fantastic four annual – Coke & Comics

Fantastic Four Annual 2, Story C

The Final Victory of Dr. Doom!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 2, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
A Stan Lee story spectacular!
A Jack Kirby illustrative idyll!
A Chic Stone delineation delight!
A Sam Rosen lettering landmark!
25 pages

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Never will this mass of teeming humanity ever forget that Doctor Doom once walked among them!

It’s interesting that this is the final story in this issue. It almost seems backwards. This is the full-length Fantastic Four story. That would usually go up front. The first story was a 12-page story which didn’t feature the Fantastic Four at all. That would usually be the back-up. But the 12 page story was better. So Stan put it first.

It’s still weird to me that this is the final thing in the comic, after the reprint and all the bonus material. This is the cover feature, after all.

How is it that we saw Dr. Doom alive in the previous story when clearly he was floating somewhere in space? Sure enough, a ship randomly rescued him… again. This time, it was Rama-Tut.

The story at least acknowledges that Fantastic Four #23 should have been the last we saw of Dr. Doom. It shows us what happened immediately afterwards. Dr. Doom was trapped in space, running out of oxygen reserves and falling toward Jupiter when his unlikely rescue occurred.

Rama-Tut notes this can’t have happened by chance. I’m inclined to agree.

Fantastic Four Annual 2

The Fantastic Origin of Dr. Doom!

Featuring: Dr. Doom
Release: July 2, 1964
Cover: 1964
25 cents
Earth-shaking script by: Stan Lee
Breath-taking illustration by: Jack Kirby
Epoch-making delineation by: Chic Stone
No-faking lettering by: S. Rosen
12 pages

We get another 25 cent annual for 72 pages. The Amazing Spider-Man Annual we recently covered was a better deal. That was 72 pages of all new material, which is really quite the bargain for 25 cents. This issue reaches the page count by reprinting Fantastic Four #5. Now, if you’d never read the first appearance of Dr. Doom, and were having trouble finding it, that would make this just as good a deal.

The first page

Confusing opening. It seems to show Dr. Doom in a castle. Yet, we saw Dr. Doom get lost in space in Fantastic Four #23. Of course, he also got lost in space in issue 6 only to be miraculously rescued by the Ovoids. But the odds of something like that happening twice are too improbable to consider. After all, space is big. Perhaps this story is meant to be set before Doom fell into outer space. Because I was sure we’d seen the last of him.

This is the best drawing of Dr. Doom we’ve yet seen. At least, that’s my take. I’d like to see if I can break down what’s leading my instincts to that conclusion.

Fantastic Four Annual 1, Story B

The Fabulous Fantastic Four Meet Spider-Man!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: 1963
25 cents
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Steve Ditko
6 pages

This is a very odd story. Something of a remake. It takes pages 2-4 of the second story from Amazing Spider-Man #1 and redraws them, expanding the story to 6 pages. This time, drawn by Kirby and inked by Ditko.

I don’t know why. The opening editor’s note claims it’s because fans demanded it, but Stan Lee always claimed that fans demanded everything. In the original, each member takes one go at Spidey. This time, each gets two.

Sue has a different haircut and each artist renders her invisibility differently. Ditko makes her shape clearer. In contrast, it’s Kirby who more clearly renders Johnny’s outline when he’s aflame.

Rather than offer any commentary of possible general interest to a story we’ve already talked about, I’m going to focus on the academic, and just give a full comparison of the stories. Some dialogue is copied, some slightly changed, some original. Some panels are new, while others closely match original panels. All seem redrawn from scratch.

Fantastic Four Annual 1

Sub-Mariner Versus The Human Race!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 2, 1963
Cover: 1963
25 cents <– whoa!
Written by: Stan Lee
Drawn by: Jack Kirby
Inking: Dick Ayers
37 pages

We just read no less than 5 Sub-Mariner stories from the ’40s and ’50s to have some context for this giant-sized Fantastic Four/Sub-Mariner epic we are about to read. At 37 pages, this is the longest story we have yet read. And at 25 cents, this and the Strange Tales annual are the most expensive comics we’ve come across by a factor of 2.

When Sub-Mariner returned in Fantastic Four #4, he learned that his kingdom had been destroyed and his people were missing. He’s been searching for them ever since. Until now.

Is it the longest ever? Or might Stan be exaggerating?

Quite the opening couple pages. The bold imagination on display is Kirby at his best. But we haven’t seen that much of his true potential yet in these stories. He’s just been getting warmed up.

The Fantastic Four decide to take a vacation along with Alicia. Reed’s suggestion is to take a cruise to where some sea monsters have been sighted.