Fantastic Four #261
Published and © by Marvel, December 1983
Title: “The Search for Reed Richards”
Synopsis: Finally realizing their leader is missing, the Fantastic Four turn to the Watcher for help finding Reed Richards.
Writer: John Byrne
Artist: Byrne
Review: After a pair of issues with cosmic-fueled big punching (see reviews of Fantastic Four #259 and #260), writer/artist John Byrne decides to crank the cosmic up to 11. With the help of the Watcher, the FF race through space in an effort to find and save the missing Reed Richards. There are some wonderful “big” concepts here, such as the delegate council of survivors from world’s destroyed by Galactus. But the big never overwhelms the intimate, as Byrne’s FF is always driven by well-executed character moments. Byrne is a master at balancing these extremes.
Grade: A-
Second opinion: “The high point of Byrne’s sterling career.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1980s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon,” 2014 … Recommended by The Slings & Arrows Comic Guide (second edition), 2003.
Cool factor: Love that cover.
Not-so-cool factor: A pregnant Sue Richards making out with the Sub-Mariner while her husband has been abducted and is being tortured on the other side of the galaxy. Definitely not cool, Sue.
Notable: Guest appearances by the Sub-Mariner, Marina and the Silver Surfer.
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: “With Reed missing, I am the acting leader of the Fantastic Four. We will do what I say.” – The Invisible Girl, not so invisible now
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Jan. 28, 2010.
