“IMWAN for all seasons.”



Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 200 posts ]  Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 10  ( Next )
Author Message
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2019 12:07 pm 
User avatar
...

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 59410
I've just read the first few issues of this. I liked it more than the X-Men one, but that may just be because I always loved the FF more than the X-Men.

Also...Scioli includes the...

Spoiler: show
THING RING!


...which is an unexpected treat; as is Scioli's use of the little "It happened in FF #76" captions. :)

He also implies that...

Spoiler: show
...Franklin Richards is really Namor's biological son...

...which is an interesting take on things. The Watcher is the framing device, as in the X-Men one, and things kind of chug along in a kind of 'reader's digest' way. I guess that's the nature of this concept, and it's a bit unsatisfying. I like it but don't love it. It's fun in a way, but also kind of irritating.

Also...

Spoiler: show
...the trial of Reed Richards after the death of Galactus omits one really important character. I wonder if you can guess who? ;)


I'll read it until the end because I like it more than I dislike it. :)

_________________
"They'll bite your finger off given a chance" - Junkie Luv (regarding Zebras)


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2019 4:07 pm 
User avatar
Nominated IMWAN's "Wet Blanket" for 2021

Joined: 30 May 2012
Posts: 12246
Location: Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Isn't it only two issues?
Also, I really enjoyed it. For some reason the first issue was a bit of a slog, so I could only read a few pages at a time, but I read the second issue in one go. Looking forward to his Kirby bio.

_________________
“Don’t take life too serious. It ain’t nohow permanent.”


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:04 pm 
User avatar
Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51036
Location: Milwaukee
I love Scioli's aesthetic, and his intentions are always noble.

But I've learned I in fact dislike his writing.


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Wed Dec 18, 2019 9:36 pm 
User avatar
...

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 59410
Jason Michael wrote:
Isn't it only two issues?
Also, I really enjoyed it. For some reason the first issue was a bit of a slog, so I could only read a few pages at a time, but I read the second issue in one go. Looking forward to his Kirby bio.


I thought there was another one to come?

I'm probably wrong, as I'm the Grand Vizier of Fake Fans. ;)

I don't dislike his writing, I am just a bit bamboozled by the format. I want to like it more than I actually do like it. I like the concept behind these Grand Design comics but not the execution of them.

I especially enjoyed some of the little changes in it such as -

Spoiler: show
Alicia being African American.

The Thing Ring(s)

The stuff with the Silver Surfer

FRanklin being Namor's kid not Reed's


I disliked -

Spoiler: show
The focus on the Illuminati

The stuff with the Ultimate Nullifier


I still liked it more than disliked it.

_________________
"They'll bite your finger off given a chance" - Junkie Luv (regarding Zebras)


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 1:16 am 
User avatar
Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51036
Location: Milwaukee
Simon wrote:
I like the concept behind these Grand Design comics but not the execution of them.
.

Exactly where I'm at.


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:52 am 
User avatar
...

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 59410
I'm still surprised by what each writer chooses to change or omit. The Ultimate Nullifier stuff in this one really annoyed me, even though the things Scioli implied about Franklin's true parentage intrigued me.

I disliked the Galactus story being changed in such a fundamental way - for no reason I could figure out - while the stuff with Franklin seemed like an interesting question to pose because of what was going on in those 60's stories.

Spoiler: show
It was done clumsily, IMO, and he could've posed the same question just by having a scene where it was implied Sue and Namor had done the deed rather than adding the 'baby with gills' stuff.

_________________
"They'll bite your finger off given a chance" - Junkie Luv (regarding Zebras)


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:07 pm 
User avatar
Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51036
Location: Milwaukee
Bottom line: Scioli is a fool.


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:39 pm 
User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
Posts: 44599
Location: Now in CHARLOTTE, NC!!
Bannings: 1
I skimmed the first issue and I’m not nuts about the changes plus the panels are soooo small.

_________________
IT IS HIGH!! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=24206
http://capcourage.deviantart.com/gallery/


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 

IMWAN Admin
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 2:59 pm 
User avatar
Helpful Librarian

Joined: Day WAN
Posts: 197082
Location: IMWAN Towers
Bannings: If you're not nice
It's pointless. (So, a perfect discussion topic for IMWAN.)

_________________
Image


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 3:41 pm 
User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
Posts: 44599
Location: Now in CHARLOTTE, NC!!
Bannings: 1
Linda wrote:
It's pointless. (So, a perfect discussion topic for IMWAN.)

It does seem kinda pointless.

_________________
IT IS HIGH!! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=24206
http://capcourage.deviantart.com/gallery/


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:04 pm 
User avatar
Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51036
Location: Milwaukee
If we all have a little John Byrne part of our brains, the Grand Design projects seem to kick mine awake. Specifically the Byrne who got mad at that Lord of the Rings director for saying it was a puzzle and he had to put the pieces together. Then Byrne would rant, "I thought Tolkien already did that!"

In interviews, you can see Pisko and Scioli talking about the challenge of taking all the continuity pieces and putting them together. Yeah, dudes, you're doing comic book adaptations of stuff that was already comic books in the first place. I don't think it's as hard as you're making it.


Top
  Profile  
 

IMWAN Admin
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:24 pm 
User avatar
Helpful Librarian

Joined: Day WAN
Posts: 197082
Location: IMWAN Towers
Bannings: If you're not nice
I'm sure that Sisko and Spicoli meant well and did their very best.

_________________
Image


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 4:41 pm 
User avatar
As dull and repetitive as they are

Joined: 17 Apr 2005
Posts: 30346
Location: PhilWANdelphia
Bannings: IMWAN Get Out Of Banning Free Lifetime Golden Pass
Franklin has gills?


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 8:37 pm 
User avatar
Nominated IMWAN's "Wet Blanket" for 2021

Joined: 30 May 2012
Posts: 12246
Location: Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Marcus wrote:
I skimmed the first issue and I’m not nuts about the changes plus the panels are soooo small.

I think part of the reason the panels are so small is because the two issues will be collected in a Marvel Treasury Edition over-sized book. Of course, Marvel's business model compels them to first publish in a regular comic to maximize profits. Scioli's art should look much better at that size. Won't change the content, of course, if you don't like it. I think the Treasury Edition version will also contain a reprint of Stan and Jack's Fantastic Four # 51, recolored by Scioli.

_________________
“Don’t take life too serious. It ain’t nohow permanent.”


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 9:07 pm 
User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
Posts: 44599
Location: Now in CHARLOTTE, NC!!
Bannings: 1
It might look a better. I just don’t think Scioli’s art is that good.

_________________
IT IS HIGH!! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=24206
http://capcourage.deviantart.com/gallery/


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 9:21 pm 
User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
Posts: 44599
Location: Now in CHARLOTTE, NC!!
Bannings: 1
Junkie Luv wrote:
Franklin has gills?

See Simon's spoilers upthread for the answer.

_________________
IT IS HIGH!! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=24206
http://capcourage.deviantart.com/gallery/


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 10:42 pm 
User avatar
...

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 59410
Marcus wrote:
Junkie Luv wrote:
Franklin has gills?

See Simon's spoilers upthread for the answer.


...which may surprise you! :lol:

Spoiler: show
Yes, Spicoli adds a scene where the newborn Franklin Richards has gills. Ben notices them and Reed says "It's as I feared" and Sue looks very concerned for one panel before Reed concludes with "He's a mutant". Sue is plainly relieved that he's drawn this conclusion rather than the conclusion the reader is being invited to draw...because Spicoli makes it very obvious that he wants us to think Namor being Franklin's biological Dad is a distinct possibility. He really emphasises Sue & Namor's romance and her indecision over whether she should remain with Reed - who represents stability and certainty - or throw caution to the wind (tide?) and run off with undersea bad-boy Namor. There's even a scene where she writes Reed a 'Dear John' letter but then throws it away in tears because she knows if she goes with Namor Johnny will never forgive her for it, etc. He basically represents Sue as being deeply conflicted about her whole relationship with Reed, which is another weird aspect of this comic. I don't know that Stan and Jack ever used Namor as anything other than a sort of bad example. Namor was obsessed with Sue and kidnapped her (via hypno fish). If that's not a red flag I don't know what is. Admittedly he was being controlled by The Puppet Master at the time but Namor was still generally stalkerish when it came to Sue Storm regardless.


I'm not saying these comics are masterpieces, just that they're interesting. I don't read that many things nowadays and these grabbed me because they're covering areas of MU continuity I actually know and care about. I grew up reading B&W 60's reprints so the 60's FF, X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk and Avengers are 'my' versions of them. I love the late 70's and early 80's versions which I was also reading as a kid but the 60's versions seem more primal in some way. They're the original source material for entire MU mythos. As I said, I enjoy the concept more than the execution. I'd like to see what more polished writers and artists could do with this idea. It's really just a kind of Elseworlds thing, but done on a 'big picture' scale.

I'd actually enjoy seeing Byrne do one of these, as his propensity to 'fix' stuff would be a boon in the context of the Grand Design format.

It'd be good to see what a writer like Straczynski, Brubaker or Moore could do with this idea. If you paired them with a decent artist I'm sure they could come up with something really enjoyable.

_________________
"They'll bite your finger off given a chance" - Junkie Luv (regarding Zebras)


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:04 pm 
User avatar

Joined: 27 Nov 2004
Posts: 44599
Location: Now in CHARLOTTE, NC!!
Bannings: 1
Simon wrote:
Marcus wrote:
Junkie Luv wrote:
Franklin has gills?

See Simon's spoilers upthread for the answer.


...which may surprise you! :lol:

Spoiler: show
Yes, Spicoli adds a scene where the newborn Franklin Richards has gills. Ben notices them and Reed says "It's as I feared" and Sue looks very concerned for one panel before Reed concludes with "He's a mutant". Sue is plainly relieved that he's drawn this conclusion rather than the conclusion the reader is being invited to draw...because Spicoli makes it very obvious that he wants us to think Namor being Franklin's biological Dad is a distinct possibility. He really emphasises Sue & Namor's romance and her indecision over whether she should remain with Reed - who represents stability and certainty - or throw caution to the wind (tide?) and run off with undersea bad-boy Namor. There's even a scene where she writes Reed a 'Dear John' letter but then throws it away in tears because she knows if she goes with Namor Johnny will never forgive her for it, etc. He basically represents Sue as being deeply conflicted about her whole relationship with Reed, which is another weird aspect of this comic. I don't know that Stan and Jack ever used Namor as anything other than a sort of bad example. Namor was obsessed with Sue and kidnapped her (via hypno fish). If that's not a red flag I don't know what is. Admittedly he was being controlled by The Puppet Master at the time but Namor was still generally stalkerish when it came to Sue Storm regardless.


I'm not saying these comics are masterpieces, just that they're interesting. I don't read that many things nowadays and these grabbed me because they're covering areas of MU continuity I actually know and care about. I grew up reading B&W 60's reprints so the 60's FF, X-Men, Spider-Man, Hulk and Avengers are 'my' versions of them. I love the late 70's and early 80's versions which I was also reading as a kid but the 60's versions seem more primal in some way. They're the original source material for entire MU mythos. As I said, I enjoy the concept more than the execution. I'd like to see what more polished writers and artists could do with this idea. It's really just a kind of Elseworlds thing, but done on a 'big picture' scale.

I'd actually enjoy seeing Byrne do one of these, as his propensity to 'fix' stuff would be a boon in the context of the Grand Design format.

It'd be good to see what a writer like Straczynski, Brubaker or Moore could do with this idea. If you paired them with a decent artist I'm sure they could come up with something really enjoyable.

Scioli's "fix" is reprehensible and under cuts the family aspect of the FF.

_________________
IT IS HIGH!! IT IS FAR!! IT IS GONE!!
http://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryDeta ... GCat=24206
http://capcourage.deviantart.com/gallery/


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 

IMWAN Admin
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Thu Dec 19, 2019 11:42 pm 
User avatar
Helpful Librarian

Joined: Day WAN
Posts: 197082
Location: IMWAN Towers
Bannings: If you're not nice
Image

_________________
Image


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 12:44 am 
User avatar
...

Joined: 26 Oct 2006
Posts: 59410
Linda wrote:
Image

Please award yourself a golden IMWAN. :)

_________________
"They'll bite your finger off given a chance" - Junkie Luv (regarding Zebras)


Top
  Profile  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 2:00 am 
User avatar
Ancient Alien Theorist

Joined: 24 Jun 2007
Posts: 105341
Location: The Fourth World
Bannings: 2001
Jason Michael wrote:
Marcus wrote:
I skimmed the first issue and I’m not nuts about the changes plus the panels are soooo small.

I think part of the reason the panels are so small is because the two issues will be collected in a Marvel Treasury Edition over-sized book. Of course, Marvel's business model compels them to first publish in a regular comic to maximize profits. Scioli's art should look much better at that size. Won't change the content, of course, if you don't like it. I think the Treasury Edition version will also contain a reprint of Stan and Jack's Fantastic Four # 51, recolored by Scioli.

He did that with Go-Bots, which was printed at regular size with no treasury planned. I think it’s just a thing he’s into.


Top
  Profile E-mail  
 
 Post subject: Fantastic Four: Grand Design...opinions.
PostPosted: Fri Dec 20, 2019 2:53 am 
User avatar
Dendritic Oscillating Ontological Tesseract

Joined: 25 Oct 2007
Posts: 51036
Location: Milwaukee
Scioli is a monster. There, I've said it.


Top
  Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Go to page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... 10  ( Next )
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 200 posts ]   



Who is WANline

Users browsing this forum: Amazon [Bot] and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  


Powdered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Limited

IMWAN is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide
a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, amazon.ca and amazon.co.uk.