Fantastic Four #56

Klaw the Murderous Master of Sound!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: July 7, 1966
Cover: November 1966
12 cents
Produced by: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
Delineated by: Joe Sinnot
Lettered by: Artie Simek
20 pages

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PRELUDEMarvel Mystery Comics #2
Fantastic Four #55Reading orderFantastic Four Annual 4
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Our biggest problem seems to be keeping the somewhat disoriented Marvel Universe in some semblance of order! But, when you constantly mess around with space/time warps, and continuums, negatives zones, intra-cosmic deviationary fields, and universes beyond the reached of infinity, you’re apt to get a little bit confused! So bear with us, erudite one, for verily thou hast the seeming of a true believer!

Two notes about the credits. The first is that there are two Ts in Sinnott.

The second is that the credits will stop specifying Stan Lee as the writer, when Kirby is doing most of the writing. The compromise is the nebulous “produced by” credit. Ditko had fought for a similar credit in his comics before leaving.

Sue is upset that Reed is always working, and not spending enough time with his wife. Not the first time we’ve seen this complaint.

Reed has all kinds of fancy technology, including a visi-phone which connects to his lab. Wow. A visi-phone. Imagine being able to talk to someone remotely and see them at the same time!

Eh. I’d rather just send a text.

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Fantastic Four #51

This Man… This Monster!

Featuring: Fantastic Four
Release: March 10, 1966
Cover: June 1966
12 cents
Writer: Stan Lee
Penciller: Jack Kirby
Inker: Joe Sinnott
Letterer: Artie Simek
20 pages

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Fantastic Four #50Reading orderStrange Tales #146
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He paid the full price– and, he paid it– like a man!

After introducing the Inhumans, and then introducing the Silver Surfer and Galactus in perhaps the best and most iconic FF story ever immediately after, you’d think Stan and Jack would want a break from the iconic stories that will be remembered for decades to come.

But this is perhaps the most iconic issue of Fantastic Four ever. It’s perhaps the best Fantastic Four comic ever. It might be the best comic Stan and Jack ever made.

It might be the best comic anybody ever made.

The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine indeed.

I won’t ruin this image with my clumsy words. You can just appreciate the opening page for yourself. I just suggest that you take a minute with it.

This picks up from last issue in a couple ways. Alicia and the Silver Surfer grew close during the events, enough to make Thing jealous and wander off morosely. There were even newspaper headlines about Thing being seen wandering the streets feeling sad. We saw a mysterious man reading those headlines. We didn’t learn his name, but we learned he intends to destroy the Fantastic Four.

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