Good Reading: Fantastic Four #305

Here is an issue I pulled out during the week. Was it great. Hell no. But it was solid entertaining, and fun. Basically it is dealing with the Thing still moping around after Johnny married Alicia in #300 who Reed has elected to lead the FF as he and Sue retire to the suburbs to raise Franklin. Ben is considering who he should  ask to replace the Richards when who comes floating by only Crystal of the Inhumans, in a wonderful coincidence that can only happen in comic books.

    There is some history here as Crystal was Torch's first love and the Thing's motives for recruiting her are not completely in the interests of the team; he hopes Crystal will pry Johnny back from his wife Alicia. Crystal has come to collect her psychotic and estranged husband Quicksilver and bring him home to Attilan. It is also revealed Crystal was playing around with a real estate agent behind Pietro's back. Infidelity was rarely dealt with in mainstream comics of this era.

     Anyway the torch rightly suspect Ben's motives in hiring Crystal and confronts him on the rooftop of the Plaza building. This leads to an entertaining fight. And they ain't messin' around. Eventually cooler tempers prevail.
      Sue also questions Crystal's character in an interesting exchange quizzing her over her extramarital affair (the little minx) setting up plotlines for further dissension down the line which could have been utilized but sadly were not.
      Quicksilver is shown to be out to lunch as he and crystal talk smack to each other in Reed's makeshift jail/asylum where he is keeping both Kristoff (the kid that Doom brainwashed into believing he was Doom) and Pietro, this results in fracas between the two former sweethearts. All in all this was a very entertaining issue. John Buscema's art is rock solid, but sadly it looks a little dated unlike his work on Avengers where he was inked by the incomparable Tom Palmer who gave his pencils depth and grit.It was said at this point Big John had lost interest in drawing superheroes and it shows, but even a sub-par John Buscema is still a master of his craft. Steve Englehart had really shook up the status quo here with the new line-up (the new Ms. Marvel, Sharon Ventura joins in the next issue) and this title looked like it was going places after John Byrne's stellar run ended but sadly a lot of what was to come was dross. So bad Englehart had use the pseudonym 'John Harkness', first cousin twice removed from Agatha.;-)

Iron Man By Bob Layton

The classic cornerbox illustration by Bob Layton (what memeories!)

Starting in the late 70's no one artist has been as synonymous with a character as Bob Layton has been with Iron Man.Working closely with writer David Michelinie, Bob was jointly responsible for  some of the greatest Iron Man stories (Demon in a Bottle, Armor Wars,Doomquest the Kathy Dare Shooting and so many more) perhaps his greatest contribution to the character was creating a uniform look for the character. No matter if he pencilled and inked himself, or inked over John Romita JR, Mark Bright or Jackson Guice's pencils, Bob made sure Iron Man looked great. He really kept a uniform look to the character and book no matter who was drawing it. Bob emphasised the shiny metallic element to the Iron Man armor, something which escaped almost all  other artists since 1963. lets face it, when the armor is drawn without these effects it looks very bland and uninspired. Bob made sure the eyelets and mouthpiece details were well defined in all drawings.

Must have used turtle wax..

        He was also responsible for designing the Silver armor of the mid '80s as Jim Shooter requested a more 'samurai warrior' look. This armor first featured in the classic Iron Man #200 where Stark took back his company from Obadiah Stane (Ironmonger). A real classic issue too,  and one the greatest Iron Man stories ever. Here is a great example of that shiny armor effect that Bob did so well. His Iron Man looked amazing.
Bob returned to work on a mini series with David Michelinie in 2000 called Bad Blood and in 2008 with Michelinie again with Legacy of Doom, which starred, funnily enough Doctor Doom. Here's one of my favorite Michelinie/Layton issues, #244 where the then crippled Stark redesigns his armor to enable him to walk again. I love the split cover design, a real Layton hallmark. The love the man had for the Iron Man character shines through all his work. Respect...

Most fun DC comic of the early 80's The New Teen Titan's

Classic two page spread from George Perez

In contrast to Claremont's X-Men which took a more fatalistic bent after the fabled Dark Phoenix Saga/Days of Future Past, Marv Wolfman and George Perez's New Teen Titans was like a ray of sunlight. Cyborg, may have had half his body eaten by a strange alien lifeform and and Starfire and Raven may have had the most disturbing upbringing etc but dammit, they never let it get them down and their world was full of bright primary colors; unlike the urban and societal decay which became more and more prevalent in Claremont's X-men.

Tender moments and strong characterisation were a hallmark of this series. 

     It was during his tenure on this title that George Perez truly grew to be the talent we now him as today. Perez was unique in terms of his understanding of portraying different characters physiques and facial structure.Starfire's exaggerated physique provided the eye-candy that fueled a thousand pubescent fantasies. The romance between Robin (Dick Grayson) and Koriander provided the stories with much of their impetus and most dramatic moments...
     Looking back on these issues it is no surprise that this comic was consistently first or second in the sales charts. Well crafted stories, a good, solid rogues gallery. Important story arcs (The Judas Contract - Citadel Saga) and some of the best art in comics keep this series a firm favorite with comic fans both new and old..
     I look forward to reviewing individual issues in near future. if there's anyone reading this. Thanks!!!