I remember being HUGELY disappointed in Fantastic Four #296 when I first read it in 1986. Part of the the reason is that it appeared immediately after John Byrne's last issue on the title; and another part of the reson is that it is the 25th anniversary issue. If only John Byrne had been able to sick around for one more issue. But he was up against a hard deadline to revamp Superman for his 50th anniversary, which was a much bigger deal. I don't know how much lead-time Marvel had to come up with a suitable replacement, but this anniversary "celebration" has a real slap-dash feel to it. The first three pages, by Barry Windsor-Smith, are well worth reading, but the other 61 are a mish-mash of pencilers and inkers with mismatched styles, incluing: Al Milgrom & Klaus Janson; John Buscema & Steve Leialoha; Marc Silvestri & Joe Rubenstein; and BWS and Vince Colletta. The whole mess is plotted by Jim Shooter, although it is plotted by Stan Lee.
Then I read it for a second time in 2008 as part of the Fantastic Four: Lost Adventures collection. there's nothning particularly "lost" about #296 (other than that it deserves to be), but I remember coming away from it thinking it maybe wasn't quite so bad after all. Then I read it for a third time in 2021 and posted my thoughts on it HERE. I just finished reading it for an unprescedented fourth time, and my opinion hasn't changed. the story has a cogent beginning, middle and end, but in order to be a good story, it must also be one worth telling, and this one most certainly is not. It's the kind of story most people who do not read comic books assume comic books are like. I would be ashamed for any non-comic book reader to read it.
*This discussion immediately follows "Post-Kirby Fantastic Four".
Replies
You must remember this happened during Jim Shooter's peak "Only I Know How to Write Marvel Comics/I'm a Genius" phase.
Only last week, I wondered what Marvel was doing when Byrne's Superman #1 (Ja'87) came out, "counterprogramming" it if you will. Besides Marvel's 25th Anniversary, they had the New Universe and Star Comics!
Starting with #297, the new creative team became Roger Stern and John Buscema, yet for some reason, I wasn't quite as excited as when they took over Avengers a year or so earlier. Buscema's first FF inker during this run was his brother Sal, and of the three, John stayed the longest, through #309. Stern and the younger Buscema stayed through #302, a mere six issues. Although I have read #296 four times in the last forty years, that is not the case with the next three dozen or so issues. I continued to buy them, but not necessarily to read them, a situation which contributed to the first of my Comic Collecting Precepts, "Don't buy what you don't read." Some the comics between here and the beginning of Walt Simonson's run I have read only once, some of them not at all.
I had always thought I might follow up "Post-Jack Kirby FF" with "Post-Byrne FF," but I was waiting for MMW FF to catch up. The recent rumor of the MMW series going on "indefinite hiatus" has put me in the mood to read them right away. Most of the first 295 issues of Fantastic Four (except for #204-231) are available in omnibus format, and all of them are available in MMW format. Beyond that, every remaining issue of the original series is available in Marvel's "Epic Collection" format... or I should say were available, since Vol. 17 ("All in the Family"), the one reprinting #296-307 et al is long-since out of print. I would have preferred to read this run on a paperstock other than newsprint, but after a fruitless search for a copy at a reasonable price, I have decided to go "old school"... yes, I'm reading the actual comic books.
#297-298: The first issue of this two-parter tells two distinct stories: that of the FF and that of two warlord bothers in a far distant galaxy. The two stories are wholly unrelated until the end of part one, when circumstances bring the brothers to our solar system and fuse them into a single being. Their threat has been dealt with by the end of part two, and really nothing of any significance happens.
#299-300: Issue #300 presents the wedding of Johnny Storm and Alicia Masters. A relationship between Johnny and Alicia is something I never knew I wanted until it was revealed that they were sleepijng together in #277. It had previously been established that Alicia was only 19 years old when she first met Ben Grimm. She hadn't even been out of the apartment she shared with her step-father very often for three years before that, and she was almost certainly a virgin at that point. What ever sex life she and Ben may or may not have had at that point, I didn't think it was right (as soon as I stopped to think about it) that a healthy young woman in her prime shouldn't have an ordinary sex life.
#301-302: I just noticed that #301-302 have post-market price stickers from my former (no-longer-local) comics shop in St. Louis and realized I have never read #301-303. Here's what happened: after five disappointing issues in a row, I decided to drop Fantastic Four with #300, which seemed like a nice round number. then Steve Englehart came aboard with #304 ans I decided to buy the three issues I skipped to maintain my complete collection. [Back in the days when Marvel numbered their comics sequentially it was much more difficult to drop a series.]
#303: Roy Thomas was brought in to bridge the gap between Roger Stern and Steve Englehart (with Romeo Tahghal as guest inker). Joe Sinnott would join John Buscema with #304. the stories in #301-303 are unremarkable. And that's the equivalent (more or less) of FF Epic Collection v17. Some of the other later editions have already gone back to print; perhaps this one will, too, someday... espectially now that the MMW series is [rumored to be] kaput.
NEXT: Steve Englehart
This is going to be a lengthy post, so please settle in and bear with me.
In the seventies, Steve Englehart was one of the first comic book writers I learned by name, and in the eighties he was one I would follow from project to project no matter what. Englehart was FF writer from #304-332. Here'wanted to deal with the same s what he has to say about the first 18 issues of that run.
Steve Englehart on #304-321:
"FANTASTIC FOUR, Marvel's flagship title, was one of those books that had had periods of greatness but was floundering when Marvel asked me to revive it. Perhaps because it is the flagship title, the trends this run shows exemplify some larger truths.
"One thing to note is that the writer has nothing to do with the cover; that's the province of the editor, and shows what he thinks of the book. So even though I started a radical new storyline as per usual, the early covers in this run remain pretty uninspired, even generic.
"But that radical storyline involved changing the composition of the Fantastic Four. The FF was always the 'real life' adventures of superheroes, but as the series atrophied many people forgot about the real life part; growth and change went out the window. I identified the hermetically-sealed group of Reed & Sue & Ben & Johnny as a main reason the book has grown stale - and Reed & Sue had been saying for years that they should pay more attention to their perpetually 6-year-old son Franklin - so I let 'em. Thus, Ben & Johnny had to find two new members and do new things. And as soon as they did, in #308, the covers begin to reflect a much more interesting reality.
"So it was that the series developed into something as rich and unpredictable as its earliest days, and regained all the lost readership... up through issue #321."
#304: This issue brings not only Steve Englhart as writer, but Joe Sinnott as inker, and I don't know anyone who would complain about Sinnott inking Buscema on FF. The main story concerns the revillainization of Quicksilver ("revillainization" being a term I picked up from the Mike Barr/Alan Davis run on Detective Comics in regard to Catwoman), a plot-thread Englehart carried over from Vision & Scarlet Witch and West Coast Avengers. Quicksilver's wife, Crystal, cheated on him (with a human), and Pietro blames Johnny Storm. I wasn't real pleased when Jim Shooter gave Yellowjacket mental problems, and I'm not terribly happy to see Englehart follow the same tack with Quicksilver here.
This first issue of the new direction is "Dedicated to Stan and Jack -- who did it together!" I only wish I was able to read it on some decent paperstock.
#305: Lots of characterization this issue. Every character interracts with at least one other character, even Pietro and Kristoff. Crystal visits Four Freedoms Plaza to visit her husband, who is being held there temporarily. The most important aspect of this story is that the Thing invites Crystal to join the team, which will lead to some interesting character dynamics to say the least. The villain who appears on the least page leads directly into...
Annual #20: Dr. Doom kidnaps Franklin Richards in order to utilize the boy's power to defeat Mephisto and free Doom's mother from his domain. In the confusion, Kristoff escapes and ends up in control of Latveria while the real Doom is forced to flee. The art for the annual is handled by Paul Neary and Tony DeZuniga, a big comedown from Buscema and Sinnott.
#306: The Inhumans take custody of Quicksilver. Ms. Marvel (Sharon Ventura, from Thing #27-36 and Captain America #330-331) drops by and the Thing invites her to join the FF. This issue's villain: Diablo.
#307: Reed and Sue finally leave for good; rematch with Diablo.
FF Epic Collection v18: With #308 I transition over to FF Epic v18, and the art looks every bit as good on the high quality paperstock as I expected it to. The editor of the Epic line was evidently trying to acheive some sort of "bookend" effect with v18, because he has chosen to lead off with The Big Change (graphic novel) by Jim Starlin and Berni Wrightson. (It ends with another Thing/Hulk slugfest from Fantastc Four #320/Hulk #350.) As worthy as The Big Change is, it is out of place in style and tone with Englehart's run; I would have much rather seen FF #304-307 and the Annual in its place (v18 is a somewhat slim volume, anyway). Collection editor Mark Beazley is no Cory Sedlmeyer when it comes to compiling collections.
#308-309: Sheikh Farouk al-Fasaud. Lots of "soap opera."
#310: Keith Pollard replaces John Buscema as penciler. Fasaud. the Thing and Ms. Marvel get belted with a dose of cosmic rays, turning her into a lumpy, orange "She-Thing" and further mutating him into an even rockier and far more powerful version of himself.
#311: Thing and Ms. Marvel's space flight lands them in Wakanda, where they interract with the Black Panther. Also, Dr. Doom is visiting in an attempt to reshore his power base after being outsed from Latveria by Kristoff.
#312: The Fantastic Four, Black Panther and Doctor Doom all return to the United States, where they find a parade being held in honor of X-Factor (a "Fall of the Mutants" tie-in). Forces from the Latverian Embassay (under the command of Kristoff) attack the real Dr. Doom, and the heroes are forced to defend him.
#313: The Mole Man. Johnny begins to feel attracted to Crystal. Sal Buscema is guest artists, but Joe Sinnott keeps the look consistent.
#314: Belasco. More "soap opera" (actually character development). Continuity: ties to Dr. Strange.
#315: Master Pandemonium. Continuity: ties to West Coast Avengers.
#316: This issue takes place in Antarctica, guest-stars Ka-Zar, and ends with "the one word you never thought you'd see in a Marvel comic again!" Continuity: ties to Comet Man. Reading this series of issues, I quickly realized I have never read beyond #307. I have flipped through them and familiarized myself with the overall plot, but I am reading them for the first time now. Reading #316 was an experience not unlike reading Giant-Size Avengers for the first time, in which Englehart took diverse elements from seemingly unreleaed stories from the first 10-15 years of MU continuity (the Blue Area of the Moon, the Kree, the Cotati, etc.) and showed how they are all connected. He does much the same here, using "seemingly unreleaed" elements from the previous 10-15 years. Come to think of it, I'd be willing to bet you that some Marvel editor got the idea for the "Subterranean Wars" series of annuals from Englehart's FF #313.
#317: A couple of years ago, while reading FF backissues for the "Post-Kirby Fantastic Four" discussion, I was struck by the coincidence that the Prime Movers, the alien race hired to tow away Counter-Earth, were hired by the Beyonders. Wouldn't it be neat, I thought, if they were somehow connected to the being who orchestrated the so-called "Secret Wars"? Little did I know at the time that not only had Steve Englehart already written such a story, and I already owned it (but simply hadn't read it). I am simpatico with Steve Englehart (and this is not the only example) in that he writes stories, not only that I want to read, but that I think should be written. This issue not only links the Beyonders to the Prime Movers, but also the alien race of Comet Man (which I am wholly unfamiliar with) and the aliens who were responsible for building the Savage Land.
Englehart also excels at presenting human relationships. In this issue, the situation between Johnny and Crystal seems a bit forced, but the one between Ben and Shary flows naturally.
#317 leads directly into...
Annual #21: This is part five of the "Evolutionary War" story which ran through 1988's annuals. This was the first such event (of many more to come), and I resented the hell out of it. I refused to buy any annuals I would not have bought anyway, but at least the "crossover" aspect was not too intrusive in this one. There is now a hardcover omnibus edition of these annuals, which just blows my mind. I guess everything is someone's favortite, but I see this "themed annuals" trend as a downward turn in comics history. (I still count Fantastic Four Annuals #1-6 as the yardstick against which all other annuals are to be measured.) I guess there's no discounting the nostalgia factor. But I digress.
Quicksilver has returned to the Inhumans, supposedly reformed, claiming to have been under the control of Maximus the Mad. The Royal Family (who do not sanction divorce) come to Four Freedoms Plaza to collect Crystal and reunite her with her husband on the Moon. Simultaneously, the High Evolutionary attacks the Hidden City in order to obtain the Terrigen Mists. When the FF learn of this attack, they break off their fight against the Inhumans and join them against the High Evolutionary. Ultimately (but against her own better judgement), Crystal consents to stay with her people, but as soon as the FF leave, Quicksilver contacts his new ally, Dr. Doom (both of whom have been appearing in Englehart's West Coast Avengers since their respective last appearances here).
#318: The Fantastic Four (now "three") make plans to seek the Beyonders in the Negative Zone. Due to information gleaned from Quicksilver, Dr. Doom approaches them and offers his aid for reasons of his own. They don't exactly accept his offer, but all four end up traveling to the Neg Zone at the same time anyway. No sooner are they in the Negative Zone then they are attacked by Blastaar. Dr. Doom saves them.
#319: "Secret Wars 3." Linking the Beyonder to the Beyonders is a neat idea, but not all "neat ideas" are necessarily bad. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but this story actually justifies the existance of Secret Wars and Secret Wars II (plus a few other lame "cosmic" stories I could name as well). I'm not going to even try to explain it, but what I don't understand is why I have never heard this story's praises sung before, ever.
#320/(Hulk #350): The Thing and the Hulk have against each other many times, but this is the first time the new (stronger) "spikey" Thing has foght the relatively new (weaker) gray Hulk. Guess who wins?
[At this point I transition from FF Epic Collection v18 back to individual periodical newsprint comics.]
#321: This issue is basically a one-off fight between She-Hulk and the "She-Thing" (illustrated by guest artist Rom Lim), but it follows directly on from last issue's Hulk/Thing slugfest. after Jen and shary fight, they team-up against Dragon-Man, who is being controled by a new Watcher. Although Crystal is now on the Moon with her people, Johnny continues to be in love with both her and Alicia (his own wife, remember).
Whew. that's more issues than I usually deal with in a single post, but I wanted to deal with the same run of issues Steve Englhart addressed in his remarks quoted above. Also, I wanted to look at "The More Things Change..." Epic Collection all at once. Much has been made lately of DC's new DC Finest line, and rightly so, but I wanted to make sure Marvel's long-running Epic Collection line gets some attention as well. For my own part, I have largely eschewed the Epic Collections in favor of Marvel Masterworks, but now that the MMW line is coming to an end, I'm taking a more critical look at some of the Epic Collections I have passed.
"There was a lot of drek in Fantastic Four after 1986 that I don't need to re-read." - Captain Comics
I don't disagree, but I would like to petition to move that cut-off to 1988 to include the Englehart run (most of it, anyway) on the "non-drek" side of that line. I might even be inclined to move the line as far as 1991 to include the Walt Simonson run on the non-drek side. Now, between the Englehart and Simonson runs (and after the Simonson run): a lot of drek. I must say that I really enjoyed reading the Englehart run (the bulk of it, anyway), in a convenient package on high-quality paper. The beauty of the Epic Collections (in comparison to the Masterworks) is that the volumes aren't numbered sequentially so that a reader/collector can buy just the ones he's interested in without something appearing "missing" on the shelf. For example...
...I can buy just "The More Things Change..." (Englehart) and "Into the Time Stream" (Simonson), and skip the aptly-named "The Dream is Dead" without accumulating just too much drek.
NEXT: "The Writing is on the Wall"
Steve Englehart was one of the first comic book writers I learned by name, and [also] one I would follow from project to project no matter what.
Now I remember what happened. After four issues of Steve Englehart's Fantastic Four (these in turn following eight rather lackluster post-Byrne issues), it wasn't really clicking with me so I dropped the series with #307. But I have long been a fan of Marvel's "cosmic comics," so #323 lured me back, at which point I collected all the backissues I had missed (#308-322) to maintain my "complete collection," but I never read them... until now. The "Celestial Madonna" storyline was probably my first "cosmic" story, and I followed a version of the character from Marvel to DC to Eclipse and back to Marvel. The return of Mantis and Kang was written just for me.
Steve Englehart on #322-325:
"At this point, Marvel made its infamous decision that innovation should end. The initial impact was felt on WEST COAST AVENGERS, where my Mantis storyline was first eviscerated and then abolished. To try to salvage her, I took her untold storyline and moved it, with middling success, to the FF. To protest the end of what had been "the House of Ideas," I changed my byline to S.F.X. Englehart, using the standard abbreviation for simple Sound Effects.
"But the writing was on the wall"
"At this point, Marvel made its infamous decision that innovation should end." Englehart sounds what here? Bitter? Disappointed? Disgruntled? Frustrated to say the least. What he is referring to is editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco's decision to reset the status quo on all it's long-running titles back to the 1960s. For the FF, that meant bringing back Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Girl Woman. (More on that next time.) Personally, I was ambivalent. It meant a step backwards, yet I wasn't entirely thrilled with the direction Marvel as a whole was heading in those days in the first place. As far as "S.F.X. Englehart" is concerned, I completely missed his point. I thought he meant "special effects" and was engaging in a bit of hyperbolic self-promotion. Just look at Ron Frenz's Kirby-esque Silver Surfer cover of #325!
#322: This is an "Inferno" tie-in, as another line-wide crossover intrudes on the proceedings. In this issue, Ms. Marvel's appearance begins to become less lumpy, more rocky, just like the Thing's body did in the early days. Thing tells her that her condition may still be reversible at this point. The Torch has trouble turning his flame off.
#323: This is another "Inferno" crossover, but I hardly minded as it brought back Mantis and Kang. Since Englehart's return to Marvel, I had followed Mantis from Silver Surfer to West Coast Avengers to Fantastic Four, and I was eager to see what he would do with her, one of his signature characters, next. The renegade Watcher goes by the name Aron. An etherial figure lurks in the background. Torch completely loses control of his powers.
#324: The "etherial figure" from last issue turns out to be Necrodamus, from S.E.'s Defenders and Avengers runs.
#325: Up until this issue, the Silver Surfer had thought Mantis was dead. Circumstances, however, preclude them remaining together.
NEXT: "The Dream is Dead"
When Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman left the ranks of the Fantastic Four in 1987, I cynically observed, "This'll never last." Now, in 1989, less than two years after they left, they were back (though, I known now, no fault of the writer who made it happen in the first place).
Steve Englehart on #326-332:
"The other shoe fell, as I was ordered to bring back Reed & Sue - the exact thing that had dragged the book down in the first place - and undo the other changes in the book. At this point I took my name off the series altogether, opting for the pseudonym I'd created years before for work I didn't want to be associated with: 'John Harkness.'
"But I'm not the kind of guy to take such things lying down, so I wove a plot that put the real FF into suspended animation and sent bland replicas to take their place. Then the real FF dreamed all the plotlines I would have explored over the coming year. That provided a modicum of fun, but overall, this was one of the most painful stretches of my career.
"And note what happens to the covers."
I had only just started reading Fantastic Four again with #323. Then, only three issues later, this John Harness guy (whom I had never heard of), had taken over the writing from Steve Englehart. Of course I didn't know that the time that "John Harness" was a pseudonym along the likes of "Cordwainer Bird." I read only the first two or three issues of his run, but I continued to buy them because I'm a mentally ill "completist" and thought I might want to write about them in 36 years. So I'm reading the majority of this eight-issue run for the first time now.
#326: Reed and Sue Richards return, as do the Frightful Four. Thing reverts to Ben Grimm.
#327: The two teams continue their fight until the Frightful Four is forced to retreat. Both teams assess team dynamics. Mr. Fantastic retakes control of the Fantastic Four ands sets out for a rematch with the Frightful Fouor, leaving the now human Ben Grimm behind. the Fantastic Four are defeated by the Frightful Four with the help of Aron the Watcher and Dragon Man.
#328: Steve Englehart playfully jibes at John Byrne. Ben Grimm (with Alicia's help) defeats the Frightful Four and rescues his four partners, but the Watcher Aron turns the tables on them in the end and reveals a duplicate set of five pawns. An aspect of this story ties in to Steve Englehart's run on Captain Marvel.
#329: The five clones of the Fantastic Four, plus Alicia, return to FF Plaza, but the dopplegangers aren't acting like "themselves." Specifically, they have the personalities the had in issue #1. Alicia knows something is up (for one thing, Ben is in his mutated form once again), but she was unconscious for a time and the others provide some bogus explanation. Aron created the duplicates to live out his own fantasies, starting with a "re-enactment" of FF #1. Meanwhile, the real FF are in suspended animation having fantasies of their own. First, Ben Grimm and Sharon Ventura have similar dreams that they break up. Steve Englehart may not have been happy with the direction he was forced to take, but so far this story hasn'tr been bad. rich Buckler takes over as penciler from Keith Pollard with this issue.
#330: While Aron goes on playing with his "action figures" (as he calls them), the Invisible Woman dreams of a war between Doctor Doom and Kristoff for control of Latveria. Doom has recruited Kang, Dormammu, Atuma, the Hobgoblin, the Beetle, the Absorbing Man, the Hulk and Master Pandemonium to fight on his side; Kristoff has recruited Annihilus, the Abomination, the Rhino, Sandman, Mysterio and Electro. The situation escalates, involving virtually every super-powered character in the MU, and eventually the Earth is destroyed. This issue is rife with coloring errors on about half the pages: everything that's supposed to be green is purple; purple is green; yellow is magenta; and so on. The colorist is Jack Fury. (Who?) There are quite a few spelling errors as well from letterers Asutin Mas (sic) and Jade Moede.
#331: In the real world, the doppleganger FF become increasingly dictatorial, leying a "Fantasti-tax" on the people of New York City. Meanwhile, Reed Richards dreams that his Turino XL computer and realizes that it an anagram for "Ultron XI." This is obviously a plot Englehart had been laying the groundwork for for some time, because "Turino XL" was not something invented just for this story (plus he had recently Used Ultron in Avengers West Coast). Now that it has been relegated to "dream" status, I suppose the anagram aspect much be considered to be just a coincidence. George Roussos and Bill Oakly are back on colors and letters (respectively), so there are far fewer errors this issue than last.
#332: The Human Torch dreams that Crystal is granted a divorce from Quicksilver and rejoins the Fantastic Four, making her the team's fifth member (at this point, "Fantastic Four" is more of a brand than a headcount). the are both still atrracted to each other, but both resolve to homor Johnny and Alicia's marriage. she fights as a mamber of the team for several adventures, when finally Sue confronts her, whioch leads to a physical altercation between the two women (which lasts for five pages). Franklin witnesses the fight in his dream state, which in turn leads to physical and mental distress as he strains against the mental blocks which his "adult" self put in place back in #245. Mr. Fantastic uses a "mentoscan" to remove the psychic dampers, and Franklin suddenly remembers that, when he changed the Thing from his lumpy back to his Rocky state (rather than curing him because he perceived Ben's mental bloack regarding Alicia), he also caused Alicia to fall in love with Johnny, his childlike reasoning having told him that that would solve everyone's problems. He had completely forgotten about doing this until his self-imposed mental blocks were removed, but now that he understands what trouble he inadvertantly caused, he sets Johnny and alicia's feeling back the way they were, Alicia again loves Ben, Johnny Alicia, and Sharon left in the cold.
I actually see this as an acceptable compromise: it returns Reed and Sue to the FF (as Marvel wanted), and keeps Crystal and Ms. Marvel (as Englehart wanted). Johnny and Alicia's romance/marriage was never accepted by most fans, and this "reset" is much less objectionable than the one Marvel eventually settled upon. (I may get to that someday.) This dream causes the Torch's temperature to rise, which will soon free the Fantastic Four (and the Frightful Four) from Aron's clutches, but he will not recall the specifics after he awakens.
#333: The Avengers, plus Dr. Strange, drop by Four Freedoms Plaza to pay a visit to the (ersatz) Fantastic Four to get to the bottom of this "Fantasti-tax." A fight ensues, but the "FF" flee in the pogo plane to western Canada (where Aron's secret base is located) in the middle of it. the Avengers follow. By the time they arrive, the dopplegangers are fighting against the real Fantastic Four and the Frightful Four as well. A three-way fight ensues, and the clones are eventually defeated. Aron sends the real FF and the Avengers back to New York City, and imprisons the duplicates in suspended animation to monitor their dreams instead of their actions. After clearing their name, the FF and the Avengers fly cross country to Oakland, California where they drop in on (wait for it)... "John Harkness."
Franklin Richards says, "Mr. Harkness, you're the writer of the FF comic book these days, and it would be nice if you could write a comic to let everyone know my daddy's really a good guy -- and this was all a mistake," to which Harkness responds, "I'll try. But it might take a better man than me to straighten out this mess." these stories aren't as bad as Steve Englehart thinks they are, but they could have been so much better if Marvel had given him a looser rein. Knowing the "story behind the story" made reading these last eight issues more interesting than they otherwise would have been. That's as far as I intend to take this topic at this time. Walt Simonson's run is up next, so I do intend to return to it one of these days.