FANTASTIC FOUR #133 - THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY (ANY CENTURY)...

Copyright MARVEL COMICS

I yet recall precisely which newsagent's shop I bought the above comic from in a far corner of the Old Village quarter of my town, and walking along the street reading it as I made my way back towards (back towards - is that a contradiction-in-terms or what?) the main Town Centre shopping area around 15 minutes away.  'Twas sometime in 1973, though I couldn't say exactly which month as US comics had a habit of popping up in the UK whenever it suited them - and that wasn't always anywhere near the date on a comic's cover.  (Sometimes, though, they did turn up pretty close to the cover date.)

Ramona Fradon pencilled this ish (inked by Joe Sinnott) and it's a fairly nice job, though there are a few areas that appear odd to my eyes, especially when it comes to the size of characters in relation to one another.  However, it's a minor quibble, and overall she does a very creditable job on characters that she'd never drawn before (as far as I'm aware).  I can't remember how long I kept this comic, might've been months, could've been shorter than that, but I eventually acquired the tale again when it was reprinted (in b&w with grey tones) in The Complete Fantastic Four #1 in September of 1977.

I eventually saw it in colour again when it was reprinted in a volume of Marvel Masterworks, but today I took possession of a replacement for the actual mag itself, after a distance of 49 years since first owning my original copy.  As is usual for me, it was like stepping into the past for a while, and I'm glad to have it again in my collection.  After all, nothing beats owning the original, does it?  Anyway, in celebration of its return, I've decided to share a few pages with you, so feel free to record your appreciation (along with your own personal reminiscences) in our ever-lovin' comments section.

Posted in: Cartoons