and collapses inside it.

When the Fantastic Four tries to return home, they're shocked to discover that their Negative Zone portal is closed off! Even if they're able to get back to New York, it'll take the combined might of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers to stop Annihilus and save the universe!

But that's not all!

Ben Grimm flashes back to the days before he became the Thing to remember the first woman he ever loved.  

Galactus, the devourer of worlds, is dying and needs to consume a planet in order to survive, so he sets his sights on the Skrull's home planet!

Finally, the Human Torch's friend Sharon Selleck gets stuck in a small town and is attacked by the town's residents, who turn into monsters. Sharon is able to contact the FF, who arrive to rescue Sharon and investigate the monsters. Reed is shocked to learn that the monsters are connected to some of the Fantastic Four's oldest enemies! 

Can the Fantastic Four save Sharon and defeat the monsters?

Review:
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3 gives us 243 pages of one of the 20th century's greatest comic creators at the height of his powers!

Story:
The bulk of this book reprints the six-part "Into The Negative Zone" story that ran in FF#251-256 and crossed-over into Avengers #233.  Byrne always understood that the Fantastic Four's primary mission was scientific exploration and the team does lots of exploring in these stories. In fact, these stories reminded me of the original Star Trek series.  

The FF encounters lots of hostility in the Negative Zone, but sometimes Byrne shows that even superheroes can make mistakes when they interfere in alien societies they don't fully understand.  

Byrne shares co-plotting credits with scripter Roger Stern in the story from Avengers #233, which crossed over with the Fantastic Four series. Stern's era helming the Avengers is one of my favorite eras of the team and it makes sense that "Earth's Mightiest Heroes" would investigate the disturbance in the Baxter Building with the FF being absent. What's interesting about the cross-over is that we get to see the end of the battle with Annihilus told twice, once from the perspective of the Avengers and a second time through the eyes of the Fantastic Four.

While they're in the Negative Zone, Annihilus is in the Baxter Building torturing Alicia and Franklin.  Annihilus is just about as evil as villains come in these stories. He's dying and shows that he's willing to take the whole universe with him, since he blames Earth for his impending death.  

The Negative Zone saga concludes with the Fantastic Four uniforms changing colors. This was a gutsy move at the time, since it pre-dates Spider-Man's costume change by several months. They would keep these uniforms for more than a hundred issues.  

After the Negative Zone stories, Byrne gives us several more shorter tales. We get an untold tale (from Thing #2) about Ben Grimm's first love, before he was transformed into the Thing. It's a good story and it's a retcon that adds depth to Ben's character.  

The Galactus story shows that the "devourer of worlds" is truly above good and evil. Byrne gets that Galactus is a force of nature and shouldn't be written as "just another villain."  

The final story, from Fantastic Four Annual #19, has long been one of my favorite FF stories. It's a great "done in one" tale that ties in to one of the Fantastic Four's earliest adventures.  

If there's anything to criticize here, it's the treatment of Alicia. In recent years, we've heard about the "Women In Refrigerators" trope in comics. The wives and girlfriends of superheroes are often killed or nearly killed so a male hero can experience "growth." I think in this case, Byrne was demonstrating Anihilus' cruelty, but it's my least favorite aspect of the book.  

All in all, Byrne, with a little help from Stern, tells great stories full of action, drama and character development in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3.

Art:
Byrne pencils and inks 8 of the 10 issues reprinted here. He gives us lots of amazing looking worlds in the Negative Zone and also pencils plenty of great fight scenes. I've always loved this great two-page spread ever since I first saw it in Fantastic Four #256:

The artistic high point is the portion that reprints Fantastic Four #252. This was the first "widescreen" comic book ever published and it had to be turned on its side to be read. Byrne makes the most of this wider canvas and the art still looks amazing 38 years after its original publication. Here are some widescreen pages from that story:

The Avengers story features breakdowns by Byrne with finishes by Joe Sinnott. They previously collaborated on FF art several years earlier and this story gives us nice art that shows off the talents of both artists.  

The story from Thing #2 features pencils from Ron Wilson inked by Byrne. Wilson always provided nice Marvel house style art and Byrne's inks over Wilson helps makes this story feel more connected to the stories that ran in the FF's series.

In addition to great depictions of the FF and their foes, Byrne gives us a brief cameo of Daredevil that makes you wish he'd drawn the character more often during the Bronze Age.

She-Hulk later became a character identified with Byrne, when he added her to the FF and when he wrote and drew her solo series. Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3 includes an early Byrne depiction of the character.

Byrne even sneaks in an appearance by Al Capp's Lil' Abner!:

How does it look?:
Here are two pages scanned from Fantastic Four #257:

And here's how the same pages look in Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3:

Looks great to me. I don't notice any weird re-coloring.  

Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 3 features beautiful art and great stories from a creator who loved and understood the Fantastic Four as well as any creator who told their stories since Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.  

J.A. Morris' Rating:

4 Sals!

Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2

Reprints Fantastic Four #241-250
Written, penciled and inked by John Byrne.

Summary:
The Fantastic Four are sent by SHIELD director Nick Fury to the African nation of Wakanda to investigate a "power pocket." They're accompanied by Human Torch's girlfriend Frankie Ray, who has recently discovered that she has powers similar to those of the Human Torch.

Wakanda's King T'Challa, also known as the Black Panther, joins the FF on this task. Shortly after their expedition begins, the heroes are captured and taken to an underground city that resembles Ancient Rome.

It's ruled by a man who calls himself Emperor Gaius Tiberius Agustus Agrippa. Gaius de-powers the Fantastic Four and takes them prisoner. He plans to make the Invisible Girl his queen. But if the Fantastic Four are to survive, only Sue can save them.

Next up, Galactus' herald Terrax attacks New York. He is trying to break free of Galactus and takes Manhattan hostage, taking it into outer space. He demands that the Fantastic Four battle Galactus for him.  

In the middle of this battle, Galactus arrives and easily disposes of Terrax. Galactus needs nourishment and decides to consume Earth's energies. The FF attack him and they're assisted by Doctor Strange, Captain America, Wasp, Iron Man and Thor. The heroes are successful in defeating him, but the Big G is near death. Before they can appreciate their victory, Reed makes a controversial decision to save Galactus.

But the ravager of worlds is not grateful to Earth. Galactus needs to feed on the planet and is preparing to do so. But Frankie Raye steps forward and offers an alternative to Galactus: if he spares Earth, she will serve as his new herald. The Fantastic Four are opposed to this, especially Johnny Storm. Frankie becomes cosmically powered and is now called Nova. She leaves Earth to find planets Galactus can feed upon. The Human Torch is devastated by Frankie's departure.

Sometime later, Sue returns to the Baxter Building and finds Ben and Reed unconscious. She discovers Johnny being attacked by a man she doesn't recognize. With her teammates out of commission, the Invisible Girl will have to go it alone against an extremely powerful foe. She will be shocked when she learns the identity of her opponent.

Subsequently, The Fantastic Four visit the Latverian Embassy so they can deliver the body of Doctor Doom, since their last battle ended with Doom in suspended animation. Doom regains consciousness and transports the FF to Latveria. For once, Doom is not trying to destroy them, but is seeking help from the Fantastic Four. The heroes recently helped the Latverian resistance movement overthrow Doom's rule of their tiny nation. Zorba, rightful monarch of Latveria, took power of the country.

However, under Zorba's rule, the country has fallen apart. Crime is rampant and Latverians are starving. Zorba's response has been a declaration of martial law, with Doom's old robots serving as Latveria's new secret police force. Doom says that the Fantastic Four owe it to Latveria to help him regain his throne.

They're reluctant at first, but after seeing the plight of Latveria, the Fantastic Four join forces and help Doctor Doom, since they feel partially responsible for Latveria's plight. Can the FF and Doom succeed in overthrowing Zorba?

Following the events in Latveria, the Fantastic Four fly to the moon to visit their old friends the Inhumans. They've been invited to the naming ceremony for Crystal and Quicksilver's infant daughter. All is well, until the entire surface of the moon is taken captive by a giant alien.

This creature is so huge that it is unaware that the FF and Inhumans are present. How can the Fantastic Four hope to defeat a being that is 1000 miles tall?!

When they return to Earth, New York is attacked by Gladiator, the alien Shi'ar warrior who has battled against and alongside the X-Men in the past. Gladiator's spaceship was driven off its course, which forced him to land on Earth. He mistakenly thinks he's arrived on the Skrull homeworld. The FF show up to stop him, but they're easily defeated by Gladiator.

But as soon as Gladiator has dispatched one team of heroes, another arrives to confront him: the Uncanny X-Men! But appearances can be deceiving.

Plus, Spider-Man and Captain America arrive to help the Fantastic Four deal with Gladiator!

Review:
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2 contains some great material written and drawn by one the Bronze Age's greatest storytellers. I remember buying some of these fresh off the spinner racks and I've enjoyed these tales for more than three decades.

Story:
We start off with a good done-in-one story guest starring the Black Panther. It's a nice nod to the Panther's early appearances in The Fantastic Four. In early issues written by Stan Lee and penciled by Jack Kirby, stories were often broken into chapters. Byrne brings that back here, making it feel like a Silver Age tale told with a Bronze Age sensibility.

A great three-part Galactus story follows. Byrne shows that being heroes makes you do things that sometimes seem antithetical to heroism, like saving the life of Galactus. While Terrax is certainly a bad guy, Byrne reminds readers that Terrax became Galactus' herald when he was forcibly recruited by the FF.

This portion also contains a nice brief scene where Spider-Man and Daredevil, Marvel's "street level" heroes, decide that fighting Terrax and Galactus is above their pay grade.  

The book ends with the great Gladiator battle. Gladiator was created as an analog to Superman and Byrne shows that Gladiator should be considered one of Marvel's heaviest hitters, up there with Hulk, Thor and Juggernaut. Gladiator makes mincemeat of the Fantastic Four in the first round of their battle.

While most of this book features very serious drama and action, Byrne also finds time for some lighter, humorous moments. For instance, the scene below-right, where Reed shows off his new re-usable Christmas Tree:

And I still smile at the Thing's "Indian Jones" costume!

There are some stories contained in this tpb that aren't great. The essential message of the Doctor Doom story is that some countries are better off being ruled by totalitarian dictators. My academic background is in history and political science. I try to not to take comic book stories too seriously, but I've always had a problem with this story and can't endorse that idea. I figure Byrne just wanted to return Doom to his status quo of Latverian monarch and this was how he decided to pull that off.

The story from FF #245 begins with five pages of Sue debating a talk show host about her powers and her decision to take Reed's last name. It doesn't really add anything to the story.

The Inhumans story also isn't that great. It's one of those "it was all just a dream" tales and it isn't exactly essential FF material.  

But on the whole, these are great stories and Byrne's love for the characters shines through on every page.

Art:
Byrne pencils and inks every panel of Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2 and all of it looks great. 

This scene here, where Gladiator punches the Thing through 8 cars is a nice example of how great Byrne's art looks in this tpb!:

And Spider-Man's guest appearance near the end of the book gives us this gorgeous splash page that features the wallcrawler:

On the bottom left panel of the second page, Byrne draws a nice homage to the cover of Amazing Fantasy # 15, which featured Spidey's first appearance:

Byrne's art is wonderful to behold from start to finish. It looks great in this glossy tpb.

How does it look?:

It looks great, here's a scan from a copy of Fantastic Four #250:

This is how the same pages look in the reprint:

Extras:
I'm not sure this really counts as an "extra," but Fantastic Four #250 ended with a pinup of the FF penciled by Byrne, that's included in the back of this tpb.

Rating:
Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne Vol. 2 features mostly good stories and art that still looks, dare I say it, fantastic 35 years after it was originally published. If you're a fan of John Byrne's art, this book is must-read, since these stories never looked better.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!

Fantastic Four Visonaries: John Byrne Vol. 1

Reprints Fantastic Four #232-240
Written and Penciled by John Byrne.
Inked by John Byrne and Terry Austin.

Alternate cover.

The members of the Fantastic Four are scattered all over New York and strange things are happening to them. At a hair salon, the Invisible Girl is attacked by a monster who blasts her with sand. Outside a Broadway theater, The Thing has a rain cloud appear over his head. The cloud turns into a bubble that threatens to drown Ben.

In Central Park, Johnny Storm, is attacked by a living tornado. Reed Richards is imperiled by a living flame. The FF soon learns that it's the work of their old foe Diablo, master of alchemy! The Fantastic Four track down Diablo with the help of Doctor Strange, Master of Mystic Arts!

Subsequently, the Human Torch receives a letter written by a man just before he was executed. He claims to be innocent of the crime and asks Johnny to help posthumously clear his name.

This leads Johnny on a journey into New York's criminal underworld.  The Torch winds up face-to-face with Spider-Man's old foe Hammerhead!

After that, we are introduced a man named L.R. "Skip" Collins. Collins has led an ordinary, quiet, risk-free life. His life at home isn't very enjoyable, with his adult son Junior living at home and his wife Louisa busy with housework.

Collins wishes his house was less cluttered...and suddenly it is magically cleaned. Later, on his way to work, he wishes that the roads weren't so crowded. Just like that, traffic thins out drastically. It appears that Skip can shape reality by simply wishing for it to change.

His boss sends him on a business trip to New York City. Collins is excited and goes on a sight-seeing tour. But shortly after he arrives, the city begins to (quite literally) fall apart. Collins watches the Fantastic Four struggle to save the city. Using his power, he saves New York from destruction by wishing it never happened.

Reed is convinced that the cause of the destruction originated in outer space and decides that the FF will investigate in their rocket. They learn it's the work of Ego, the living planet!

Next, we observe the residents of a small, idyllic town called Liddleville. Reed Richards works as a professor at the local university. Ben Grimm is married to Alicia and operates a restaurant.

 
But they're haunted by nightmares. In their dreams, they launch into space and die in a crash. Or they gain superpowers. They talk and learn that they're having the same dream. They realize the dreams are suppressed memories and remember that they're the Fantastic Four. In short order, the heroes discover that Liddleville was a tiny model of a city and the FF's consciousness has been placed in small synthe-clone bodies created by the Puppet Master. It's all part of a scheme of their greatest foe, Doctor Doom!

Can the heroes defeat the Latverian monarch while they're imprisoned in tiny clone bodies?

After returning to New York, Reed, Sue and Franklin go horseback riding in Central Park. Their day of leisure is interrupted when they hear a nearby bank alarm. Mr. Fantastic discovers a robbery in progress and uses his stretching powers to capture the thieves. Suddenly, a 9-foot tall woman emerges from the bank and attacks Reed by making eye-contact with him, inducing vertigo.

Sue & Reed meet Spinnerette!

The team learns that she is an alien who the other robbers have named Spinnerette. She is not evil, but Earth's oxygen has made her intoxicated and easily manipulated by the criminals. Can the Fantastic Four save Spinnerette from Earth's atmosphere and protect New York from her powers?

Later, Reed once again tries to turn the Thing human. But it doesn't work and Ben ends up looking like he did in the early days of the FF. Needless to say, Ben is not happy about this development.

At the same time, the Torch's girlfriend Frankie Raye makes an alarming discovery about herself. She has the same powers as the Human Torch!

Frankie learns that her step-father, who she knew as Thomas Ray, was actually Professor Phineas Horton, who created the original Human Torch. When she was 14, Frankie was in accident that gave her her powers. Her "torch" powers were wiped from her memory until now. Johnny agrees to help her use her abilities and Reed jokes that they may change their name to "The Fantastic Five!"

Sometime later, a woman named Penny visits the Baxter Building, seeking the aid of the Fantatic Four.  The team is shocked to learn that Penny is Ben's Aunt Petunia, whom he has mentioned many times.  She does not fit the description they had imagined.

Penny tells them that she and her husband, Dr. Jake Grimm, have seen some bizarre medical cases in Benson, Arizona. People are dying from fright. There is an archaeological dig taking place in Benson, which may be related to the deaths. 

The FF and Benson encounter a young girl named Wendy who seems wise beyond her years. We learn that Wendy spent lots of time around the site of the dig visiting her "friends." We soon learn that Wendy's friends are supernatural beings who confront people with their worst fears.

This is enough to kill some people. But if anyone can end the threat of Wendy's friends, it's the Fantastic Four.

Lastly, Pietro Maximoff, the mutant super-speedster known as Quicksilver rushes through New York en route to the Baxter Building. Pietro seeks the aid of the Fantastic Four for two reasons. His wife Crystal is pregnant with their child and she has fallen ill. Quicksilver believes Reed is the only one with the scientific knowledge that can save Crystal.

In addition to that, the Inhumans need to find a new home. The pollution of Earth has made their location in the Himalayas uninhabitable. The Fantastic Four find a home for them. They will transport their homeland, Attilan, to the moon!  

Review:
Fantastic Four Visonaries: John Byrne Vol. 1 contains some great stories and art from one of the signature talents of the Bronze Age.

Story:
The stories in this tpb range from good to great, and some can be described as classic. 

When he took over the title, Byrne said he wanted to take the Fantastic Four "back to the basics," as in what he believed made them great in the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby era. It's no coincidence that the first story in this tpb is titled "Back To The Basics."

"Terror In A Tiny Town," the Doom/Liddleville story, was the issue that got me collecting Fantastic Four back in 1981. It's still one of the best FF stories ever written. Byrne really has a great feel for the personalities of these heroes. For those who count such things, Ben says his catchphrase "It's Clobberin' Time" 3 times in this tpb.

 
The Skip Collins story feels a lot like an episode of The Twilight Zone. The same goes for the "Wendy's Friends" episode. The other tales are good, though the weakest of the bunch is the Spinnerette story.  She and her people are nicely drawn by Byrne, but they're basically generic aliens. On the whole, a good collection of Bronze Age stories.
  
Art:
Byrne is at the top of his game here. I normally prefer his pencils when they're inked by someone like Terry Austin or Joe Sinnott. But he does a fine job inking himself in this tpb. The artistic highpoint is the battle with Ego.  

The Fantastic Four battle Ego from the inside!

The Liddleville story gives Byrne a chance to draw the Fantastic Four the way they looked in the early 60s and he does a nice job.

Speaking of Terry Austin, he inks the 8-page story that features the Thing reverting to his earlier form. It's a short but nice reunion of the Byrne/Austin art team from the greatest era of the X-Men. 

How Does It Look?:
Here's two-page spread scanned from Fantastic Four #236, borrowed from the excellent blog Mars Will Send No More:

And here's how it appears in the tpb:

Fantastic Four Visonaries: John Byrne Vol. 1 features work from John Byrne when he was at the height of his writing and penciling peak. These tales hold up well 34 years after they were published. The Liddleville story and the battle with Ego make it worth buying and the rest of the stories are good as well. Highly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!