BAB Classic: The Return of Galactus, part 2: Fantastic Four # 121

Fantastic Four # 121 (April 1972)
"The Mysterious Mind-Blowing Secret of Gabriel!"
Stan Lee-John Buscema/Joe Sinnott

NOTE:  This post was originally published on January 25, 2010.

Karen: When last we left the FF, they had been thoroughly defeated and demoralized by the mysterious being known as the Air Walker, who announced that his name was Gabriel. He then produced a large ram's horn and blew it, proclaiming that the end of the world was upon them!

Doug: Before we move too far, I wanted to note the incredible Buscema/Sinnott cover to this issue. Even all of Stan's hype can't distract from the power, the kinetic/frenetic energy of Gabriel's clash with Norrin Radd!
Karen: It's an incredible cover, but I wish Marvel hadn't been using that framing or "box" technique on their covers at that time. It really limited the amount of space available for the art. When you add all the captions, it cuts it down to a very small space.

Karen: This issue picks up right where the previous left off. With Gabriel's pronouncement, people begin to think he is truly an angel, and the world loses hope. Gabriel turns the civilian bystanders against the FF, and the first part of this issue features the team on the run from the very people they were trying to protect. This has a particularly "X-Men -mutant prejudice" feel to it.

Doug: I wouldn't want to use the term "decompression", but when you look at Stan's slow reveal last issue and most of this one, it was really done well. I never felt like the story was dragging, the suspense and drama kept building, and everyone was comfortably in character. I agree with you as far as the crowd hysteria goes. Do you ever wonder, in these times of Marvel-crisis, why only the magazine's title characters seem to respond to the situation? For example, if you just looked at the angle that Gabriel was an angel -- there should have been a slew of super-natural types popping up for investigation/agitation...

Karen: Particularly with something so devastating going on, you'd think everyone would mobilize. Of course, years later when John Byrne was handling FF, he did have a ton of other heroes show up to face the Big G!

Karen: A lot of time is spent with the FF trying to find a way to broadcast a message of hope/defiance to the world, without success. We are then re-introduced to the Silver Surfer, who apparently was floating around in orbit, just contemplating his navel. He realizes something is going on down below on Earth and comes to the rescue.




Doug: Yeah, I thought that scene was a little odd. My impression was that the Surfer was almost letting humanity struggle a bit -- that he was aware the entire time of the troubles with the Air Walker. But then, Stan had long before turned the Surfer into a messianic figure, so I suppose this plotting of him swooping down to deliver (even redeem) the Earth wasn't out of line.
Karen: What did you think of Stan's slipping in the comment from the Surfer regarding the supreme power (aka God)? It seemed forced to me.

Doug: That's funny that you mention that -- I noticed it as well and immediately thought of a story some years later that Stan wrote in Epic Illustrated in the early 1980's. It's a short tale dating back to the days when the Surfer was still Galactus' herald. It's called "The Answer" and is a "quest for God" story. I'll take a look at it shortly for a to-be-written BAB Two-In-One!
Karen: The inevitable battle between the Surfer and Gabriel was worth the wait. Gabriel had demonstrated an incredible level of power earlier, by causing a tidal wave to hit New York, and then, almost magically, reversing any damage from it (this did seem a bit much in my opinion). We already knew the Surfer was formidable, so to see these two go at it was a treat.

Doug: Gabriel seemed to literally have powers over life and death. The scene where he lifted a large merchant ship with his powers was impressive indeed!
Karen: The Surfer does defeat Gabriel at last, by shredding his glowing cloak, which seems to be the source of not only his power but his life force. Gabriel plunges to the street and shatters into pieces, revealing that he was actually a complex robot. While everyone takes this in, the true enemy is revealed, in a blazing full page shot: Galactus has returned to Earth!

Doug: One of the truly great villain entrances of the Bronze Age, up there with Dr. Doom on the last page of FF #142 and Magneto in X-Men #111. Did it make you wonder a bit that Gabriel had been able to wield such power as a robot?

Karen: I felt this issue dragged at the beginning, although it moved much better once the Surfer appeared. I'm not all that fond of stories where the title characters are relegated to the background but this was not too bad as such things go. But it definitely feels like what it is: build up to the main event.

Doug: Agreed. This style of writing seemed odd for Stan, and seems more compatible with today's storytelling.

Doug: Before you get away from us, how about checking out several of the original art pages from this story, courtesy of a dealer on eBay (in other words, I saved his .jpg's!):

BAB Classic: The Return of Galactus part 1: Fantastic Four 120

Fantastic Four # 120 (March 1972)
"The Horror That Walks on Air!"
Stan Lee-John Buscema/Joe Sinnott

NOTE:  This post was originally published on January 19, 2010.

Karen: We're going to look at yet another super-team (we love team books, obviously) this time around. While the Fantastic Four are best known for the ground-breaking 60s work of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the FF had a number of good years in the 70s as well. I personally began reading the Fantastic Four with issue 113. Although I also had the Marvel's Greatest Comics reprints which featured Kirby's art, the FF artist I grew up with was Big John Buscema. The story we'll be examining over the next several posts runs through issues 120-123 and was one of the earliest sagas I personally can recall.

Doug: I came to the FF a bit later, but have certainly had a blast over the subsequent years catching up on everything before the 140's. This is one of the best arcs -- I had a friend who had one or two issues in this run, but the first time I read it completely was in a Marvel Treasury Edition.

Karen: FF 120 is like a non-stop roller coaster. The story doesn't break down into sub-plots at all but follows the FF continuously, from an ill-conceived attack on the Baxter Building by some thugs to their search for the mysterious Air Walker, whose coming seems to spell our doom. This was a really strange method of telling the story -almost like a movie done all in one long take! At least it felt that way to me.


Doug: I was a little mystified at the "thug attack" scene. In these days of heightened security, terrorism, etc., their entrance to the Baxter Building seemed a bit too easy. And of course we all know of Stan's penchant for the melodramatic... don't you think Sue just could have thrown up a forcefield around the would-be baddies and stifled the operation? However, the scene at the end with the landlord, who instantly riled Ben's hackles, was a nice pay-off.
Karen: Agatha Harkness, the FF's friendly sorceress baby-sitter, warns the team of a great, alien danger to our planet. Reed begins scanning the globe for signs of this threat. We get some rather amusing scenes from around the world -Stan uses the short-hand of having witnesses to the Air Walker make some colloquial comment, such as "Blimey!" for an Englishman and "Mamma mia!" for an Italian. The Air Walker is a somber man clad in what looks like a silvery breast plate, vaguely Roman skirt and leggings, and a strange fiery cape or plume from his back. As drawn by Buscema, it all works and looks amazing. True to his name, the Air Walker literally strides or glides on the air, over the skies of the world.

Doug: I agree, Karen -- the costume is somewhat unique, and quite impressive-looking. Not sure if John Romita designed it or if it was Buscema, but the color scheme is unusual as well. A really nice effort. I liked his power to hover, walk, glide, and "zoom", as Stan wrote it. His strength was impressive, too, when he lifted the Fantasticar with one hand. Now that takes some leverage!

Karen: The FF track him down and then manage to lure him back to the Baxter Building. Of course there's a fight, and of course, the FF are out-matched. The military is also helpless against this strange being (nice cameo by Thunderbolt Ross here!). Finally, the stranger speaks. Pulling a golden horn out of thin air, he proclaims that his name is Gabriel, and he is here to trumpet the end of the world!


Doug: I thought there were some real parallels between this issue and the original Silver Surfer/Galactus arc, which we dealt with some time ago over on the Two Girls, A Guy... blog. The omnipresence of the Air Walker, the fear on the faces of those around the world, the presence of Agatha Harkness to warn the FF (as the Watcher had done), etc. Formulaic, maybe, but you know what? It wasn't tired to me. Stan just has a whimsical way of holding my attention, and the last page splash was a great teaser to bring readers back the next month.
Karen: I think the very best thing about this book was the art. It's just amazing to me how good Buscema's FF looks even today. Gabriel also looks wonderful, despite a costume that has the potential to be ludicrous. Buscema imparts such drama to his figures that you can't help but take them seriously. Sinnott (oddly enough credited on the splash as "John" Sinnott) is not my favorite inker for Buscema, but by this time (1972) he had become such a staple to the title that his work seems almost essential - he provided a certain continuity from Kirby to Buscema (and later to Rich Buckler).

Doug: Yes, Karen, you and I have commented before -- most likely over on the Avengers Assemble message board, that Sinnott can be one of the most overpowering inkers. But your point is very well taken -- he was the glue that held the book together through the post-Kirby turmoil. If moving from Jack to Romita to Buscema is turmoil!

Karen: Oops! I can't believe I forgot Romita was in there! But to be honest, I never felt his style worked with the FF.
Doug: The Jazzy One was on the book for such a short period of time... And I agree, he works on the FF for promo art, but I also didn't care for him during his tenure on the book. Strange, because he's one of Marvel's best and I'd never say I didn't like him on Spidey or Cap. Can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about his FF work.
Karen: Check back next time for the sensational second part of our series!