1970's FF Review

[Tim Veselka]

1970's Fantastic Four #1 by Scott Casper

I must admit, having never even been alive during the era, that the draw of the '70's has always been a bit of a mystery to me. However I've always loved seeing the directions things "could have gone" and this is an excercise in just that. That being said I think if you are going to do that making your jumping off point from continuity easy to follow is absolutely essential.

This issue is well written and the action is very easy to see and follow which, considering the mysterious nature of the battle, is quite a feat. However I felt confused as the start of the issue and to be honest at the end my confusion went only a little deeper, though a few things were explained more questions were raised than answered. While this could be the fun of a series it plants us in the middle of a large number of storylines and I find it more distracting than fun. I've never been fortunate to get my grubby little fingers on an FF comic this old so maybe it is just me. Funnily enough part of my issue with this story is that despite all of the plotlines it seems a little simplistic and lacking characterization.

It may sound like I didn't like this title but that is just not the case, I guess I expect a little too much from Scott sometimes because I know he is a helluva writer. I am excited to read more and hope that some of my questions will be answered next issue.

Overall good pacing and good writing just lacking really in explanation I give it 4 out of 5 stars ****

[Tim Veselka]

70's Fantastic Four #2 by Scott Casper

This issue takes place over a month after issue #1 and this is a dual-edged sword. This story moves forward and begins to answer a few questions from the last issue but also the jump is a little confusing as some major events have taken place in the space in-between the two issues.

Again this issue is well-written and pace is well done. The moody atmosphere on Yancy Street was perfect for the showdown and how one should feel when the Thing is amok. However I have to say because of the simplicity of the issue I feel that the emotional impact of the issue is diminished

4 stars out of 5

[Tim Veselka]

1970's FF #3 by Scott Casper

This issue picks up another month after the last but was so straightforward that any previous confusion I had about the timeline and the plots were easily ignored. It was a lot of fun seeing Ben Grimm being a crime boss. The battle was yet again very clearly written and enjoyable.

My only problems with this issue are that it was too short and that the resolution to the Thing situation came a little too easily as soon as the last FF family member joined the fray, though maybe that's just me.

Overall this was a fun issue and it has cleared up a number of things I had been worried about overall best issue of this series yet! 4 and 1/2 stars out of 5

[Tim Veselka]

1970's FF #4 by Scott Casper & Morgan Abbott

I'm not sure if it's because this is the 4th issue of the Fantastic 4 or if it's the new edition of co-author Morgan Abbott (who is an excellent co-author to work with by the way) but this issue is the best yet of the series. This issues sees the FF dealing with an impending eviction as well as the emergence of the Over-Mind whether that be a movie or a band or even a book remains to be seen It picks up the threads from the previous issues seamlessly.

This issue is longer than the previous issues and any extra word count is worth it as despite the lack of any action this issue moves along well. We also are given some great character-building scenes that I think this series has been a bit enemic on since the inception. The two writers add more depth and more politics than previously seen as well.

This issue was really a build-up issue to the next but it avoided feeling like it until I got to the end and realized I was done. I hope with these two working together this series can rise to even higher heights!

I can't believe I am giving another one but 5 out of 5 stars on this issue.

[Tim Veselka]

1970's FF #5 by Scott Casper

I've been debating about how to do this review. This issue was again very well written and the buildup has been excellently done, with the characters' personal lives moving on while the Over-Mind prepares the world for his arrival. I really enjoyed that Crystal is obviously fairly immune to the Over-Mind and wonder if that is due to her Inhuman physiology and if that is the case why is _____ also immune? Is it due to the new abilities. Agatha Harkness was perfectly portrayed in my opinion.

Anyhow the debate for me about this issue isn't about the writing itself. I've been loving this series so far but as a reader I can't help but feel a little cheated at 2 issues of buildup with absolutely no action, which to be honest is more about my own expectations than Scott's ability to write. I wasn't sure if even to include it in my review but I felt I should as these reviews have been straightforward personal reactions and judgements based on nothing more than my own opinion.

4 and 1/2 stars out of 5

[Tim Veselka]

1970's FF #6 by Scott Casper

Alicia's turn to shine has come and I love it. Alicia is usually painted as incredibly emotionally strong and calm of mind it was nice to see a more human side to her in Scott's issue here. Despite her humanity and "weakness" she still manages to impress me with her courage and resourcefulness, well done Scott! Over-Mind has taken over the world, the various governments handing over control to him with a smile. Few can oppose his control and in this issue one falls prey to his his full on strength.

This issue has it all emotion - action - politics - aliens and more. Scott really weaves an enchanting web as this issue begins to really move things forward and those who can oppose his control began to gather.

I was wondering when Doom would show up in this series and I must say I liked his introduction and his display of power. His abilities as a sorcerer are often overlooked in favor of giving Richards a tech mind to go toe to toe against so it's nice to see them at work here. I'd really like to see what really happened to read and how he so easily was overcome. The Watcher's interaction was funny as hell to me as he danced around his desire to help and his duty of non-interference.

Overall this is another step up for this series and I felt that the various elements of the story were blended together excellently.
I give it 5 out of 5 stars!

[Tim Veselka]

70's Fantastic Four #7 by Scott Casper

After a great buildup we get the confrontation between the Over-Mind and our famous friends. It was nice to see Doom willing to play a small part in the salvation of Earth attempt. Alicia remains the focus of this issue though it is truly about them all including the Over-Mind. Ben regaining his senses and his talk with Alicia during the showdown was a beautiful moment and made my thoat tighten ever so slighty.

The characters are spot on and the battle is brutal and epic. Each character was needed and in the end it was yet again it was an unexpected FF member who saved the day. My only problem with this arc and perhaps this series is despite his actual growth as a person John still seems to get the short shrift when it comes to the spotlight and being part of the solution.

This is a great way to end the arc and it's nice as now at least I am not stuck waiting for the next issue. Scott's writing is spot on and his longer issues such as this always seem to be his best. I'm also grateful he put those small footnotes to help us know where to go for more info in his other 70's titles.

Extremely well done and a very fitting climax I give it another astonshing 5 out of 5 stars!

[scottenkainen]

Wow, high accolades, Tim!

Issue #1, I absolutely agree, is the weakest. It's also actually a bit of a cheat, being just a snippet of a longer adaptation of the same issue, Fantastic Four #110, that you can still find on my fanfiction.net account. I just grabbed the last few pages of that story to turn into my issue #1 so I'd have something in the can already to get things rolling.

My twin purposes in #2 and #3 were to "fix" Fantastic Four #111 and #112, another one of those scenarios where Ben is cured, but then something goes wrong and we're back to square one with him again. I also wanted to take out the arbitrary and random appearance of the Hulk in Manhattan and make that Hulk-Thing fight make more sense.

Yes, Morgan can co-author my stories anytime. He's a dream to work with (oops, actually, I remember telling him he couldn't touch my Inhumans stories now, but the rest you can help on, Morgan! Honest!).

Issues 4-7 retell FF #113-116, the first appearances of the Over-Mind. My goals here were 1) to give the Over-Mind a better backstory, 2) to take the deus ex machina appearance of the Stranger out of the story entirely, 3) show that the FF did not need to rely on asking Dr. Doom for help, and 4) put the FF squarely responsible for stopping the Over-Mind.

I actually removed from the original stories, for space considerations, an earlier battle between Ben and Johnny and the Over-Mind that didn't go well for them, hoping that there was enough building tension to make up for the lack of fight scenes. Sorry I failed to meet expectations there.

And as for poor Johnny Storm, well...I figure, if I can keep him from getting taken out of the fight during the first page, he's still doing better in my title than he ever did at Marvel!

~Scott C.

[Tim Veselka]

I like what you did with the Hulk in the Thing vs Hulk fight actually thought it was more realistic and in tone with the team at the time actually.

With the Overmind story it really was a small thing not having much action, really more of a preference thing, but I think you did a GREAT job of building tension and I'm glad you didn't insert the Stranger in there just to have him, it was a cleaner and again felt more natural.

And about Johnny, LOL, that is too close to the truth I really don't like the way he is treated over at MU, never allowed to grow up or be his own person and constantly beaten up so your John was a HUGE improvement on their Johnny. I'm hoping Morgan and I can do the guy justice in our FF series here, I like what we have planned for him so far and he and I think along the same lines as far as Johnny is concerned.

I'm trying to review a couple titles from each branch but once I am done I am going to try and come back and do reviews on the rest of your 1970's work.