Fantastic Four #29: Property Damage 26

Fantastic Four #29, page page 4, panel 4

Fantastic Four #29: Property Damage 26

Written with a dash of greatness by: Stan Lee

Drawn with a hint of glory by: Jack Kirby

Inked with a touch of drama by: Chic Stone

Lettered with a bottle of india ink by: S. Rosen

Does the Fantastic Four get more classic than this? An angry, emotionally fraught Ben Grimm causes unintentional property damage in a pique of self-pity. The drama crosses the line into melodrama, but it's broadly drawn emotional dilemmas like this that encapsulate the appeal of Marvel Comics in the 1960s.

Talking of broadly drawn... the standard convention is draw The Thing with many small rocky elements. The larger plates, as seen across his back here, are a great example of how he was envisioned by Kirby before he settled on the greater detail a couple of years down the line. I rather like it, as it plays to the strengths of Chic Stone, allowing for some great detail on the shading to suggest variations in depth.

Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #29 on our thirty-second episode: Now With Genuine People Personalities