Continuing our week-long attempt to fill the Marvel-mandated FF gap in your lives by presenting material from Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963), one of the bestest comics ever published.

Today...pin-ups!!











Quite a rogues gallery, eh? Yet the Fox movies always have to run straight for the Doom or the Galactus...you're telling me you couldn't make a great movie with Red Ghost and the Super-Apes? Or Puppet Master? Come on now, guys...

Continuing our attempt to generate Fantastic Four content for the two-month gap between Fantastic Four #2 & #3 by spotlighting Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963).

We all remember the time Spider-Man tried to join the Fantastic Four, right?? Back in Amazing Spider-Man #1 (1963)? By Stan and Steve?? I went a little something like this...




So what does this have to do with the Fantastic Four annual mentioned above?

This:
Whether you believe the "countless requests" or not, Marvel gave us the expanded, director's cut version of that meeting--over twice as long!! Because back then, annuals were special and filled special things, not just forgettable fifth-week fillers.

This time, by Stan, Jack...and inked by Steve!!





More to come...

We here at Slay Monstrobot continue to try to fill the gap created by the we-can't-put-out-a-monthly-FF-comic-for-3-straight-months approach at Marvel. This week, we're focusing on Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963)!!

Jack Kirby (justifiably) gets lots of credit for his Asgard, for his New Genesis, etc. But nobody ever talks about his Atlantis!

If you recall, over Namor's first several Silver Age appearances, there was no Atlantis. It had been wrecked by nuclear testing while he was living as a hobo, and the Atlanteans moved, and he couldn't find him, because the ocean is freaking huge.

But now he's found them--and it's the return of the king!

The next two were part of a double-page spread...


We are regaled with tales of the origins of Atlantis...

What a glorious city...

Great war vehicles, too...

More from this annual soon...

Look, Marvel crapped the bed here.

After depriving us of the Fantastic Four for 3 long years, they finally launched a new series.

And they can't even get 3 consecutive issues out on time. THREE!!

This week was supposed to see the release of Fantastic Four #3, but no, for unstated reasons, it has been delayed a month.

When you can't get 3 consecutive issues out on a monthly basis, well, you need some help. How can this happen?!?!?!

[Aside: When Jack Kirby went to DC in 1970, his contract called for him to do a minimum of 15 pages per week. Yes, that's writing and drawing. Now, apparently, 15 pages per month is too much for too many modern artists. Artists--you're no Jack Kirby--get over yourselves and draw faster! Editors--it isn't that hard to figure out--if you've got a slowpoke artist, waste less time drawing up with variant covers and put those people to work drawing your damn comics!

Of course, now it will turn out that the issue was delayed by illness or personal emergency. So, I'm an idiot. Just ignore me.]

So, I find myself forced to fill the dead FF space in our lives by upping the FF content around here. Today and throughout the week, I'll be focusing on content from the glorious Fantastic Four Annual #1 (1963)--one of the greatest comics ever published.

First up--let's answer some fan questions!!




This is at least the third time we've gotten a cutaway schematic of the Baxter Building, but this is the most detailed:

I ask again: is the "giant map room" a room for giant maps, or a giant room full of maps?

I also like that the photo analysis lab is apparently bigger than the biological research lab and the techincal research lab and machine shops COMBINED.

More to come...

It's one of those fun little features from Marvel's annuals!! Daredevil discusses the spectrum of super-senses in Marvel-616:

It's kinda small, and the word balloons are not in the same spot as the picture they're describing, so we here at Slay Monstrobot have gone to great lengths to arrange things nicely for you. Enjoy!!















Really, DD? You're going to doubt the flippin' Watcher?

From Daredevil Annual #5 (1989)