Recently in Fantastic Four Category

In February 1974, Marvel decided to start their own series of deluxe comic books with Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, featuring the Fantastic Four.

As a kid growing up, I can't possibly describe the thrill and excitement this concept of a "Giant-Size" Marvel book being published.  Perhaps it felt like a special 2-hour TV movie instead a regular episode.  During the same period of time, the NBC Mystery Movie featured rotating characters such as Columbo, McCloud, McMillian and Wife, Banacek, etc.  I think I equated the Giant-Size specials with those, and I just had the damndest feeling like Something Big Was Gonna Happen.  It had to live up to this expectation, because it cost 35 cents and regular comics were only 20 cents!

What better way to start than by having "The Wildest Thing vs. Hulk Battle of All" by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler!  The cover had a dynamic picture of Ben Grimm clobbering the Hulk while Johnny Blaze cheered him on from the sidelines.  The Hulk is on the ropes. But how could this be?  Everyone knows the Hulk is stronger.  And why was Reed Richards reaching out to stop Ben?

The story begins in a big way as we see the Hulk being chased by the police on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.  If Rich Buckler didn't grab me from the cover, he sure as hell did on this fantastic splash page.  Everything seemed bigger in scope already!  "Hulk wants peace...and Hulk wants it now!"  If I get any kind of classic dialog like that in a Hulk movie, I'd be happy.  The Hulk reaches New York City and stays hidden long enough (this was when the Hulk was only 7 feet tall, not that gargantuan creature he is today) to calm down and revert to back to Bruce Banner.  Banner decides to seek refuge in the Baxter Building and gets some sympathy from Ben Grimm. 

Ben starts talking about the various cures that Reed Richards has attempted, the latest being a device called the Psi-Amplifier. Banner decides to use this device to cure both himself and Ben Grimm at the same time. Something goes snafu (as usual) and a mind-swap occurs between the Thing and the Hulk.

Rich Buckler draws this Thing-Hulk fight with Mighty Marvel Kirbyesque Magic.  It sure didn't hurt to have Joltin' Joe Sinnott on the inks.  The fight between them rages from skyscrapers to the subway to Madison Square Garden. Throw in the Amazonian babe called Thundra (always looking for a sperm donation from Mr. Grimm) and you've got a comedy of errors.

Besides the main feature, the remaining pages featured pinups, which had already been used in various Fantastic Four annuals.  It seemed like a great value for a kid...at that point we didn't have Official Marvel Indexes or Guides or anything like that.

This was the first and only issue of Giant-Size Superstars.  With the second issue, Marvel gave up the rotating wheel concept and the title became Giant-Size Fantastic Four.  Nuff said.

I am a tad bit disappointed in the first few issues of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Fantastic Four. Let's face it, the Cap robot was a weak idea.  It goes around dismantling nuclear stockpiles around the world and sooner or later it's going after all the Super Wal-Marts.  With this concluding chapter, at least the silliness paves the way for widescreen fun from Bryan Hitch.  The above is only half of a panel showing Sue and Ben bringing the Marvel heroes to help stop the Cap robot.  Which is totally unnecessary, because Reed Richards has everything under control with his Anti-Galactus suit!  Very silly, but Hitch's artwork and giant-size splash pages (I could scan and post everyone one of them but I'd get sued for piracy) make this comic well worth buying.  I always wondered what the FF would look like if Neal Adams brought his powerful storytelling chops to the series.  Even though Hitch is not an Adams clone, I feel like I've finally received that experience.  I can't wait for an oversized hardcover that will showcase his work in full glory.

Story-wise, I think Millar is much stronger writing about the FF as characters with individual personalities.  Johnny Storm seems more vibrant as a character than he has in years.  I love this scene where Psionics is waiting for him in bed.  It's inspired by that Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal, but I don't care, this is the most outrageous scene in 40+ years of the FF.  Johnny asks: "How can something so wrong feel so right?"  I can't wait to see where this relationship goes.

Millar has a charming view of Reed and Sue's relationship as well.  Reed rebuffs the advances of his first flame, Alyssa, and celebrates his anniversary with Sue with a sentimental dinner in the past.  Millar hasn't hit the Thing yet, but I hope he will soon.  The very last page is surprising, given Millar's comments on various sites that he would not be using old FF villains for a while.  If you're a Marvel fan, you've got to read this book.  Nuff said.

Jim Cheung's artwork in New Avengers #40 blew me away.  I love this double page spread of Galactus destroying the Skrull homeworld.  It's on my Windows desktop now.  Click on the above image to download it from Flickr.

It doesn't hurt that fabulous Frankie Ray, Nova, is cruising through this shot.  I loved Nova, thought she was Galactus best choice for a herald.  According to Wikipedia, Nova was killed in Silver Surfer #75.  Since they are bringing back all kinds of dead characters, why not revive Nova?  Nuff said.