comic book within comic book

Fantastic Four #17

Defeated by Dr. Doom!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: May 9, 1963
Cover: August 1963
12 cents
Story: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
22 pages

I read this story in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1.

We see the first of an effect that will be used again on Fantastic Four covers. Four panels on the cover. One for each member of the team. Perhaps with a centerpiece for the villain.

Alicia gets herself kidnapped by Dr. Doom. The girlfriend being held hostage is an old superhero trope going back to Lois Lane. We’ve seen it in the Marvel Universe already with Jane Foster.

We get a little insight into Doom’s mindset. He relates to the Thing, as both are grotesque. Yet, Thing has found love. Rather than causing him to reflect that maybe it’s okay to remove his mask, Doom still believes nobody can love him and vows revenge on all humanity. Notice that the art is going out of its way to not show us Doom’s face.

Fantastic Four #11

A Visit with the Fantastic Four
Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: November 1, 1962
Cover: February 1963
12 cents
Script: Stan Lee
Art: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
11 pages

I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1.

I find this story interesting for all the biographical details we get filled in, even the stuff that contradicts the other stuff.

We learned last issue that Stan and Jack are characters in the Marvel Universe, publishing Fantastic Four comics. On the opening splash page, we see a new issue has come out. One child is excited to get his letter published. This is the second time we’ve seen the fan letters addressed in story. I’ll repeat what I said then: this is where Stan shines, interacting directly with young readers.

I like how popular they suggest their own comic is within the comic.

We then get a cute scene where they come across kids playing “Fantastic Four” and introduce themselves. Reed suggests the boy playing him ought to give flowers to the girl playing Invisible Girl. They offer a message to kids: don’t play with fire at home.

Fantastic Four #5

Prisoners of Doctor Doom!/Back to the Past!/On the Trail of Blackbeard/Battle!/The Vengeance of Doctor Doom!
Release: April 10, 1962
Cover: July 1962
12 cents
Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inker: Joe Sinnot (uncredited)
23 pages

I read this comic in Fantastic Four Omnibus vol. 1. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby signed the issue. The omnibus credits Joe Sinnot as the inker in the table of contents.

I am of two minds about this comic. Let me tell you of both of them.

One the one hand, the premise of the series is that this team gets into fantastic adventures. Travelling back in time to battle pirates qualifies as such an adventure. And as stories about the FF travelling back in time to battle pirates go, this one is pretty solid.

On the other hand, this issue introduces Dr. Doom. Dr. Doom is perhaps my favorite super-villain ever, and this issue just doesn’t quite capture the Dr. Doom that I first met. Whatever I envisioned about the first encounter between our heroes and their arch-nemesis, it wasn’t this.

Fantastic Four #4

The Coming of… Sub-Mariner
On the Trail of the Torch/Enter the Sub-Mariner/Let the World Beware!/Sub-Mariner’s Revenge!
Release: February 8, 1962
Cover: May 1962
12 cents
Credits: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Inks: Sol Brodsky (uncredited)
23 pages

Famously, Human Torch meets a random amnesiac hobo and decides without permission to burn the hobo’s beard off his face. The hobo looks like a character Torch read about in a comic, which convinces him to toss the hobo into the ocean. I would argue this behavior on the part of the Torch is inappropriate. But nobody on the team is setting a better example.