Reviewer: James Hatton
Story Title: Dysfunctional: Part 2
Written by: Mark Waid & Karl Kesel
Penciled by: Paco Medina
Inked by: Juan Vlasco
Colored by: Paul Mounts
Lettered by: Randy Gentile
Cover Art: Gene Ha & Morry Hollowell
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
I will admit that the first Fantastic Four story that I picked up on my own was the 9 cent adventure, specifically because it was Waid writing it. Aside from my views of them from crossovers over the years, X-Men versus Fantastic Four, Onslaught, and just knowing the legend, the first family had missed me completely.
Up until this point, Waid has easily taken a book that was loved by core fans, and put it into another classic run. (Or so I have been told) The Doom one-shot alone was worth it all. Since then, it’s gotten a bit political, and the end of the Heaven storyline was kitschy, but not exactly the way I would have wanted it to go… and here we are, in the midst of a story I really feel Waid plotted, and Kesel put down to script, because it just ain’t the same.
Story!
We are midway through this 3-parter, and where the first issue did very little for me – this one did less.
As the midpoint between an intro and a conclusion, this is the action story. It’s a standard formula, but the motivations here are so nebulous that you really start to get confused. The Wizard tells people left and right he doesn’t give a damn about his daughter, only to tell people to go get her no matter what, only to get her and hurt the guy who did so. All of this going on while the Fantastic Four is taken out methodically by the remaining three of the Frightful Four.
At the end of it, we are given some insight into how the daughter of Wizard and ‘Salamandra’ was conceived, and why. The girl then turns tale and gets the hell out, to meet up with Johnny Storm conveniently and ask for help.
Let me just say for the record, that I understand why comic characters talk and fight at the same time. It’s a comic staple, and it helps continue a verbal narrative as well as an action sequence. The paragraphs of dialogue that go on between the heroes and villains is just inane.
Art!
The cover is generic. Really generic. If I was going to ask someone what the Fantastic Four looked like. I’d show them this cover and then say, “But drawn better.”
Now the interior art on the otherhand… well, it’s not that great either. The coloring is strong, and the inking is fine as well, it really comes down to the fact that Medina seems to think that every person in the Marvel Universe has a huge honker of a nose.
There were some panels where Reed looked like Nick Fury, Sue looked like Barbara Streisand, and Cole (the daughter) looked like a bad Jewish stereotype. Overall, completely unimpressive, and it comes across feeling like a rush job.
Overall!
Waid had me hooked into F4. He really did. Through the politics, there was still a great story. Through the religion, there was a pretty good story. The Spidey-Arc was a bit of filler, but it was still a fun story. This is coming across as a spot where either Waid has taken a brief break, or needs to dazzle us after this arc is over.
