I think it is safe to say that we may never see a classic comic book series reach number #100 ever again. At least not if Marvel Comics has anything to say about it. James Robinson talked to USA Today about the upcoming relaunch of the Fantastic Four series. Now, before you say “Wait, didn’t we just do this for Marvel NOW!?” you have to understand that this relaunch will be part of the All New Marvel NOW! See what they did there? I sort of expected it to be called Marvel Later, but I guess that will come… later.
I apologize if I sound a little cynical, but really, do we need a new #1 every year or so? Robinson is looking to infuse something new into the story of the original Marvel Family by tying in some stuff from their early years and showing how the past effects the future. This is sort of the opposite of what we are currently seeing in the X-Men books where the past is just coming to future without really effecting it.
What I hope to do is tie in their past without making it too referential and (touch on) how the past can affect the future,” Robinson says. “While I’m not reinventing the book, I’m certainly adding a side to it we maybe haven’t seen for a while.
One nice thing about all this is that Robinson intends to bring back long time Thing love interest Alicia Masters, always a favorite of mine. It has been a rough few years for Ben and about time he catch a break. The plans are to bring the FF back from space/time and deal with some more human problems for a little while, relationships, fame, internal strife. Sounds good to me. It seems like a good chance for readers to jump back in and check out this great super team with a new writer and artist. So far, the covers look really cool.
Take a look at the full article here:
First of all first issues don't have the same impact or importance they once had. The reason is because we get a new #1 every year or two for no real reason. I would rather have Fantastic Four #588 begin a new story with a new creative team then yet another fake final issue followed by yet another gimmick #1 issue. I prefer higher numbers than lower on my comics, especially on books like Fantastic Four, Avengers, Amazing Spider-Man, etc. because those books SHOULD have higher numbers because they have been around so long. First issues should be for NEW ideas and NEW characters, or a character that hasn't had a book in forever like, say, The Silver Surfer or Darkhawk. I won't get this book because I have no interest in yet another Fantastic Four #1 (the 4th they've had in the last 3-4 years I believe)
I also take some offence to "What I hope to do is tie in their past without making it too referential" What MADE Marvel COMICS was the fact they had continuity. This meant you referenced what happened before and in other books and Marvel used to do it all the time. Hell, it was those editor-reference boxes that helped me expand my knowledge of the Marvel Universe back in the 90's. The way they worked was a character would mention something and we would get the box giving the series and issue number of whatever was being referenced and if it was interesting enough you would look for it and add it to your collection. It also added some solidity to the Marvel Universe because the characters actually knew this stuff had happened and informed others about it during other stories. The fact that Marvel (and DC) apparently don't care about the rich history of their universe is insulting to creators and fans.
Finally… who designed the logo for this book? I ask because this person should be fired. They need to know that the covers are what sells a book (one reason why older books are more interesting is because they had better covers and those covers, more often than not, actually had something to do with the story inside the book) and the logo is part of the cover. This logo is so ugly if I had a dog that looked like it… I would just shoot the dog and put it out of it's misery.
This book is a great example as to why I've gone from 15-20 Marvel titles a month, at my peak, to 3 today (and those are all Superior Spider-Man titles).
All these number ones and reboots and relaunchings or whatever, just more proof that nowadays comics are made for and marketed to people who DON'T READ THEM, as opposed to those who already do.