So in general I usually just stick with the main covers of books, letting the variants stay on the shelves for the customers who want them. But sometimes…sometimes there’s a cover I have to have. Last time it was a variant featuring you-know-who, and this week it was this one:
Marvel’s celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Muppet Show, you see, so we’re getting these swell mash-up covers (as well as the equally-swell Muppets Take the Marvel Universe comic from last week). I couldn’t resist Statler and Waldorf and the Watcher. What an image.
Helping me make the choice was that I didn’t entirely care for the main cover, which looked like this:
…with a big portion given over to a banner identifying the book as part of the “DNX” crossover, sort of in the fashion of previous Marvel crossover events like Civil War. I’m not reading the DNX series, I’m not even entirely sure what it’s about, which is probably a bad thing to admit given I order and sell this stuff, but it’s basically another “event” book I’m not personally following.
Interestingly, the previously provided artwork for this cover for Fantastic Four #17 looked like this:
…with the artwork taking up the entire area. Come to think of it, the Muppet variant image we were provided prior to release did not contain the dialogue balloons:
Frankly, I liked it better that way…far more foreboding.
Now as to the issue itself, since I’m not reading the event, how did I like the book that’s tying into it? Now look, as a verified expert in comic book reading, I’m no stranger to reading a story that ties into another series I’m not reading and have no interest in doing so. I can usually extrapolate what I missed from what I have read, and if it’s a good comic book, the creative team will briefly catch you up under the assumption this book is the only one you’ve ever read, ever.
Needless to say, this is writer Ryan North we’re talking about, and he, along with artists Vincenzo Carratù and Edgar Delgado, presents us a story that requires no (or at least very little) previous knowledge of what’s going on elsewhere. The FF are stranded…somewhere, and none of them have their memories. Thus, it’s a story of them trying to work out who they are and where they’re at, and it is both amusing and exciting. It’s not ’til the end we get the explicit tie-in to DNX, but judging by the next issue blurb, it doesn’t seem like you’ll need to read any other comic to be able to follow part two of this story. Which is nice.
I suppose if you are reading DNX, this will enhance the experience. But if not, you’re good there too.
I did spot another variant this week I was tempted by:
…but alas, I’m not reading any of the X-books. Not even for Pepe the King Prawn.
I wonder if they changed the cover on that issue of FF in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of North’s FF in order to help sales on this DNX event. They made sure it was in big letters and took up half the cover so that fans of North’s FF can’t miss the fact that this series is tying in to something called “DNX”, so they better pick up the DNX mini-series and the X-Men tie-in issues also. The original cover was too subtle, and if the story doesn’t have a great deal to do with the X-Men crossover, fans might decide they’re ok with continuing to only read FF.
I haven’t read the issue of FF yet, but it was upsetting that the outstanding North FF series was being forced to waste two issues for a story that should solely be told in X-Men. I guess it will be fine if the FF issues aren’t outright forced to make the story simply about DNX.
The “Blood Hunt” issues of North’s FF still stands as my least favourite stories from that series. I didn’t care about that event and felt the FF book was shoehorned to fit with a series that did not work with the types of plots being used by Ryan North, even if “Blood Hunt” did end up setting up the North-penned “One World Under Doom” event (another comic I did not care about).
I think the first version of the FF cover looks much better. It always makes me sad when the artist’s work is cropped by 30 percent (or whatever) In order to make room for a crossover event or other marketing ploy. it reminds me of Marvel Comics in the early ’70s when all of the covers looked like a panel insert, with roughly 1/3 of the cover taken up by the logo and medallion insert image of the character/characters in the corner. Then there was that time in the early ’80s, I think, where they had a giant “win a bicycle” blurb across the top of Marvel Comics, which also messed with the artwork, sadly.
But as to the actual FF cover art by Ramos, I think it looks great. It has a very “body horror” element going on, while also evoking the origin of the FF (although here they are drawn in their civilian costumes–not their spacesuits; but Johnny, at least, looks very early 1960s– circa the creation of the FF–based on his cardigan sweater, buttoned up shirt, and pants). I would say the art also reminds me stylistically a bit of Bill Sienkiewicz’s art from back in his early ’80s FF run.
I do not plan to read DNX, but I guess it makes me wonder, over the last 40 years or so has it ever been established through retroactive continuity or anything that the FF members all had latent mutant powers which they were unaware of from the get go–but it took the exposure to the cosmic rays to release said mutant powers? Also, isn’t Franklin a mutant–and presumably Valeria too?
I mean, it seems like the FF aren’t really so different from the X-Men if one goes back to the early days of both teams, except that the FF had better PR. But at the end of the day, just like the Doom Patrol over at DC, they could all be considered “freaks” by the common people–especially The Thing.
Re: the alternative FF cover featuring Statler, Waldorf, and the Watcher, I actually prefer the cover with the word balloons, because it is funny! I really wish covers would go back to featuring word balloons as often as possible, as I feel that it leads the reader to want to get emotionally invested in the comic; or, in this case, the humor of Statler and Waldorf shines through and could act as an incentive for Muppets fans to want to buy the issue.
I don’t know what else will be coming down the pike in terms of Muppets covers, but they could do some great parodies of classic Marvel covers, with Ms. Piggy as the Dazzler, or Kermit transforming into the Hulk, or maybe even the Swedish Chef as Thor.
It was revealed that characters like the Fantastic Four, Bruce Banner, and Peter Parker had the latent potential in their DNA due to the early experiments by the Celestials on early humans which led to their exposure to cosmic rays, gamma radiation, or a radioactive spider bite giving them superpowers instead of killing them, as it would the majority of humans. However, that doesn’t make them mutants (in the strict Marvel Universe definition) as they were not born with the X-gene giving them their powers.
Characters like the Fantastic Four are defined as “mutates” by Marvel.
Franklin Richards was born as a mutant. However, at some point, I think it was that Franklin decided his being a mutant was too upsetting to his parents, so he used his mutant power to remove his X-gene, so he is not currently considered a mutant by Marvel.
It was actually some sort of controversy between editors at Marvel that led to the decision. The FF’s editor didn’t want the X-office taking custodianship of Franklin during the Krakoa era, so they came up with that story to prevent Franklin from getting involved with Krakoa.
As far as Valeria, no, she was never a mutant. She is just a super-genius like her father, but she has no actual superpowers.
“the main cover, which looked like this”
“My arms are melting! MELTINNNNNNNG!”
” The FF are stranded…somewhere”
If it smells bad, they’re probably in New Jersey.
“Then there was that time in the early ’80s, I think, where they had a giant “win a bicycle” blurb across the top of Marvel Comics, ”
INCLUDING some classic issues of X-Men, AND one of the Empire Strikes Back adaptation issues of Star Wars, with an AMAZING Darth Vader cover.
” with Ms. Piggy as the Dazzler,”
They could bring back Peter Porker, Spider-Ham!
DNX is surprisingly not terrible*; fun even. And that last minute page turn reveal (which I didn’t figure out until right before) was kind of genius.
*= the last few X-Crossover things since Krakoa? Were terrible. So I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
@Chris V
Thanks for bringing me up to speed.
It does seem that making Franklin a non-mutant is a cop out on the part of Marvel, however.
I think they should create a Steranko Captain America no. 111 homage cover with Kermit as Cap, Gonzo as Rick Jones Bucky, Miss Piggy as Madame Hydra, and Pepe the King Prawn as the multi-armed Hydra agent.
They could also homage Steranko’s X-Men no. 49 cover with Kermit as Cyclops, Miss Piggy as Marvel Girl, Rowlf the Dog as Beast, Sam the Eagle as Angel, and Gonzo as Iceman.
Or how about a Dr. Strange cover with Dr. Strangepork dressed up as Dr. Strange?
Or how about