'Marvel’s First Family faces a desperate battle for survival against a planet-devouring god. Inspired by the seminal origin stories of the Fantastic Four, Galactus and the Silver Surfer by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.
'The sky is on fire. Across the globe, the people are convinced that the end is nigh. They’re right. Galactus is coming. His herald, the Silver Surfer, has come to Earth and judged it perfect for his master’s needs. And his master is hungry. The odds are impossible, the outcome is certain—nothing can stop the devourer of worlds. When all seems lost, Earth looks to the Fantastic Four. They’ll find a way to stop Galactus and save the world. They have to.'
Just in time for the new film Fantastic Four: First Steps, Titan Books are giving prose readers a chance to discover where some of the key elements of the new movie originated in a new novelisation of the Jack Kirby and Stan Lee comic story The Coming of Galactus, which introduced the Silver Surfer and Galactus to the world. Originally published over three issues, #48 - #50, in 1966, this arc would forever cement the Fantastic Four as one of the premier Marvel Comics properties, and would expand the scope of the Marvel universe beyond the confines of New York City, and Earth, in ways fans had never seen before.
The new novelisation doesn't stray from the source material a great deal, and keeps the original story in place. The book introduces us to Galactus in a way that the original didn't, however, by giving us his origin as a survivor of the previous existence of the universe more than 13.6 billion years ago. These were details that wouldn't come until after his introductory story in the comics, but whilst he was served well by having some mystique in that first appearance here his origin makes him something all the more frightening. Galactus has always been presented as something of a cosmic horror, a being who destroys planets and commits genocide just to feed, and despite his somewhat unusual appearance he's just as monstrous and a creature like the Old Gods from Cthulhian mythology. By showing his age, by giving us the details of who and what he used to be it shows the breadth and span of his existence and makes him feel even more unknowable.
James Lovegrove is fantastic at these kind of beats, of getting us to see these characters we know well in whole new ways. He's able to take the humanising backstory of Galactus and twist it into something that feels frightening, he makes you feel pathos for the Silver Surfer, he gets you to see the humanity in the Thing. Lovegrove, thanks in part to the ability of prose to delve deeper into the characters than comics traditionally allow, is able to connect you with these people more than you're used to. Not only does this make them feel like more realised and well rounded characters, but it also gives a very old, very familiar story a whole new lease on life.
That's perhaps one of the reasons why certain stories benefit from this kind of adaptation. Some of Titan's previous novelisations have been of more modern comics, such as Original Sin, and these have been fine, but it doesn't feel like as much is gained as it is here. I think that this is going to be largely due to two things, the age of the comic it's adapting, and Stan Lee; both of these kind of tie together too.
Comics were pretty surface level during this period, and whilst there were times that some books tried giving us more character development and depth than we would usually get they were often very 'adventure of the week' style tales, ones that didn't involve much growth or change for the leads, who were stuck as being archetypes. There were also issues in the writing that simply came from the 60's being a pretty shitty time for a lot of people (anyone who wasn't a white, cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied man really), and so you'd have a character like Sue Storm, one of the most powerful women in comics, being made into a damsel, or an airhead, or being treated like 'the little lady' by her husband's casual sexism that was just baked into the culture. Stan Lee, whilst partially responsible for creating some iconic characters (though not as fully as Stan always tried to make out), wasn't the best at giving readers much more than this, and it resulted in some material that hasn't aged well.
By updating this story in prose form Lovegrove has been able to go in an fix many of these issues, giving the book a more modern sensibility and more balanced handling. The book is given an update that modernises it without taking away from the charm and flavour of the era it was made in. Whilst I've not seen the new film yet, the book has the same vibe that the trailers for it has, of being a modernised version of a retro 60's sci-fi tale, a love letter to the era and the characters that long time fans are going to love.
Whether you're familiar with the original story or have never picked up a comic before, Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus is a perfect way to experience this original story and a great way to prepare for the new film. I think a lot of people are going to be either checking out the Fantastic Four for the first time, or reappraising their views on the team, this summer, and this book is a great addition to that journey.
Fantastic Four: The Coming of Galactus is out now from Titan Books.
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