Byrne Fantastic Four, World of Tanks

World of Tanks 1

I’m visiting my sister in Fort Collins, Colorado.  I stopped by Halley’s Comics, and found the missing issue of World of Tanks that I’ve been looking for.  Woots!  I’ve already read the rest of the series, so there were no surprises here, and not much more to talk about; It’s the first part of another solid WWII story by Garth Ennis.  The connection to the video game might as well not be there; This would just as easily have been an arc in his War Stories title.  

Fantastic Four 238-241

Poor Alicia Masters.  She’s always being told by the Fantastic Four members that she can’t see, as if she didn’t already know:

• Issue 237 - “Don’t worry, Alicia.  I haven’t forgotten that you’re blind…”
• Issue 238 - “Sorry, Alicia, you get around so well I sometimes forget you’re blind.”
• Issue 239 -  “I know you can’t see it on account of you’re blind…” 

I know that every issue might be someone’s first, but surely there’s a way to relay the information to the readers without being insensitive…

Checking on the FF enemy stupidity count:

• Issue 238 - No villian
• Issue 239 - The FF rescue civilians and solve the mystery.
• Issue 240 - No villain, but Reed helps the Inhumans relocate to the Moon, where they still reside to this day.  A momentous issue.
• Issue 241 - Sue gets the win by pulling off the emperor’s helmet.  He was stupid to turn his back to her, but not egregiously so.  I’ll give it to Invisible Woman.

FF: 4

Enemy stupidity: 1

Byrne’s FF continues to read far better than the other 80s Marvel runs that I’ve reviewed so far (Stern’s Avengers and Nocenti’s Daredevil), but I can’t quite identity why.  Certainly the art is superior, and that goes a long way.  But the stories are generally run of the mill, single-issue plots that leave the team the same as when they started.  There are incremental lasting changes - The addition of Frankie Raye as Nova, Thing’s transformation to his early visual appearance, and the birth of Luna to Quicksilver and Crystal.  So what’s keeping me engaged as I continue to read through the run?  I’m not approaching each issue with the mild dread that I may fall asleep that I did with the Avengers or DD.  Is it a pace thing?  Is it really the art?  Something to look into in the future.  It goes on my idea list.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice