Fantastic Four Comic - End of an era

This is the End...for NOW.

With Fantastic Four #645, one of Marvel's longest running series comes to a tragic end. I won't get into all the business reasons because they are various and frustratingly stupid. They extend past the obligatory "The book doesn't sell good enough".

Instead, I'd rather reflect on why I find it sad. Like my other posts, this may be a little long, but I will attempt to rein myself in.

When I got into comic books in the early nineties, I was a huge X-men fan. That sustained me for years until I got to the point that my insatiable appetite for new comic books led me to the FF. I had watched their half-assed cartoon and knew the origin of the characters. I had even encountered them during the big events (Infinity War, Infinity Crusade) because they were always a crucial part.

However, I never read their solo title. There was a big sale at my local comic book store and I used this as the opportunity to branch out.

To say I got hooked was an understatement. The reason I like team books so much is because I like the interplay of the different characters and their personalities. When you're talking about super hero comics, there's also the dynamic of their power sets. Do they all compliment each other? Is the writer smart enough to explore these options? Is the book FUN?

For me, all of the answers to these questions were a resounding YES. The Fantastic Four was more than just a team of random characters. They were a family. The biggest knock on the book has always been that they were old fashioned. It's funny that a book about family could be considered passé. I did not mind at all. It can be argued that the birth of the Marvel Universe as we know it began with this book. Without it, one of my favorite characters, the Black Panther, would not exist. We would not have Dr. Doom (one of the best villains ever), Galactus, the Silver Surfer, the Inhumans, the Skrulls, The Watcher and so many other notable characters.

To take it further, one of my favorite Marvel characters is the Thing. If you thought the Hulk was a tortured character, try being the Thing. I won't go into his back story (do that here). He has his moments where he is super melancholy, a well I think has been mined way too many times. The love of his life is a blind sculptress. The one woman that can see him for who he is turns out to be someone that can't see at all. There's something very poetic about that. Call me a softie, but that relationship never felt forced. He always keeps going no matter what, even when he's outmatched. He's like Spider-Man in that way. He's like Captain America in that way. It's the combination of his physical strength and his character that makes him one of my favorites. He's just a blue collar guy.

So am I sad this book is going away? Absolutely. It's steadfastly been one of my favorite books. I love a lot of their old stuff from the 70's and 80's, even if it is surprisingly misogynistic when it comes to the portrayal of the Invisible Woman. She was just the "Invisible Girl" for the longest time. Thankfully she grew the most out of all the characters. When it had it's down years like when it is written by Mark Millar or Matt Fraction, it's hurt me to read. Don't get me started on the Heroes Reborn saga of the late 90's. On the plus side, you get fantastic runs from John Byrne, Mark Waid and Jonathan Hickman. I even liked some of the long Tom Defalco era. Anyone that tries to make this group, "cool" clearly doesn't get what these characters are all about.

This is the comic book industry, so this book will be back at some point. It will never be gone for good. I can't wait until it does. Hopefully the industry will appreciate it when it does.