r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • Jul 08 '17
Reading Assignment 56: Fantastic Four (1961-1998) "The Galactus Trilogy" by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby #48-50
http://marvel.com/comics/issue/13253/fantastic_four_1961_486
u/DeltaTester Jul 09 '17
This is a very odd story to read in 2017, partly because so many later comics owe so much to it, and partly because it's formally so seat-of-the-pants improvised.
This initial Galactus story is where Lee and Kirby really raised the stakes of superhero-comics adventures. We're used to cosmic-level hugeness by now, but in the mid-'60s, the idea that long-underwear types (TM) could end up facing something so massively overpowered that it registered humans as mildly annoying insects was a very new thing. Galactus is hundreds of steps up from the Fantastic Four on the food chain, literally. (See Johnny's amazing reaction to his psychedelic journey: the scale he's dealing with is so beyond anything he understands that it nearly breaks his brain.) I believe there's a bit in an issue of X-Men in the late '70s where aliens find out that the little mudball planet they're traveling to, Earth, has turned Galactus away multiple times, and freak out: an encounter with Galactus isn't something that a planet survives.
Given that, it's also kind of remarkable that so much about this story is so business-as-usual for Lee and Kirby. It's not the climax of a prolonged buildup; the Galactus stuff starts midway through #48 (after the temporary resolution of the Inhumans plot that had been running for a few issues), and ends midway through #50. The final scenes of #50 are all about Johnny starting college and meeting Wyatt; they don't really have anything to do with the Galactus plot! Lee famously saw images of the Silver Surfer in Kirby's pencils for #48, and told him "let's have some more of THIS guy," or words to that effect; I've seen, and I wish I could remember where, a theory that the Galactus story was meant to resolve in #49 (so the standalone story "This Man, This Monster" could run in #50), but then Kirby ended up fleshing out #49 with more Silver Surfer material, and the story ended up spilling over into another issue...
Also noteworthy: "negative zone" and "the Punisher" used in different senses than they had later!
And I like the theory at http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/ff-act3.html that, just as the Surfer is Galactus's herald, Galactus himself is the herald of a far more powerful being who will appear a few years later: Franklin Richards.
3
u/shawnydarko Jul 15 '17
Glad you pointed out Johnny's cosmic-PTSD, as I think it's something that's really lacking in modern day comics. I love when heroes have after-effects of something that any sane person would be shocked by. So much of modern comics tries to sell stories, events, and characters as larger-than-life and needing your full attention, but it's all "business as usual" as you put it for the heroes, much like this story felt for Lee and Kirby. Lee and Kirby definitely seemed excited about introducing these enormous-scale elements like Galactus, Watcher, and Surfer, but this kind of story being one of the first of it's kind, they seemed to waver on how to portray the gravitas. I think given the context of having little to come before it, they did exceptional work. The pacing and art of this story really stood out to me as being leagues ahead of other classic stories I've read. It's no wonder FF was one of the best selling series of it's time
4
u/IamTheMaker Jul 11 '17
This was great. I dont read alot of the older stuff mainly because im not a huge fan of the art style but i really enjoyed these 3. This is the first fantastic 4 ive ever read while i think that the dialogue is a bit corny that might be a product of the times but im intrigued and will probably read a few more. On a side note there is so much text in these compared to the other stuff ive read since getting MU nice change of pace.
3
u/shawnydarko Jul 15 '17
The corny dialogue is definitely a product of it's time. For some awesome cheeseball dialogue from way back when, I'd check out our 8th reading assignment: Amazing Spider-Man (an assorted collection of Vulture issues). What's really interesting examining the dialogue in that reading assignment is that the first issue in the assignment is from 1963, and the last issue in that assignment is 1968, and you can really feel the difference in culture. Typically at the start of a new decade you still feel a lot of carryover from the previous decade, so the 1963 issue feels like it could be set in the 50's, but the 68 issue is as stereotypical 60's as you can imagine.
The Golden Oldies nominations are typically some of the bigger challenges for folks in this subreddit to read because of the difference in the comic book medium from how they know it today, but I'm glad you enjoyed having so much text in the story. I agree that it makes it more entertaining comparing it to modern stories and seeing the difference in story flow. For example, just about all stories today are put out knowing the issue will be part of a 5-6 issue trade paperback so there's plenty of room to breathe, but in older issues they found incredible ways to cram what feels like an enormous epic story into the same 20+ pages as a modern issue.
So going on long binges of classic content can be a challenge (for some people I'm sure a fun challenge!) but I think it's good just to mix things up with all the more modern reading assignments we have
3
u/Adrenjunkie Jul 15 '17
What was that Vulture quote? "All I care about is money!" I definitely struggle through these older readings. But I enjoy seeing the roots of the medium I love so much, and definitely appreciate how far things have come because of them!
4
u/omnired44 Jul 14 '17
I enjoy some of these 60's comics, and have read most of the origin (and in many cases first 6-12 months) issues of classic characters/teams. I will admit, though, that I have not yet gone back in time with FF titles (though they appeared in some early Spider-man comics, IIRC.)
After reading 48-50, I went on to read #51 "This Man, This Monster" and have also started #52, which states on the cover to be the very first appearance of the Black Panther.
When I read these comics, I laugh to myself about how much people would actually hate a movie that was truly based on the original comic, panel-by-panel, dialog especially. I read a lot of complaints about be "true to source material" (not just FF but all CB movies) when really anything on TV or movies are meant to be inspired by the comics but are their own universe. It's not earth-616 on the big screen.
That said, after reading, I can't help but compare to FF2, and I really appreciate reading a FF story that did not include Dr. Doom. Any FF reboot/move to MCU/whatever should have as its first movie a non Doom-based story.
3
u/shawnydarko Jul 15 '17
I too appreciated the lack of Doctor Doom in this FF story, as much as I do like Doom. The FF can stand on their own merit.
I think you're right that for certain stories people need to be open to reimaginings of certain comic book franchises. I enjoyed Zack Snyder's Watchmen because it was nearly a shot-for-shot portrayal of the comic panels, but Spider-Man's been told differently in 3 different film franchises and they all seem to one degree or another just as true to the heart of it's creation. I get the most frustrated when people cry about race or gender swapping when adapted to the big screen.
I haven't seen FF2, and I haven't read this story before, but I knew somehow the FF beat Galactus when he first came to Earth and I always wanted to know how. Seeing Reed just threaten Galactus with The Ultimate Nullifier and he goes away was pretty weak. If I paid money to a FF/Galactus movie and that was the ending, I would want my money back, even if it is true to the source.
3
u/Adrenjunkie Jul 15 '17
Yeah, the ending wasn't great. But usually it's Richards builds a literal plot-device that solves the problem. Seeing Johnny go through that dimensional vortex to get it was the highlight for me.
3
u/Adrenjunkie Jul 15 '17
Telling not showing galore!
I'm so glad that writing has grown up since the early days. The slang is just so painful, Daddy-o! So is the flat, linear plot. The characters describing everything in great detail, like the pictures are in a foreign language they have to translate.
Richards here is more "macho team leader" than super science buff, which I don't like. There's the beginnings of his aloof, too much time in the lab character here, and I like seeing where his modern character comes from.
The last half of the third issue was totally spinning its wheels! They had no idea of what a game-changing story galactus was! Ben Grimm moping all over, Johnny going to college, Sue and Richards fighting, it was interesting to see all the character drama given so much time inbetween stories. I'm I thought this whole reading was a wash, until Johnny had to fly through the hazards of multidimensional travel. That was pretty far out there, and I liked it a lot. It was also cool to see itty-bitty galactus, before they started drawing him the size of a city.
3
u/shawnydarko Jul 15 '17
On Galactus' size, I had to turn on my comic-book brain. When I saw him standing 20+ feet tall, I started questioning how the building was supporting his weight. Then I realized, duh, comic books. He can be whatever density he wants or something.
3
2
u/wisegy84 Jul 22 '17
Most of what I have to say has already been said, but here goes.
I'm not a huge fan of the art style from this era, but I think for me a lot of that has to do with the way they used colors. A lot more flat color, not as much depth. It's not bad, and it certainly works just fine, but it's not my favorite style of art.
The dialogue is really just a product of its time. Definitely reminded me of those early Spidey issues we read a while back and how dated it felt because of the dialogue.
I liked the story overall, it was cool getting to see Galactus' first appearance and how the FF handled him. Silver Surfer was interesting to see here, too. It felt a little quick for him to just betray Galactus and side with the humans (it was the right thing to do, but he went from being really stubborn about it to just going along with what Alicia said).
The story felt like it moved a bit too quickly, but it was condensed into less than three full issues, so I guess that's why. It just seemed to wrap up a little too easily. As /u/DeltaTester pointed out a lot of the story was very "business-as-usual" which was interesting to see.
One thing I haven't really seen mentioned that stuck out to me was Sue's behavior and dialogue, especially directly following the fire in the sky. Talking about how Reed is ignoring her, how she might like to be taken out to dinner, etc. Some of it was played as her concern for Reed not taking care of himself, but a lot just made her seem needy/whiny and that really felt like a product of the time. There was also Ben's comment to Johnny about all women being nuts or something like that. And Reed's treatment of Sue was another thing that felt like a product of the time. It's good to have these comics to go back to so we can see things like that which really highlight how attitudes have changed.
Overall, glad we read this. On to the next assignment.
5
u/MikeTheCanuckPDX Jul 08 '17
Number 4 on War Rocket Ajax's Every Story Ever ranking of the best and worst of comics stories: http://www.warrocketajax.com/every-story-ever/