Lee/Kirby Fantastic Four, Brilliant

Brilliant 1-5

I borrowed a couple of comics from the library today.  I wanted some new not-FF things to read, since I’m running out of things to say about what’s been the most painful part of this project so far.  

I thought it would be safe to assume that I’d be reading a comic of some quality in Brilliant, given the creative team of Bendis and Bagley.  Color me stunned to find the first thing that’s actually receiving a rating of Sucked from me.  It’s not Boring, which is the worst I’ve given out so far, and it certainly didn’t Didn’t Suck, sooooo…..

At least this is a different kind of suck for me to write about.  

I’m all for deconstructed stories.  Bendis is a master of the form, evidenced in just about everything he writes.  But Brilliant is a horrendous misstep.  There isn’t a plot so much as a sequence of events that happen.  Perhaps that’s how life works, but it makes for an uninspired reading experience.  

The biggest failure lies with the characters.  There are no real good guys to root for, only flawed people with no likable qualities.  Again, it’s more realistic, but it gives me no incentive to read any more of this title.  

...Ah.  Looks like a sixth issue never came out.  It’s really no loss to the comic world.  Even Bagley’s usually dependable art is inconsistent.  Characters look different from panel to panel, and Joe Rubinstein doesn’t do him any favors on inks.

One stand out moment:  Albert’s one-sided phone conversation with his mother in the final issue is so true-to-life that it hurts.  His frustration and inability to get through to his panicked mother is something I’ve certainly experienced, and seeing it captured on the page so perfectly had me sympathizing with him.  Not enough to like the story, but I was firmly in his corner for those few pages.  

Regret borrowing? No

Would buy? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Sucked [Updated 2/13/18 to Stupid]

Fantastic Four 56-59 , Fantastic Four Annual 4

THIS.  This is why I hate this comic so much.  These people are all unproductive emotion, acting on stupid impulse that should really get them killed.  Which I would not be sad to see.  Replace them with Silver Surfer and Wyatt Wingfoot, they’re much more reasonable and capable.  

Something else that ticks me off:

On the one hand, I abhor that Reed feels the need to shield his adult partner from the fact that Bad Things are happening.  On the other, Stan Lee portrays Sue as such an emotionally fragile person that I can almost support Reed’s choice, and I hate being on his side in this.  I have so much contempt for this entire team.  

At least we still get splash pages like this:

Exudes power.