Fantastic Four #127

Name: Fantastic Four #127
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Oct 1972 · Marvel · 0.20 USD

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“Where the Sun Dares Not Shine!”

About this Issue

Fantastic Four #127 is a notable Bronze Age chapter in the FF's Subterranean mythology, significant for reuniting three of Marvel's great underground villains — Mole Man, Queen Kala, and the enslaved Tyrannus — in a single story arc that would define their interconnected political relationships for decades to come. It marks the first appearance of Queen Kala in the FF title, bridging a nine-year gap since her debut in Tales of Suspense #43 (1963) and establishing her as a recurring figure in the Mole Man's orbit rather than a one-off Iron Man foe. The issue also spotlights the emotional engine driving Ben Grimm in this era: his desperate, solo quest to restore Alicia Masters' sight humanizes the Thing in a way that had lasting resonance for the character. Arriving at the precise moment Roy Thomas stepped into the editor-in-chief role at Marvel, the issue represents the new editorial regime's approach of mining Marvel's Silver Age continuity and rewarding longtime readers with deep-cut reconnections.

In "Where the Sun Dares Not Shine!", the Fantastic Four face a crisis that splits the team apart—while the Thing takes on the Mole Man single-handedly, the others vanish without a trace. With dynamic art by John Buscema and inks by Joe Sinnott, this 1972 issue delivers a gripping, character-driven mystery and some of the most striking visuals in the series' early run.

writer Roy Thomas · artist John Buscema · inker Joe Sinnott · letterer Artie Simek · cover John Buscema, Joe Sinnott

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $9

CGC 9.8 · 15 in census $1,805

CGC 9.6 · 28 in census $344

CGC 9.4 · 29 in census $159

CGC 9.2 · 15 in census $159

CGC 9.0 · 12 in census $159*

CGC 8.5 · 12 in census $95

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CGC 8.0 · 8 in census $95*

CGC 7.5 · 5 in census $95*

CGC 7.0 · 4 in census $95*

CGC 6.5 · 3 in census $90*

CGC 6.0 none in existence

CGC 5.5 · 5 in census $68*

CGC 5.0 · 2 in census $64*

CGC 4.5 · 1 in census $59*

CGC 4.0 none in existence

CGC 3.5 · 1 in census $46*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

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Raw / ungraded ▾ $1.49–$650 38 listings

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History

The issue was written and edited by Roy Thomas, who in 1972 had just succeeded Stan Lee as Marvel's editor-in-chief when Lee became publisher; Thomas simultaneously held the editorial reins and continued scripting the flagship Fantastic Four title. Pencils were provided by John Buscema with inks by Joe Sinnott — a pairing that defined the post-Kirby visual identity of the book — and lettering by Artie Simek. The story is the first half of a two-part arc concluded in Fantastic Four #128, and it draws directly on continuity from Fantastic Four #85–90, where the Mole Man's subterranean home beneath a property purchased by Sue Richards had been destroyed.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published October 1972 (cover date) by Marvel Comics; story title is 'Where the Sun Dares Not Shine!' — Part 1 of 2, concluded in Fantastic Four #128.
Written and edited by Roy Thomas, penciled by John Buscema, inked by Joe Sinnott, lettered by Artie Simek; cover by Buscema and Sinnott.
Features the return of Queen Kala — ruler of the underground Netherworld — in her first appearance in the Fantastic Four title, nine years after her debut in Tales of Suspense #43 (July 1963, created by Stan Lee, Robert Bernstein, and Jack Kirby as an Iron Man villain).
Central plot has Ben Grimm descend solo into Subterranea hoping the Mole Man can cure Alicia Masters' blindness; Kala lures him into a trap, revealing she and Mole Man are betrothed and have reduced the subterranean rival Tyrannus to a near-mindless thrall.
The issue ends on a cliffhanger: the Mole Man's webbing creates an aura around Ben that makes him appear monstrous to his own teammates, causing Johnny Storm to blast him with flame — the Thing fights alone.
Sub-plot introduces the Baxter Building landlord Walter Collins serving the FF a court order to vacate the premises, and continues the Human Torch's grief over Crystal's departure — two ongoing domestic tensions of the Thomas run.
Cameo appearances by Franklin Richards, Agatha Harkness, and Tyrannus; Crystal appears only in a recap flashback.
Issue #127 is collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four Vol. 12 (issues #117–128) and in Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 5 (issues #126–163).