Story & Art: John Byrne
Lettering: Jim Novak
Coloring: Glynis Wein
Review: Will Dubbeld
Although I’ve an endearing love and respect for the Fantastic Four, I’m
not very well-read on most of their publications. The only back issues of any age in my collection
growing up were the "Trial of Reed Richards" and the issue where they return from
Secret Wars Battleworld with She-Hulk instead of Thing.
Other than that, I had the annual from The Korvac Quest and didn’t buy
any FF until Dr. Doom flayed his girlfriend and turned her skin into
hell-armor.
Which was pretty rad...
I’m sure I owned a few more scattered issues here and there, but
horrible 1990s imagery and writing were effective deterrents against further
purchases.
Sue’s boob-window uniform, for example, and Thing wearing a bucket on
his head.
Just dumb.
I have, however, managed to bolster the back issue ranks a bit,
courtesy your Friendly Neighborhood Dollar Box.
#251 is one such issue and exemplary of Marvel’s First Family.
Which is both a comfort and a detriment.
Byrne has crafted a fantastic plot focusing largely on the individual
members as people, not superheroes.
Johnny audits a theater class to get in good with an art school girl,
Ben grumps and spends time with Alicia, and Reed waxes poetic about his
Negative Zone travel gizmo while Sue, frankly, isn’t given much to do aside
from mother Franklin.
...which brings us to the Negative Zone present in the script. Although
the plot is great, the Devil is in the details, and the actual scripting is
slightly cringeworthy. In particular the
characters of Reed and Sue are especially cliché and dated.
Trite, even.
I’m not sure if Byrne is locked in to the 1960s sensibilities instilled
in the pair or if he’s just a bit tone deaf. Perhaps both, perhaps neither.
In any case, Reed walks the line between socially awkward milquetoast
and one-track, slightly dismissive hyperscientist. Sue isn’t quite a shrinking
violet, but there’s a certain amount of hand wringing and pearl clutching you’d
expect from King & The Man’s 1960s books.
I’ll give Byrne a pass on Human Torch and The Thing. Those two are
little more than walking archetypes anyway, god bless ‘em, and seeing them as a
mildly doltish curmudgeon and a brash, collar-popping skirt chaser.
I’d hope for a bit more character growth in the case of Mr. and Mrs.
Richards, however, considering parenthood and marriage have entered their
lives.
Perhaps I’m picking nits...
The art is prime John Byrne at the top of his game. His work started
sliding downhill in the ‘90s, around the time of Next Men, but this book pops
with Byrne’s classic, delicate lines.
A few pages seem a bit off, however. Less detailed, like someone aping
the style without crafting a foolproof forgery.
This apparent discrepancy may be attributed to a ghost artist, however.
This issue and several contemporaries were purchased from an artist who
alleged he was employed by Marvel in the ‘80s, along with several peers, to
finish behind-schedule books in the style of their respective artists. George
Perez won’t get the last 6 pages of The Avengers done on time?
No problem, these guys would get those pages done in the style of
George Perez and off to the printer.
I wish to Hell I could remember the guy’s name; I think it was Mike
somethingorother but the memory is fuzzy. He apparently was fired by Marv
Wolfman for refusing to draw Magik in a pentagram due to religious objection.
This whole scenario could have been a swerve concocted to bilk rubes,
but what the hell. It’s a great story and I picked up some cheap ‘80s Dr.
Strange and Fantastic Four from the guy, as well as some of his original art
which was largely comprised of style and cover swipes.
Grabbed a great Green Lantern piece done in the style of Neal Adams,
speaking of artists who’ve slid way downhill...
I was expecting an stereotypical superhero punch-up with this issue,
but I was pleasantly surprised by the (relative) slice-of-life story.
I’m sure they beat up some robots or goofy
aliens next issue...
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