I was almost in a Romita Jr. state of mind, again.

He had a pretty impressive run on IRON MAN, but what came to my mind when I thought of Tony Stark, only one artist comes to my mind. Bob Layton.

He’s not the first. Probably not the best. But he defined the character with his uniquely smooth style for a long time.

#95 – Iron Man 250

A redeux of the Iron Man / Dr. Doom story from issue #150, the story is a fun time warp romp. Imagine the future. But now imagine the future, with MAGIC.

As you might imagine, the story isn’t winning a pulitzer, but it’s the kind of story that does just enough to keep you moving the pages. A nice homage to a relatively well done story. Oh and how did I not mention the Arno Stark appearance? If you don’t know, well… you might have to google that one. It’s a doozie.

A mega-Marvel crossover that pitted the biggest heroes vs. the biggest villains for the whole shebang. 

It didn’t really make much sense… but that’s because it was primarily a toy-selling vehicle. 

Which makes sense, because the toys were AWESOME. 

My favorite of all the secret wars figures, and my favorite Cap action figure ever. Please note the attention to detail, including the wings on the head. Perfect. USA. This one is apparently affordable compared to this other recently posted figure.

Two separate sets posted above, the first being more impressive than the second. Zemo, Hobgoblin, and Falcon trump the very cool and rare appearance of the Constrictor figure. Note how the top set has Kang with his… utility belt- I don’t know what to call it… that damn thing ALWAYS went missing. I had at least two Kang figures (why? who knows.) and neither had that accessory within weeks of owning it. 

Nothing says Doctor Doom like a DOOM ROLLER. This is where you start to realize you are not a 5-10 year old and this doesn’t make sense. However…

I can’t think of Captain America without picturing him sitting behind some sort of pivoting satellite dish. And obviously this has Spider-Man in his classic “behind a laser gun” stance. Iconic right here.

And here we have a more recent twist on the marketing gem of Secret Wars. I think this basically separates comic fans into two groups – those who will wear an all-over print comic themed sweatshirt and those who will not. 

[ ] will

[x] will not

The Thing no more? Why is Ben Grimm standing there in that Man diaper?! It all happened in the pages of Fantastic Four #327. I was either skating at Guptill’s or on my way back from the Colonie Pool with my Pops when I saw it.

It was an issue I loved. Moreso, the following five issues were golden. I don’t know why, but these particular issues have resonated with me for so long. There’s vitriol to the writing that just extends into the content. And after all this time, today I stumbled upon exactly why.

In summation, the Fantastic Four had been separated for some time, with Reed and Sue Richards, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman to the undiscerning, taking a leave of absence to attend to their child. The team had consisted of some combination of She-Hulk, The Thing, Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura, aka the girl Thing), Crystal, and the Torch. A weird, yet enjoyable run that I have always had a soft spot for. In no small part because I had become a regular reader during this time, but also because the stories had ventured into new territory for the FF, while pulling out all the stops with the villains – Belasco, Dr. Doom, Diablo, Master Pandemonium… WOW!

And then, out of nowhere.. BOOM! They’re Back! Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman return. And one of the strangest FF stories ever unfolds as the Frightful Four are crushed by a decidedly sinister Fantastic Four, who proceed to throw down on some of their heaviest hitters mercilessly.

Steve Englehart was the writer for all of this – and when I was thinking about this post I came across his website. I believe he did some of the best FF writing, and even if I’m in the minority on this (I don’t THINK I am) I would defend this run till the end. Apparently there was some apprehension on his part to bring back Reed and Sue, and his story was a creative way of bringing them back to the fold in a plot twist that paralleled his dissatisfaction. Maybe sometime in the future we can get him to elaborate further, but until then please check out what he’s had to say here.

I only disagree with him on one thing – I LOVE the covers on these issues. The links here provide this seminal run in a very affordable format. Scoop these up for classic Fantastic Four action.