This issue reprints the second Challengers try-out story from SHOWCASE #7 (1957). The recent hardcover reprint of the story credits the story to Dave Wood and the inks to Roz Kirby and Marvin Stein.

Following an origin recap, we see the Challs settling down to check their mail for new adventures. In walks Hesse, a former Nazi who comes in with a story about an out of control robot he created. Suddenly…

A great looking panel of Ultivac’s hand bursting in through the window. Very nice detail, you can definitely see the same kind of visual themes from the many other giant robot hands that Kirby would use. Anyway, Hesse is taken, and the Challs contact a robot expert, leading to their first meeting with later honorary fifth Challenger June Robbins (oddly with dark hair here. Later she’d be blonde and named June Walker, before finally settling in as blonde June Robbins. Of course, Prof’s name changes at least three times in Kirby’s run, so obviously continuity wasn’t a bit thing back then). Her computer predicts that Ultivac can only be defeated after a Challenger dies. That doesn’t slow down the Challs of course, and they leap into danger for the rest of the story. A lot of twists in the story, with a King Kong riff in the middle, the giant robot taking June and being attacked by planes, and then the Ultivac trying to live in peace with humanity only to be destroyed by his creator. And while Rocky does die in the climactic battle, but is saved by revolutionary life-saving techniques.

A very strange story, but with some gorgeous artwork. The Ultivac panels are particular highlights, as are the detailed underwater scenes in one segment in the middle. Very nice, and wonderful inking. The later Wallace Wood stuff tends to get more attention, but the inking on the early issues is just as good, I think.

The entire 24 page story is reprinted, with some minor modifications for page layout and such things (like substituting the then-current COTU logo, but oddly not fixing at least one spelling mistake I noticed), plus one page of the then-current Challs was added as an introduction in the beginning. The cover is a slightly modified version of the splash page with a figure of Ace in the then current costume introducing.

Published 1970

This issue reprints FANTASTIC FOUR #91 (1969), although thanks to the editing out of two pages it’s effectively a Fantastic One story, with only Ben appearing.

The story opens with an unexpected scene of several gangster types of the prohibition era discussing their upcoming purchase of Ben from the Skrulls, when they’re interrupted by another gangster who owns the slave they want Ben to fight against. We then see Ben still restrained by his captor in a ship bound for that planet. Arriving there, he’s greeted by a boisterous kid gang, naturally enough.

Following that brief interruption and a demonstration of the nerve collar holding him captive, Ben is taken in a truck and told about how escaped con Machine-Gun Martin was taken to this world from Earth years ago, and inspired its current look. Along the way they’re attacked by a man in a bi-plane, of all things. Finally at the training center, Ben has a brief battle with one alien creature and is then put in a cell with his planned foe, Torgo.

A lot of fun this time, especially how Kirby mixes in the excellently drawn 1930s era scenes and people with the sci-fi elements. He pretty obviously had a lot of fun with that (fortunately he did have quite a few chances to draw that stuff in context with actual crime comics before and after this era), and the several action scenes.

Joe Sinnott inked the now 18-page story, as well as the original cover (slightly modified for this reprinting to allow for the different cover layout).

Published 1977

Morgan (Silver Star) Miller starts this issue with a big attempted rescue of a woman from a plunging car.

They both emerge from the crash unscathed, and he finds out the woman, apparently another of the super-powered Homo Geneticus, one of “Others”, is stuntwoman Norma Richmond on a movie shoot. He then quickly transports her and the movie crew to safety to avoid an attack by Darius Drumm. He then takes Norma to try to protect another of the Others, a baseball player, who falls victim to an exploding baseball. Morgan really isn’t cut out for this rescue gig, is he? Drumm takes off with Norma in the confusion, while Morgan returns home. We next see Drumm with Norma as captive at a circus where the strongman is one of the Others, Albie Reinhart. Drumm gives an interesting monologue in this scene, about his goals and the “self-denial” aspects of the cult he was raised in. Some of the scripting in this issue is a bit clunky, but that scene worked well. Anyway, Albie is attempting a stunt with a carousel on his chest, and Drumm causes it to go out of control. Morgan senses this and vanishes from his home.

Mike Royer inks the cover and 20-page story (with “an assist from Mike Jr.”, presumably his son).

Published 1983

This issue reprints the original X-MEN #14 (1965), “Among Us Stalk the Sentinels”. Kirby continues the hand-off of art duties to Werner Roth, doing layouts for Roth (working under the Jay Gavin pen-name) to finish. Colletta inks this time around.

Recovering from their battle with the Juggernaut, Professor X gives the X-Men some vacation time. It would prove to be short lived respite, as anthropologist Bolivar Trask starts whipping up the anti-mutant hysteria. My favourite bit of the issue is the newspaper article with artist renditions of Trask’s predictions of the mutant overlords.

The Professor arranges a TV debate with Trask, where Trask unveils his Sentinel robots meant to protect humanity. The robots quickly turn on him, so Professor X sends out a mental alert.

Hank and Bobby at the Coffee A-Go-Go (complete with beatnik poet) are the first to respond, just after most of the Sentinels depart with Trask to create more Sentinels  leaving one guard. They battle him until Cyclops (who ran into an example of the anti-mutant sentiment Trask riled up) arrives, and then the Sentinel mysteriously collapses. Jean and Warren arrive shortly after (with Warren having a brief encounter with the other Sentinels on the way), as Professor X examines the fallen Sentinel and gets an impression of their headquarters, as well as mentioning that the Sentinel said something about “Master Mold” as it collapsed (oddly we’re not actually shown that). The X-Men drive up to the location the Professor saw, and find an empty field which suddenly rises to reveal a fortified structure that fires at them.

This is a surprisingly attractive issue. Roth seems to maintain a lot of the Kirby elements from the layouts, and Colletta’s inks seem more compatible with his pencils than most. The Sentinels don’t look quite as menacing as they should, but are a nice design. More importantly, this run of the book would solidify the themes that would carry the book for decades to come.

By the way, this is one of those annoying instances where Marvel reprinted the story without noting that “Jay Gavin” was a pen-name, so Roth’s name doesn’t appear at all, despite the fact that newly typeset credits were pasted on the originals.

The original cover is printed as a pin-up in the back, as drawn by Kirby and Wallace Wood. I never noticed before, but it seems to be flipped left-to-right (or at least the Sentinel has a backwards “1” on its chest).

Published 1995