Fantastic Four #4, by Marc Alan Fishman – Snarky Synopsis
February 18, 2013 Marc Fishman 0 Comments
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Mark Bagley
Welcome back to snarky town, kiddos! After the big let down last week, I honestly wanted to do myself one worse. Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction, thus far, has been nothing but a supremely frustrating book. I admit to you, dear reader, that I cracked open issue 4, hoping to hate it. Alas. It wasn’t to be. While it’s still a very trope-heavy affair, it is admittedly a step in the right direction.
In short: Reed is dying. In order to find a way to not die, he makes a brilliant lie to sneak his family (and Ben) into space and time. Either to find a cure, or at very least, enjoy quality time while he can. I should note that the “creeping death” taking over Reed is potentially harmful to the rest of the Four. So, three birds, one stone via a space and time machine. And with that? It’s off to the world of adventure!
After last month’s “visit to the planet that is all alive and trying to eat them” plot, Fraction dusts off space trope two; the planet of mildly intelligent savages who practically worship the arrived Reed (and Grimm) clan. But in a welcome twist, a cave painting of their arrival proves to be the mystery du jour. Amidst this though, the book largely dives back in time (via flashback, not time ship) to the genesis of Reed and Sue’s romance. Add in a soft-spoken in-caption future letter to Sue, and the book reaches a poignant end, all nice and tidy like, some 22 pages later.
The story itself is novel. It seems to be the MO of Fraction’s take on the titular fantastic family. Perhaps a bit of homage to Kirby and Lee, or more recently, Waid and Wiernigo… things all seems to be treated with kids gloves. Over at ComicMix this past week, I gave a rather lengthy rant towards creative teams who take on books after a well-loved creative team ends their run. In my snarled musings, my main point was “…to be inspired by what was left at your feet; never weighed down by it.” Oh, cruel fate, Matt Fraction is taking my words to heart a bit too much. While the concept of freeing the Four from our planet (and time) is great, there is a severe disconnect from where the book left off.
Now I know that Marvel Now! represents a new beginning for a book, but Marvel made clear that these were not reboots. Simply a new direction, a new volume and issue number, and in most cases… a new creative team. Here, Fraction and Bagley seemingly disregard any tenant of the book created by Jonathan Hickman and his art team over the last few years. And it’s this disregard that has plagued me from enjoying the series since the restart. Hickman treated the Fantastic Four with awe, and intelligence. He was unafraid to get cosmic, to play with time travel, to evolve relationships, and most importantly… to let characters grow up a bit. By the end of his tenure on the title, Reed found a new love for being a father. Sue found an inner strength rarely seen before. Ben continued to exist as the heart of the team. And Johnny? Well, after decades of being the eternal boy wonder of the 616… he was given a chance to become both a joker, and a man. And lest I forget, Hickman gave us a maddeningly brilliant Valleria, and an amazingly deep Franklin.
In sharp contrast, Fantastic Four #4 (and 1, 2, and 3 respectively) have little to do with these anchors. For the most part, Fraction returns everyone to the status quo; and because of it, as I’ve stated several times, the book feels light in the loafers. That being said, issue 4 does take steps to move towards center again. Spoiler Alert. Sue makes it plain and clear that she knows Reed is up to something. It was a revelation I nearly applauded after reading. Given how long the first couple of Marvel have been an item, it’s the first moment in this iteration of the series that uses the past to its advantage. Couple this with Ben’s admittance at being a homesick Yancy boy, and I’m finally starting to enjoy things again. It’s like they say: a spoonful of maturity helps the medicine go down. Wait. Who says that?
Art chores are delivered by the stalwart Mark Bagley. Perhaps I was overly indulged with better art elsewhere, but frankly the book is visually unimpressive. Bagley, a man known for his speed (remember when he was cranking 2 Ultimate Spider-Man issues a month?) churns out pages here in a manner that could only be described as “adequate”. While I truly respect the prowess he has, and mean no disrespect to his end-product, but in a complete story… no panels, no visuals, no moments stay with me. In comparison to other artists operating in what I could describe as a “loose, semi-cartoony” form, I find Bagley’s characters, backgrounds, and action all too milquetoast. Take perhaps a Ryan Stegman or Greg Capullo, both employ perhaps a looser / sketchier presentation… but in both cases their respective books drip with emotion. Bagley, perhaps being too inspired by Reed himself, is colder and more calculated. Everything feels ‘by the numbers’. And for what its worth? I honestly feel like he could do better.
Suffice to say, it’s was the bottom of the ninth with 2 outs and 2 strikes for this series for me. Matt Fraction’s last minute bunt of maturity and revelation saves him for one more issue. I’m all for these stand-alone tales building towards a slow conclusion regarding Reed’s milady… but not at the cost of denying years worth of character growth. While FF continues to be a madly brilliant romp (also written by Fraction, oddly enough)… Fantastic Four itself is still sitting on shaky ground. Proceed with caution, my friends. This game could be over before it ever gets started.