4 #30....Final Thoughts

[Kirk Langstrom]

Anyone read this issue?

There's a whole bunch of cameo appearances by all sorts of FF alumni; Namor, The Inhumans, Wille Lumpkin, Salem's Seven, and a few others.

I enjoyed it. In fact, this book has been on a serious role for the past year and a half or so. Unfortunately the writer, Roberto Sacasa, is not a "big name talent", so nobody seemed to care...(although im happy to report that the "fickle as hell" Spider-Man fans seem to have welcomed him to their friendly neighborhood over in Sensational Spider-Man)...

Any of you guys read it? I so, what did you think?

If not, then go pick it up. It's interesting.

 

[Kelly]

I'll go check it out....I wasn't planning on heading over to the comic book store until June 28th when F4's Civil War comes out....so might be a few days before I get it...

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Have you read the first two issues of Civil War yet Kel?

Pretty intense!

 

[Kelly]

Have you read the first two issues of Civil War yet Kel?

Pretty intense!

No I haven't, but on Marvel.com they have 3 trailers that really explain it well......The first 2 sold out almost immediately around here....and I haven't been able to catch it.

It sounds awesome.....I can't say that I'm happy hearing of divorce as a possibility, BUT intense is intense....and if you want to show the enormity of what is happening....well divorce talk of the first couple of comics would definitely be a way to show that intensity at its greatest...

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

Yeah, ive heard those rumors, and rumors of the team breaking up.

It wouldnt be the first time Reed and Sue have split, nor the first time the team has broken up, so dont worry; if either (or both) of those things happen, it probably wont be permanent.

 

[Malus]

It wouldnt be the first time Reed and Sue have split, nor the first time the team has broken up, so dont worry; if either (or both) of those things happen, it probably wont be permanent.

Probably?? Come on, Willie!
I enjoyed a good bit of "4."
However--There were two issues I thought really blew. The first was that awful Sue & T'Challa skinny-dipping bullcrap a few months back. For crying out loud, Reed & Sue were newlyweds when that supposedly took place. We're supposed to believe the June Cleaver of Marvel Comics would be such a ho and disrespect Reed like that? Never. Complete trash. Almost as disrespectful to character as JMS laying Gwen Stacey across Norman Osborne's desk. Actually, maybe it's worse.
That's when I dropped the book and started reading my pal's copy.

The other dud was just a few months ago, when Reed finally received the call that the dying would-be window jumper from issue #4 was about to croak. (Reed had promised he would "be there" and apparently that meant not even checkin' on the poor guy 'til his number was minutes from up.)
I had so many problems with the way Sacasa handled this sequence, but even more problems with the completely goofy art that accompanied it. Reed's expressions are incredibly inappropriate, and Reed himself seems almost glib about this man's imminent death. Such a promising dramatic set-up, almost two years prior...I was so pleased that they were following up on that....In fact, just the day before that issue came out, the suicidal old guy had crossed my mind and I wondered if Sacasa had forgotten Reed's promise...And then they laid such an egg. Reed was somehow able to experience the guy's after-death reunion with his long dead son? What th-? Since when is Reed Professor Xavier?

But overall, I give "4" high marks.
I wish they'd give it another shot with Dan Slott as writer.

 

[Kelly]

True, but I loved the arc of them truely finding out who they were, and that no matter how they tried....they would always be the Fantastic Four....I loved that....

 

[Malus]

True, but I loved the arc of them truely finding out who they were, and that no matter how they tried....they would always be the Fantastic Four....I loved that....

That's what this book tried to do, and I have great appreciation for that. So much of what's been missing from the regular FF book for decades was there in spades in "4." The family element was solid and center stage, the way it should be. It's what makes the FF special.
Let's not forget that Sacasa was originally handed the scripting reigns to FF proper, displacing fan favorite Mark Waid. What a freak-out that swept through fandom that week... How long did it take Quesada & co. to back-pedal on that one? maybe 2 weeks?
I know the early issues of "4" are representative of the direction FF was to take, but I wonder how much of what came later was?

For decades, FF proper has lacked much of the heart that "4" and Dan Slott's "The Thing" have exemplified.

And they both get cancelled.

 

[Kelly]

That's what this book tried to do, and I have great appreciation for that. So much of what's been missing from the regular FF book for decades was there in spades in "4." The family element was solid and center stage, the way it should be. It's what makes the FF special.
Let's not forget that Sacasa was originally handed the scripting reigns to FF proper, displacing fan favorite Mark Waid. What a freak-out that swept through fandom that week... How long did it take Quesada & co. to back-pedal on that one? maybe 2 weeks?
I know the early issues of "4" are representative of the direction FF was to take, but I wonder how much of what came later was?

For decades, FF proper has lacked much of the heart that "4" and Dan Slott's "The Thing" have exemplified.

And they both get cancelled.

Definitely, thats why 4 was my favorite of all...I'm upset that its been cancelled but I hope that we get some of that strong relationship writing after Civil War.....Civil War definitely looks intense and should be a good read....but I will miss the family aspect of 4.

 

[Iron Maiden]

I really wasn't that into RAS as an FF scribe. I remember when the news broke on Newsarama that Joe Quesada -- really Bill Jemas -- had fired Mark Waid and then Mike Wieringo resigned in protest. Tom Brevoort and Mark Waid even came up with a compromise direction but it still got shot down. Basically, Waid said what Jemas wanted was for the FF to be a goofy dysfunctional family with a cranky neighbor (Doom?!?) whereas Waid and Brevoort said they would tone down some of the darker elements of the stories from "Unthinkable" through "Authoritative Action" but keep the sci-fi / imaginauts concept. RAS became sort of the whipping boy because almost no one had heard of him before whereas Mark Waid has a high profile rep in the comics industry.

When the resulting fan uproar caused Jemas to back down and Joe Q hired Waid back, I think it caused a huge disconnect between the two titles. You had the MK "4" living in a lower class neighborhood and scrambling for cash whereas Waid had Reed whip up a couple of patents in one panel to wipe out their debt. Nor did the family leave the Baxter Building. Some of RAS's stories were OK but there was nothing sensational there. And as someone mentioned, the flirtation of the newlywed Sue with T'Challa was totally out of character and horribly done. I also hated the silly renewal of the Namor / Reed / Sue triangle. Chris Claremont put that one on hold and I preferred they way he handled it in the FF title.

The story with the Puppet Master gave a new creepy vibe to that villain but I thought he gave us a very unremarkable Doom cameo. Not a lot of writers can handle Doom very well. I don't even totally agree with Mark Waid's take on the character but at least he gave him better dialogue.

The best part of "4" was Steve McNiven's art but when Marvel saw the talent they had they took him off the title for some higher profile projects.