Writer: Stan Lee
Artist: Jack Kirby
Uncredited Inker: Dick Ayers
Presenting... the fantastic fear of flaming fire!
In the first full outing for Johnny's nova flame, we have Reed browning his trousers in fear that Johnny won't be able to contain his immense heat. Given Reed's fears, Sue's plan to stand in front of the target, invisible, then turn visible at the last possible moment to prevent Johnny from blowing everything up is... well... it's not her best plan at all.
It's at times like this that I really bemoan the lack of colouring credits in comics from this era. The use of colour to depict the intensity of Johnny's heat is fantastic, and contrast between this and the standard blue of Reed's costume in the second panel above heightens this.
Check out our coverage of Fantastic Four #7 in our fifth episode: The Strangest Tales Of All
[audio http://traffic.libsyn.com/ffcast/FF_Episode_5.mp3]