Marvel annuals used to be truly special in the early days, but there came a time when someone at Marvel came up with the "neat idea" to monetize them by linking them together in a massive "event" to "force" readers to buy them all. For me, the "gold standard" (for DC as well Marvel) has always been Fantastic Four Annuals #1-6.
ANNUAL #1: "Sub-Mariner Versus the Human Race!"
"At Last! Sub-Mariner finds his long-lost race!" - "The longest uniterrupted super-epic of its kind ever published!!"
The Sub-Mariner is (arguably) Marvel's first hero of the Golden Age, and, having been reintroduced in Fantastic Four #4 after a seven-year absense, he was in right at the start of the Silver Age as well. By the time he was featured in FF Annual #1, he had already appeared in four of the first 14 issues (plus one of Strange Tales); only Doctor Doom (with five appearances at that point) had appeared more often. In addition to the main story, readers also got a six-pager expanding upon the first meeting the the FF and Spidey from Spider-Man #1, eleven pin-ups of villains from the first 17 issues, and several other special features as well.
This was no ordinary issue. Ironically, 26 years later, this annual would spawn one of the lamest of those crossover "events" I alluded to above.
ANNUAL #2: "The Final Victory of Dr. Doom!"
By the time of the second annual, Doom had appeared one additional time bringing his grand total of previous FF appearances up to six. In addition to the main story, readers were also treated to "the never-before revealed 'Origin of Dr. Doom'... in all its pulse-pounding suspense, plus six additional pin-ups of villains from #18-30 plus five of the team plus Alicia as well. Regarding the main story, there is one scene which has been discussed quite frequently (including on this board) over the years: the face-to-face meeting of Dr. Doom and Rama Tut. In it, neither one is quite sure but they both admit the possibility the one might be the other's future self. That is patentently absurd on the face of it. In a (much) later story, Roger Stern even attempt to account for this scene by explaining that Doom was still disoriented from his ordeal in FF #23 and that Rama Tut was just playing him along. John Byrne later established exactly who Rama Tut is, but upon rereading the scene in question, it is certainly possibly to interpret that they obviously discussing alternate timelines, but both men are so brilliant they don't both to condescend to each other what they're talking about. Was that what Lee/Kirby intended? Certainly not, but the scene can be read that way.
ANNUAL #3: "The Wedding of Sue and Reed!"
If FF Annuals #1-6 are those by which all other annuals are to be judged, then certain FF Annual #3 is the Gold Standard of which by which all comic book wedding issues are to be judged. 'Nuff said.
ANNUAL #4: "The Torch That Was!"
If Sub-Mariner was not Marvel's first hero of the Golden Age, then the Human Torch certainly was. It had been 12 years since the original Human Torch had appeared in present day continuity, and it would be another 23 until he was seen again. Annual #4 was released during what I consider to be the peak period of the Fantastic Four, truly the best of the best.
ANNUAL #5: "Divide... And Conquer!"
Continuing through the peak period of the Fantastic Four.The cover blurb pretty much says it all: "Featuring: The Inhumans! The Black Panther! And a most surprising ANNOUNCEMENT from Mr. Fantastic!" In Annual #3 Reed and Sue got married. Do I really have to tell you what Mr. Fantastic's "surprising announcement" is? this issue also introduces the Psycho-Man. Plus pin-ups of the Inhumans and the team, and a three-page "behind-the-scenes" humor feature about how Stan and Jack go about plotting a typical issue of FF. All that as well as a Silver Surfer solo lead-in to his own upcoming series.
ANNUAL #6: "Let There Be... LIFE!"
"Featiuring: The Glory of BIRTH, 'Neath the Shadow of DEATH!"
In order to save Sue's life, Mr. Fantastic, the Thing and the Torch must travel into the Negative Zone, where they encounter Annihilus. In #3 Red and Sue were married, in #5 he announnced she was pregnant, and in #6 she gave birth, a series of events unique to the realm of comic books at that time. Unfortunately, that's where the creativity stopped for a while, as far as the annuals were concerned. With #7 they became vehicles for reprints, but for a time these annualls could not be beat! They are all good, but I, personally, am particularly fond of the last three: #4 introduces Quasimodo, his story continues in the Silver Surfer back-up in #5, and of course I've already mentioned how the announcement of Sue's pregnancy in #5 led to her giving birth in #6.
I'll tell what I'd like to see: a hardcover collection of the original material of just these six annuals.
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Our Army At War every December (F-Ma) cover date from 1965 to 1972, the last being a 100 Pager
The Flash every February (Ap-My) from 1966 to 1972, the last a 100 Pager
Superboy every March (My-Ju) from 1966 to 1972, the last a 100 Pager
Jimmy Olsen every June (Au-S) from 1966 to 1971 (even during Kirby's run!)
Lois Lane every July (S-O) from 1966 to 1971
Justice League of America every September (N-D) from 1965 to 1971
As I suspected, these titles didn't have more than one a year. I was trrying to list the multiples per year, as opposed to actual "annuals."
This is a huge thread-jack, but what you guys are doing is putting facts to my vague pre-adolescent memories, which I find very exciting.
What you guys have established is that DC's 80-Page Giant reprints came out -- not in the summer months, as I've always believed -- but staggered by month:
I assume there was an August. World's Finest? Wonder Woman? G.I Combat? I'm not sure what to research off-hand. But what all this suggests is that DC had a publishing schedule for X number of pages or books per month that didn't line up with their actual titles. Which in turn suggests why some books had irregular schedules, like the 8-times-a-month thing. I bet if some enterprising person could find the records from the now-defunct Sparta publishing company, we'd know for sure.
That's some good deduction work there. World's Finest Comics #161, 170, 179, 188, 197, & 206 were all Giants. They were cover dated October or October-November. According to Mike's Amazing World they were on sale in, you guessed it, August.
There was also an Adventure Comics Giant with Supergirl romance stories in 1970, #390 cover dated March/April 1970.
I don't know what's worse: that I forget about World's Finest's Giant issues or that I forgot about it and I have all of them!
PART TWO: EARLY GIANT-SIZE FFs (#1-6):
For those of us who were too young to have bought Marvel annuals from the very beginning, about ten years later they launched their "Giant-Size" line, which was quarterly. I was there for the very first one, which was...
GIANT-SIZE SUPER-STARS (Featuring: Fantastic Four) #1:
Although I was not collecting Fantastic Four at the time, the Incredible Hulk was my favorite character, and this was my first "real time" (i.e., non reprint or backissue) Hulk/Thing slugfest. [EDIT: Actually I think it was my second; Marvel Feature #12 would have been first.] Actually I would have bought it regardless because. Always wanting to be at the forefront of the next "Big Thing," I bought anything with a "#1" on it. Here is what writer Gerry Conway had to say about it: "If that's not one of the best Thing vs. Hulk fights you've ever seen... in the style of the King himself, by someone other than Kirby... then please, point me to one that surpasses it. Sure, it's derivative--but in part, that's the point. Rich [Buckler] and I wanted to recapture the feeling of a mid-'60s issue of the Fantastci Four, full of bombast and hyperbole, posturing and absurdity. In that story... I like to believe we succeeded as well as anyone not named Stan and Jack could have done."
GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #2:
By the second issue, Giant-Size Super-Stars had become Giant-Size Fantastic Four. This series did not gel quite as well with the stories running concurrently in the main title as, say, Giant-Size Avengers did with its main title, but we need not concern outrselves with that at this time. This is a time-travel story that was, I'm pretty sure, my first "real time" exposure to the Watcher. It didn't click with me the way Giant-Size Super-Stars #1 had, but with everything from the Revolutionary War the the Great Depression, from George Washington to Salvador Dali, it was a pretty good comic book for a ten-year-old to read. It also features the Watcher and a character I would like to write: Tempus (along with Zarrko the Tomorrow Man and DC's Time Commander and Lord of Time.
GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #3:
Honestly, G-SFF #3 didn't click with me any more than #2. It did, however, introduce me to the concept of "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse." According to the next issue blurb: "NEXT: Where Soars the Silver Surfer!" Oh, so? Actually, the story intended for G-SFF #4 became Fantastic Four #155-157. Instead...
GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #4:
...G-SFF #4 introduced "Madrox--The Multiple Menace" and featured an interim appearance of Professor X between X-Men #66 and G-SXM #1. Once again I must admit this one didn't do anything for me, either. The Multiple Man (or "Madrox" as he is more often called) has got to have one of the stupidest most unbelievable powers in the Marvel pantheon. (Years later, I dropped X-Factor after he became one of the main characters.) This time the next issue blurb reads: "NEXT: Enter... The Inhumans!" which was true enough, except the story intended for G-SFF #5 became Fantastic Four #158-159 when the "Giant-Size" format shifted to reprint-only.
GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #5:
As it happened, I did not buy G-SFF #5 because by that time I had already acquired an actual copy of FF Annual #5, which it reprints. (I was not yet, at that time, such a completist that I would buy a reprint of a comic I already owned just to keep the run complete.)
GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #6:
Just as G-SFF #5 reprinted FF Annual #5, G-SFF #6 reprinted FF Annual #6. One thing I have learned from rereading the comics in this post is that G-SFF #1-6 aren't as good as I remember them. G-SSS #1 by itself shoulders all my warm fuzzies; #2-4 are mediocre at best, and #5-6, as good as they are, are only reprints. As a "yardstick" for determining future purchases, I can see now why I waited until the John Byrne run to start collecting the main title on a regular basis.
As a "yardstick" for determining future purchases, I can see now why I waited until the John Byrne run to start collecting the main title on a regular basis.
That was, perhaps, an unfortunate choice because the main title at the time was far better than the Giant-Size. Yesterday I reread FF #155-159 for the first time in four years.
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