Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in their best run: the first fifty issues of the Fantastic Four. Look at all the grey on the cover. Grey was often a background color inside too. It was used for all the Fantastic Four’s equipment. Grey is often replaced by colors or white in some of the reissues, such as Marvel Master Works.
The title is a favorite of mine; “Lo, There Shall Be an Ending!” always struck me as biblical, foreboding and cosmic all at the same time. Truly dark days for the Fantastic Four as Ben Grim, the Thing, became evil, thanks to a trance induced by the Wingless Wizard. Ben had been thus for several issues proceeding this one.
Reed works on a dangerous plan to snap Ben out of the Wizards trance.
Sue Storm prays for Ben Grimm to live: “Please Lord…don’t let Ben die…!” It’s the only time I recall a Marvel or DC character praying. Does anyone else know of an instance? Stan Lee came up with the wildest of situations , but kept his character’s thoughts and reactions real.
This odd panel Kirby drew of Ben, still in a trance and dully looking out from Reed Richard’s helmet gizmo is a favorite of mine. Sci-fi, clunky and just plain weird.
Look at how simply they colored things way back in the sixties. Today a panel like this would be colored in Photoshop with exacting , photorealistic fire and smoke. I think today’s detailed coloring is great. I’m a fan of it, honest! But sometimes I think it doesn’t serve the story. You shouldn’t be pausing at this panel, thinking about all the details in the explosion that todays coloring affords. This simple coloring approach of yesteryear doesn’t get in the story’s way. And it doesn’t over power Kirby’s art. ( Here inked by Vince Colleta).
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