JOHN BYRNE'S FANTASTIC FOUR COVER GALLERY - PART SEVEN...

Well, mainly JOHN BYRNE's FF cover gallery - there are a

few by other artists here also, just to round up the numbers and see

JB's dangling plot threads 'tied up' in the Anniversary issue. Although,

having said that, his ideas for issue #296 seem to have been jettisoned

by plotter JIM SHOOTER when Byrne-Boy jumped ship over to DC

COMICS. It's a shame that he didn't get to finish the run, as going by an

interview given in 1986, his proposed plans for the issue sounded quite

spectacular. What we ended up with was something far less than that,

despite MR MARVEL himself, STAN LEE, scripting the entire

mag. I'd love to see a Byrne special issue, wherein he's allowed

to produce #296 the way he'd originally planned.

Anyway, here endeth the series of John Byrne FF cover galleries.

Be sure to check out the extra bonus section below.

Cover art by Jerry Ordway

Cover art by Jerry Ordway

Cover art by Barry Windsor Smith

Back cover art by John Buscema & Joe Sinnott

Cover art by Kerry Gammill & Joe Sinnott

EXTRA SPECIAL BONUS SECTION...

In 1984, the very first FF Annual was reprinted in a special edition,

with a new five-page section written and drawn by Byrne, replacing

(and expanding on) page 18 by LEE, KIRBY & AYERS. Sporting a

new wraparound cover by JB, the mag also included five new retro-

style pin-ups, which are included here for you to 'Marvel' at.  

THE PHANTOM VIKING - PART TWO OF LION ANNUAL 1968...

Who did they think they were kidding? THE PHANTOM VIKING,

who first appeared in CHAMPION in 1966, was obviously a stand-in for

MARVEL's THE MIGHTY THOR. When Champion folded, the wing-

helmeted wonder (Vikey, not Thor) moved over to LION when the two

comics merged in June of '66, and appeared there until '68.

The Phantom Viking had super-strength and the power of flight when

he donned the helmet of his ancestor, LARSEN THE LIBERATOR,

but if the helmet fell off or the south wind blew, he returned to his frail

mortal identity of OLAF LARSEN, meek and mild school teacher

at WOODBURN SCHOOL.

Thor would've kicked sand in Vikey's face and left him sobbing on

the beach, but the strip was a bold attempt to imitate the thunder god

and avoid paying the licence fee, even if such a blatant rip-off was a poor

second for the real thing. So, let's give Olaf a hearty cheer as we wave him

on his way; he was no DON BLAKE (then again, neither was Don), but

at least he did his best for the two years his strip managed to run.

Don't miss part three - coming whenever I'm stuck

for anything better to write about.

PART SIX - DOUBLE HELPINGS OF JOHNNY FUTURE...

Why prolong an agony of waiting by only serving up one helping

at a time of the FANTASTIC JOHNNY FUTURE, when I can give

you double helpings? Why deprive you of the awesomeness of the mighty

LUIS BERMEJO's impressive illustrations for a moment longer than is

necessary, when you're clearly pining for your POWER PACK fix? I'm

nothing if not a generous man (and modest with it), so here, just for

you, are six and a half palpitating pages of action and adventure!

(And, just to give you a taste of the era, I've thrown in a bonus

ad showing you three of the Annuals available in 1967 for '68.)

PART TWO OF MARVEL FLASHBACK COVER GALLERY...

There's no point hanging around - here we are with part two of

our MARVEL FLASHBACK cover gallery. Ten titanic images

from 1997 to thrill and amaze you. Got a favourite? Feel free to

share in the comments section. Personally speaking, I love that

DAREDEVIL one by GENE COLAN - it's pure '60s.

MARVEL FLASHBACK COVER GALLERY - PART ONE...

Way back in July of 1997, MARVEL released many #1 issue

 featuring untold tales relating to the origins of various characters,

in an event that was referred to as FLASHBACK month. HEROES

REBORN titles (such as IRON MAN and THE FANTASTIC FOUR)

weren't included, but those that were had a retro '60s look to the covers

and letters page logos that was good to see again for long-time Marvel

Maniacs who remembered how Marvel mags used to look.

I didn't get them all, but I've got a fair number, so I thought

I'd share the covers with you here. Part two is coming soon, so

don't forget to look in again.