On this day in 1961, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby revolutionized the comic book industry with the introduction of a new and daringly different group of super heroes. Now we proudly invite you to join with us in celebrating the sixty-first anniversary of the World's Greatest Comic Magazine! (Text adapted from the masthead of FF #236, the twentieth anniversary issue of the Fantastic Four.)
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #1 (Marvel, November 1961), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by George Klein, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
from Marvel Age Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel Age, June 2004), script by Sean McKeever, pencils and inks by Makoto Nakatsuka, colors by Chris Sotomayor, letters by Dave Sharpe
from The Thing (1983 series) #1 (Marvel, July 1983), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Joe Sinnott, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Janice Chiang
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #296 (Marvel, November 1986), plot by Jim Shooter, script by Stan Lee, pencils by Kerry Gammill, inks by Vince Colletta, colors by Glynis Oliver, letters by John Workman
from What If...? (1976 series) #6 (Marvel, December 1977), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by Jim Craig, inks by Sam Grainger, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by John Costanza
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #126 (Marvel, September 1972), script by Roy Thomas, pencils by John Buscema, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by John Costanza
from Challengers of the Fantastic #1 (Amalgam, June 1997), script by Karl Kesel, pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Al Vey, colors by Joe Rosas, letters by Richard Starkings
from What If...? (1976 series) #36 (Marvel, December 1982), script, pencils and inks by John Byrne; colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Joe Rosen
from Fantastic Four (1996 series) #1 (Marvel, November 1996), plot and pencils by Jim Lee, script by Brandon Choi, inks by Scott Williams, colors by Joe Chiodo and Martin Jimenez, letters by Richard Starkings and David Lanphear
from Mythos: Fantastic Four one-shot (Marvel, December 2007), script by Paul Jenkins, painted art by Paolo Rivera, letters by Joe Caramagna
from Fantastic Four (1998 series) #50 (Marvel, February 2002), script by Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Marin, pencils by Tom Grummett, inks by Scott Koblish, colors by Liquid!, letters by Richard Starkings
from The Fantastic Four animated cartoon (1967)
from Wha...Huh? one-shot (Marvel, 2005), script by Ed Brubaker, pencils and inks by Jim Mahfood, colors by Shaughn Struble, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
from What If...? (1989 series) #41 (Marvel, September 1992), script and layouts by Jim Valentino, finishes by Sam de la Rosa, colors by Tom Vincent, letters by Janice Chiang
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #11 (Marvel, February 1963), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Dick Ayers, letters by Artie Simek
from Ultimate Fantastic Four #2 (Marvel/Ultimate, March 2004), script by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar, pencils by Adam Kubert, inks by Danny Miki, colors by Dave Stewart, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
from Marvel Action Hour featuring the Fantastic Four #1 (Marvel, November 1994), script by Joey Cavalieri, pencils and inks by Quique Alcatena, colors by Joe Andreani, letters by John Costanza
from The Thing 91983 series) #10 (Marvel, April 1984), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Hilary Barta, colors by Julianna Ferriter, letters by Jim Novak
from Not Brand Echh #7 (Marvel, April 1968), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Jack Kirby and Marie Severin, inks by Tom Sutton, letters by Sam Rosen
from Fantastic Four: The Movie one-shot (Marvel, August 2005), script by Mike Carey, pencils by Dan Jurgens, inks by Sandu Florea, colors by J. Rauch, letters by Mike Sellers
from What If...Doctor Doom Had Become the Thing? one-shot [#165] (Marvel, February 2005), script by Karl Kesel, pencils and inks by Paul Smith, colors by Paul Mounts, letters by Randy Gentile
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #220 (July 1980), script and breakdowns by John Byrne, finishes by Joe Sinnott, colors by Bob Sharen, letters by Jim Novak
from Origins of Marvel Comics one-shot (Marvel, July 2010), script by Fred van Lente, pencils and inks by Dale Eaglesham, color by Paul Mounts, letters by Nate Piekos
from What If: Fantastic Four one-shot [#171] (Marvel, February 2006), script by Mike Carey, pencils and inks by Marshall Rogers, additional inks by Jonathan Glapion, colors by Soto Color, letters by David Lanphear, Chris Eliopoulos, and Rus Wooton
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #236 (November 1981), script, pencils, and inks by John Byrne; colors by Glynis Wein; letters by Jim Novak
from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #358 (Marvel, November 1991), script by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Paul Ryan, inks by Danny Bulandi, colors by Christie Scheele and Reneé Witterstaetter, letters by Bill Oakley
from Fear Itself: The Worthy #1 (Marvel, September 2011), script by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, pencils and inks by Javier Pulido, colors by Muntsa Vincente, letters by Joe Sabino
from What If...? (1989 series) #89 (Marvel, September 1996), script by Ben Raab, pencils by Mark Miller, inks by Scott Koblish, colors by Tom Ziuko, letters by Chris Eliopoulos
from Official History of the Marvel Universe #3 (Marvel, November 2019), script by Mark Waid, pencils and colors by Javier Rodríguez, inks by Álvaro López, letters by Joe Caramagna
from Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 (Marvel, July 2021), script by Mark Russell, pencils and inks by Sean Izaakse, colors by Nolan Woodard, letters by Joe Caramagna
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #14/659 (Marvel, November 2019), script by Dan Slott, pencils and inks by Paco Medina, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna
from Fantastic Four: Marvels Snapshots #1 one-shot (Marvel, May 2020), script by Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer, pencils and inks by Benjamin Dewey, colors by Jordie Bellaire, letters by Joe Caramagna
cover of Fantastic Four #524 (Marvel, May 2005), art by Mike Wieringo, Karl Kesel, and Paul Mounts
And thank you again to Stan and Jack!
from What If...? (1976 series) #11 ["What If the Original Marvel Bullpen Had Become the Fantastic Four?"] (Marvel, October 1978), script and pencils by Jack Kirby; inks by Mike Royer, Bill Wray, Scott Shaw!, and Dave Stevens; colors by Carl Gafford, letters by Mike Royer
So, let's drink a toast to Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny...
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #20/665 (Marvel, May 2020), script by Dan Slott, pencils and inks by Paco Medina, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna
Through nightmarish what ifs...
from Ruins #2 (Marvel/Alterniverse, September 1995), script by Warren Ellis, painted art by Cliff Nielsen and Terese Nielsen, letters by Jon Babcock
...bizarre retcons (sigh)...
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #18/663 (Marvel, March 2020); script by Dan Slott; pencils and inks by Paco Medina, Francesco Manna, and Carlos Magno; colors by Erick Arciniega; letters by Travis Lanham
...and bizarre future endings:
from Fantastic Four: The End #6 (Marvel, May 2007), script and pencils by Alan Davis, inks by Mark Farmer, colors by John Kalisz, letters by Dave Lanphear
Now, even though as celebrate their over six decades as the world's greatest comics team...
cover of Fantastic Four (2018 series) #36/681 (Marvel, November 2021), script by Dan Slott, pencils and inks by Nico Leon, colors by Dono Sánchez-Almara, letters by Joe Caramagna
...(just like we celebrated their fiftieth anniversary!)...
from "If This Be...Anniversary!" in Fantastic Four #543 (Marvel, April 2007), script by Stan Lee, pencils by Nick Dragotta, inks by Mike Allred, colors by Laura Allred, letters by Rus Wooton
...The comics aren't above poking a little fun at their own sliding time scale and winking at the real adventure we readers have been on.
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #33/678 (Marvel, August 2021), script by Dan Slott, pencils and inks by R. B. Silva and Luca Maresca, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna
Then...
pinup from Marvel Treasury Edition #11 (Marvel, 1976), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by John Verpoorten
...now...
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #21/666 (Marvel, September 2020), script by Dan Slott, pencils by Paco Medina, inks by Sean Izaakse, colors by Marcio Menyz and Erick Arciniega, letters by Joe Caramanga
...tomorrow...
from Fantastic Four 2099 #1 (Marvel, January 1996), script by Karl Kesel, pencils by Rick Leonardi, inks by Al Williamson, colors by Paul Becton, computer colors by Malibu, letters by Janice Chiang
And Four-Ever!
from The Last Fantastic Four Story #1 one-shot (Marvel, October 2007), script by Stan Lee, pencils by John Romita, Jr., inks by Scott Hanna, colors by Morry Hollowell, letters by Joe Caramagna
And here's to many, many more!
from Fantastic Four #550 (Marvel, November 2007), script by Dwayne McDuffie, pencils by Paul Pelletier, inks by Rick Magyar, colors by Paul Mounts, letters by Rus Wooton
from Fantastic Four (2018 series) #14/659 (Marvel, November 2019), script by Dan Slott, pencils and inks by Paco Medina, colors by Jesus Aburtov, letters by Joe Caramagna
FANTASTIC!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQenrY-T9_-EUVG2XBTW-ZiSnvw_V3JFU-8tiFlhrdgKCUBaE56ekbiILucymY9gA-xa4zdGy_z1Njojw78Z-YnlUiN4PIRRurK7GzqoEg3B-PmXl2RJaS1ZaVKVCEHP-m-WVr2xjqailLu1jlzylysiBGc3sVXLXNMFDzAURyrHhKBfcqyO4/s1600/button-libertybellmarch.jpg" "It's...")
12 comments:
Great post!
And it could all have been avoided if only Sue had put up the curtains in the spacecraft in time.
Man, that's a lot of cosmic rays. I hope my monitor is adequately shielded...ARRRGGH!
Hey I managed to find a version of the origin that you missed (albeit in Japanese.)
http://mytwoyenworth.blogspot.com/2011/08/fantastic-fifty-50-years-ago-today.html
Awesome. Just awesome. Thank you!
Man, I'd forgotten how utterly off the wall insane that Kirby Bullpen FF issue is. It really needs it's own feature at some point. Fantastic Four is my favorite comic ever, by far. Is it telling that the only origin recap where I thought the art was just abysmal was the Jim Lee drawn one?
What a great tribute to perhaps the greatest comic book ever. Thanks Bully!
"More proof that Tony Stark frequently did behave like Robert Downey Jr." - he did not. Iron Age is a one-shot story. It's not related to the overall continuity. Comic book Tony Stark and Downey Jr are very different. Stark in comics was much more darker and complex character, with more empathy and edge. Downey Jr is like a very soft, kid-friendly, lighthearted version of him.
But have they ever answered the most important question about Fantastic Four #1: where did Ben Grimm get a green suit?
Don't forget Coca-Cola's Origin of the Fantastic Four poster!
Wait, no reference to Planetary with its FF parody for villains?
@Blam: Believe me, I had it in my folder but just didn't get time to add it this year. Next year Fro sure (in my bullwinkle voice).
@Manqueman: I have a separate series or post planned someday on "Fantastic Faux," which are FF tributes, homages, and parodies that aren't Reed Richards and Company!
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