{"id":32251,"date":"2025-02-17T18:42:13","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T18:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32251"},"modified":"2025-02-17T18:42:13","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T18:42:13","slug":"fantastic-four-epic-collection-volume-10-counter-earth-must-die-1976-1978","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/02\/17\/fantastic-four-epic-collection-volume-10-counter-earth-must-die-1976-1978\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic Four Epic Collection volume 10: Counter-Earth Must Die (1976-1978)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Roy Thomas<\/strong>, Len Wein<\/strong>, Bill Mantlo<\/strong>, Gerry Conway<\/strong>, Archie Goodwin<\/strong>, Jim Shooter<\/strong>, Marv Wolfman<\/strong>, George P\u00e9rez<\/strong>, John Buscema<\/strong>, Sal Buscema<\/strong>, Rich Buckler<\/strong>, Ron Wilson<\/strong>, Joe Sinnott<\/strong>, Sam Grainger<\/strong>, John Tartaglione<\/strong>, George Roussos<\/strong>, Dave Hunt<\/strong>, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN 978-1-3029-5544-1 (TPB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times.<\/em><\/p>\n

Monolithic modern Marvel truly began with the adventures of a small super-team who were as much squabbling family as coolly capable costumed champions. Everything the company is now stems from the quirky quartet and the groundbreaking, inspired efforts of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby\u2026<\/p>\n

Cautiously bi-monthly and cover-dated November 1961, Fantastic Four<\/strong> #1 – by Stan, Jack, George Klein & Christopher Rule – was raw and crude even by the ailing company\u2019s standards: but it seethed with rough, passionate and uncontrolled excitement. Thrill-hungry kids pounced on its dynamic storytelling and caught a wave of change starting to build in America. It and succeeding issues changed comics forever. As seen in the premier issue, maverick scientist Reed Richards<\/em>, his fianc\u00e9e Sue Storm<\/em>, their close friend Ben Grimm<\/em> and Sue\u2019s bratty teenaged brother Johnny<\/em> survived an ill-starred private space-shot after Cosmic Rays penetrated their ship\u2019s inadequate shielding.<\/p>\n

All four permanently mutated: Richards\u2019 body became elastic, Sue became (even more) invisible, Johnny Storm<\/em> burst into living flame and tragic Ben shockingly devolved into a shambling, rocky freak. After the initial revulsion and trauma passed, they solemnly agreed to use their abilities to benefit mankind. Thus was born The Fantastic Four<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 1960s it was indisputably the key title and most consistently groundbreaking series of Marvel\u2019s ever-unfolding web of cosmic creation: a forge for new concepts and characters. Kirby was approaching his creative peak: unleashing his vast imagination on plot after spectacular plot, whilst Lee scripted some of the most passionate superhero sagas ever seen. Both were on an unstoppable roll, at the height of their powers and full of the confidence only success brings, with The King particularly eager to see how far the genre and the medium could be pushed\u2026 which is rather ironic since it was the company\u2019s reticence to give the artist creative freedom which led to Kirby\u2019s moving to National\/DC in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Without Kirby\u2019s soaring imagination the rollercoaster of mind-bending High Concepts gave way to more traditional tales of characters in conflict, with soap-opera leanings and super-villain-dominated Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights dramas. This stripped-down, compelling compilation gathers Fantastic Four <\/strong>#168-191 and Annual <\/strong>#11, plus crossover components from Marvel Two in One<\/strong> #20 and that title\u2019s first Annual<\/strong>. Collectively spanning cover-dates March 1976 to February 1978 they cemented a change of pace that would eventually move the title away from the glory days of Kirby even as he enjoyed a partial return as cover artist\u2026<\/p>\n

A new direction had kicked off with FF<\/strong> #164, courtesy of Thomas and then-neophyte illustrator George P\u00e9rez, backed up by veteran inker Joe Sinnott. Now, after another clash with The Hulk<\/strong>, the team seems forever shattered as Ben – returned to human form by extended exposure to the Jade Juggernaut\u2019s gamma radiation – contemplates life as an ordinary mortal and former superhero…<\/p>\n

Returned to the massed ranks of humanity the ex-Thing is less than delighted at achieving his greatest desire as Rich Buckler pencils #168\u2019s \u2018Where Have All the Powers Gone?\u2019<\/em>, wherein Reed is forced by contractual obligation to replace him with Hero for Hire Luke Cage<\/strong>.
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\nHowever, although human again, happiness still eludes Grimm with events taking a worse turn in #169 as \u2018Five Characters in Search of a Madman!\u2019<\/em> finds Cage attacking his new teammates thanks to the machinations of a veteran FF foe. P\u00e9rez & Sinnott reunite for concluding chapter \u2018A Sky-Full of Fear!\u2019<\/em> as Ben returns to his team and spectacularly saves the day wearing a Thing exoskeleton suit constructed by Reed. Sadly. although the original and genuine is back at last (sort of), there\u2019s no time to pause for applause as the yarn segues directly into Fantastic Four Annual <\/strong>#11.<\/p>\n

Momentous time-travel saga \u2018And Now<\/span> Then… The Invaders!\u2019<\/em> by Thomas, John Buscema & Sam Grainger, sees Marvel\u2019s First Family flash back to 1942 to retrieve a cylinder of miracle-metal Vibranium. When it somehow then fell into Nazi hands it had started to unwrite history and on arrival, the FF are attacked by WWII super-team The Invaders<\/strong> – comprising early incarnations of Captain America<\/strong>, Sub-Mariner<\/strong> and the original, android Human Torch<\/strong>. The time-repair task goes far better once all the heroes finally unite to assault a Nazi castle where the Vibranium is held, but after the modern quartet return to their own restored era, Ben realises the mission isn\u2019t over yet…<\/p>\n

Thanks to Uatu the Watcher<\/em>, the action continues in Marvel Two-In-One Annual<\/strong> #1 as – with the present unravelling around him – Ben blasts back to 1942 yet again. \u2018Their Name is Legion!\u2019<\/em> (Thomas, Sal Buscema, Grainger, John Tartaglione & George Roussos) finds him linking up with Home Front Heroes the Liberty Legion<\/strong> (collectively The Patriot<\/strong>, Thin Man<\/strong>, Red Raven<\/strong>, Jack Frost<\/strong>, Blue Diamond<\/strong>, Miss America<\/strong> and The Whizzer<\/strong>) to thwart Nazis Skyshark<\/em> and Master Man<\/em>, Japanese agent Slicer<\/em> and Atlantean turncoat U-Man<\/em>\u2019s invasion of America. The battle proves so big, it spills over to concludes in Marvel Two-In-One <\/strong>#20 (October 1976) in a shattering \u2018Showdown at Sea!\u2019<\/em> pitting the massed heroes against diabolical Nazi boffin Brain Drain<\/em>, courtesy this time of Thomas, Sal B & Grainger.<\/p>\n

Cover-dated June Fantastic Four<\/strong> #171 reveals \u2018Death is a Golden Gorilla!\u2019 <\/em>(Thomas, P\u00e9rez, Buckler & Sinnott) as a giant alien anthropoid rampages through Manhattan until corralled by the FF. Calmed down and physically reduced to standard gorilla proportions, the talking ape delivers a desperate plea for help from the High Evolutionary<\/em>. Bill Mantlo scripts Thomas\u2019 plot and P\u00e9rez & Sinnott excel themselves as \u2018Cry, the Bedeviled Planet!\u2019<\/em> sees the heroes head for the other side of the Sun to save Counter-Earth from certain annihilation only to meet their nemesis in the depths of space…<\/p>\n

Thomas writes and John Buscema steps in as penciller with #173\u2019s \u2018Counter-Earth Must Die… At the Hands of Galactus!\u2019<\/em> Inexplicably, the world-devourer debates minor deity High Evolutionary: offering hope to his intended repast before despatching the heroes across the universe in search of a planet that will voluntarily sacrifice itself for Counter-Earth…<\/p>\n

\u2018Starquest!\u2019<\/em> (Thomas, Buscema & Sinnott) follows each unsavoury search to its logical conclusion, but as the Evolutionary abandons rhetoric for cosmic combat in a desperate delaying tactic, Sue Richards accidentally locates a civilisation willing to make the ultimate gesture…<\/p>\n

Returned and augmenting the Evolutionary, a reunited FF attack Galactus \u2018When Giants Walk the Sky!\u2019<\/em> (drawn & inked by JB), with the Devourer delivering a cruel delayed punishment to Ben before consuming the planetary substitute and realising he has been tricked in a bizarre and wry conclusion that only adds fresh complications to the First Family of the Marvel Universe. Then another new direction begins with #176 and Thomas, P\u00e9rez & Sinnott revealing that \u2018Improbable as it May Seem… The Impossible Man is Back in Town!\u2019<\/em> The mighty manic shapeshifter – having just saved everybody from Galactus – returns to Earth with our heroes and promptly turns the city upside down in his relentless search for amusement and entertainment. The high point of the day is his impromptu visit to the Marvel Bullpen where even more hilarity and hysteria ensue…<\/p>\n

By the time the flustered four drag him back to the Baxter Building in #177, it\u2019s straight into an ambush as \u2018Look Out for the Frightful Four!\u2019<\/em> finds their evil counterparts gaining the upper hand. There are only three – The Wizard<\/em>, Sandman<\/em> and Trapster<\/em> – but with our heroes shackled there\u2019s no better time for a casting call of evil. Soon a succession of potential fourths (like latterday B-Listers Texas Twister<\/em> and Captain Ultra<\/em>) are filing through in search of fame and glory…
\n\"\"
\nAlso in the queue are a few valiant allies such as Thundra<\/strong> and Tigra <\/strong>– who almost manage a last-minute rescue – until an unstoppable mystery candidate crushes all opposition and hurls the Thing into the antimatter Negative Zone. Inked by Dave Hunt, FF<\/strong> #178 \u2018Call My Killer… The Brute!\u2019<\/em> sees the devious, deadly monster revealed as the Reed Richards of Counter-Earth, carrying grudges and enacting his own masterplan until Impossible Man – oblivious to everything since discovering television – responds to the horrific home invasion in typical manner. The Fantastic Four, Thundra and Tigra soon rescue Ben and drive off the bad guys, but in the melee the Brute is fittingly lost in the Negative Zone.<\/p>\n

At least, one of the Reeds is…<\/p>\n

A joint effort by Thomas, Gerry Conway, Ron Wilson & Sinnott, FF<\/strong> #179 shows the good Dr. Richards \u2018A Robinson Crusoe in the Negative Zone!\u2019<\/em>, and – deprived of his stretching powers (a long running plot-thread finally paying off) – struggling to survive in hostile conditions against appalling monsters… until ultimate predator Annihilus<\/em> finds him…<\/p>\n

Back on Earth, everything seems fine and the deadly doppelganger continues to insinuate himself into all aspects of FF life. The power loss works to his advantage and Reed\u2019s oldest friend Ben is distracted by a giant robbing robot and increasingly flirtatious Tigra…<\/p>\n

FF<\/strong> #180 was a new Jack Kirby cover on a deadline-busting reprint from issue #101, so only it stands between us and next episode \u2018Side by Side with… Annihilus??\u2019<\/em> (#181 by Thomas, Wilson & Sinnott) as the zone-marooned supergenius allies with the antimatter monster. Meanwhile, Ben, \u201cImpy\u201d, Tigra and Thundra form an impromptu quartet to sort out that robot and Susan Richards – just starting to suspect something\u2019s wrong with her man – is distracted when former governess and still-current witch Agatha Harkness<\/em> flamboyantly abducts her old charge Franklin<\/em> from Sue\u2019s arms.<\/p>\n

Fantastic Four<\/strong> #182 reveals nigh-omnipotent Annihilus has a problem he can\u2019t handle: an incredibly adaptable, constantly mutating android recently banished to the Zone after failing to destroy the quirky quartet. Now its creator has regained control and \u2018Enter: The Mad Thinker!\u2019 <\/em>(Mantlo with Len Wein, Jim Shooter, Archie Goodwin, Sal Buscema & Sinnott) sees Reed and Annihilus working together to stop it, even as on Earth evil Reed tricks the Thing and Torch into the Negative Zone too. Sue, meanwhile, rushes to spooky Whisper Hill to confront Harkness, arriving just in time to see the eldritch elder and Franklin spirited away by ghostly beings…<\/p>\n

Her return to the Baxter Building is even more traumatic as the now-exposed Brute attempts to murder her, culminating in a spectacular all action conclusion from Mantlo, Sal B & Sinnott as #183\u2019s \u2018Battleground: The Baxter Building!\u2019 <\/em>sees all opposing elements clash and an unexpected turn of events restore the status quo with one last-minute change of heart and tragic sacrifice…<\/p>\n

A new era dawned as Wein took became writer\/editor and his artist partners P\u00e9rez & Sinnott began as they meant to go on. In FF<\/strong> #184, \u2018Aftermath: The Eliminator!\u2019<\/em> sees romantic rivals Tigra and Thundra go their own ways as the restored First Family searches for Franklin, reaching the Whisper Hill mansion just as a mystic cyborg begins removing all traces of the edifice and its former occupier. Brutal, pointless battle proves useless but science scores again in #185 as Reed tracks the Eliminator to the Colorado Rockies. The team, with Richards using tech to pinch-hit for his lost powers, head incognito for isolated town New Salem and once there discover \u2018Here There Be Witches!\u2019<\/em>… and they be hostile…<\/p>\n

Sequel \u2018Enter: Salem\u2019s Seven!\u2019<\/em> delivers an explanation for Harkness\u2019 actions, Franklin\u2019s abduction and tantalising hints of a hidden town of mystic refugees led by deranged demagogue Nicholas Scratch<\/em>, whose dark secret doesn\u2019t stop him unleashing a septet of sorcerous sentinels on the cosmic-powered but woefully human heroes. It does, sadly, ultimately lose him the support of his peers and the battle: resulting in #187 depicting the victorious heroes (and \u201cthe help\u201d) heading home just in time for \u2018Trouble Times Two!\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n

When \u201cMaster of Sound\u201d Klaw<\/em> and the almighty Molecule Man<\/em> ambush the FF, the furious fight raises the ire of TV-addicted Impy with the resultant rumble resolved by Molecule Man\u2019s disembodied intellect possessing Reed\u2019s weary body. In #188 \u2018The Rampage of Reed Richards!\u2019 <\/em>sees the city wrecked and events of cosmic import occur, with Uatu the Watcher closely observing as the heroes triumph in the end, but only at the cost of their leader\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n

Weary, devoid of superpowers, Richard makes the only logical decision and calls it a day for the team…<\/p>\n

At the time tensions were especially enhanced as the next issue was another reprint (from FF Annual<\/strong> #4 and again represented here only by Keith Pollard\u2019s cover art from #189). Normal service resumed with #190 as incoming writer\/editor Marv Wolfman collaborated with Sal Buscema & Tony DeZu\u00f1iga to reassess past glories in \u2018The Way It Was\u2019<\/em>. Here, shellshocked Ben and girlfriend Alicia Masters<\/em> review the glory days leading up to his current unemployment, before #191 closes this compilation\u2019s story component with \u2018Four No More\u2019<\/em> wherein Wein, P\u00e9rez & Sinnott detail the decommissioning of the Baxter Building and track the fond farewells as the team go their separate ways. However, there\u2019s time and space for one last hurrah as the scurrilous Plunderer<\/em> tries to steal all the FF\u2019s toys and rapidly learns to regret his impertinence…
\n\"\"
\nTo Be Continued<\/p>\n

This power-packed package also includes house ads, original cover art, pertinent pages by Sinnott from The Mighty Marvel Bicentennial Calendar 1976<\/strong>, and the Kirby\/Sinnott Marvel Comics Memory album Calendar 1977 <\/strong>plus the new material from The Fabulous Fantastic Four Marvel Treasury Edition<\/strong> #11 (December 1976). This bombastic oversized tabloid edition featured a bevy of classic yarns and is represented here by front-&-back cover art by Kirby & John Verpoorten, plus a Marie Severin & Frank Giacoia frontispiece\/contents page. Also on view is the letters page from FF<\/strong> #176, explaining how the Impossible Man\u2019s visit to the Marvel Bullpen came about, and the Jim Steranko covers from Marvel Index<\/strong> #4: Fantastic Four from 1977 as well as Peter Iro\u2019s monochrome frontispiece and a cover rough by Dave Cockrum.<\/p>\n

Although the \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest Comics Magazine\u201d never quite returned to the stratospheric heights of the Kirby era, this collection offers a tantalising taste-echo of those heady heights and a promise of change. These extremely capable efforts are probably most welcome to dedicated superhero fans and continuity freaks like me, but will still thrill and enthral the generous and forgiving casual browser looking for an undemanding slice of graphic narrative excitement. Even if artistically the work varies from only adequate to superb, most fans of Costumed Dramas will find little to complain about and there\u2019s lots of fun to be found for young and old readers. So why not lower your critical guard and have an honest blast of pure warts \u2018n\u2019 all comics craziness? You\u2019ll almost certainly grow to like it…
\n\u00a9 2024 MARVEL.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Roy Thomas, Len Wein, Bill Mantlo, Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Jim Shooter, Marv Wolfman, George P\u00e9rez, John Buscema, Sal Buscema, Rich Buckler, Ron Wilson, Joe Sinnott, Sam Grainger, John Tartaglione, George Roussos, Dave Hunt, Tony DeZu\u00f1iga & various (MARVEL) ISBN 978-1-3029-5544-1 (TPB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. Monolithic … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fantastic Four Epic Collection volume 10: Counter-Earth Must Die (1976-1978)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[351,74,317,54,98,320,355,117,79,213,219,107,155,100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apes-monkeys","category-captain-america","category-doctor-doom","category-fantastic-four","category-hulk","category-human-torch","category-invaders","category-jack-kirby","category-marvel-superheroes","category-iron-fist","category-s-h-i-e-l-d","category-science-fiction","category-sub-mariner","category-thor"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8ob","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32257,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32251\/revisions\/32257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}