Stumblebum Studios Archives

	Home	Archives	Features

Down But Not Out

by Drew Clements westofmiskatonic@gmail.com

It's hard to believe that comic books at one time were not dominated by men and women wearing capes and tights. During the 50's and very early 1960's, horror, western, and monster comics dominated the comic book world. That's not to say that superhero comics didn't exist though. Nah, you had your Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman that retained a small bit of popularity, but they weren't the rage. Taking advantage of four recent comics published by Marvel under the "Marvel Monsters Group" banner, I will be covering two of the four Jack Kirby monster stories reprinted in each of these books over two articles. It's a trip back in time to a world most of us know nothing about. So, I present you with part one of Down But Not Out's Monster Double Feature! Strange Tales (vol.1) #89 - "Fin Fang Foom" By Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers! Originally released in October 1961 Reprinted in Fin Fang Four #1 (of 1) released October 2005 Three police officers in "Red China" are desperate to stop two fleeing men who have been deemed traitors to their totalitarian state. Nearly catching up, the officers suddenly become very aware of writing on a nearby wall. The words are so horrifying that they call off the pursuit and immediately remove "Fin Fang Foom" from the wall! Chan Liuchow, the son of an American woman and a Chinese man, finds himself the subject of his father's shame. Chan doesn't understand, but his father is disappointed in himself for not making Chan into the man he is supposed to be. Chan asks why his father speaks so harshly of him, after all, he has done nothing wrong. Chan's father nods and tells him that is precisely the problem: Chan has done nothing at all! He does nothing! He is nothing! Why, his father asks, does he not join the nationalist army like his brother, Chung, to defend their homeland of Formosa? Chan responds with the simple fact that he wants to serve his country his own way. After continuing a useless fight, Chan eventually gives up and leaves. Then, one day Chung storms into Chan and his father's home. He has big news: the Reds are about to attack Formosa! Chung is ready to defend the island nation with the nationalist army, but Chan has other ideas. That night Chan heads for the coast of Red China. Sneaking past the coastal troops, Chan is trying to locate an area described in an old manuscript he recently unearthed. Back at Formosa, Chan's father learns of his leaving the island and sailing to Mainland China. The man believes his son became frightened by the Communist threat and instead of defending his home, left to join the Red Army. His son... a traitor! Chan, back on the mainland, has found the crypt the manuscript spoke of! Fortunately, Chan easily makes his way past the tribe guarding the old thing. Once inside, the tribe chooses not to follow under the superstition that any who enter are cursed! Inside Chan finds a tunnel that leads to a chamber... THE chamber of the giant dragon, Fin Fang Foom! The manuscript spoke of two herbs: one to awaken the dragon, the other to put it to sleep. Chan has brought the one to awaken Fin Fang Foom and he puts it to good use. The dragon's eyes open as Chan puts the herb to its lips. "After countless centuries, I live again!" Fin Fang Foom's voice booms. He turns to Chan and thanks the man for reviving him. Chan does not accept the dragon's kindness and instead threatens to put him back to sleep. FFF instantly identifies the man as an enemy and vows to destroy him. Chan flees the chamber and Foom follows. Eventually his massive body bursts through the surface and Chinese villagers immediately attack him. This has been Chan's plan all along! He has unleashed the dragon on the unsuspecting communist country! Foom, using only a small amount of his power, tears into the Great Wall of China and lifts a section of it above his head. Chan rides up on horseback and Foom spots him and follows as the man flees. The baited Foom eventually comes upon the Red Army and they attack and quickly fall to his mighty power! Chan makes his way through the Army and a couple of the Navy's ships while Foom destroys everything in his path to get to the man. Soon, Foom has destroyed all of the Red Army's invasion forces, much to the joy of Chan. Now, he decides, it is time to return the dragon to his chamber, so he grabs a jeep and drives back, barely out of reach, all the way to the crypt. Once there, Chan grabs a mirror from the living quarters of one of the villagers and heads deep into the crypt. Foom follows and spots the mortal, immediately thrusting his fist toward the target, intending doom. Unfortunately, Foom's hand impacts the mirror casting Chan's reflection. Given his chance, Chan runs from his hiding spot and thrusts the sleeping herb into the irritated dragon's mouth. Soon, Fin Fang Foom falls to sleep while Chan, triumphant, returns to his home. Once there, his father congratulates Chan, because the Red Army blames Chan for the failure of their invasion. That's the end of that one, monster fans! It's the first appearance of Fin Fang Foom and it's definitely a memorable tale. While nothing complicated (rarely were any of the stories from the 50's actually complicated), it's still a pretty engrossing story. It's absolutely reflective of the time it was produced, what with the heavily negative view of communist China. This issue was produced a few years after the McCarthy era had ended as well as the second "Red Scare," but the American public's view of communism had changed very little. Foom is probably the most recognizable of the monsters that have appeared in the Marvel Monsters event from October 2005. He's made many an appearance in super hero comics and eventually became recognized as an Iron Man villain. There's an excellent entry about him here from the fantastic Monster Blog, which focuses on the Atlas/Timely/Marvel monster comics. So, how would one go about picking this up without having to buy the actual original issue?? Easy folks! Just stroll on down to your local comic shop and pick up Fin Fang Four #1! This is just the back-up story to this book, but I gotta say that the actual Fin Fang Four by Scott Gray and Roger Langridge is really good stuff. Honestly, I'd recommend all four of the Marvel Monsters Group titles that have been released: Devil Dinosaur, Fin Fang Four, Where Monsters Dwell, and Monsters on the Prowl.