Well, I missed a week. So what else is new?
Last time, I got all philosophical on you and promised something a bit lighter the next time. First, I want to give my boy, Marty some major props for the swag he got for me and Franny. Awesomeness in a hoodie is what that is. Well done, sir!
Next, I want to give Franny some major props too. Loved the last Francis Friday talking about What-If? He’s right, we’re all major fans of the comic. When I started collecting permanently, What-If #1 was one of the very first comics I purchased off the spinner rack. If I remember right, I also got Marvel’s Greatest Comics #70 at the same time. Might have gotten What-If? #6 too. Right around that time I would have picked up Fantastic Four #183. That was one of the great things about spinner racks. You could get multiple months of back issues if the store didn’t pay close attention. Which this particular place didn’t.
So, along with Franny, my love of the Fantastic Four goes waaaaay back.
The characters had relationships that weren’t perfect. They fought and argued. They had problems. They bickered and pulled pranks on each other. That spread to other books, notably the Amazing Spider-Man and the Avengers. Continuity was a thing for the first time in comics. Events in one issue were remembered and referenced in subsequent issues. There were crossovers between books and characters.
It was a true world or universe with a history. New writers and artists were able to build on what Jack Kirby, Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Dick Ayers and so many, many others too numerous to name had started.
You may or may not have heard, but Marvel has announced that they’ll be doing a new Fantastic Four movie. I am stoked about that! I didn’t hate the two movies with Jessica Alba. I DID hate the last one though. Total crap. Not really anything near what the team should be. I’m very hopeful that Marvel will get it right this time.
To me the Fantastic Four are the flagship title for Marvel. They are, when done right, what is best about Marvel Comics. Not the Avengers. Not the X-Men. Not even Captain America.
When Marvel cancelled the book at the height of their feud over trying to get the rights back from Fox, I thought that was one of the signs of Marvel’s comic book idiocy. No Fantastic Four? At Marvel? W. T. F?
So, what makes the F.F. so essential to Marvel?
They laid the groundwork for everything that worked for Marvel in the 1960s and beyond.
This is the magic that set Marvel and DC comics apart. It’s also the difference between the Marvel and DC cinematic endeavors. Marvel movies followed the same formula for the movies that Jack and Stan did beginning with the Fantastic Four. Marvel built a universe of characters we could both understand, relate to and aspire to be.
All the Marvel movies we love owe everything to Jack and Stan started with the Fantastic Four.
