The Classics: Fantastic Four #21

Since my review of Secret Warriors mentioned Nick Fury's appearance in an early issue of Fantastic Four, that seemed like a good excuse to trot this issue out for our Wednesday Classics review.

So from 1963 we have issue #21, which featured the Hate-Monger, a bad guy who can inflame hatred through the use of his H-Ray Gun. One blast and the FF immediately hate each other, and they split up immediately (that wasn't the first time that had happened, and it certainly wouldn't be the last).

Luckily, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) gets a visit from an old Army buddy - Colonel Nick Fury, who's now working for the CIA. It's interesting to note that he doesn't have an eyepatch - but by the end of the issue, he's firing his machine gun at the bad guys, yelling "Wah-Hoo!!" and his shirt has been torn to shreds. Eighteen years after the end of World War II, and the ol' Sarge hasn't changed a bit (other than his rank).

The issue is a classic because it gives both writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby (with George Bell inks) a chance to strut their stuff. Stan gets to tackle the futility of hate and works in some great character moments with our heroes, and Jack gets to run wild with some amazing action sequences. It's one of the rare issues where Reed gets to show his abilities, with one of my all-time favorite bits, as he traps a group of South American rebels by imitating a road (you heard me).

Lee and Kirby weren't quite at the peak of their powers here, but it was obvious they were building something special. I'm not absolutely certain, but I'm pretty sure this issue was the first FF issue I bought with my own 12 cents (I had read earlier issues belonging to friends). You can see how dog-eared my copy is - I read this issue to pieces.

After this issue, the FF jumped to the top of my "must-buy" list, and while the quality has jumped and dipped over the (gulp) 46 years since then, it's always been a personal favorite, and one of Marvel's best.

It hasn't always earned the blurb Stan placed over the title on the cover, but for a long time, the Fantastic Four really was "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine."

Grade: A