Pipeline #533

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

This week, we have two previews:

* FANTASTIC FOUR #5-something-or-other. This is the latest issue in Dwayne McDuffie/Paul Pelletier's incredible run, and I like it a lot.

* FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END. This is the Stan Lee/John Romita Jr. one shot, and it's so laughably bad that I needed to devote a thousand words to it and include a spoilers section. It's worth buying the book to make fun of it, honestly. Easily, it's the worst thing I'd read all year and I plan to pile on it.

Plus, a quick thought on the aging of comics professionals and fandom.

-Augie

[torippu]

Completely random question - do you get hard copies or electronic copies of the books that you review?

I can't wait to read the McDuffie/Pelletier issue of FF this week!

[Augie De Blieck Jr.]

PDF copies. Slightly lower res, so I can't usually discuss the art too much, because my perspective might be a little warped by the pixellation. I have to give the artist more of the benefit of the doubt, in other words.

Not that there aren't choices in FF: THE END from Romita that didn't bother me, resolution be damned.

-Augie

[jclaus]

Augie,
You surprised and intrigued me with this week's column preview. I would not expect his best writing at this point, but he is still Stan Lee and I thought for sure worst case scenario Jr jr's artwork alone would be worth it. I look forward to your thoughts.

[torippu]

PDF copies. Slightly lower res, so I can't usually discuss the art too much, because my perspective might be a little warped by the pixellation. I have to give the artist more of the benefit of the doubt, in other words.
-Augie

If you don't mind my asking, when did Marvel or DC convert to sending out electronic copies for review? Is this a recent thing or have you been doing this all along?

[roach04]

I'm looking forward to getting that last FF story now. It's the first Marvel comic I've ordered in about 3 years b/c I figured even with Stan, Romita Jr. could save it. Really looking forward to it after your review. :D

And, btw, "There's some nice banter between the Thing and the Human Torch but it all seems out of character." Augie, I don't think you can say that. He invented & defined those characters. I mean, all the FF writers since have used Stan's material as their guide (at least, I hope they have...).

Regarding aging creators, yeah, it's funny to think of. But Romita Jr. did start at Marvel in the 1970s so he's enjoyed a 30 year career already. Even when he started on Daredevil I still thought of him as a "young guy", but he had to have been in his 30s. And Andy Helfer being 49...I always pictured him being that old when he was Byrne's editor on Superman/Action and first started on the Keith Giffen Justice League. I'd guess that (or a couple of years earlier) was the start of the "young kids" editing the veterans. Funny where that's left us now.

Cheers,

Murray
(you know, I'd really like to buy that McDuffie FF...but I'm so out of what the Marvel U is doing, I'd never catch up again. BTW - I saw that Storm married the Black Panther...what happened to Forge??)

[MichaelMogg]

. . . And, btw, "There's some nice banter between the Thing and the Human Torch but it all seems out of character." Augie, I don't think you can say that. He invented & defined those characters. I mean, all the FF writers since have used Stan's material as their guide (at least, I hope they have...).

I think he can say that. I recently have tried reading early Marvel and DC comics, and I have to say, they are pretty bland and at times hard to read. For example, I've been reading Batman from Bob Kane's mid-1940s newspaper strips, and the character is really flat and two-dimensional when compared to some of the more modern takes. Like it or not, the characters have developed over time and their personalities have grown over the last forty years. Stan Lee co-created the FF, but he certainly isn't the standard nowadays, in my opinion.

[dancj]

Not that there aren't choices in FF: THE END from Romita that didn't bother me, resolution be damned.
Too many negatives working against each other - I think you've just said that every single choice Romita made in that book bothered you