Joe Sinnott:1926-2020

We lost another giant of the comics industry the other day. Joe Sinnott, one of the greatest inkers in this history of comic books, died this past Thursday at the age of 93.

Sinnott's career began in 1950 and ended when he retired from inking the Spider-Man daily comic strip in 2019.  He was best known for inking Jack Kirby on the Fantastic Four from 1966 to 1971.

Sinnott was also one of the most prolific inkers of the Bronze Age. He embellished some of the best pencilers of the 70s and early-80s, including John and Sal Buscema, George Perez, John Byrne, Keith Pollard, Rich Buckler and Don Perlin.

Sinnott inked Fantastic Four for 15 years and helped maintain a look for the characters that stayed consistent in spite of the many pencilers that came and went. However, Sinnott was so skilled that his inks never overpowered the work of the great pencilers he embellished. Perhaps that was his greatest talent.

John Byrne inked by Joe Sinnott, from a 1978 Marvel calendar.

I send my deepest sympathies to Sinnott's friends and loved ones. From what I've read in the last 48 hours, "Joltin' Joe" was almost universally loved and respected by everyone in the comics industry. I never got the chance to meet Sinnott, but if I had, I would've told him thanks for all the great work and thank you for bringing so much enjoyment to my life and the lives so many other fans.  

Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection

Reprints Superman Vs. The Amazing Spider-Man #1, Marvel Treasury Edition #28, DC Special Series #27, Marvel and DC Present The Uncanny X-Men and The New Teen Titans #1

Written by Gerry Conway, Marv Wolfman, Chris Claremont, Len Wein and Jim Shooter.

Penciled by Ross Andru, John Buscema, Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Walter Simonson.

Inked by Dick Giordano, Terry Austin, Klaus Janson, Bob McLeod, Joe Sinnott, Al Milgrom, Steve Leialoha, Bob Layton, Brett Breeding, Joe Rubenstein, and Bob Wiacek.  

Summary:

Four stories that unite the greatest superheroes and villains of two great comic book companies!

A convention of journalists is being held in New York. Reporters from newspapers and broadcast news from all over the country are in attendance. Peter Parker is attending with his girlfriend, Mary Jane Watson. Clark Kent and Lois Lane, reporters from Metropolis' Daily Planet, are also in town for the convention.  

When Lois falls from a ladder, Parker catches her and they introduce themselves. Mary Jane shows up and gets a bit jealous. Lois is about to tell them that she only has eyes for Superman, when the Man Of Steel suddenly shows up. To the shock of everyone, he zaps Mary Jane and Lois, which makes them disappear. Clark is stunned, since he's the real Superman. Peter rushes off to change into Spider-Man.  

When he finds Superman, both heroes blame each other for the disappearance of Lois and Mary Jane and a battle ensues.

In reality, Lex Luthor is responsible for the disappearance of Lois and MJ. He has teamed up with Spider-Man's enemy Doctor Octopus and taken the women captive. Luthor zaps Spidey with a red-sun simulator ray, which gives him strength that's equal to Superman.  The Man of Steel gets walloped by the webslinger.  

Eventually, Spider-Man's extra strength wears off and the two heroes realize they've been tricked into fighting. They eventually learn that Mary Jane and Lois are prisoners of Doc Ock and Luthor.  

The villains are hiding out in a spaceship and have a high-intensity laser probe that can cause hurricanes and tornadoes. Luthor demands $10 billion from the United States government. If he doesn't receive the payment, he will unleash the laser probe on Earth.  

Can Superman and Spider-Man find a way to save their friends and and save the world from Luthor and Doc Ock?

Sometime after that, Doctor Doom plots in New York city. He has a diabolical plan called Project Omega, which will result in him taking over the world. Doom has set up his Omega devices all over the world that will release radiation that will make make all fossil fuels worthless. The only source of power will then come from a generator Doom has created, making the world beholden to him.  

Thankfully, Superman and Spider-Man learn of this and work together once more to save Earth. Further complicating matters is Superman's old enemy the Parasite, who has the power to absorb power from nearby energy sources.  

The heroes' personal lives also undergo changes at this time.  Fed up with Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson's penny pinching attitudes, Peter Parker decides to take photos for Metropolis' Daily Planet.  At the same time, Clark Kent visits New York and does some freelance writing for the Bugle.

Peter Parker goes to work for the Daily Planet!

Plus, Superman goes toe-to-toe with the Incredible Hulk! And Spider-Man meets Wonder Woman!

In Gotham city, Dr. Bruce Banner is working (under a false name) at a factory owned by Bruce Wayne. Suddenly everyone starts laughing uncontrollably. Banner deduces it's some sort of gas and puts on a hazmat suit. He learns it's the work of the Joker, who arrives at the factory with a gang of gun-toting thugs. They're looking for a device called the Gamma Gun, which is being built at the factory.  

When Banner tries to escape, they attack. Angered by their assault, Banner turns into the Incredible Hulk! Joker recognizes Hulk and hightails it out of the factory, taking the Gamma Gun with him.

Batman arrives and tries to subdue the Hulk. Jade Jaws doesn't comply and threatens to destroy Bruce Wayne's factory. Thankfully, Batman is able to knock Hulk out with gas. When Banner turns back to his human form, Bruce Wayne says he will help him cure himself of the Hulk.  

Joker has brought the Gamma Gun to a riverfront warehouse where it will be used by the Shaper Of Worlds. The Shaper has the power to turn the world into whatever he wants it to be. He is low on power which has affected his intellect and he's made a deal with the Joker. If the clown prince of crime helps him, he will shape the world in a way that would make Joker the king of Earth.

When the Gamma Gun fails, the Shaper has a new plan. Joker will have to bring the Hulk to him so he can drain gamma energy from Hulk. It's easier said than done. But when one of Joker's henchmen wishes Joker had a monster bigger than the Hulk, a bigger monster suddenly appears and captures the Green Goliath. The Shaper heard the wish and made it happen.

Since the Joker has carried out his end of the bargain, will the Shaper Of Worlds make Joker the ruler of Earth? Can Hulk and Batman work together and save Earth from Joker and the Shaper?  

Darkseid, ruler of the planet Apokolips comes to Earth intending to remake it in his own image.

The mutant superhero team known as the X-Men are training at their mansion. Some months earlier, they had lost their teammate Jean Grey when she sacrificed herself to spare the universe. Her powers had turned her into Dark Phoenix and caused her to destroy a planet, which made her one of the greatest threats in the universe. Jean's death was hardest for Scott Summers (AKA Cyclops), who was in love with Jean and shared a psychic rapport with Phoenix.

Darkseid comes to Earth and breaks into the X-Men's mansion. He taps the memories of all the X-Men. Suddenly, Jean, in her Phoenix costume, appears in the mansion. As Cyclops runs towards her, she seems to disintegrate.

In nearby New York City, the New Teen Titans are sleeping when Raven has a nightmare. When she tells her teammate Starfire about a bird-like image from her dream, Starfire recognizes it as Phoenix. She knows Dark Phoenix committed genocide and is very worried it could happen again. Since Raven's dreams often predict the future, the Titans decide to investigate Phoenix, starting with the X-Men. Based on what they've read about them in the news, the Teen Titans believe the X-Men are criminals.  

At the same time, Robin, leader of the Teen Titans, foils a break-in at the Gotham City branch of S.T.A.R. Labs. He's shocked when he sees that the burglars appear to be of other-worldly origin. The mastermind of the break-in turns out to be Deathstroke the Terminator. After a brief fight, Terminator gets away with high-tech machinery.  

The Teen Titans arrive at the X-Men's mansion and find no one is home but their leader, Prof. Charles Xavier. He is caught off guard by Raven and rendered unconscious. They're wondering if they made a mistake about the X-Men. In the middle of this, Darkseid's agents attack and capture the Titans, believing they're the X-Men.  

The X-Men have learned of disturbances all over the globe. One thing every location has in common is that Phoenix used her powers at each place. The mutant heroes arrive in New Mexico and find a machine siphoning up trace elements of Phoenix' powers. Terminator is heading the operation. With the help of Darkseid's parademons, Deathstroke captures the X-Men and brings them to Darkseid. 

The X-Men's emotions and memories of Jean are combined with the residual Phoenix power to resurrect Dark Phoenix! With her power at his disposal, Darkseid plans to make Earth a second Apokolips, which will cause mass destruction and death to millions!  

Can the Teen Titans and X-Men find a way to defeat two of the greatest threats the universe has ever encountered?

Review:

Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection contains stories that are always fun even if they're not exactly deep. The creators were of course limited in what they could do, since these stories were not exactly "in continuity" and the characters wouldn't interact again.    

Story:

One of the best aspects of the first three crossover stories is that the writers had a history with both the DC and Marvel characters featured in the tales. Nothing seems "off" about any of the characterizations here.  

Chris Claremont, who wrote the X-Men/Teen Titans crossover had no history with any DC characters, but I think he showed lots of respect for Darkseid, Terminator, and the Titans. In the last three decades, Jean Grey and the Phoenix force have both died and returned multiple times. It's worth noting that this crossover was the first real sequel to the Dark Phoenix story.    

One of my favorite parts of the book was the way Jim Shooter had Peter Parker and Clark Kent switch newspapers. It was interesting to watch them deal with the different temperaments of J. Jonah Jameson and Perry White. Sure, it's a bit silly that no one wonders why Clark and Superman arrive in New York simultaneously, but it's still a fun story. Superman's fight with the Hulk is also a very memorable moment.  

The weakest part of Crossover Classics is the Batman/Hulk fight. Hulk has held up mountains and survived in outer space without a spacesuit. There is no way Batman should be able to defeat him (even temporarily) with sleeping gas and kick to the stomach. Len Wein should have known better, since he wrote the Hulk's series (and wrote great Hulk stories) for several years. I also think the Shaper Of Worlds is an odd choice for the Hulk villain. I believe the Leader or Abomination would've been a better partner for the Joker.  

Art:

This is where Crossover Classics truly shines. Ross Andru had a long career in comics and was the primary Spider-Man artist during the Bronze Age. He always penciled characters flying or swinging at interesting angles. The first Superman/Spider-Man features some of Andru's best art of the 1970s, here's a great example of work in this book:

John Buscema and Joe Sinnott serve as penciler and inker for the second story and their art is also excellent. They give us a very majestic rendition of Superman that makes you wish they did more work with DC characters.  

While the Hulk/Batman team-up isn't great, it contains some of the finest art in the book. Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez draws an excellent Joker and he gives page after page of Batman attacking from many different angles.  

Garcia-Lopez especially shines when drawing the fantasy world where Joker is king:

Walter Simonson's art in the X-Men/Teen Titans adventure is also excellent. Simonson's style changed a lot over the years.  

In this story, he provides art that looks a lot like his pencils on Thor, which came a few months after this story was published. Terry Austin, one of the finest inkers of the Bronze Age, does a great job embellishing Simonson. I've loved the images below since I first read this story in 1982:

Changeling turns into Lockheed The Dragon!

Extras:

Crossover Classics opens with an introduction from longtime Marvel editor Tom DeFalco. Conway, Wein, and Claremont wrote intros to their stories. Shooter wasn't having good relations with Marvel when this book was published, so Marv Wolfman (who provided some plot assistance on Shooter's story) introduces the second Spidey/Superman crossover tale.

How Does It Look:

Here's a page scanned from my 35 year old copy of Marvel Treasury Edition #28.

That's a beautiful page of Superman by Buscema and Sinnott. This is how it looks in Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection:

I have no idea why Superman's costume is dark gray, almost black instead of its proper blue.  There are several pages within the reprinted version where his costume is the wrong color.  I have no idea why. Thankfully, everything else in the book looks okay.  

The material reprinted in Crossover Classics: The Marvel/DC Collection isn't deep or complicated. However, it's always fun to see Marvel and DC characters featured in the same story and especially fun to see their adventures written and drawn by some of the finest talents of the Bronze Age. The weird coloring shown above and the silly Hulk/Batman fight are the only things that keep it from receiving my highest rating.  

J.A. Morris' rating:

 .5

3 and a half Sals.

The Thing: Project Pegasus

Reprints Marvel Two-in-One #42-43, 53-58
Written by Ralph Macchio and Mark Gruenwald.
Penciled by Sal Buscema, John Byrne, George Perez.
Inked by Joe Sinnott,Alfredo Alcala, Sam Grainger, John Byrne, Gene Day.

Variant cover.

Project PEGASUS (Potential Energy Groups/Alternate Sources/United States) is a top secret research facility operated by the U.S. Department of Energy. It's located in the mountains of Upstate, NY. PEGASUS' mission is to study all possible forms of alternative energy.

The Thing visits his friend Wundarr who is being studied at Project PEGASUS. Wundarr has the power to absorb energy and turn it into strength and power. Unfortunately, Wundarr also has the brain and personality of a toddler. The Cosmic Cube, a device which can reshape reality, has been brought to Project PEGASUS because the energy experts want to see if Wundarr's abilities can unlock the secrets of the Cube. But the Thing is incensed when he sees Wundarr chained up and frightened. Captain America is present and convinces Ben to calm down.

The testing of Wundarr's power on the Cube is underway, when it's suddenly sabotaged, leaving Wundarr comatose. It's the work of a man who calls himself Dr. Victorius. He steals the Cosmic Cube and flees to the swamps of  Florida's Everglades, pursued by Ben and Cap.

When the heroes arrive in Florida, they find that Victorius is not alone. The villain is joined by Jude, the Entropic Man and his cult of entropists. They are dedicated to spreading atrophy and decay all over the the world. Captain America and the Thing have their hands full, but thankfully the Everglades are also the home of the macabre Man-Thing! He unwittingly assists Ben and Cap in overcoming Victorius and his followers.

Some months later, Ben returns to Project PEGASUS to work as a security guard. He's doing this partially so that he can check on Wundarr. The facility's chief of security is Wendell Vaughn, who fights crime as the superhero Quasar. He wears wristbands that give him super-strength and the ability to shoot energy beams.  

The Thing learns that Wundarr is still in a coma and that his interaction with the Cosmic Cube enhanced his power. Wundarr now has the ability to cancel out any source of power when he is within ten feet of it.

One of the PEGASUS scientists, Dr. Thomas Lightner is acting in a suspicious manner. Lightner previously battled the Thing as a villain named Blacksun, but has since been cured. Lightner communicates with someone known only as Nth Command, telling them that Grimm's presence has complicated their plans.

During his first night, Ben goes exploring aroung Project PEGASUS. He's suddenly attacked by Deathlok, the cyborg super-soldier from the future! The Thing and Quasar battle Deathlok, forcing the 'borg to self-destruct. But the fight leaves the Thing with an injured arm that was shot by Deathlok.

At the same time, Ben's old friend Thundra, the super-strong femizon from an alternate Earth is visiting New York. She's been recruited by a promoter named Herkimer J. Oglethorpe to become a professional wrestler. Thundra fights and defeats a team of women wrestlers known as the Grapplers

Back at PEGASUS, Lightner continues to act strangely behind the scenes. The nuclear-powered manchild Nuklo is held at the facility for testing. Nuklo is very dangerous, so Lightner releases him in hopes that Nuklo will cause havok.

Lightner's hopes are realized when Nuklo endangers PEGASUS. The Thing subdues Nuklo with the assistance of Giant-Man, who works at the facility in his civilian identity, Dr. Bill Foster.

In New York, Thundra has her first wrestling match. She dominates her opponent Titania, until Titania injects her with a fluid that renders the femizon unconscious.

When Thundra awakens, she learns that her "wrestling career" was just a ruse to get her to break in to Project PEGASUS. Thundra leads her team of Grapplers into the energy facility and deliver a mysterious device.

The Thing, Giant-Man and Quasar are able to defeat and detain Thundra and the wrestlers. But we learn that the device they've brought will be used by Lightner to build something called the Nth Projector. Lightner plans to use this to transform himself back into Blacksun. But things don't go according to plan. The Nth projector turns Lightner into the Nth Man, a being of pure, negative energy! He threatens to absorb everything around him.

In the middle of all of this, Wundarr escapes from his holding cell. He suddenly has the intellect of an adult and is more powerful than ever. He changes his name to Aquarian, in honor of the location of his home planet.

This is a very good development, because the Thing and the other heroes will need all the help they can if they want to prevent Nth Man from destroying the world!

Plus, in the midst of this crisis, Project PEGASUS is threatened by villainous duo Solarr and Klaw!

Review:
It's hard to do justice to this storyline without spoiling large portions. But it's one of the best mult-part sagas of the Bronze Age.

Story:
The Thing is one of my all-time favorite characters, and he's well-written here. Ralph Macchio and Mark Grunenwald co-wrote these tales (Macchio wrote the first two issues reprinted here by himself) and they really get what Ben is all about. Early in the book, the Thing makes a comment about how he doesn't know anything about advanced technology. Captain America tells Thing stop the "hick routine" and reminds the readers of Ben's previous life as a test pilot.

The writers also do a nice job showing how much the Thing cares for Wundarr.

Giant-Man, Quasar and Wundarr/Aquarian all serve as good partners for Ben Grimm in this story.
Gruenwald and Macchio also do a great job with the "B-plot" involving Thundra. Just when you might think the wrestling storyline is an excuse for the writers to stall and draw out the saga, Macchio and Gruenwald merge it with the goings-on at PEGASUS. This saga made me wish these writers had written some solo-Thundra stories during the Bronze Age. 

This is also a case of the parts being greater than their whole. It's basically just Ben Grimm interacting with a bunch of other heroes and battling a bigger bunch of villains. But it's a whole lot of fun.   


Art:
The art features work by several of the biggest names of the Bronze Age and it's excellent.

John Byrne penciled four issues here, mostly inked by Joe Sinnott. Their art looks great, just as it did in issues of Fantastic Four that were published around the same time.

George Perez and Gene Day take over and finish the book. They also make a fantastic art team. Take a look at this great image from Perez and Day:

And here's another, where Screaming Mimi's scream nearly drives Quasar insane:

The book has fantastic art from start to finish.


How Does It Look?:
Here's a page scanned from an original copy of Marvel Two-In-One #55 (borrowed from the excellent blog Comics Should Be Good):

And here's how that same page appears when it's reprinted in the Project PEGASUS book:

Extras:
This hardcover contains Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe entries for Quasar and Project: PEGASUS.

The Thing: Project PEGASUS features some excellent story and art from some of the greatest comic creators of all time. This is without a doubt the high point for Marvel Two-In-One and this book is highly recommended.

J.A. Morris' rating:

4 Sals!

Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans

Reprints Fantastic Four (1961) #164-176
Written by Roy Thomas and Bill Mantlo.
Penciled by George Perez, Rich Buckler, John Buscema.
Inked by Joe Sinnott, Vince Colletta

A man calling himself the Crusader shows up in New York, invades a bank and attacks Calvin McClary, the bank's owner. Luckily, the Human Torch is nearby and intervenes. Crusader defeats the Torch and gets away. This menace is armed with Quantum Bands that give Crusader super-strength that make him very dangerous. Johnny will need his Fantastic Four teammates if he wants to stop the Crusader.

We learn that Crusader's real name is Robert Grayson and that used to fight crime under the name Marvel Boy. His father Horace was an atomic scientist who fled the Earth to Uranus in the 1950s.  Horace Grayson needed money to fund his Uranus project and McClary wouldn't loan it to him. This resulted in the deaths of many Uranians, and the Crusader has come to New York to avenge them. This leads the madman to attack banks all over the city. 

Later, the FF are flying over the Midwest when they encounter the Hulk! They battle the Green Goliath and the Invisible Girl eventually subdues him using her force field. The Hulk is turned over to the military. Reed makes a deal with Col. Sellers of the Air Force: If he's able to cure Bruce Banner of his Hulk transformations, Banner will go free and work with Richards.
 

The Thing doesn't like the way the Hulk is being treated by the military. Ben looks at Hulk and sees that they are both "monsters" who are unjustly feared by the powers that be.

Reed uses a device on the Hulk that he hopes will turn him back to Bruce Banner. The device is successful, but Col. Sellers suddenly reneges on their deal and imprisons Banner. When Ben sees this, he decides to free Banner, who turns back into the Hulk. The Thing teams up with Hulk and only the Fantastic Four can stop them.

They battle all over the city of St. Louis. Suddenly, Ben has a change of heart and attacks the Hulk. But in the middle of the fight, the Thing changes back to his human form! He's plain old, human Ben Grimm once again. 

Since Ben is no longer the Thing, the FF need a new member. They hire Power Man, also known as "Luke Cage, hero for hire".

Ben's happiness at regaining his human form is short lived. No one recognizes him on the streets of New York, and talk shows that wanted to interview the Thing are no longer interested in booking him. Plus, Ben feels like a loser knowing that he's been replaced by Power Man. Grimm is further incensed because Reed is paying Cage for his services.

In the middle of these changes, the Fantastic Four are notified of a series of bank robberies. They learn it's the work of Thor's old foe the Wrecker. He possesses a mystically powered crowbar and proves to be a tough enemy. Power Man gets a chance to prove that he belongs on the team when he goes toe-to-toe with Wrecker.

Following that battle, Cage is having a conversation with Sue and Alicia Masters and Franklin. Power Man suddenly attacks them, but Invisible Girl's force holds him back and subdues Luke until her teammates arrive. Power Man steals their Fantasticar and escapes. The Fantastic Four know that Cage must be under some sort of mind-control and wonder who the real villain is. 

Reed knows that they will need all the help they can get to stop Power Man. He also sympathizes with his old friend and builds Ben a "Thing suit." It's an exoskeleton that will allow him to become the Thing again, while staying human. The suit enables Ben to rejoin the Fantastic Four.

Ben tries on his "Thing suit" for the first time.

The FF tracks down Power Man. The heroes learn that Cage is being controlled by their old enemy the Puppet Master! 

After that conflict, a spaceship lands in Central Park.  A golden gorilla emerges from the ship and grows into a giant. The Fantastic Four battle the gorilla and are able to capture him using Sue's force field (which also returns him to normal height). To their surprise, this gorilla can speak and tells them why he has come to Earth. He says his name is Gorr and he came to Earth to seek their help against Galactus, devourer of worlds!

Gorr had been sent to Earth by the god-like being who calls himself the High Evolutionary, who has created a Counter Earth nearly identical to our planet. The High Evolutionary asks the FF to help them find another planet that Galactus can feed on in order to spare Counter Earth. Will the Fantastic Four succeed in finding another planet? Or is Counter Earth doomed? Before it's all said and done, the High Evolutionary must engage Galactus in direct combat.

When the FF directly confronts Galactus, it will have a long-lasting impact on Ben Grimm.

Finally, when the Fantastic Four return to Earth, they are accompanied by the shape-shifter from planet Poppup known as the Impossible Man. The alien finds himself alone in New York City. The Impossible Man eventually ends up visiting 575 Madison Avenue, which houses the offices of Marvel Comics! Impossible Man demands that Marvel create a comic book that features him as the star. When they refuse, he attacks Marvel with extreme prejudice!

Review:
While this isn't exactly "classic"material, Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans is mostly fun from beginning to end. But I have some problems with these tales.

Story:
Roy Thomas writes some very entertaining stories in this tpb. It opens with the Crusader story, which features the FF against a very powerful being who has been tragically driven insane. The Hulk battle is pretty good too. It makes sense that the Thing would feel sympathy for his fellow "monster."

The FF battle the Hulk & Thing on the St. Louis arch!

But after that, I'm not crazy some of what Thomas does.  Ben is returned to his human form, something he'd wanted for (at that point) 167 issues. But almost immediately after his transformation, Grimm starts whining about how he's no longer a celebrity. Is it believable that Ben would feel left out when it was time for his teammates to go into battle? Sure, but we should have gotten at least one issue's worth of pages that show Grimm enjoying the return to his normal old self.

Ben cries in his beer.

Power Man, hired to replace the Thing,  is well-written here. Cage tries to balance his enthusiasm with being in the FF with respecting Ben's feelings. It's also good that Thomas doesn't try to overload Cage's dialogue with "urban" idioms, a mistake made by lots of 70s writers.

Gorr's first appearance is ridiculous, but I mean that in a good way. What's not to like about a giant, talking, alien, intelligent golden gorilla?! Thomas gives us a nice tribute to King King and other giant monster movies. There are even references to the 1976 Kong remake. The Thing jokes that "Dino de Laurentiis could save a fortune if he just had a Polaroid".

The Galactus story is pretty good. Thomas demonstrates that Galactus simply hungers and wants to consume the energies of Counter Earth simply because he needs to. But I was a bit disappointed in the battle between the Big G and High Evolutionary. It's teased as an epic clash, but Galactus needs only 9 panels over a page and a half to easily defeat the High Evolutionary.  

The Impossible Man & the FF crash-land in Central Park.

Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans concludes on a funny note, with the Impossible Man paying a visit to Marvel Comics. I always liked things like this when I was a kid and still enjoy them today. It's entertaining to see Thomas, George Perez, Jack Kirby and Stan Lee depicted as comic book characters.

There's one more problem with this book. It ends with a cliffhanger. The Impossible Man story was followed by a two-parter that featured the Frightful Four. If you want to read what happens next, it's been reprinted in tpb called Fantastic Four Visionaries - George Perez, Vol. 2 (maybe I'll review that book here someday). 

Art:
The art contained in this tpb is excellent. George Perez draws the first 4 issues reprinted here and also the last story in the book.  Most of Perez' art is beautifully inked by Joe Sinnott, who inks the other pencilers as well. Look at this gorgeous two-page spread from Perez and Sinnott:

Great stuff.

John Buscema was, of course, a legendary artist and one of the best of the Bronze Age. This isn't his best art, but it's still good. Rich Buckler pencils the rest of the book and his art is also excellent. These stories were published during a time when Marvel wanted Buckler to deliberately imitate the art of Jack Kirby. But that's not his fault, and Buckler and Sinnott make a great art team. Here's an example of their work:

Power Man decks the Wrecker, while Ben struggles with life without super-strength.

How Does It Look:
Below you find the splash page as it originally appeared in Fantastic Four #175:

And here's how it looks in Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans:

And for good measure, here's another original page, scanned from FF #172:

It looks like this in the tpb:

Thank to SuperMegaMonkey for the scans from the old issues.

Extras:
Thomas wrote a column in FF #176 about the making of the story where Impossible Man visited the Marvel offices. That column is reprinted here. The tpb also contains 4 pages of original art.

Fantastic Four: Crusaders & Titans features some outstanding art from Perez, Sinnott and Buckler and some solid stories from Thomas. This tpb is recommended, but Thomas' handling of Ben Grimm in the middle portions and the cliffhanger ending prevent me giving the book a higher rating.

J.A. Morris' rating:

3 Sals.