Byrne Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four 232-235

Byrne starts his long run on FF.  It’s remarkable - It took me the same amount of time to read four issues today that it did to read four Lee/Kirby issues.  But the experiences were diametrically opposed.  These were all one issue stories, with only a hint of continuity from one book to the next.  While both versions talked as if this quartet was a family as well as a team, Byrne’s incarnation actually acted as both.  Aside from the usual tiffs between Torch and Thing, the members listened to each other and acted reasonably without flying off the handle on every other page.  

And Sue is so much better.  She’s confident in her abilities and self, doesn’t rely on Reed to dictate her actions, and can hold her own as a superhero.  How novel!

I liked the concept of issue 234, and the execution is solid as well.  Skip Collins is as bland a person as you can imagine.  Byrne’s narration give a perfect accounting of the situation.  

Looking at him, you would not expect to notice anything extraordinary.  He has the look of a man mired in mediocrity, and that is what he is.  With his wife Louisa he has fathered four children; WIth the First City Bank of Skokie he has purchased a modest two-story home...With great reluctance he is captain of the bowling team down at Acme Aglet.  He likes Monday Night Football, and an occasional beer with the boys.  

It reads mundane, and coupled with the images of Skip waking up, shaving, and getting dressed, it is sublime.  

As Byrne slowly juxtaposes this man with the sheer power at his disposal, the incongruity is at once charming and absurd.  Here’s someone with the power of wish fulfillment, and he unknowingly uses it to avoid rush hour and tidy up the house.  Skip closes out the issue by reversing a global catastrophe, presumably losing his powers in the process, then returns home as a world savior, none the wiser.  A nice departure from the standard superhero fare, and writing this review was enough to bump it up from Nice to Pretty Good.

Issue 235 is similarly strong, but for the opposite reason.  Ben’s heroics are blatantly obvious from the opening panel.

Definitely not having a good day.

Every step he takes is a hardship.  Every breath is a struggle.  Once again, the combination of text and image works together beautifully to create a vivid show.

...They make it because they are the chosen few.  The elite.  They have what Tom Wolfe called The Right Stuff.  Today, two hundred miles below the skin of a living world, Ben Grimm proves once again what his pilot buddies always knew...Ben Grimm has The Right Stuff.

Love it.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? Yes

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Pretty Good