Written by Stan Lee – Pencils by Jack Kirby – Inks by Dick Ayers – Letters by Artie Simek
September 1963 is the month Marvel decided to go big.
First Strange Tales gets an annual. Then the Avengers debut. The X-Men premiere this month. Now the Fantastic Four get their own annual, promising “the longest, uninterrupted super epic of its kind.”
And for once, that’s not typical Stan Lee hyperbole. Because Fantastic Four Annual #1 is packed to the gills. Literally.
But before we even get to the Fantastic Four, Lee and Kirby essentially spend the opening of the story creating another comic book.
Namor has finally found Atlantis.
After spending his previous appearances as the angry, displaced ruler of a lost kingdom, Namor is reunited with his people and reclaims his throne. And suddenly he has a world around him.
We meet Lady Dorma, who loves Namor but has pledged herself to the warlord Krang. Krang has his own designs on both Dorma and the throne, immediately giving Namor a supporting cast, a romantic complication, and a political rival.
This seriously feels like a backdoor pilot.
Kirby makes Atlantis look incredible.
There are enormous underwater cities, strange machinery, sea creatures, Atlantean soldiers, and one spectacular two-page throne room spread.
Kirby’s layouts feel especially ambitious throughout the annual. Maybe it’s the extra space, but he seems determined to make everything bigger.
Eventually we return to the Fantastic Four, where Johnny and Ben are annoying each other.
Their latest round of sibling rivalry escalates into a fight that causes considerable damage to the Baxter Building before Reed brings everyone back to reality with reports of strange sea monsters.
The team decides to investigate aboard a cruise ship, combining business with pleasure and even bringing Alicia along.
Soon Johnny spots one of the creatures, and it leads the Fantastic Four directly to Namor.
Namor reveals he used the creatures to draw them out because he has an announcement to make. As the restored ruler of Atlantis, he now claims sovereignty over the world’s oceans. No ship or airplane will be permitted to cross them without his approval.
Namor has gone from homeless amnesiac to declaring dominion over most of the planet remarkably quickly.
A supposed United Nations representative recounts the history of Atlantis, giving Kirby another excuse to fill the pages with underwater civilizations, creatures, machinery, and warfare.
We also get Namor’s origin. His mother, Princess Fen, encounters an American ship commanded by Leonard McKenzie. The two fall in love, marry, and have a child. But Atlantis eventually attacks the ship to reclaim its missing princess.
Their son grows up to become Namor.
And if this wasn’t already enough of a Namor comic, the UN representative turns out to be Namor himself in disguise.
Namor was testing humanity’s response to his demands. Since they chose to defy him, he invades Manhattan.
This is where Kirby completely cuts loose.
Atlantean soldiers pour into the city. Giant warships fill the water. The Fantastic Four battle Namor’s forces while Reed tries to find a way to stop an entire invading army.
Then Namor and the Fantastic Four go at each other. There are underwater battles, aerial battles, sea creatures, impossible technology, stretching, smashing, flames, and enormous Kirby machinery.
I really can’t say enough about how good Kirby is here.
But underneath all the spectacle, the strange relationship between Namor and Sue remains. Sue is taken aboard Namor’s ship, and Lady Dorma immediately recognizes what Namor feels for her. In a jealous rage, Dorma tries to drown Sue.
Namor ultimately stops fighting and rushes Sue to a hospital, choosing her life over his war with the surface.
Namor is driven from Manhattan. But when he returns to Atlantis, he finds his kingdom abandoned.
Fantastic Four Annual #1 is a huge, epic adventure.
Atlantis goes from being a word Namor says to an entire world, thanks to Kirby’s imagination.
After the story, Marvel fills out the annual with villain pinups, character information, a detailed look inside the Baxter Building, and a reprint of Spider-Man’s first meeting with the Fantastic Four.
It feels like Marvel taking stock of everything it has built so far. The characters, villains, relationships, and shared history are all laid out for readers to revisit.
But Atlantis points in the other direction. Marvel isn’t just connecting the world it already has anymore. It’s discovering how much bigger that world can become.
The back half of the annual celebrates where Marvel has been.
The main feature tells us where it’s going.
Marvel in the 60s – Entry #80
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