Story & Layout Fred Hembeck
Plot Assist & Editing Jim Shooter
Art Almost Everybody
Lettering Joe Rosen
Coloring Wein / Yanchus
Catering Iriving Forbush
Cover Dated May 1982
This issue celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Fantastic Four, and the Marvel universe.
Hembeck provides very little art assists for this issue.
The Fantastic Four are about to be roasted by their fellow superheroes. Heroes like Thor, Nova and Spider-Man.
art by Michael Golden
Other hero groups attending are – the Avengers, Defenders, X-Men and the Legion of Monsters.
Spider-Man is the first to roast the Fantastic Four, followed by the Sandman which segues into other villains getting in on the action. The Inhumans follow them, and the Fantastic Four are not having a great time.
Captain America and Reed Richards exchange some silly barbs. Iron Man roller skates to the podium and Narmor takes the opportunity to flirt with Susan. The Hulk intimidates the audience to laugh.
art by Mike Vosburg and Terry Austin
Wolverine proves that either Canadians or mutants have terrible table matters – to Kitty’s delight. Susan can’t take much more of this, and they have barely begun.
I like how, if indeed every artist shows up, then the pages make sense, as whoever was the main artist is providing the art for that appearance but there is no credit page. The entirety of the Avenges show up and it looks like when the Best Picture award is given out and the stage overfills, except that everyone gets to talk.
One would think that the individual artists could have gotten their names on each page.
Thor sticks around and provides his own extended speech. That is followed up by Uatu the Watcher and the Silver Surfer, both seem to be having a good time. Also having a good time, is Daredevil.
art by Denys Cowan and Joe Rubinstein
The X-Men take the stage, they are – Wolverine, Colossus, Cyclops, Storm, Kitty Pryde and Nightcrawler. Cyclops does most of the talking. Cyclops wishes the X-Men were the ones being roasted, as they are more popular than the Fantastic Four. Susan thinks about how stinky Nightcrawler is when he teleports.
Cyclops makes a tasteless joke about Nightcrawler writing a book titled, Mein Bamf. Which really? A parody name of Mein Kamf, that isn’t a joke that should be made. He makes up for it (only slightly) for calling the Fantastic Four, senior citizens. Storm crates a thunderstorm above the Thing. Cycops turns his attention to the Human Torch and optic blasts his chair BUT he mentions how Torch has a hot seat in more ways than one, then optic blasts it. But Cyclops’ optic blasts are not flame related, so that joke shouldn’t work. I suspect it doesn’t.
To make the situation worst, Wolverine threatens to stab Reed. Torch can’t take this and wants to know why the X-Men are being such jerks. Cyclops quickly comes up with Magneto is controlling their minds and they leave the stage. Torch remembers that isn’t Magneto’s power set.
A fun page, but the heck!?!
Doctor Strange takes the stage before dinner. Ghost Rider, in a tuxedo, is up next. We get a mixture of folks – The Inhumans, Nova, Shang Chi, Captain Marvel (the alien guy) and Kazar & Shanna.
The Thing fights some living ice cream. Doctor Doom shows up, though he’s confused why everyone keeps calling him, Doctor Doom.
Jam piece, X-Men by Dave Cockrum
Reed leads the charge against Doom.
Turns out, in a twist is referenced on the cover, it isn’t Doom but the Fantastic Four’s mailman, Willie Lumpkin.
We get another page of randoms – Wyatt Wingfoot & Tomazooma, the living Totem / Agatha Harkness / Quicksilver & Crystal / Moon Knight/ Spider-Woman & She-Hulk / Ant-Man / Howard the Duck & Man-Thing / Thundra and Tigra.
The page after that has Dazzler / Guardians of the Galaxy (the originals!), Brother Voodoo, the Impossible Man and Aunt May powered by Captain Universe.
The Fantastic Four now get in on the roasting. First is Human Torch, next is Reed, then Sue and finally Thing. Grimm finishes with “what can I say, but things for the memories” which cracks Black Bolt so much that he laughs out loud and brings the entire building down. Which ends the very fun issue.
. . .
http://www.comics.org/issue/36361/
Good ol’ comics.org has the breakdown of artists. I’m not sure how they got them all, especially the inkers but they do know their stuff so I’ll trust that they got it right.
Script:Fred Hembeck; Jim Shooter (plot assist)Pencils:Fred Hembeck (layouts); “Almost Everybody” (finished art) —
Ron Wilson (page 1,4); John Byrne (pages 2, 6, 8, 17, 31); Michael Golden (page 3, 28); John Romita Jr. (page 5); Al Milgrom (pages 7, 30); Mike Zeck (page 9); Bob Layton (page 10); Alan Weiss (page 11); Sal Buscema (page 12); Mike Vosburg (page 13); Kerry Gammill (page 14); Bob Hall (page 15); Keith Pollard (page 16); Frank Miller (page 18); Denys Cowan (page 19); Marshall Rogers (page 20); John Buscema (page 21, 25); Don Perlin (page 22); Gene Day (page 23); Walt Simonson (page 24); Various (pages 26-27, see notes); Frank Springer (page 26 Dazzler); Brent Anderson (pages 27 Ka-Zar, 32); Steve Leialoha (page 27 Spider-Woman); Dave Cockrum (page 27 X-Men); Bill Sienkiewicz (page 29)Inks:Fred Hembeck (Hembeck figures); Chic Stone (page 1, 4); Terry Austin (page 2, 13, 20); Michael Golden (pages 3, 28); John Romita Sr. (page 5); Joe Rubinstein (page 6, 19); Al Milgrom (page 7, 30); Joe Sinnott (page 8, 17, 25); John Beatty (page 9, shield in panel 2 by Bill Anderson); Bob Layton (page 10); Alan Weiss (page 11); Sal Buscema (page 12); Ricardo Villamonte (page 14); Dan Green (page 15); Keith Pollard (page 16); Klaus Janson (page 18); Bob McLeod (page 21); Don Perlin (page 22); Gene Day (page 23); Walt Simonson (page 24); Various (pages 26-27, see notes); Frank Springer (page 26 Dazzler); Brent Anderson (pages 27 Ka-Zar, 32); Steve Leialoha (page 27 Spider-Woman); Dave Cockrum (page 27 X-Men); Bill Sienkiewicz (page 29); John Byrne (page 31)Colors:Glynis Wein; Andy YanchusLetters:Joe Rosen
Which is a very impressive list of talent and legends!
I wish the page numbers were on there, it would make matching them easier.
Further down the page of that website, they explain how they figured it all out
Art credits indexed 2005 by Steven Tice. Credit confirmation and additions 2005 by Fred Hembeck, including the Bill Anderson page 9 shield credit, Bill’s first published work. Al Milgrom credits confirmed 2005 by Al Milgrom.
Nice of Hembeck to answer the question of who was involved, he would know.
I counted the pages so I hope I got the right creative teams above.