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Jack Kirby cover/art; Silver Surfer, Galactus, and Psycho-Man app
In Fantastic Four #7, the seeds that would eventually grow into the inspiration for the X-Men are sown by Kirby and Lee as they weave a tale that highlights the sense of otherness and fear of alienation that the new wave of Marvel superheroes were acutely aware of, as is evinced by the FF's reluctance to attend a dinner in their honor in Washington D.C. Their trepidation is soon validated as their hosts turn on them and they beat a hasty retreat back to the safety of the Baxter building, only to discover they have been unknowingly drafted into preventing a cosmic calamity by the shifty Kurrgo, Master of Planet X. The rest of the story is a real nail-biter of mega, and miniature, proportions all at once.
Much has been said about the impact and legacy the humanistic tales dreamt up by Lee, and fleshed out by Kirby, have had on the Silver Age and beyond, and this issue of Fantastic Four is simply brimming with game-changing ideas. Never before had simple comic book characters exuded such gravitas, and expressed so many of the emotions that common mortals experience on a daily basis.


Artists Information

Jack Kirby is called 'The King of Comics' for a reason, during his career that spanned six decades he gave us many of the most iconic characters the medium would ever see. From his introduction of Captain America at the height of World War II it was clear he wasn't your ordinary comics artist. But it was his creative explosion at Marvel Comics in the 1960's that cemented his legacy, over a short period of time Kirby would give us The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Hulk, The X-Men, Thor, Ant-Man and Nick Fury just to name a few. Kirby would then go to DC and create his Fourth World, introducing Darkseid, Mister Miracle, The New Gods and a host of cosmic supporting players. Long live The King.

Richard "Dick" Ayers was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of the main inkers during the late-1950's and 1960's Silver Age of Comics, including some of the earliest issues of Marvel Comics' including Jack Kirby's The Fantastic Four. He is the signature penciler of Marvel's World War II comic Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, drawing it for a 10-year run, and he co-created Magazine Enterprises' 1950s Western-horror character the Ghost Rider, a version of which he would draw for Marvel in the 1960s. His career would span 7 decades until his death in 2014.