Fantastic Four #314 Cover By Ron Frenz

I will get it out of the way upfront...I hated She-Thing. Hated. I had my issues with much of the makeovers at Marvel during this time but Sharon Ventura's Ms. Marvel was not one I ever accepted.

Ok, now that's out of the way I love this cover from one of my favorite periods on Fantastic Four! As a kid I grew up watching the reruns of the old Marvel Superhero Gran-Tray "cartoons" with the animation coming right from the panels on the pages. I knew all the secret identities and costumes and they were ironclad in my mind. As a very young kid I played with the Mego dolls and was given the odd comic or two at times so I knew what these characters looked like. When I graduated to reader and collector it was the mid 1980's and the Marvel Universe of my pre-teen years was turned on it's ear. Hulk was grey. Captain America was just a red, white, and black Captain. Thor had a beard and armor. Spidey...wore all black? What the hell was going on?

As if my mind were steeled with adamantium Marvel pushed my adolescent senses to the limit with their bronze age co-flagship character...Benjamin Grimm, the ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing. His spiky transformation was a bridge too far. I had all I could stands and couldn't stands no more!

Yet...the stories were great. They really were. At a time when Reed and Sue were gone - off running around as Avengers - and the new FF consisted of Human Torch, Crystal, Ms. Marvel, and led by The Thing I thoroughly enjoyed the title. In fact this arc is one of my most fondly remembered and reread issues. I have reread the Epic Collection trade numerous times and enjoy it more and more.

This was a period which saw Ben charting a very different course for the FF as explorers. Less outer and more inner space. They weren't imaginauts as much as spelunkers as they blazed a multi-part adventure through Marvel's subterranean realms. It was awesome fun.

The cover is pure classic Marvel magic. Plenty of action and drama as the hero - Aunt Petunia's favorite nephew - is swarmed by monstrous minions of the underworld. Thing struggles to save the damsel, Torch's former flame Crystal from the clutches of that meanie Belasco. And speaking of Johnny's ex Crystal, what a love quadrangle that was with Johnny married to Ben's Alicia while Crystal and he still had sparks! Marvel's first superheroes, Atlas era pre-hero Kirby monsters, true love and romance - this run had it all! Of course it was delineated with the exquisite expert quality you always were treated to from Ron Frenz and Joe Sinnott. Just a great time on the Fantastic Four! Ben's spiky look even grew on me and I remain nostalgic for it to this day, but I still can't stand that lumpy, hairy She-Thing.

Fantastic Four #314
May, 1988

"The Scenic Route"
Writer: Steve Englehart