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!

Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1

Reprints Marvel Spotlight #32, Marvel Two-In-One #29-33 and Spider-Woman #1-8
Written by Marv Wolfman and Archie Goodwin.
Penciled by Sal Buscema, Ron Wilson, Carmine Infantino and John Buscema.
Inked by Jim Mooney, Pablo Marcos, Tony De Zuniga, Steve Leialoha, Sam Grainger, Rick Bryant and Al Gordon.

Variant cover.

The criminal organization known as Hydra has a new powerful agent. Her name is Arachne and she possesses spider-powers, such as the ability to climb walls, glide through the air and the power to shoot venom blasts from her fingertips.

Arachne invades a SHIELD base with two objectives: to free her boyfriend Jared (who is also an agent of Hydra) and to eliminate SHIELD's director Nick Fury.

When she attacks Fury, Jared gets in the way and is fatally wounded. Arachne tries to comfort him, but with his final breaths, Jared tells her not to touch him. Jared only professed love for Arachne because Hydra leader Otto Vermis ordered Jared to pretend he cared for her. She confronts Vermis and learns that she was once a spider and was evolved into a human by the High Evolutionary! Arachne is shocked and distraught to learn this and turns on her Hydra bosses.

Vermis is killed during the ensuing battle and Arachne wanders off alone to find answers about her past.

Some months later, Ben Grimm, better known as the Thing of the Fantastic Four, and his girlfriend Alicia Masters are in London seeking to meet Dr. Louis Kort, an expert in cybernetics and bio-genetics. When they arrive at Kort's home, it's been ransacked and Kort is nowhere to be found.

When Shang-Chi, Master Of Kung Fu, hears Alicia's screams emanating from Kort's residence, he mistakenly thinks Ben is responsible for Kort's disappearance. Shang-Chi doesn't recognize the Thing and attacks him.

After a brief battle, Ben and Alicia explain who they are. The two crimefighters agree to collaborate and search for Kort.

They discover Hydra has captured Kort. Hydra forces Kort to use his scientific expertise to revive Arachne, who is now called Spider-Woman, from a state of suspended animation. Through a flashback, we learn that Hydra captured her after she turned on them.

When Spider-Woman is awakened, she is hypnotized by Hydra and ordered to attack Ben Grimm.  During their fight, Spider-Woman captures Alicia and turns her over to Hydra.

Hydra has a formula that will create an army of spider-women that will do their bidding and they want to test it on Alicia. It does not work and Alicia is turned into a strange spider-monster.

Spider-Woman's hypnosis wears off and she joins forces with the Thing. They need to find a way to stop Alicia without hurting her. Thankfully, Sue Storm, the Invisible Girl arrives to lend a hand. Can the three heroes defeat Alicia and restore her humanity?

Later, the Thing visits Stonehenge where he and Spider-Woman are attacked by a quartet of demons. In order to defeat theses monsters, they'll need the assistance of Modred the Mystic, who possesses magical powers taught to him by Merlin himself!

After the battle, Modred informs Spider-Woman that in spite of what Hydra told her, she was born a human being. Modred reaches into her mind and reveals her origins. Her real name is Jessica Drew, her parents were named Meriem and Jonathan.  Her father was an experimental geneticist. Jonathan moved his family to Mount Wundagore where he built a laboratory. He was assisted by Herbert Wyndham, another expert in genetics.

One day, Jessica contracted radiation poisoning and was placed in a cryogenic chamber to save her life. Jonathan injected her with spider extract, hoping it would cure her. But Jessica remained comatose. Jonathan disappeared shortly after his wife Meriem died, but his assistant Herbert stayed in Wundagore and tried to save Jessica. Herbert eventually became the High Evolutionary and succeeded in saving Jessica. After years of incubation, Jessica was saved and was now half-human, half spider.  

Modred reveals Spider-Woman's true origin.

The knowledge of her past does not immediately improve Jessica's life. At times, Spider-Woman is forced to steal food in order to survive. She is pursued by the police and encounters a SHIELD agent named Jerry Hunt. He tries to apprehend Spider-Woman, but accidentally unmasks her. Hunt thinks her face looks familiar.

Jessica meets Jerry Hunt.

With her identity compromised, Jessica dyes her hair black and redesigns her mask. This will hopefully prevent Jerry or anyone else from guessing her identity. Shortly after this change, Jerry Hunt is shot and Spider-Woman provides the blood transfusion that saves his life. Though he barely knows Spider-Woman, Jerry tells a colleague that he's falling in love with her.

Later, a criminal named "Slappy" Struthers tries to steal the sword Excalibur from a London museum. When he touches the sword, he hears the voice of Morgan Le Fay, King Arthur's half-sister. Morgan commands Struthers to pick up the sword and act as her servant on Earth. Struthers is given a steed and a suit of armor and calls himself Excaliber.

Simultaneously, Spider-Woman meets an old man named Magnus. He works as a fortune teller, but it's a cover for his true identity. Magnus is an ancient wizard who battled Morgan Le Fay centuries earlier. Magnus will serve as a friend and mentor to Jessica.

Spider-Woman later decides to depart London for the United States and Magnus accompanies her. She leaves a note, hoping Jerry will search for her in the states. Jessica and Magnus rent an apartment in Los Angeles.

Subsequently, Spider-Woman battles a criminal known as Brother Grimm. At the moment of her victory over Grimm, she is taken captive by a crazed vigilante who calls himself Hangman. He takes Spider-Woman to a mysterious old house and locks her in a basement dungeon.

The basement seems to come to life, with ghostly versions of people she knows flying at her.  It turns out to be the work of Morgan Le Fay, who has followed Spider-Woman to Los Angeles.  Can Spider-Woman defeat Morgan and escape the dungeon?

She will get some assistance in the battle when Magnus summons Werewolf By Night to the dungeon!

Plus, Spider-Woman investigates the death of her father.

Review:
Spider-Woman was originally created by Marvel to prevent another company from owning the name. But she's still around nearly four decades later. Not bad for a character which such a dubious origin.

Story:
I'll admit that most of the stories reprinted in Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1 were new to me.

Archie Goodwin wrote the first story in this book, reprinted from Marvel Spotlight #32, which contains Spider-Woman's first appearance and origin. I've always found the bit about Spider-Woman being a spider evolved into a woman to be a bit silly, even for a comic book. It's not a great origin story, but it's a decent introduction for the character. Marvel supposedly had no intention of producing any more Spider-Woman tales.

Marv Wolfman wrote the rest of the stories reprinted here, starting with a four-parter from Marvel Two-In-One. I always enjoyed this series and Ben Grimm was one of my favorite characters during the Bronze Age. A fight between the Thing and Shang-Chi could've been silly, but Wolfman makes it work. He does a nice job of bringing Spider-Woman into the story. She's a reluctant villain who ends up teaming with the Thing to stop Hydra.

After that, Wolfman writes a good retelling of Spider-Woman's origin story, getting rid of the "evolved from a spider" business. I found myself caring about Jessica Drew from the beginning and that's a credit to Wolfman's skills. He also wastes no time trying to build a supporting cast for Spider-Woman's solo tales. Jerry Hunt is a good romantic interest for Jessica. I was happy that Jessica had Magnus to serve as her mentor and confidant.

I'm guessing Wolfman moved Jessica to Los Angeles to keep her as far as possible from Spider-Man. The presence of characters like Modred, Morgan Le Fay (who would become Spider-Woman's arch enemy) and Excaliber also helps make her stories much more magical and mystical than the average Bronze Age Spider-Man adventure. Spider-Woman would not meet Spidey until Spider-Woman #20, published a year after Wolfman's departure from the series.

The weakest portion of the book is the story that features the Hangman. He's introduced with fanfare in the beginning of the tale, seeking Brother Grimm. Hangman kills one of Grimm's accomplices.

Then he shows up during the story's climactic battle, captures Spider-Woman and imprisons her in a dungeon. And then...Hangman disappears while Morgan Le Fay shows up in the dungeon and attacks Spider-Woman. In other words, Hangman has no reason to be in the story. Plus, his capture of Spider-Woman seems a bit too easy.

The book ends with two offbeat short stories that feel a bit like episodes of The Twilight Zone. The first features a man who is over 200 years old who is cursed with immortality. He asks Spider-Woman to help him die. It's followed by "The Suit," which is built around a suit worn by a fallen gangster that may have supernatural powers. Spider-Woman serves as more of a supporting character in both shorts, but they end the book on a high note.

Art:
While the stories are a mixed bag, the art is excellent throughout the book. Sal Buscema, embellished by Jim Mooney, provided the art in Spider-Woman's first appearance and their art looks great. The Marvel Two-In-One portion features pencils by Ron Wilson and John Buscema, both inked by Pablo Marcos.

The story that features Alicia transformed into a spider-monster could have been silly. But Wilson and Marcos make Alicia's metamorphosis look legitimately scary. The London location also gives Wilson and John Buscema a chance to draw Ben Grimm in a different locale. Wilson does some interesting things with panels and layouts, like this two-page spread:

Spider-Woman's solo tales feature pencils by Carmine Infantino embellished by multiple inkers.   Infantino's art here is very similar to his pencils on the Nova and Star Wars series published around the same time.  ony De Zuniga's inks give Infantino's art an almost Ditko-esque look.

Steve Leialoha also provided inks for several issues. His contributions give the Infantino pencils a nice slick, cartoony appearance.

Jerry, Jessica and Magnus during a rare moment of relaxation.

The art is pleasant to look at from beginning to end.

How Does It Look:
Here's a scan from my old copy of Marvel Two-In-One #32:

This is how the same pages look in Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1:

Extras:
Marv Wolfman wrote a nice new introduction for the book. I get the impression the character means a lot to Wolfman, and he mentions that he named Jessica Drew after his daughter. We also get an editorial from Wolfman that originally appeared in Spider-Woman #1, a 1978 Marvel house ad, and two pages of original art.

Marvel Masterworks: Spider-Woman Volume 1 features mostly good stories, even if none represent the best of the Bronze Age. The art, Wolfman's scripts, and the Marvel-Two-In-One stories make this a book an enjoyable reading experience.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 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!