Fantastic Four Appreciation 2018

[Baron Samedi]

Hickman made me a fan.

Absolutely love his work on F4 and FF.

[Alvarez]

I busted out my FF omnibus vol. 1 last night and started reading it. I'd gotten through most of it in the past, but never completed it, because I didn't have vol. 2, which is what I'm really anxious to read. Now that I have both volumes, thanks to the omnibus reprints, I'm starting to read through Vol. 1 again.

One thing I noticed right away was how after the accident, everyone refers to Ben as "Thing". I mean, c'mon, that's a little harsh. He's still your old friend Ben, albeit insanely grumpy and nasty, but for obvious reasons.

But the more I thought about it, Stan & Jack were writing FOR KIDS at that time, and I'm betting they wanted the kids to know the superhero names of these folks, hence them always calling him "Thing", even when it was just the 4 of them. Reed called Johnny "Torch" a lot, too.

I realize the writing is insanely dated, corny, sometimes sexist, etc... but I'm really inspired to read these issues, to get the first glimpses of the famous villains we know now - Doom, Puppet Master, etc... Like I said, I really can't wait to get to omnibus v. 2 where we get Inhumans, Galactus, etc... but for now I'm enjoying these stories for what they are.

As dated as Stan and Jacks run is... it had a lot of charm.
It's also neat to see the greater Marvel Universe develop within the pages.

[Tony]

To this day it's my favorite run of the title. I'm 40 so it's not nostalgia, I think those comics, the middle of the run especially are just timeless.
Stan doesn't get enough credit as a fun writer. He and Jack created not just comics, but magic. Take either one of those two out of the equation and the Marvel universe would be a MUCH smaller place.

[Alvarez]

To this day it's my favorite run of the title. I'm 40 so it's not nostalgia, I think those comics, the middle of the run especially are just timeless.
Stan doesn't get enough credit as a fun writer. He and Jack created not just comics, but magic. Take either one of those two out of the equation and the Marvel universe would be a MUCH smaller place.

I'm trying to imagine a 60's Marvel led by Lee and Ditko... and it scares me. lol.
But yeah. It aint called the House that Jack built for nothing.

[Rheged]

Favorite team of all time. One day I hope to have the complete Epic Fantastic Four set. I might even go past the Heroes Reborn issues if the line decides to go that far. I have trouble getting into modern takes on the FF and was wondering how Robinson writes the 4 personality wise. I really don't want to see Johnny as a childish brat, or reed as basically emotionally clueless. I prefer reed as a strong alpha male type and Johnny as a responsible person who can let his emotions get the better of him, but not a clown.

What makes the FF your favorite? I'm not sure they are my favorite, but they are definitely one of my favorites. I'm going to have ponder exactly WHY, but I'm sure it has something to do with the book being about the interactions of the characters in a family dynamic. And a great supporting cast and rogue's gallery.

How did you like Hickman's run?

I don't think Robinson writes Reed as emotionally clueless. He definitely comes across as the brainiac leader ... who may be more ... wordy than necessary. I think Robinson is still getting grip on their dialog.

Johnny is a character in flux.

Honestly, Robinson has put the characters through alot of action in the first two books. I haven't had a chance to read the 3rd one yet.

The current run is my favorite comic out right now!

Coolness! It sounds terrible, but I'm looking forward to see how things go bad for our team. It sounds like they are really going to be put through the wringer.

Hickman made me a fan.

Absolutely love his work on F4 and FF.

I loved his run too! I have to read some of his other work again, but I think his FF books may be the best Marvel work Hickman has done.

[Mantis Girl 94]

I have read the 1st omnibus with the first 30 issues and I love the old stuff. FF is my favorite Marvel team basically because they don't change members all the time.

Love Ben, Johnny, Sue, and Reed....They seem like part of my family.

Where is the "Ms Fantastic" poster? Did she not make it over after the reboot?

[Rheged]

I have read the 1st omnibus with the first 30 issues and I love the old stuff. FF is my favorite Marvel team basically because they don't change members all the time.

Love Ben, Johnny, Sue, and Reed....They seem like part of my family.

Where is the "Ms Fantastic" poster? Did she not make it over after the reboot?

Last I had heard of Miss Fantastic was from CJ Striker, who said she didn't have alot of free time at the moment, but would be hopefully coming back to the forums in a few weeks. Of course, this was BEFORE the purge.

That's interesting that a major appeal for you. It does make them seem more like family TO the reader.

Stan and Jack's work is amazing, when you think of it when it came out. Great stuff.

[dupersuper]

[FrogMan]

How's the new volume so far? I haven't had a chance to read any of it yet? Have they explained why they have red costumes this time?

[Alvarez]

How's the new volume so far? I haven't had a chance to read any of it yet? Have they explained why they have red costumes this time?

Pretty good. It's Robinson, so expect a slow burn.
In any case I'm loving it.

The costumes... at this time no.

[Mantis Girl 94]

How's the new volume so far? I haven't had a chance to read any of it yet? Have they explained why they have red costumes this time?

I really like the new volume. So far so good!

The red costumes don't bother me because some of the 1st FF I read were the 20cent issues in which the Human Torch wore red...and I LOVED it!

Being Marvel's 1st family and all, I am surprised and saddened that HT, Thing, etc don't have their own appreciation threads. IMHO, people are too wrapped up in the Avengers and the X-Books too much these days...

.....They are the Freaking Fantastic Four people!!!!!

[Sprite]

How's the new volume so far? I haven't had a chance to read any of it yet? Have they explained why they have red costumes this time?

My feelings towards the new run has been mixed, at best. It's not the worst, though. On that note, I'm also not a fan of the current red and black costumes.

[Rheged]

How's the new volume so far? I haven't had a chance to read any of it yet? Have they explained why they have red costumes this time?

I'm enjoying it. There's enough hooks to keep me interested, some nice nods to continuity, and I like Kirk's art. His redesigned Fantasticar was pretty cool, I thought.

My feelings towards the new run has been mixed, at best. It's not the worst, though. On that note, I'm also not a fan of the current red and black costumes.

The costumes are fine with me, but that color scheme is so NOT the FF. I am most curious for the change, within the story.

I really like the new volume. So far so good!

The red costumes don't bother me because some of the 1st FF I read were the 20cent issues in which the Human Torch wore red...and I LOVED it!

Being Marvel's 1st family and all, I am surprised and saddened that HT, Thing, etc don't have their own appreciation threads. IMHO, people are too wrapped up in the Avengers and the X-Books too much these days...

.....They are the Freaking Fantastic Four people!!!!!

Torch and Thing had appreciation threads on the old forum, but they didn't see a huge amount of activity. This thread went through bouts of silence also.

Johnny's red outfit was a nod toward the Original Human Torch though and he was the only one. I'm trying to patiently await the reveal of the reason for the new costumes, which may alleviate my knee jerk reaction to them not being blue. I didn't care for the white outfits style wise, but at least the fictional reason made them far more acceptable.

[Alvarez]

If there was a thread for the ever loving blue eyed Thing, I'd be all over that before you could say Yancy Street.

As for the new costume...
I did the design, but not so much the color.
I get the feeling that they'll go blue after whatever big shake up ends.
A symbolic gesture.

Still hoping for an explanation.

[Rheged]

Well, you could start one.