tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post844599379806722956..comments2024-03-27T11:32:34.392-07:00Comments on NOT A HOAX! NOT A DREAM!: FANTASTIC FOUR #256Matthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-27560466182378470402016-05-02T09:59:50.026-07:002016-05-02T09:59:50.026-07:00Good point about the costume changes. I think Marv...Good point about the costume changes. I think Marvel even ran a house ad with "Silver Centurion" Iron Man, "The Captain", black costume Spider-Man, and battle armor Thor (and maybe gray Hulk?) all standing together to emphasize the point.<br /><br />(On a side note, Doug Moench has some odd conspiracy theory that all those changes were masterminded by Jim Shooter to sort of re-create the Marvel Universe in his own image.)<br /><br />I never really thought about the chest circle not changing; that's weird. The drop shadow vanishing from the "4" has always bugged me, though, both because A) where did it go, and B) I'm with you that it looked really cool. I don't think anyone has ever brought the drop shadow back even after the FF returned to the blue-and-blacks.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-11936777015521134092016-04-30T09:56:10.727-07:002016-04-30T09:56:10.727-07:00I do like these outfits a lot, but have a soft spo...<br>I do like these outfits a lot, but have a soft spot for the originals when the gloves, boots, and other accents were rendered close to true black. Nearly from the start the suits were drably colored a uniform (pun intended) blue save for the white of the insignia. As I mentioned in a comment last month, I considered the FF boring as a kid and that was a major reason why; Byrne got the contrast right, though, as did my beloved Mego figures.<br /><br />This change felt extremely significant at the time because not just the FF but <i>all</i> the A-list Marvel characters, really, had looked the same since their inception or very soon thereafter — with the notable exceptions of Hank and Jan Pym, whose outfits changed regularly. Doctor Strange wore that face mask briefly, Captain Marvel only got big(gish) <i>after</i> his costume and powers were revamped, and it was new characters (along with new creative hands, obviously) rather than various new costumes that led to the X-Men finally taking off. Like the FF, however, Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Daredevil, and even Hulk were all preserved in the looks established within a year of their introductions at most, Iron Man taking the longest and having the most adjustments made thereafter. <br /><br />I don’t understood why the black accents turned white but the white circle never turned black (and nothing happened to the blue), but then again I don’t understand why the outfits changed to begin with. I also miss the dropshadow on the FF’s insignia on the new outfits; apart from being another change that makes no sense, its absence surprised me because I recall Byrne speaking fondly of it in an interview.<br /><br>Blamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07342343767763035991noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-39974527316373057792016-04-05T09:19:46.750-07:002016-04-05T09:19:46.750-07:00I tend to agree with Teemu that the Byrne/Sinnott ...I tend to agree with Teemu that the Byrne/Sinnott team looks a little odd to my eyes, but it's not a knock against either of them individually. That said, I agree Byrne could've used an inker on this run, or at least maybe a background artist so he could put some better effort into the inked figures.<br /><br />Though when Jerry Ordway finally comes aboard as inker, I find myself almost missing Byrne's inks. Ordway's lines seem too light for Byrne's pencils.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-62756893902890185382016-04-05T09:17:07.907-07:002016-04-05T09:17:07.907-07:00Have they? I thought they switched back to the pl...Have they? I thought they switched back to the plain blue and black uniforms when they came back from "Heroes Reborn". They certainly have those outfits in Mike Wieringo's issues, at least.Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-10633750070909210572016-04-05T09:15:37.908-07:002016-04-05T09:15:37.908-07:00Now that you mention it, it does seem particularly...Now that you mention it, it does seem particularly odd that Byrne didn't acknowledge the Casket in FF, considering he was friends with Walter Simonson. Even funnier is that Byrne used Scourge, as you mentioned, which I'm pretty sure was forced on him by Jim Shooter and Mark Gruenwald (note that Byrne's Scourge story doesn't even wrap in FF -- it's concluded in an issue of SECRET WARS II).Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-51881230726902108402016-04-04T01:37:38.402-07:002016-04-04T01:37:38.402-07:00Muddy it may be here, but to my eye A #233 is all ...Muddy it may be here, but to my eye A #233 is all wrong. It's too obviously Byrne for the Sinnott-brought non-Byrne elements to look nothing but disturbing on it. It looks like unholy union of Byrne and Sal Buscema, and I dislike Buscema like some other people do Al Milgrom. Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-75923649334436622632016-04-03T19:22:03.254-07:002016-04-03T19:22:03.254-07:00Having bought this issue off the stands when it wa...Having bought this issue off the stands when it was originally published, Byrne's art in this issue was quite muddy during this period. The scans you've posted actually look to these eyes like an improvement. Byrne as an inker over his own work during this time did himself no favors. Joe Sinnott inking him on the Avengers side of the story in Avengers #233 was a marked improvement and better for the eyes.Donald Gnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-10289582055529044432016-03-31T18:25:19.540-07:002016-03-31T18:25:19.540-07:00I always liked the dark blue, ( they are dark b...I always liked the dark blue, ( they are dark blue to me ) suits better then the light blue ones as well. <br /><br />It is kind of weird to consider that the Fantastic Four have been walking around for 20 years and 256 issue,s in those light blue suits. <br /><br />It's actually even stranger, to consider they have been wearing the dark blue's for almost 30 years now though. <br />Snowkatthttp://focusedtotalitycomics.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-74716151551889421812016-03-31T12:02:18.039-07:002016-03-31T12:02:18.039-07:00And regarding what was said of MTIO #75 in your pr...And regarding what was said of MTIO #75 in your previous post, I think it's especially nice touch that Avengers were featured heavily on that issue too. It really warrants to use it for basis for a mini-crossover.<br /><br />Therefore it's sad that Casket of Ancient Winters went without mention on FF, despite members having a show of themselves on the THOR issues. Scourge of the Underworld pops up though, which is nice.Teemunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-13787135519681005782016-03-31T09:27:50.725-07:002016-03-31T09:27:50.725-07:00Plus, in addition to the pseudo-crossovers, Byrne ...Plus, in addition to the pseudo-crossovers, Byrne generally uses the Avengers a lot during his run. Reed consults with them on the comatose Vision a few times following this story, and later the FF move into Avengers Mansion following the destruction of the Baxter Building (and I think they're there through to the end of Byrne's run, as he departs before construction on Four Freedoms Plaza is complete).Matthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14580725636327122073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-24635692691200440152016-03-31T09:02:22.181-07:002016-03-31T09:02:22.181-07:00There was a cross-over as part of the annuals with...There was a cross-over as part of the annuals with the Skrulls also.<br />Yes, this would be the first of the official cross-overs though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7105844689832543332.post-65511105485653613232016-03-30T13:12:39.280-07:002016-03-30T13:12:39.280-07:00Was this the first Avengers/FF pseudo-crossovers d...Was this the first Avengers/FF pseudo-crossovers during the respective Stern/Byrne runs on those titles (I'm thinking also of the "return of Jean Grey" setup issues, but there's probably others, right?)? <br /><br />And FWIW, I much prefer the black FF uniforms as well. Austin Gortonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14281239771248780430noreply@blogger.com