As I sit down to review  the Human Torch feature from strange tales #122, titled “3 Against The Torch” I think back to the last volume where we seen those three. (despite the fact that it is printed as Fantastic Four #22, it was really Fantastic Four #23. )  This tale, right from the start does a tribute to, and a good job of summarizing the prior adventure.  But then we are off and running with the plan of Dr. Dooms Henchmen in stopping the Fantastic Four, Starting with the Human Torch.

Artwork

In the first few pages, I was not feeling too optimistic about the artwork, more so in the flashback / summary. Once that was pasted though, I feel the quality of the artwork improved.  But the comic offers us few large detailed panels, offering instead more six or seven panels per page (for most pages).

Included is a panel from early in the issue, where our hero is ambushed in his garage. This is just after Johnny Storm realizes this fact, and prepares for combat with the menacing group of criminals.

Originality & Continuity

This comic tale seems well grounded to be both a sequel to the earlier Fantastic Four adventure, as well as a way of dealing with the threesome before Dr. Doom is brought back.  It seems to fit in with the continuity quite well, while feeling original from (even if in some ways similar to)  Fantastic Four #23.

Characters & Development

This tale, like so many of the Human Torch features, lets us see the youngest member of the Fantastic Four shine; but it also lets us see how useless  our three antagonist are without the leadership of Dr. Doom, perhaps even understating them.

Story

In the end the story was done well, and an enjoyable read, although one that I do not feel would be too important in the grand scheme of things, just tying up some potentially loose ends.