What a difference a week makes.
After the jam packed week last week which saw me hammer put not just one but two blog posts as well as two reviews and six whole pages of script, this week has become very very slow in comparison.
Fortunately, I've still managed to make the time to read some comics, as I've tried to catch up on the backlog of my pull list.
Chief among these was Fantastic Four #34, which concluded the Bride of Doom storyline as Dr Doom unleashed his Fury against his artificially neutered guests in retaliation to the liaison between the Human Torch, Johnny Storm, and Doom's Herald, Victorious. However, as the first family and their allies attempt to stave off Doom's anger over these events, it is Johnny whose life is majorly changed as he finds himself in a way that he has never been before.
I've been finding this run of the FF to be maintaining a level of consistency for a fair few issues now and this instalment seemed to stick to that with what seemed like a high octane finale to the Bride of Doom storyline. I must admit that the story itself didn't live up to much as it came across as very much a no brains action movie, although it did have some moments. These included things like Johnny's multiple offer of self sacrifice to save everyone else and pretty much everyone's (including Sue) burns towards Namor, who himself gave his as usual Chauvinistic personality.
However, what I think was best about the issue was the revelations that it tee'd up. First up, with the recent removal of Sky and Lyja, i had expected Victorious to shuffle off of this book as well. However, u was surprised to see that this wasn't the case (yet). But what was the biggest surprise was the cliffhanger change to Johnny Storm, which was completely unexpected (I had assumed he would go in the opposite direction to what actually happened). I wont lie, I'm still disappointed that the change wasn't a reveal about his sexuality, but I sure am interested in where Johnny's current predicament is going to lead as well as questions as to how it works? How does he sleep, eat, etc?
Of course, it goes without saying that the gorgeous art by R.B. Silva and the equally stellar colours by Jesus Aburtov helped me enjoy this issue. However, at this point I'm out of new words to talk about how awesome their work is. I guess perfection has a ceiling.
Now, the issue wasn't perfect to me as some of the logic behind the plot and actions seemed suspect (not to mention Doom's 'gift') while Doom himself felt very melodramatic (at least more so than normal). However, I still found it a good read and one which has me intrigued about Johnny's predicament going forward (even if it'll probably be rectified in two issues).
Oh, and before I forget ...
Fantastic Four wasn't the only comic off of my pull list that I read this week. I also managed (finally) to get through Spider-Man: Spider's Shadow #4, the penultimate issue of this what if mini series that saw Spider-Man, now free of the Symbiote's grasp attempt to save his few remaining allies. However, with the symbiote having taken a new host, Spidey has to face his Demon and its plan to take over the world.
I must admit, after the first issue, I found my enjoyment of this run to be somewhat middling as it felt a little 'by the numbers'. However, this fourth instalment really hooked me so much more than the prior two as it began its sprint to the finish line. I thought this issue was much more engrossing as Spidey was forced back to the thing he was so eager to be rid of. Meanwhile, the art is still beautiful in a dreamlike vibe, almost lending credence to that whole 'What If' notion.
That said, I do have questions about this series, certainly regarding its in-story logistics, but I'm still pumped to get to the end and see what direction this particular 'What If' ends.
I also did a review round up for Pipedream Comics where I took a look at London Horror Comics #9, Torment #1 and Fables of Fear #2. All three of which are horror comics and anthologies and while the first one reminded me of John Constantine and the latter two of the Outer Limits, all three were good reads which I enjoyed and hope to check out more of.
So, that's this week in a nutshell and while it wasn't as busy as the previous one, at least I got something done. Sadly my day job chewed up my time and prevented any work being done on my personal projects.
However, with some new comics ready to review and some good ideas for my own stuff, hopefully next week will fare a little better.
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