Fantastic Four #153 (Pt 2) Heeere's Johnny!

Or, what's a little swootch between friends? 

Fantastic Four #153 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #99 (1970) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #153 (Pt 1) Big Ben--Twice as Nice!

Fantastic Four #153 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #69 (1967) Jack Kirby

Sure, these are standard close-up shots--a fairly standard composition that's used often. But with these two panels, what I love is the guys over Ben's shoulder in the background. 

Connections: 

In the Fantastic Four #153 panel Ben accuses Medusa of having "turned traitor"--and as you can see,  #69's story is titled "By Ben Betrayed!" 😲

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 10) Reed Richards, Professional Nut

Ah, one of my all-time favorite panels, from FF #37. Who could ever forget Ben calling Reed  "a professional nut" ? 

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Buckler   

Fantastic Four #37 (1965) Kirby

Panelocity Plus! 
In the "reminds me of" category: Ben is more even more agitated in Brett Booth's Fantastic Four Vol. 2 issue #9. Who could ever forget Heroes Reborn? ;)

Fantastic Four #9, Volume 2  (1997)

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 9) Medusa and Skrull Princess Anelle

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #37 (1965) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 8) Medusa Needs a Bath

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Buckler

Fantastic Four #9 (1962) Kirby

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 7) Soft Words Are Spoken

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #27 (1964) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 6) Mahkizmo and Sub-Mariner

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #27 (1964) Jack Kirby

And in the FF #152 Mahkizmo panel, did you notice Medusa on the side? We've seen this before, remember?  

Fantastic Four #82 (1969) Kirby

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 5) At the Mercy of Mahkizmo and Rama-Tut!

Fantastic Four #19 (1963) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 4) Mahkizmo, Sub-Mariner and Captain Marvel Too!

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #9 (1962) Jack Kirby

Panelocity Plus! Check out Mar-Vell decking his foe in Alex Ross's fanciful montage of the Kree-Skrull War from Marvels #4. Yes, I know it's a standard pose--but it reminded me of that Subby-Ben FF#9 panel. Anyway, Mar-Vell sure looked good delivering that uppercut!

Marvels #4 (1993) Alex Ross

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 3) Triple Play

Top of page 16 , Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler

Top of page 12, Fantastic Four #84 (1969) Jack Kirby 

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 2) Reed and Sue

Let's take a look at this three panel sequence from FF #152. By the way, these are Jim Mooney finishes over Buckler layouts in #152. Marvel thanked Mooney for stepping in and saving "us at the last minute."

During this time Marvel was producing a large number of comics; and Buckler, Sinnott, Sal Buscema and others were working on multiple assignments including 1974's Giant-Size issues! With such a large output, looming deadlines, etc., it's not surprising there were some rush jobs and last minute "rescues"  along the way. 

Top of page 10,  Fantastic Four #152

Panel one is a combo of two panels from FF #43. 

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Buckler

Fantastic Four #43 (1965) Jack Kirby/inker Vince Colletta

Fantastic Four #43 (1965)

Kirby/inker Colletta

                                              Panel two is modeled after this one from #43.

Fantastic Four #152

Fantastic Four #43

And panel three is based on a panel from--yep, you guessed it-- FF  #43.

Fantastic Four #152

Fantastic Four #43

Fantastic Four #152 (Pt 1) Medusa Musings

Fantastic Four #152 (1974) Rich Buckler / Jim Mooney

Fantastic Four #43 (1965) Jack Kirby / Vince Colletta

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 10) Mahkizmo and Galactus

Yeah, I know I've posted this before elsewhere--but it's a classic so here it is again!

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #49 (1966) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 9) Thundra and Lightning--and Crystal

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #68 (1967) Jack Kirby

Yeah, these look similar mostly due to the Sinnott-inked faces. But there's also the matter of the elongated arms. What do you think? 

Fantastic Four #148 (Pt 12) Sandman Strikes Again

Fantastic Four #148 (1974) Rich Buckler

It's Bastille Day, so here you go! And we've seen this image of Batroc used as a template in another FF issue, remember? 

Tales of Suspense #85 (1967) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 8) Mysterious Medusa

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #44 (1965) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 7) Medusa on the Move

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #44 (1965) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 6) Don't Mess with Ben

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #9 (1962) Jack Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 5) Ain't No Mountain High--'Nuff Said!

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Buckler

Fantastic Four #69 (1967) Kirby

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 4) Ben Is Bustin' Out All Over

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #68 (1967) Jack Kirby

Back in 1974, Marvel's Greatest Comics #51, which reprinted FF #68,  was on sale at the same time as Fantastic Four #150--so, about a month prior to FF #151 hitting the stands. I wonder, did readers of both mags connect the dots and notice the source panel?

At any rate, fans seemed to have really enjoyed the art on this mid-70s FF run. The Buckler-Sinnott Kirbyesque art was often lauded in the FF letter columns; and as one letter writer put it in Fantastic Four #164: "It's Rich Buckler's tribute to the style and excellence of the F.F. in their former day of greatness." 

Fantastic Four #151 (Pt 3) Ben and Johnny, Two For the Road

This one's a combo. The trench-coated Ben seems to be adapted from FF #68, while Johnny is from #44.

                                            Ben

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #68 (1967) Kirby

Johnny

Fantastic Four #151 (1974) Rich Buckler

Fantastic Four #44 (1965) Kirby

Plus, because FF #68 is used above, I feel it's the inspiration for this panel too. 

Fantastic Four #151

Fantastic Four #68