The Fantastic Four #340

Walt Simonson
May 1990
****
Mr. F, the heroic focus of this arc, susses a Celestial plan to weaponize Galactus & tosses the Kirby God into G’s black hole! WS writes super-drama underpinned by grandiose beings & fantastic machinery, a la the King; his art, since Thor, has added a fine-lined filigree in the Art Adams manner.
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #339]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #341]

The Fantastic Four #339

Walt Simonson
April 1990
***
Delightful super-SF comics. To destroy the black-hole machinery of mighty Galactus, Reed & the gang refit a space empire’s munitions plants as interstellar depth charges! Also, Simonson pauses the space adventure to indulge in a heavyweight superhero boy: Thor v. an alien Superman analog.
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #338]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #340]

The Fantastic Four #338

Walt Simonson
March 1990
****
A multiversal trio of Kangs race a space succubus to harness a black hole. Our heroes learn that it’s actually feeding Galactus, & also must contend w/ an oddball marc from the future. Confused? This SF adventure couples grandiosity w/ whimsy, as when the team skirts the hole’s event horizon!
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #337]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #339]

The Fantastic Four #337

Walt Simonson
February 1990
****
The ebullient Simonson writes, draws, & inks! Reed’s latest experiment, an explosion of op-art, leads to a Ditko embolism in spacetime (a dangling thread from Walt’s Avengers run). So the team + a few Avengers pile into a time sled, whose “redundency existentialators” help penetrate the bubble!
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #336]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #338]

The Fantastic Four #336

Walt Simonson // Ron Lim
January 1990
***
In a unique victory, Dr. Richards defeats Congress! He pokes enough holes in the concept of a federally mandated registration act to table the bill (HS 39110). Then a Doombot ends Acts of Vengeance & Grimm, in his robosuit, kayos an android. Also note: the covers to #334-6 are their own comic!
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #335]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four# 337]

The Fantastic Four #335

Walt Simonson // Rich Buckler
late December 1989
***
The FF testify for a Congressional sub-committee. The scene lets Simonson dismantle the silly “realism” of registering superheroes from left, right, & center. Sounds dull, but he also turns out a moderately entertaining farce as more D-listers flail clumsily in their attempts to fight the Four.
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #334]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #336]

The Fantastic Four #334

Walt Simonson // Rich Buckler
early December 1989
***
Simonson debuts & instantly shifts the mag’s tone from lugubrious to lighthearted. As part of the Acts of Vengeance crossover, he pits the FF against D-list supervillains (who can’t even get in the building!). Buckler’s three-tier grid has a cheery flatness, but he does realistic, expressive faces.
[last issue: The Fantastic Four #333]
[next issue: The Fantastic Four #335]