Beland Fantastic Four, Unstable Molecules

Marvel Box 4 begins!  Fantastic Four pretty much from front to back.

Fantastic Four: Isla de la Muerte!

Fantastic Four: Bahia de los Muertos!

Fantastic Four: Ataque del MODOK!

The Tom Beland FF in Puerto Rico Trilogy.  These issues play well to Beland’s strengths - heartwarming stories about family, a love for the island where he lived for so many years, and a fun sense of humor.  He’s not above speechifying a bit much in at least the first two of those areas, but his sincerity buys him the leeway he needs to get away with it.  

Juan Doe does a marvelous job on all three of these issues.  Isla de la Muerte was his first sequential work, which came as a surprise to me; There’s so much confidence and joy in his work that I never would have guessed.  Here's a nice interview about how he got the gig and the work he put into it.  The vibrancy of his colors and the boldness of the imagery is a perfect fit for the stories Beland tells.

I'm reminded of Pixar concept art, for some reason.

I love this drawing.

    

Three issues...

...Three very different Sue Storms.

Other things I liked:

Beland can’t resist an opportunity to educate the reader about Puerto Rican history.  Whether it’s the history of Fort San Felipe del Morro, the US Navy’s controversial presence in Vieques, or the tastiness of mofongo, Beland wants us to learn a little more about what makes the place so special.  

He also reminds us twice that tacos are from Mexico, not Puerto Rico.  Johnny Storm keeps getting it wrong.  (I was hoping he’d bring it up in the third issue, but no dice.)

First issue...

Second issue...c'mon, just one more!

No dice.  I guess Bendis is right, it is hard.

Best version of this classic line ever:

Yes!  Yes, it is!

The explanation for why Reed Richards chose “Mr Fantastic” for his hero name is very sweet, and very much something that Beland would come up with.

And finally, I’m glad he got this into the last issue:

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

2/5/18

Unstable Molecules 1-4

This was such a fun concept: What if the Fantastic Four were based on real life people that Lee and Kirby knew from the late fifties?  James Sturm tells the story of these four regular individuals, and how their actions on a night in 1958 inspired the first family of the Marvel universe.  

Aside from that tangential connection, this series could just as easily pass for a slice of life comic about everyday people.  The most comparable example that I can think of is Matt Wagner’s Sandman Mystery Theatre, minus the superheroics.  This is undoubtedly due to the Guy Davis link, but I stand by the similarity of strongly written relationships between well-characterized protagonists.

Guy Davis is, of course, perfect for this title.  Art that calls for people of all shapes and sizes, with not an idealized body in the bunch, set just a decade after SMT.  Inspired choice by the editing team.  

I wish that the story continued - the fake appendices refer to 2 additional volumes, and I would have loved to read those.  

By the by, this won the Eisner for Best Limited Series in 2004.  Can’t complain, let’s see what it was up agains-----Holy crap.  Arrowsmith, Empire, Global Frequency, JSA: Unholy Three, and Red Son?  That’s a freakings stacked ballot.  I’m complaining now.  This was pretty good, but there are at least two flat out Really Good titles on that list.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty good