Even though I got it before the X-Men DVD-ROM, I'm still working through the Fantastic Four DVD-ROM "A House Divided". Like the other GITCorp collections, this was a hundred digital comics. Thanks to Marvel's insane numbering, it runs from Fantastic Four #1 (volume 3) to #70 to #500 to #543. (And a few annuals!)
Coincidentally, like the X-Men collection mentioned, this one also features work from Alan Davis and Chris Claremont. (And Scott Lobdell, I guess.) But the FF DVD-ROM does feature a better stretch of books. Claremont's run wasn't as bad as I remembered; although I thought he squandered a nice later set-up in Reed becoming trapped in Dr. Doom's armor, forced to pretend to be Doom in order to intimidate Doom's generals from Counter-Earth. The FF fight said generals, including an evil version of Namor's Lady Dorma, what seems like a dozen times...Carlos Pacheco then has a nice little run, story and art; it looks great. (Rafael Marin, Jeph Loeb, Tom Grummett, Stuart Immonen, Mark Bagley, and others all help out at points.)
Karl Kesel and Adam Warren both have a few issues that show they would be more than capable of delivering the goods on a regular basis; but then Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo begin a great run with the nine-cent #60/489. (Wieringo isn't on every issue, but I think he was still considered the regular artist.) I'm in the middle of re-reading some of those, although I was pleasantly surprised to discover a few I either never read or had forgotten. And I'm really looking forward to #67, the prologue to "Unthinkable." I know I've read some of it, and it's horrifying. Doom also swears to his old love-interest Valeria, that he would never wear armor of metal again...I don't know what writer went back on that, but I'm still mad. (I don't think Waid did, but I guess I'll see soon. I don't think Waid has a bad issue his whole run...despite my tag for him!)
The remainder of the disc is J. Michael Straczynski's run and the start of Dwayne McDuffie's, which I'm thinking is going to run afoul of Civil War. Still, I'm enjoying this batch of books a lot. Got me reconsidering that Ghost Rider DVD-ROM...
Claremont's run wasn't too bad for me, as he tended to use a few villains and supporting characters from Excalibur, so that was new to the FF. I did like the whole Reed-trapped-in-Doom's Armor-bit, but didn't stick around to how it got resolved. The art kept me around for awhile anyways.
ReplyDeleteAnd what happened to Lobdell? He started off fine, plus the kick-ass Alan David art, and then he was gone by the 3rd issue. I wonder what happened.
And yes, Pacheco's stories/art were a high mark from such an unexpected source. I guess this was during the period of time when Loeb could actually write, since he seemed to help those Pacheco issues flow seamlessly.
Never did read Waid's or McDuffie's runs, even though I know people raved on them at the time....
And the less said about JMS, the better. You know why;)