Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus - Volume 1

Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus - Volume 1 by John Byrne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

John Byrne was largely responsible for making the Fantastic Four a must read title during the 1980's. This huge omnibus is the beginning of his run.

The first story in the omnibus is a two parter from Marvel Team-Up featuring Spiderman, the Human Torch, and Ms. Marvel taking on the Super Skrull, Byrne's first stab at drawing members of the Fantastic Four. From there, we get a tale from Marvel Two-In-One where the Thing takes a potential cure back in time to give to his past self, Byrne's first stab at writing and drawing the Fantastic Four.

Once the preliminaries are out of the way, we start with Byrne's run as the artist on Fantastic Four with Bill Mantlo and Marv Wolfman doing the writing. It's a cosmic epic co-starring Nova, the Champions of Xandar, and others battling the Sphinx and the Skrulls. You know the manure is hitting the windmill when the FF go to Galactus for help. The storyline with the Xandarians isn't bad I'm chomping at the bit to get to the run with Byrne as the artist AND writer.

It's not until the %25 mark that Byrne's epic run begins. Before that happens, Terrax was introduced, Blastaar made an appearance, and HERBIE betrayed the Fantastic Four. One interesting sidebar from this time period, at one point John Byrne was penciling both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men every month, then left the Fantastic Four to do Captain America for a few issues because two team books a month was too much.

Once Byrne takes the writing reigns, the book picks up a notch. I'm not going to say it's still not an 80's comic but it's noticeably better. Byrne makes Diablo a credible threat to the Fantastic Four in his first outing pulling double duty.

From there, the series takes a cosmic turn. Byrne introduces the Frankie Raye version of Nova, who will later become Galactus' herald, puts the gang up against Ego, the Living Planet, and sees them helping Galactus against Terrax. Old standbys Dr. Doom and the Inhumans are used but their stories are fairly fresh. The FF go up against The Gladiator of The Shi'ar and return to the Negative Zone.

A lot of other things happen as well. This is a big damn book at over 1000 pages and it's not even Byrne's full run. By the end, the Thing is still a member and hasn't yet been replaced by She-Hulk.

The way I look it, John Byrne brought his A game to the Fantastic Four and his run was as epic as Lee and Kirby's in scope. If you're a fan of the Fantastic Four or John Byrne, this is a must read.

How long do I have to wait until the next volume is released?



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Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Volume 1 Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Volume 1

Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Volume 1 by Jonathan Hickman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Fantastic Four deal with the Wizard, the Council of Reeds, Nu-Earth, and Franklin Richards' birthday...

There was a time in my life when the Fantastic Four was undisputedly my favorite comic. I must have been a subscriber for six or seven years. Aside from reading Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus - Volume 1 and Fantastic Four: 1234, this is my first foray into the FF's adventures in a decade or more.

The book starts off a little slow. The Wizard-centric story at the beginning didn't knock my unstable molecule-made socks off, but it did introduce the young Wizard clone, Bentley. The second story, however, kicks things into high gear. I love the concept of the Council of Reeds, Reed Richards from various space-time continuums that team up and solve all the world's problems. It's a great story, too. The third story takes place in parallel with the second, a vacation for Johnny and The Thing to Nu-World that goes bad. The fourth story, Franklin's birthday, has its share of poignant moments. The art was pretty good. When did the Fantastic Four start wearing short sleeves?

My only gripes with this book have to do with pacing. Not a hell of a lot actually happened. It was the complete opposite of the last omnibus I read, Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the Monsters. While I don't expect a slugfest per page, I felt like this volume was all setup for future tales.

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Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the MonstersFrankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the Monsters

Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E., Vol. 1: War of the Monsters by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Armed with the sword of the Archangel Gabriel, Frankenstein protects mankind from dark menaces as an agent of SHADE!

Whenever I talk about comics, I normally latch on to the ones that are more than just guys in spandex punching each other. Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, is two guys punching each other with the volume turned up to eleven.

Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, combines the best parts of Hellboy and Nick Fury, Agent of SHIELD with a helping of the Fantastic Four. Cool ideas are spilling off the page, as are the nearly mindless slugfests when Frankenstein and the Creature Commandos go into action, battling entire planets full of monsters, thinly disguised analogs of Dr. Manhattan, and various menaces contained within Shade City.

Frankenstein reminds me of Hellboy quite a bit. He's a hundred years old and fairly pissed off. The rest of the Creature Commandos are takeoffs of established monster characters like the wolfman and the creature from the black lagoon. It's a whole lot of fun.

Like I said earlier, the background concepts are what make the book, like the Ant Farm, a one inch diameter globe that floats above the earth's surface and serves as SHADE headquarters. Ray Palmer as the head scientist of SHADE, complete with his Atom powers, was one of my favorite parts.

Any gripes? Not really. Frankenstein, Agent of SHADE, is a hell of a lot of fun. It's not going to make you forget about Watchmen or Starman but it's not meant to.

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Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones

Swamp Thing, Vol. 1: Raise Them Bones by Scott Snyder
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Alec Holland is reborn with memories not his own, memories of the adventures of Swamp Thing. Forces of the Rot are marshaling and only the Swamp Thing can stop them. But what does all that have to do with an immune-deficient child named William?

I've made it no secret that I think Scott Snyder can do no wrong when it comes to comics. Swamp Thing really drove that point home. Stepping into Alan Moore's shoes on one of the projects that took him to stardom wasn't an enviable task. Good thing Scott Snyder eats unenviable tasks for breakfast.

Snyder's Swamp Thing isn't Moore's Swamp Thing and would have failed miserably if it tried to be. This Swamp Thing is the story of The Red and The Green going up against a force that threatens both of them, The Rot. Another Swamp Thing reveals Holland's destiny to him and that the past may not be exactly as he remembered it. Throw in one Abigail Arcane and Snyder weaves one heck of a tale.

The writing is top notch. I love how Snyder has recast Swamp Thing as a warrior for nature rather than just a protector. The art is pretty damn good as well. I loved the Easter eggs in the background, like Bissette Motors and the Tottleben Hotel, homages to Moore's collaborators on Swamp Thing in the 1980's.

Now I'm ready for volume 2 to come out.


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Marvel Boy

Marvel Boy by Grant Morrison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A Kree ship is shot down and Noh-Varr is the only surivor... and is quite pissed! Midas, the man who shot Noh-Varr down, pursues him for the Kree technology in his possession with all of his resources, including his daughter...

Back in the day, I read Wizard magazine (RIP) religiously, even when I wasn't reading comics anymore. Marvel Boy briefly dragged me out of one of my comic hiatuses. Was it worth it? Meh.

The Noh-Varr character was created as a throwback to the days when Namor the Sub-Mariner was wreaking havoc one minute and saving lives the next. Morrison was clearly having fun with his Marvel Boy, gouging swear words into New York by knocking down buildings, etc. Noh-Varr was a fairly original character for a mainstream super-hero comic. He could eat garbage to help hasten his healing process, run up walls, enhanced physical attributes, and had access to cool Kree weaponry.

But didn't you say "Meh?" Yes, I did. While I liked the Noh-Varr character, most of the other characters were pretty bland. Midas had an old set of Iron Man armor but was pretty much your stereotypical villain. Oubliette was okay but not very original. I did like the Bannermen but I don't think they made another appearance.

The ending was okay but I wish Morrison would have done another Marvel Boy miniseries. From what I understand, the character has been nerfed a bit in his subsequent appearances. Like most Morrison comics, he throws a lot of big ideas at you but doesnt' develope most of them. It's a 3 but that's all I could justify giving it.

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Memory

Memory by Donald E. Westlake
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Actor Paul Cole gets caught in bed with another man's wife and suffers a head injury. Now Cole's long term memory is gone and his short term memory isn't anything to write home about. Can Cole get back to his old life in New York and remember who he was?

Memory was among Donald Westlake's possessions after he died a few years ago. Apparently he'd written it in the 60's but never got it published. Thanks to Lawrence Block and the Hard Case Crime series, it's finally seen print.

Since Westlake was primarily a crime writer, it's not hard to see why publishers were reluctant to take a chance on Memory. Rather than being a crime novel, it's more a of a literary one. There's a slight mystery element but it's more the story of a man trying to find himself after having his life snatched away. It explores the concept of identity and what it would be like to forget almost everything every day.

Paul Cole's life is a sad one, far from the hijinx of Dortmunder or the violent world of Parker. He suffers one defeat after another and continuously grasps at straws in an attempt to regain his memory. The supporting cast is fairly well-rounded. Cole's agent Helen is probably the most memorable.

Since this was the last published work of Donald Westlake, I feel bad only giving it a three but that's as high as I can go. It's a little on the long side and the mystery element felt tacked on. Plus the ending is pretty sad. Still, when it comes to a deceased author's work, you have to take what you can get.

On a side note, with this volume, I've now read the entire Dorchester run of the Hard Case Crime series, all 66 books.

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Guns of Heaven

The Guns of Heaven by Pete Hamill
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reporter Sam Briscoe meets up with an IRA leader in Northern Ireland and agrees to bring a letter back to the States. Unfortunately, some don't want that letter delivered and follow Briscoe back to New York to prevent the delivery...

Interesting tidbit: Pete Hamil was one of the men that disarmed Sirhan Sirhan after he shot RFK. I have to think that might be part of why this was selected to be part of the Hard Case Crime library. As far as Hard Case Crime books go, this one is on the likeable side of average. Once the story takes off, there's a good amount of suspense. Hamill throws twist after twist at you. Briscoe's a fairly typical detective story hero; smart mouth, takes a beating, and never gives up. The IRA angle sets it apart from a lot of stories written at the same time. It feels like a movie Mel Gibson would have done in the early 90's or one that Liam Neeson would do today, now that he's getting the Mel Gibson action roles now that Mel's off his rocker.

So why only a 3? It took too long to get moving. While I'm interested in the IRA and the conflict in Northern Ireland, I'm not so interested that I need a metric shit ton of IRA history while I'm reading a detective story. Other than that, it's not too bad. I wouldn't say it's an essential Hard Case by any means.

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