Fantastic Four #256
Published and © by Marvel, July 1983
Title: “The Annihilation Gambit!”
Synopsis: The Fantastic Four escape the Negative Zone and save the universe – but can they save their loved ones from Annihilus?
Writer: John Byrne
Artist: Byrne
Review: John Byrne’s Fantastic Four/Negative Zone saga reviews of previous chapters comes to a bit of an anticlimactic conclusion here. While certainly serviceable, it was a bit of a letdown to not see the FF and Annihilus actually square off. Still, Byrne’s story offers several strong character moments, particularly during this issue’s downbeat final pages. Byrne the artist also rights the ship here; though his style would continue to fluctuate throughout his FF run, he’s starting to find an acceptable balance between speed and style.
Grade: B
Second opinion: “The Negative Zone series was weak.” – Gene Kehoe, It’s a Fanzine #21, November 1983
Cool factor: The shared ending – but from a different perspective – with The Avengers #233 (see review) is a nice touch.
Not-so-cool factor: The beat down Annihilus put on Alicia. What’s a blind girl got to do to catch a break in the Marvel U?
Notable: The Fantastic Four gets new costumes.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 75¢ Canadian variant of this issue. … According to MyComicShop.com, there is also a Mark Jewelers variant.
Character quotable: “I can’t help fearing for your safety, you can be … careless when engrossed in a problem.” – The Invisible Girl, putting it to her husband kindly
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Jan. 4, 2010.
