Fantastic Four 529

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Title: Appointment Overdue
Published By: Marvel Comics

Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Pencils: Mike McKone
Inks: Andy Lanning
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Dan Buckley

There are two worlds for the Fantastic Four. There is the world of intersteller treachery. Aliens, interdimensional beasties, parallel worlds, not to mention a rogue’s gallery of villains that generally blow stuff up before they get caught. Not to mention… pardon while I clear my throat for this…

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The other side of that coin is that they are ‘The First Family’. That means that there is a relationship that surpasses that of teammates. A husband/father who happens to be the most distracted and greatest scientist on the planet – a wife/mother who handles the household and business – a brother/uncle who loves the ladies – and a best friend/…err…thing who is now spending his mad ducats.

When these worlds are forced into opposition, who wins?

STORY!

The time is exactly like it was when the Fantastic Four made their jaunt out into space which gave them their powers. Reed is researching for the government exactly what that means. Could another ship of people go up into space and be bombarded with cosmic rays to become new superheroes? That’s what he’s there to figure out… then why the hell did he blow up the project?

Well that’s because Reed’s been thinking that those cosmic rays, and the deliberate selection of their powers might not have been all random. They were possibly a message.

Back at the homefront, Sue’s been being harped on by a force unlike nothing they have ever seen before. DYFUS. Justifiably questioning whether the children are in danger, given that their parents are public superheroes. Hilarity ensues.

The issue itself is fine – JMS seems to understand the basics of the characters, but there are a couple very distinct flaws with how the characters seem to be handling things in my (esteemed) point of view. The first is Sue. She could conceivably die on this mission as she could with any mission, but on the home front, her children’s future are in question – and she chooses to vamoose on an interstellar quest!? Seems to put your priorities a little out of whack.

Now on the Reed front, why does he, in fact, NOT tell the government board about his thoughts on this ‘cosmic message’? The Fant. 4 may not be in the best of graces with the world right now, but he doesn’t even attempt to get them to listen. He just assumes it would be easier to stop what they are doing and go off willy-nilly on his own. For a publicly supported team – they sure as hell seem to make their supporters pissed off.

ART!

McKone starts out strong in this book. A great sequence showing how Reed can use his powers, and a nice scene at the house. Sue looks good in those first few panels you see her. She looks better than the Greg Land version of her with the ever-changing jello-hair. As the book goes on though, the art seems to dwindle. McKone looks rushed and Sue’s the most obvious choice to point out the flaws. Her face gains weight, her arms spindle out to nothing.

So either JMS needs to speed up those scripts, or McKone needs to set aside more time for work. One of those.

OVERALL!

When I first heard about JMS’ ideas about the Fantastic Four, I smiled. JMS likes to start up little internet storms with new spins on characters. The concepts of the ‘Family Services’ portion of the story are coming across more comical. As things get more serious, I would hope Sue & Reed begin to take it much more seriously, instead of going off on missions that could leave them all to never return.

Mark Waid’s run did this as well, but at least he addressed it. This is a good book, but its flaws are obvious.