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| Images copyright MARVEL COMICS |
When JOHN BYRNE took over The FANTASTIC FOUR as writer and artist in 1981, he gave the title a much-needed shot in the arm. Arguably, not since the days of LEE & KIRBY had the mag been as entertaining and exciting as it became under the stewardship of the little lad from Great Britain. He did two things that I liked immediately: He reintroduced the thick black collars on the FF's costumes and made REED RICHARDS a skinny-looking guy again, as he had first appeared in the early issues back in the '60s.
Another thing (no pun intended) I loved was when he returned BEN GRIMM's epidermis to its pre-evolved dinosaur-type hide look, though I wish the change had been permanent rather than just for a few issues. One change I wasn't keen on though, was when The Byrnester played cupid for ALICIA MASTERS and JOHNNY STORM, so I was glad when that was later shown not to be what it appeared by a subsequent creative team.
All good things come to an end, alas, and it was the same for John Byrne's sixty-two and a bit issue run on The Fantastic Four (not including Annuals or Specials). He moved over to DC COMICS to play in their sandpit for a while, reshaping their top hero, SUPERMAN - but what a legacy he left at MARVEL. I'm fortunate enough to have a complete set of the original issues of JB's unbroken run on the title, plus the deluxe, two-volume OMNIBUS collections of his classic contributions to the legend of Marvel's first family.
Starting right now is Part One of a series, showcasing the covers of John Byrne's Fantastic Four. Remember to return for future instalments - I'd hate for you to miss them!
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| First Byrne FF I ever bought, from Glasgow's Virgin Megastore. Purchased the previous two issues by mail order around a few months later because I enjoyed this one so much |
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| I missed this issue when it first went on sale, but obtained it by mail order from Dave Hern's Wonderworld Comics in Bournemouth a couple of months or so later. This is a classic tale, but it's a shame that JACK KIRBY's image was removed from the cover before publication |
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| Read this on the train home from Glasgow and was ecstatic at the return of the 'original' Thing |
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| Ah, Susan! Be still, my beating heart |
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| Yay! The way 'things' used to be |
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| I recall me and a pal sitting in The Blue Lagoon restaurant in Glasgow one Saturday afternoon, each eating a Fish & Chips tea as I carefully perused this still pristine ish. Happy memories! |
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| Blue Lagoon for this one as well. Perhaps I bought both issues on the same day, though I visited the place regularly so it could've been on a subsequent occasion |
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| Bought in local newsagent's of a former neighbourhood on Sunday, March 21st 1982. A classic! |
I used to have all these , so it's good to see them again ( especially Frankie Raye!)
ReplyDeleteFrankie Raye? Are you carrying a torch for her, JP? (See what I did there, eh? Ho ho!) If you've got a bit of spare dosh, it might be worth buying the two Omnibus volumes.
ReplyDeleteok I am intrigued.
ReplyDeleteWhy did someone decide to remove Jack?
Jack was in dispute with Marvel at the time over the return of his artwork. Management instructed Jim Shooter to have the art department remove Jack from Stan's side, presumably to avoid inadvertently giving even a hint of an impression that Jack may have had any kind of claim on the characters. There's another account that claims Jack asked to be removed from the cover to avoid the suggestion that he endorsed anything that Marvel was doing and to prevent them profiting from the use of his image, but, for myself, I doubt he'd even have known about it. His lawyers may have asked for it on his behalf 'though, without him ever being aware of it.
ReplyDeleteWow, thanks for showing these, Kid. I loved John Byrne's FF too and I had all the issues shown here - they still look magnificent, don't they! However I wasn't that keen on the return of the wide collars but that's a minor quibble. As you say the FF became essential reading again and for me it was the "must have" comic of that time. But in late 1983 I abruptly stopped buying comics and didn't start again until 2007 so I didn't know anything about Johnny Storm and Alicia and I also missed the dreaded "white collars" phase which I'm not sorry about. I look forward to the next run of covers.
ReplyDeleteI had mixed feelings about the 'negative' costumes, Col. On the one hand, I actually thought it was a cool design; on the other, it was a change from the original and I don't like change, in the main. I also though that FF was ther 'must-have' comic of that period, along with the Marvel Tales reprints of Ditko's Spidey.
ReplyDeleteThe next batch of covers will be showing up shortly, as I've now scanned the entire run.