WTF, FF?

Fantastic Four #611

Just announced:  the Fantastic Four's final issue will be #611.  What's that you say?  You thought #588 was the final issue?  What about those of you who said #416?  Well, you'd all be wrong...and right!  

This is just like Cher's Farewell Tour all over again.  Speaking of, I've gotta go check TicketMaster for the next stop on her latest Farewell Tour...

Fantastic Four: NOT The World's Greatest Comic Magazine

Last night, I got caught up on the adventures of the Fantastic Four.  I read four new FFs and the recently revived Fantastic Four #600 and 601.  It's really no surprise that Marvel came back with the long-running Fantastic Four comic.  By "ending" with #588 last year, I figured Marvel would run the title FF for a year (12 issues) and then come back with #600.  It was just too coincidental.  I assume Marvel didn't think about FF doing so well, though, and so now they've decided to keep both Fantastic Four and FF.  And, to my knowledge, this is the first time that the Fantastic Four has had two ongoing monthlies at one time (with the exception of The Thing comic back in the 1980s (which I really enjoyed!)).

Fantastic Four #236 (1981)

The Fantastic Four was the first comic to get me hooked on comics.  I picked up several issues at my local comic book store in the early 80s and got hooked when John Byrne was writing and drawing "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine."  His amazing illustration lured me, but it was his character portrayal that kept me around.  I loved the realism he put into each story and his development of Sue Storm from weakest member of the team to the strongest.  He showed her getting pregnant, having a miscarriage, and taking on the dark Malice personality, etc.  He not only showed Sue as powerful, but he made use of Reed and Sue's son, Franklin, as well, by making the future Franklin Richards into a person to be feared.  

Fantastic Four #275

I also loved the romance between Johnny Storm and Frankie Raye, as well as the love triangle(!!) between Johnny, Ben Grimm, and Ben's long-time blind girlfriend Alicia Masters.  Byrne was all about developing relationships, and that really made the comic stand out.  And when The Thing stayed behind on the Secret Wars planet, Byrne added She-Hulk to the mix, thereby adding a lot of "fun" to the book and equaling out the gender ratio of the team. 

Fantastic Four #554 (2008)

After quitting comics in the mid 1990s, I began reading the Fantastic Four again with issue #554 in 2008 when Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch came onboard as the new creative team. Unfortunately, the series has been "meh," even with the change in writers and artists over the past few years.  And none of the team members look attractive.  Johnny looks like he's got a receding hairline and couldn't possibly be the ladies' man he's made out to be. 

Amazing Spider-Man #657

Even the story "Three," in which Johnny Storm dies, wasn't (pardon the pun) fantastic.  In fact, Amazing Spider-Man #657 did a better job of handling grief and showing emotion than the Fantastic Four's own comic(s).  

After the "final issue" of the Fantastic Four, the new comic (and team) FF came out.  It was slightly better than the original, but still lacked the "oomph" of Byrne's Fantastic Four.  Only when Barry Kitson is illustrating do the characters really stand out and look attractive again.  That was what I first thought upon reading FF #10 last night.  The colors throughout each panel were so vibrant, too.  

From FF #10, but I'm unclear as to why Sue and Reed
are wearing around their costumes to water their plants.
Don't they have any sweatpants or anything?

Sadly, with FF #12, Kitson is gone again, and the art by Juan Bobillo flounders in comparison.  And, with the team returning to the reinstated Fantastic Four comic, is the Future Foundation (FF) team now just a larger version of Power Pack, made up of just the random children (human and non) living in the Baxter Building with Sue and Reed's kids?  This version of FF probably won't last. 

So I'm not sure what the future holds for Fantastic Four or FF.  Can they ever return to true greatness?  At least Barry Kitson is returning for Fantastic Four #602.  Let's hope Marvel wises up and keeps him around.  The Fantastic Four really deserve to be more visually appealing to their readers.  Now, how about that character development so they can actually be deserving of "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine" title?

Fantastic Three

Marvel Comics announced today (on the day of the release of issue #587, the finale to the story "Three") which member of the Fantastic Four gets bumped off.  Even USA Today ran an article on the story. 

SPOILER ALERT!   It's Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. 

Now, I'm all for killing off a character if it makes a good story and makes sense in the long run, but you know it's not the last we've seen of Johnny Storm.  He'll come back -- eventually -- from the Negative Zone, where he "died." 

I haven't read the final chapter in the story, but I'm a bit disappointed to learn that it was Johnny Storm that bites the dust.  I was kind of hoping it was going to be Reed Richards, as he seems to be the dullest character of the bunch.  Plus, it would give the writers an opportunity to explore additional romantic relationships for Susan Storm/Richards.  She married an older man when she was very young.  She hasn't had the opportunity to explore "what could have been." 

I used to read the Fantastic Four in the 1980s with an avid interest.  In addition to The New Teen Titans, it was the comic I most looked forward to reading every month, mostly due to John Byrne's creativity and the ability to make the characters real people.  Each one had their own distinctive personality, their own highs and lows.  I also liked that the team was pretty much confined to their own book.  Their stories were self-contained; you could read them monthly without having to get all these other crossover books in order to fully understand their adventures (unlike certain titles that begin with the letter "X" which shall remain nameless). 

Since picking up the Fantastic Four again a couple of years ago (after a 15+ year absence), all of the issues I've read have been pretty unremarkable.  I can't even recall a single storyline that stands out as memorable.  Furthermore, the characters have all been portrayed pretty two-dimensional.  Gone are the days of John Byrne's Fantastic Four.  Even the current "Three" storyline has been pretty uneventful and -- dare I say -- dull for me.  Maybe the alleged death of the Human Torch will liven up the team...but I doubt it. 

Sadly, the best representation of the Fantastic Four that I've read recently wasn't in their own series.  It was in Daken #4.  They were real people, expressing real emotions.  There was a bond/connection/friendship between Johnny Storm and Daken.  It was even bordering on a possible romance.  

Fantastic Four #588 will be the "final" issue of the series as the team supposedly goes forth in a new direction with FF #1.  In the days of both DC and Marvel renumbering its comic books (e.g., Wonder Woman and Iron Man) to establish longevity, It's ironic that Marvel has chosen to end the Fantastic Four series and begin anew with new numbering so close to what would be issue #600 and the team's 50th anniversary.

I hope the new FF series is more interesting than the Fantastic Four has been in quite some time, but with the same creative team working on it, I doubt it.  Jonathan Hickman's stories have been mediocre at best, and Steve Epting draws the characters with little attractiveness, aging them dramatically.  You question why any woman (or man) would be attracted to the "ladykiller" Johnny Storm with his wrinkles, bad haircut, and receding hairline. 

I'll continue to read FF for the time being, with the hopes that a new creative team will soon come onboard that can -- pun intended -- breathe some life back into the team.