Fantastic Four #558
Looks like we’re starting off here on a relatively high note. Fantastic Four #558 was actually reasonably good, belaying the whole raison d’etre of this blog. Let’s call it training – if I jump right into heavy venting, I might strain my spleen.
So, starting at the top, the cover actually makes use of one of my favorite devices that’s almost entirely gone by the wayside in the last twenty years – the cover dialogue balloon. It’s used especially effectively here to turn generi-cover Dr. Doom reaching out into a memorable, story-related visual image.
However, the cover also chooses, puzzlingly and prominently, to announce “Starting This Issue: The Death of the Invisible Woman.” Why is this puzzling? First off, it’s the most boring way to present this information. The font is staid; the construction is prosaic. If you’re going to make naked marketing ploys, (and I’m not necessarily against it) at least make it exciting. To be fair, the second problem works against hyperbole: the fact that it’s a ridiculous statement to be making at all. I’m going to have to open this issue again to recollect if the Invisible Woman was in it at all; she certainly doesn’t have an important part. And this isn’t the start of anything obvious, all the plotlines seem like continuations of things that have come before. And even if it is the start of the death of Invisible Woman, you’ve just sucked all the fun out of it. Yes, the Death of Superman was a fun ride, even though we knew vaguely how it was going to end. This is not the Death Of Superman. It either ruins the surprise or flags a lame cop-out, all the lamer because we were told it was coming. I might have been willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for a “This Issue: Sue DIES!” burst, since that would be resolved in the next twenty minutes when I finished the issue. Multi-issue anticipation? Marvel doesn’t have the credibility with me for that.
Of course, that entire wall of text is pretty much moot, since I didn’t even notice it when I read the issue. But, still.
The art’s better than it is in many contemporary books, with a clear sense of what’s going on and most of the characters looking recognizably different. Kudos to Bryan Hitch for that. And the man draws one hell of a Doctor Doom. But what the devil is up with his renditions of Reed, Sue, and Ben?
This is not what the Thing’s nose looks like. There’s room for artistic license, but he just doesn’t have a well-defined bridge with nostrils. Never has and it’s really off-putting.
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The Thing’s nose drawn correctly: The Thing’s nose drawn incorrectly (bottom right): Bryan Hitch, FF #558 |
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Sue and Reed seem to be victims of the photo reference club, with odd features that don’t match any sense of them that’s come before. I see why they felt the need to put their labeled faces on the front page. They’d be unrecognizable if not for the distinctive hair coloration. At least Reed maintains a consistent Sargent Rock-like appearance throughout; Sue’s amorphous face changes shape wildly – a feat made all the more amazing when one realizes her face is only seen in any detail in a single panel aside from the front page. Perhaps they’re killing her with inattention.
Hitch’s panel to panel transitions are generally very good, so it makes it all the more disconcerting when the perspective lurches wildly to the side:
I know sometimes it’s hard to fit tall characters in a long panel, but think of something else. I was instinctively turning my head so far that I could not longer read the dialogue without deliberately turning it back and totally breaking my immersion. Hitch manages to use this trick successfully when he implements it to lesser degrees, but back off the How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way, huh? Just because it’s dynamic at 45 does not make it three times as dynamic at 135.
Storywise, this was pretty compelling and a lot of good character-based developments in a few storylines, in sharp opposition to the cover suggesting we were embarking on a new epic. I haven’t read an FF since Dwayne McDuffie left, so I was a little lost, but they mostly passed the “Every Issue is Someone’s First” test. Still, some problems:
The Thing’s girlfriend is left almost entirely without exposition. I gathered that she’s his girlfriend, which is enough if she’s a minor plot element this issue, but at least give me a name other than “Miss Green,” if you want to have her apparent betrayal of Ben have a solid emotional impact. As it is, I don’t particularly care and to the extent that I do, it’s lazily relying on my affection for Ben, rather than any emotional investment in the girl.- If you’re going to give over the front page to recapping because you’re incapable of working it into the actual contents of the book, at least make it a relevant recap. Eight lines are devoted to the plot of what I’m guessing were the last several issues which have nothing to do with the current issue. Two are given over to things relevant to this issue:
- Johnny is having an affair with a super-villain
- Doctor Doom has just burst into the Baxter Building with a massive shock wave.
Both of these are pretty self-evident in the issue as written and neither would have been hard to underline a little with dialogue.
This is one of the clunkiest transition captions that I have ever seen. If you can’t work that into the dialogue in a scene where Reed is watching security camera footage of Doom being broken out, you should just go home. Close second in this issue: "Johnny’s band in rehearsal." Because I would otherwise have no idea what they might be doing with a guitar and a mixing board.
Kudos for bringing back the editor’s note, though. It was a damned silly decision to get rid of those. I do want to know where I can read further about these things, thank you. Even in this case, where the box informs me I’d have to consult the unpleasant Mighty Avengers.
But, hey, for all that, Fantastic Four #558 was a well-put together issue with a good overall story arc; the characters’ characterizations treated well, including the often tricky to peg Doctor Doom’s; a genuine surprise at the end; and the reappearance of Mentallo with the sense of Marvel history that that implies. Not astounding, but a solid issue with a quality that would make me very happy to see Marvel achieve across all its books these days.