Karl Disley... my Fantastic Four Forever

I’m a giver.

What If...? #36

Above average.

"And so, even in this other reality, words and deeds may mirror our own."

It's a pretty straightforward retelling of the first FF adventure, but without powers. Some interesting ideas/concepts are introduced early on and... then ignored. The novelty here is in seeing familiar plot points play out almost the same way as before, but not quite.

Silver Surfer III #93

Excellent.

Surfer vs Human Torch

A character-driven and continuity-heavy comic. Recent events in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, THE INCREDIBLE HULK, and DOCTOR STRANGE are alluded to, while tragic losses in both FANTASTIC FOUR and SILVER SURFER drive the story.

Johnny’s outburst is completely relatable. And it looks fantastic. Not sure I’ve ever seen his "flame on" look so cool. The bottom of page 10 is amazing.

Wizard Top 100: #69.

Ron Marz (52 of 62).

Fantastic Four #397

Delightful.

FF attacked by The Watcher?!?!

This is just a tonne of fun. We open with Johnny rushing like crazy to get back to New York. Exciting start. Pulls you in.

Having the heroes attacked in their HQ is an overused comic book trope, but it works here because it is part of a larger story and because we don't understand--for ages--why it is happening or who is behind it. We can easily guess, of course, what is really going on. In any case, the action is thrilling. And the jokes are funny.

A different kind of thrills is to be found in the b-story as Sue learns who the two men in the stasis chambers are. A genuine surprise follows. Really opens the storyline up ever more.

Tom DeFalco (43 of 66).

Paul Ryan (42 of 60).

Fantastic Four #400

Average.

The obligatory retelling-of-origin 6-page backup.

Framed by the cameo-laden memorial service for Reed.

Nothing new here.

Tom DeFalco (47 of 66).

Paul Ryan (46 of 60).

Fantastic Four Unlimited #10

Yet another bad issue in this series.

"But there remains an ample source here in my lab--to bring me the victory over Eternals and Fantastic Four alike!"

Pages 1-7: In Olympia, Karkas and Ransak are kidnapped by Sue, Ben and Johnny. In full view of 6 Eternals. Except... it's not the real FF. It's really 3 bottom tier villains. Gasp.

Pages 8-12: In New York, Khoryphos and Yrdisis meet Sue, Ben and Johnny. This time it's really them. 3 different bottom tier villains attack and kidnap Yrdisis. They injure Khoryphos.

Pages 13-22: The FF are trying to help rapidly ageing Khoryphos when 5 Etenals show up and immediately attack them. Eventually, the misunderstanding fight ends, and both groups compare notes.

Pages 23-27 shift focus to the villains, and we learn Maelstrom's goal.

Pages 28-36: These pages revolve around Thena's twins, Donald and Deborah, from the godawful Herod Factor story. The heroes try and fail to stop the villains from abducting them.

Pages 37-39: Villain HQ. Now that they have everyone they need, the villains do their thing. Maelstrom achieves his goal!

Pages 40-51: The heroes show up, and there's a big battle. In the midst of all this, Maelstrom makes a surprising discovery. Not long after that, it's all over.

I enjoy this series. It's bad. But it's fun. Fun in the everyone-who-made-this-comic-is-asleep-at-the-wheel way. And the pace is good, even if the story is nonsense. Something new and different is always happening. The 51 pages zip by.

Roy Thomas (9 of 11).

Herb Trimpe (9 of 11).

Fantastic Four #378

Awesome!

"Your entire species is targeted for extinction!"

Around this time, the mutant books had a big deal storyline and the various issues were all good. No more, no less. Meanwhile, here's a standard run-of-the-mill FANTASTIC FOUR issue and it's an absolute thrill ride. A perfect superhero comic with dynamic bad guys coming at the team from all four points on the compass.

In the raging battle that follows, everyone gets something important to do, including the slew of guest stars. So much to love in these 22 action-packed pages. Seeing Sandman step forward to fight side-by-side with the Thing was a personal favourite. And away from the fighting, plot developments abound.

Total Paid Circulation: 217,625 (average #371-382).

Wizard Top 100: #83.

Tom DeFalco (24 of 66).

Paul Ryan (23 of 60).

Fantastic Four #381

A thrilling confrontation.

"Ayiii! The stranger spoke true! The creature comes!"

Exhilarating running battle with the good guys (and Doctor Doom!) up against a mysterious foe that seems unbeatable. I love comics like this! The script cleverly includes a couple of ordinary Doomstadt citizens, giving perspective on the battle, and life under Victor Von Doom. The script also gives all the regulars their moment in the spotlight, providing brief character moments here and there, and delivering a doozy of a cliffhanger on the last page. Fun times ahead!

Best Panels: Page 12, panels 3 & 4. As someone who is loving Sue's new costume, I really loved her look here: jacket with hands in pockets. And the reflection in the mirrored surface beside her was very interesting.

Total Paid Circulation: 217,625 (average #371-382).

Wizard Top 100: #92.

Tom DeFalco (27 of 66).

Paul Ryan (26 of 60).

Fantastic Four Unlimited #4

Drivel.

Hulk and Thing must fight to the death to save their captured friends.

If this was a 22-page story from 1976 I might enjoy its silliness and give it a 5/10 along with a favourable review. But it's not. It's a 50-page story from 1993 and it's junk.

This series has been hit and miss so - going into this - I thought there was a chance I might enjoy it. But it lost me from the very start. 9 pages of the Hulk and Thing fighting was a chore to read. Particularly when the art flatters neither character. Then, it turns out that the fight is virtual. We are told that they are doing it to raise funds for a good cause. That's nice but it really doesn't make sense. Why on earth would people pay $1,000 to watch the Hulk and the Think have a virtual battle? I mean, it's that just like watching 2 guys play a video game, right?! Why would anyone care? It makes no sense. Almost as if the writer doesn't quite understand virtual reality.

Anyway, other stuff happens. And we wind up (on page 32!) with the Hulk and the Thing having to fight again. But now it must be real. And it must be to... the death! Because the Mole Man can somehow use the energy released to somehow regenerate his true love. Somehow.

But wait, there's more. The script acknowledges the recent death of Reed Richards, but does so in an offhand manner that comes off as disrespectful. That annoyed me every bit as much as the fact that key aspects of the main story made no sense whatsoever.

Roy Thomas (4 of 11).

Herb Trimpe (4 of 11).

Fantastic Four Unlimited #5

Not terrible.

The New Frightful Four.

The Wizard escapes prison using a special chess board (?!). The FF has replaced Reed Richards with Scott Lang (?!). Klaw releases Sharon Ventura from the chamber she was it. It's never made clear exactly why he's doing this. Or what he wants to achieve. It just seems like a really stupid thing to do. At this point, the Wizard snatches them away to be in his new gang. Really getting into the swing of things, Sharon immediately turns full-on evil with no prompting. Whatever sympathy I was feeling for her over in the (excellent) regular title evaporates instantly. There, she was attempting suicide. Here, she's just an evil bitch.

Hilariously, the Red Ghost shows up for no reason whatsoever. It's just a random thing that happens. The script doesn't even bother to explain it. Instead, we are told it's "fate." Next time we see the FF, they are in their locker room (?!) at Four Freedoms Plaza. It's unisex, too, because Sue is changing in front of the guys (?!). Later, she and Scott Lang go on a date (?!) and they are abducted. In fact, all of the FF members are abducted. And each one is forced to fight one member of the Frightful Four. These fights are actually okay. The Sue vs. Sharon one is remarkable because Sharon is - and I can't stress this enough - a super-villain now. We then learn that all these fights are happening in... the Wizard's old house in the suburbs (?!). But, at the last minute, the Frightful Four's victory is snatched away because something something something cause and effect something something.

The Fantastic Four then escape the house having forgotten everything that happened (?!). Why did they forget? Absolutely no idea. It must be "fate" again. Presumably it's written this way so that all this nonsense doesn't ever have to be referenced in the regular title. Will Sharon stop being evil in the regular book, I wonder?

The previous issue was complete drivel. A chore to read. However, in sharp contrast, this issue falls into the so-bad-it's-good category. It's so hilariously bad that I truly loved it. Every scene was dafter that the one before. It should be a cult classic. Essential reading for every FF fan. I was sorry to finish it because it was making me chuckle.

Roy Thomas (5 of 11).

Herb Trimpe (5 of 11).

Fantastic Four Unlimited #6

Okay.

FF arrive on parallel Earth ruled by Namor.

This is an okay comic, but there are barriers to enjoyment. The art is a major one. The figures are grotesque, and the clumsy page layouts do not facilitate storytelling.

There are 50 pages. A lot of this is just talking/explaining stuff. There are 12 pages devoted to recapping alone! The pace is sluggish, particularly in the first half. A 35-page annual would have been enough for this story.

That said, it’s a okay middle-of-the-road comic. Like something from WHAT IF...? Forgettable, but it passed an hour. (Actually 2 half-hours on different days.)

In his defence, Thomas has a tough job. He’s tasked with writing FF adventures at a time when continuity is tight in the main title. He’s struggling to find ways to inject his stories between issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, and it’s not always easy.

Roy Thomas (6 of 11).

Herb Trimpe (6 of 11).