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Post by bobc on May 27, 2010 10:16:28 GMT -5
Mo' good news! The latest Essential Fantatsic Four book (8)is out, and it has plenty of stuff in it to interest us trendy Avengers fans!
First off, I know most of you are big George Perez fans, and some of his best work is here. I never realized it before, but Joe Sinnot really was one of the best, if not the best, inkers for GP's pencils. GP appears about halfway through this collection, and you can tell he had gained a lot of confidence in those years. His catalog of poses was way larger, and his innovative use of blending panels together is in evidence here.
Also--Avengers Luke Cage and Tigra show up (I totally forgot that Tigra hung out with the FF for a while), and Tigra is especially enjoyable.
Across these issues you can see two major character changes take place. The Thing carries most of the early battles practically on his own it seems, but slowly over the later issues, the Invisible Girl makes great gains in the power and control of her abilities. At one point Luke Cage asks her why she doesn't change her name to Invisible Woman, so it is clear that the writer is setting the stage for Sue to be less of a kidnap bait, and more of a pivotal, powerful member of the team. She even makes a statement in one battle to the effect that she is a "card carrying member of the FF," not just a kidnapping waiting to happen.
The second major change over these issues was the addition of a much larger supporting cast. Thundra, Tigra, Luke Cage, the Impossible Man, etc. show up, making these issues much more enjoyable IMO. I never liked Luke Cage much--at least not in the FF--but his presence here kidn of shakes things up. Plus he doesn't stick around long.
The only downside in this era, for me personally, was the annoying trend of having super heroes losing their powers but still staying with the team. Both the Thing and Reed lose their powers in this run--and unfortunately these plot twists really bog down the action. I can't recall one time, whether it be the FF, Storm, Thor etc., where a character loses his/her powers, and it actually adds something to the story. I really don't want to see the Thing in a exo-skeleton suit, nor do I want to see Storm running around powerless with a mohawk.
Anyhow, really enjoyed this book overall--it brought back some great memories.
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Post by humanbelly on May 27, 2010 16:26:03 GMT -5
Wow, they're moving right along, aren't they! This would be circa mid-to-late 70's, I'm thinking? I remember picking them up in 9th or 10th grade, I think. And I fully concur with your assessment of the Perez/Sinnott team. It had the effect of making the FF look the same as always (thanks to Sinnott). . . and yet somehow 'way better (Perez).
Am I remembering looooong plot arcs, though? And wasn't there some jaw-dropping story involving, literally, a cosmic hockey goal-tender. . . who was somehow also an other-dimensional Johnny Storm? (A completely bizarre factoid that had no bearing on the story or explanation beyond that point?). But there was also a great arc w/ Galactus & the High Evolutionary duking it out--- really liked that one.
Many fond memories of that period of the FF.
Hey, as far as "powerless" superheroes go-- wasn't there a pretty good story w/ a depowered X-Men team- circa #150 or so?- where they'd been imprisoned on Magneto's isle? And used their innate non-mutant talents and abilities to prevail? That's really about the only one that's ever grabbed me, though.
HB
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Post by bobc on May 27, 2010 16:51:31 GMT -5
Hee hee! Man HB you really managed to focus in on one of the few truly horrendous moments in this Essential FF Book--notably the Gate Keeper, or whatever the heck he was called! I have so far just skimmed through this edition, and when I got to that storyline and saw that character, I groaned out loud! Man that was one truly stupid creation! I vaguely remember him from that time--but he is probably best assigned to Marvel's trash heap of bad ideas!
There are some great battles in this book, including the one you talked about where High Evolutionary fights Galactus. That is one of the story-lines in which I first noticed how good Perez had gotten, particularly with Sinnott inking him. I never took any notice of Sinnott as a kid--didn't have an opinion one way or the other. Today, as an adult, I think he was really, really good. I think our beloved Sharky is a big fan, if I recall correctly.
I don't think I ever saw the story about the X-Men defeating Magneto sans powers. I just remember Storm and how dull she was without her powers.
You know I still can't get over the fact that Madame MacEvil (Iron Man) somehow mutated into Moondragon. How on earth did I miss that?
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Post by humanbelly on May 27, 2010 20:56:57 GMT -5
You know I still can't get over the fact that Madame MacEvil (Iron Man) somehow mutated into Moondragon. How on earth did I miss that? Well, and the name?!? I mean, how does any writer rationally justify ANY character choosing "MacEvil" as a name??? I mean, is the "Mac" prefix an important concession to her Scottish heritage? ("Heather Douglas"---- hm, actually that could be the case). "Not only am I Evil, I'm eversomuch MORE than Evil--- I am Evil. . . and SCOTTS!!" Why would anyone with a mind make such an inane choice?? HB |
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Post by humanbelly on May 28, 2010 5:02:42 GMT -5
Granted, the prefix has since been unfortunately co-opted by McDonald's Corp, so that "Mac" or "Mc"-anything now tends to elicit an unconscious urge to roll one's eyes and tell our kids, "no, we're not getting that. . . "
Not the response most supervillains would be looking for. . .
HB
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Post by humanbelly on May 28, 2010 6:53:28 GMT -5
I don't think I ever saw the story about the X-Men defeating Magneto sans powers. I just remember Storm and how dull she was without her powers. I think that it may be plot gimmick that is just too tempting to resist for a lot of writers-- and I wonder if it happens after a writer's been on a book for a long time? Perhaps when they want to explore and/or demonstrate that "it isn't the powers that make the hero. . . it's the hero that's already inside"-- razza-razza. I haven't given this any thought to speak of, but it does seem like it would be a natural progression, and boy it's been done a lot. Off the very top of my head: Cap lost the effects of the super-soldier serum. . . and still defeated the Red Skull. Steve, Tony, Don Blake and. . . Tigra (who was in a scaredy-cat phase) defeated the Molecule Man w/out ANY powers. Bruce Banner has single-handedly saved the world twice ('wayyy back) via last-ditch computer programming wizardry. Didn't Reed defeat Doom in FF #200 before his powers were restored (or am I mis-remembering)? I'm sure I remember Spidey having a bout or three of powerlessness. Thor, yep. Thing, yep. Storm (yawn), yep. I can't imagine the cliche' hasn't been explored multiple times w/ Daredevil. And this is just off the top of my head before heading off to work. . . Oh, there's just nothing new under the sun, I'm afraid. HB |
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Post by freedomfighter on May 28, 2010 23:32:59 GMT -5
Hee hee! Man HB you really managed to focus in on one of the few truly horrendous moments in this Essential FF Book--notably the Gate Keeper, or whatever the heck he was called! I have so far just skimmed through this edition, and when I got to that storyline and saw that character, I groaned out loud! Man that was one truly stupid creation! I vaguely remember him from that time--but he is probably best assigned to Marvel's trash heap of bad ideas! There are some great battles in this book, including the one you talked about where High Evolutionary fights Galactus. That is one of the story-lines in which I first noticed how good Perez had gotten, particularly with Sinnott inking him. I never took any notice of Sinnott as a kid--didn't have an opinion one way or the other. Today, as an adult, I think he was really, really good. I think our beloved Sharky is a big fan, if I recall correctly. I don't think I ever saw the story about the X-Men defeating Magneto sans powers. I just remember Storm and how dull she was without her powers. You know I still can't get over the fact that Madame MacEvil (Iron Man) somehow mutated into Moondragon. How on earth did I miss that? Hate to break it to you, but the alternate Johnny Storm popped up again in 90s Marvel armor and with heightened cosmic powers... www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/vangaard.htm |
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Post by owene on May 29, 2010 5:24:12 GMT -5
Hee hee! Man HB you really managed to focus in on one of the few truly horrendous moments in this Essential FF Book--notably the Gate Keeper, or whatever the heck he was called! I have so far just skimmed through this edition, and when I got to that storyline and saw that character, I groaned out loud! Man that was one truly stupid creation! I vaguely remember him from that time--but he is probably best assigned to Marvel's trash heap of bad ideas! There are some great battles in this book, including the one you talked about where High Evolutionary fights Galactus. That is one of the story-lines in which I first noticed how good Perez had gotten, particularly with Sinnott inking him. I never took any notice of Sinnott as a kid--didn't have an opinion one way or the other. Today, as an adult, I think he was really, really good. I think our beloved Sharky is a big fan, if I recall correctly. I don't think I ever saw the story about the X-Men defeating Magneto sans powers. I just remember Storm and how dull she was without her powers. You know I still can't get over the fact that Madame MacEvil (Iron Man) somehow mutated into Moondragon. How on earth did I miss that? Hate to break it to you, but the alternate Johnny Storm popped up again in 90s Marvel armor and with heightened cosmic powers... www.marvunapp.com/Appendix/vangaard.htmWritten by Tom Brevoort. It's always weird seeing his name attached to churned out early 90s stories. I guess what it really says is that even all those dreadful hacked out books were probably being written by people who knew good comics when they saw them and loved the characters |
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