Running Commentary: Fantastic Four: Rising Storm Part 3

No, I didn’t forget. Let’s finish this!

Fantastic Four #522

Writer: Mark Waid

Pencils: Mike Wieringo

Inks: Karl Kesel

The Fantastic Four have found Johnny Storm and Galactus, and are attempting to find some way to free him from the clutches of his master without any kind of bodily harm. This isn’t exactly something that comes easily. Remember the Surfer’s knock down drag out in the Galactus trilogy? Or Frankie Raye getting an axe in the back? Or all those times that Air-Walker died (and it was a lot of times)? It’s rare that a herald leaves the employ of Galactus without suffering in some fashion beyond having the power cosmic removed (if it is removed, which usually doesn’t happen). So this issue is about saving Johnny Storm.

But we have to begin at the beginning. Johnny Storm uses his new powers to recap the origin of Galactus. Galan of Taa was a scientist in the universe previous to the one the Fantastic Four calls their own, and was out on an expedition at the center of the universe when everything died. Galan was wrapped in the cosmic egg by the sentience of the universe, and was reborn as Galactus. This origin is nothing new. It’s pretty much a blow by blow recap of the original telling of his origin, even down to a redraw of the infamous panel of Galan inside the cosmic egg as the sentience of the universe convinces him to combine and be reborn, with all that crazy green energy flying everywhere. It’s good stuff.

But the big news about this issue is the end. We’ve seen how Reed switched Sue and Johnny’s powers (which is nice from the perspective of only reading this trade on its own; it lets you know what was going on prior to 520), and there’s some crazy machine that allows this as a possibility. So Reed, in his infinite wisdom, finds a way to alter the machine to use it as a weapon against Galactus. And it works. The issue ends with Richards siphoning the power cosmic away from Galactus, and all we see is the empty husk of his armor. Is he dead? Are we going to get another Abraxas situation coming on here? Not quite, folks. Because as soon as you think the worst is coming, Galan emerges from the wreckage in his human form. And all bets are off as we head toward the fourth and final issue of the arc.

I must say, as such a Galactus fan, I loved this issue. Galan is one of those characters that I’ve always wanted to see more of. He had a VS card, and I’ve since learned that the art from that card comes from this story arc (see next issue). It’s a great way to take Galactus off the table for a bit without actually taking Galactus off the table entirely. How’s he going to interact? It’s a hell of a set up for the final issue, and the best of the issues so far. Great stuff.

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This post was written to the tune of Depeche Mode’s Songs of Faith and Devotion

Running Commentary: Fantastic Four Rising Storm Part 2

Fantastic Four #521

Writer: Mark Waid

Pencils: Mike Wieringo

Inker: Karl Kesel

Issue two of Rising Storm consists of Johnny Storm, herald of Galactus attempting to dissuade Galactus from committing genocide while the Fantastic Four (with Quasar) frantically search the cosmos for him. We learn more in this issue about why Johnny Storm was chosen as Galactus’ new herald. Apparently there is something involved in the Invisible Woman power set that allows the ability to not only be invisible, but to see that which is hidden as well. Galactus has been trying to find a galaxy that has a cloaking device that hides them from his radar, and Johnny Storm is the perfect person to find them. And he does. What follows is a series of panels where Johnny visits various planets in the stellar system that are both fit for eating an uninhabited. Of course, any planet fit for devouring would pretty much be a life sustaining planet and thus have to have some form of life, so Johnny keeps trying to convince these folks to take up arms against the World Devourer, but they’re too busy being either scared to death, irrationally angry, and just meek to actually do anything constructive when confronted by the herald of Galactus. A very nice touch.

As it should be, the scenes involving Galactus are almost entirely silent on the Big G’s end. This is the way things should be. One of the best parts about the three issue Nova arc involving Galactus that Abnett and Lanning wrote recently was the way Galactus never spoke to anyone. He is the supreme omnipotence of the universe. Why would he ever waste the time to speak to insignificant humans? It ruins the mystique. Galactus does eventually speak in this issue, but it’s limited to the last splash page, and it’s only because Johnny’s new abilities to see beyond the veil has allowed him to see the true origins of Galactus, or should I say Galan. Talking about this origin has made Galactus intrigued, and he invites Torch to continue his tale at the end of the story.

I must say that this issue was all about Johnny. The FF frantically searching for Johnny and Quasar’s involvement didn’t really do much for me this issue. And I must say that Johnny’s manner of speaking still grates on me. I think Waid is doing an excellent job with the story, and Ringo’s art is still fantastic. It’s very much a second issue in a story arc, but not in a way that is detrimental. Good stuff moving forward.

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This post was written to the tune of Firewater’s Get Off the Cross…We Need the Wood for the Fire

Running Commentary: Fantastic Four’s Rising Storm Part 1

I’m going to start a new theme that I’ll take up from time to time where I read or watch something episodic and write about each part in order. The first series will be on the three trade paperbacks I picked up on the cheap at this past weekend’s Boston Comic Con, Fantastic Four: Rising Storm, Volume 1 of Brian Michael Bendis’ Pulse series, and Black Panther: The Client, the first volume of the landmark Christopher Priest run. I got all three of these trades for $15, which is a pretty damned good deal. I just recently cracked open the first issue of the Fantastic Four trade, and here are some thoughts.

Fantastic Four #520 – Part One of Rising Storm

Writer: Mark Waid

Pencils: Mike Wieringo

Inks: Karl Kesel

I’ve never read any of the Waid/Ringo run of Fantastic Four. I’ve heard a lot of good about it, and I’d seen quite a lot of the dearly departed Ringo’s FF art on VS System cards from the Marvel Legends set, and it’s got that perfect mix of cartoony elements (which is really essential when you’re working with characters like The Thing and Mr. Fantastic) and some realism to keep things grounded. This story was bought for one simple reason: GALACTUS. I am a Galactus fanboy. An extreme one, at that. When I went to Boston Comic Con, my plan was to make it a trip that would get me as many cheap Galactus related comic books as possible. And I think I did that. This trade, the first two issues of the Galactus: The Devourer miniseries, an issue of Fantastic Four from the Abraxas saga, a random assortment of Secret Wars and Infinity War issues. All fun cosmicky goodness. When I saw Rising Storm in the buy one get two free boxes and saw the picture of Johnny Storm, herald of Galactus on the back, I knew I had to find two more books to make it worth its while. The issue begins with the story already underway. It becomes clear quickly that at some point recently, Sue and Johnny had their powers switched by Reed Richards so Sue became the Human Torch and Johnny became the Invisible Man. Apparently because of this, Galactus has since taken Johnny to be his newest herald.

This is very much the first issue of a story arc, but not in a bad way. Sue and Johnny are shown trying to cope with their new powers, Johnny is trying to cope with dealing with Galactus, and the Fantastic Four is trying to cope with the disappearance of Johnny. There are two flashbacks during the issue that look at Sue and Ben’s fonder memories of Johnny. Both are done in a different art style (the drawing of Thing’s face in Ben’s flashback is nothing short of incredible), and they’re wonderful little slices of life that ground these characters in a real and touching way. I can say that Johnny is at times written a little too much like a punk, but that is definitely a part of his character. I think Waid overplays it slightly, especially in the scene where he confronts Galactus about the lack of a bathroom on the Worldship. That was a little on the nose.

I must say that the climactic fight between Johnny Storm and Karragan is a perfect meld of writer and artist. The point to get across is simple and clear: Johnny does not fully comprehend the power that Galactus has given him in making him a herald. Ringo perfectly captures this in the way he dispatches his foe, and the aftermath is played for laughs with an undercurrent that Johnny is in a very dangerous situation that could lead to bad things quickly if he loses control. Meanwhile, the rest of the FF with the help of Quasar is in hot pursuit. It’s about as good as a first issue as you could ask for. The storytelling is clear and concise, the art is gorgeous and strongly reinforces the story, and the characters act like they should. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of this trade.

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This post was written to the tune of Genesis’ Archive Volume 1: 1967-1975