Thursday, November 5, 2020

A Town Besieged--An Aunt Revealed!

 

Eight issues into writer/artist John Byrne's distinguished run on Fantastic Four, early 1982's off-the-radar "Wendy's Friends" could be described as a middle-of-the-road tale, one of a number of such stories that Byrne would craft for the team which moved events forward for them but otherwise had nothing sensational to offer beyond what you'd ordinarily find the FF dealing with on an ordinary day when no current or imminent threat was preoccupying their time. (Though "ordinary" is certainly subjective when it involves the Fantastic Four.) That description is by no means a disparagement, as Byrne's writing generally reflects patience combined with an effort to establish characterization--and here you'll find the threat du jour folded into that, rather than the other way around, which can often be an interesting change of pace.

And so the FF not only encounter in this issue a mysterious danger that neither they nor its victims can comprehend, but also elements of their past and present--particularly in relation to Ben Grimm, the Thing, who has recently been dealt a setback in regard to an attempt by Reed Richards to return him to his human form. But Ben is also closely linked to the "unexpected guest-star" who is heralded on the issue's dramatic cover--though from the look of things, the FF will soon have other pressing matters on their plate.

 

Yet the guest-star is of such stature in FF lore that Byrne has already inserted her into the previous issue while making her the catalyst here for the scenes which greet us from as early as page one--and so we arrive with her at the FF's newly established reception office on the 30th floor of the Baxter Building, where one of the team's members is doing a little welding work on their, er, receptionist.


While it's certainly an '80s approach to Fantastic Four, Inc., it's up for debate whether it makes sense from a security standpoint to grant anyone boarding their no-longer-private elevator unhindered access to the entire first floor of the FF's headquarters, given that it seems the security scans that Johnny mentions aren't being performed until that person enters the reception area. (Perhaps doing so while on the way up--or even before the person(s) board the elevator--would be more prudent, just in case a potential foe isn't feeling obliged to follow visitor protocol.)

While Johnny and our visitor are on the way, we check in on Reed and his wife, Sue, as they revisit Reed's attempt to cure Ben and its inexplicable failure.


(We would discover in a future issue why the answer Reed sought on the procedure's failure remained out of reach.)

The answer to the identity of our visitor, however, is imminent, and how delightful to have it resolved at last--and as the cover caption intimates, its disclosure is most unexpected.


From here, the story revolves around the town of Benson, Arizona, where its residents are turning up dead due to suffering sudden, severe fright. Despite the circumstances, the upside for the reader is that during the FF's investigation, there is ample opportunity for Byrne to supply a number of additional character "nuggets" which collectively draw from some of the many aspects of the team previously established by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby which helped to endear the book and its characters to their fans, and on which Byrne successfully gives a fresh take. The Thing's regression to his prior form is clearly one such nod; and a nearly full-page shot of the Fantasti-Car, the refitted model's first appearance in flight during Byrne's run, is always a welcome sight.


The only "odd man out" remains the continued presence of the second Torch--Frankie Raye, Johnny's girlfriend, who virtually eclipses the entire team on this issue's cover yet, it's fair to say, is redundant in terms of the abilities she brings to the FF when a more experienced and long-standing flaming member is present. Byrne's plans for Frankie are just around the corner (which translates to five months in publication terms); for now, he appears to be focusing on her unofficial status as a member in training, which we'll see evidence of in a moment.

As the investigation proceeds, we receive a further nod of nostalgia in the form of Ben, who again dons a costume (and even his old helmet in certain scenes) for the duration of the FF's stay in Benson--while it seems there are aspects to Ben's past that even his three partners were unaware of. (Even Reed? Really?)


And to shift gears for a moment, how about checking in with the Inhumans, who are currently in a situation where they're not only gripped by an deadly epidemic but are fighting for their lives against an invading force?


Meanwhile, the central figure in this story--Wendy, the little girl whose offhand references to her "friends" have connotations that no one else realizes--is escorted home to safety, though Frankie witnesses firsthand that her home environment is the opposite of "safe."


Unfortunately, Wendy's father reacts angrily to Frankie's warning--and that night, the badly injured girl (conveyed through narrative only, judging by the dearth of any outward signs in Byrne's rendering of her appearance) seeks out her "special friends" for comfort, a brief meeting that results in an all-encompassing attack on the town's population, one which the FF are mostly helpless to stem. But along with the observations of an archaeologist whom Reed has been working with (perhaps a little overdressed for Arizona, Mr. Byrne), conclusions are drawn which provide the story with a satisfying ending--for the reader, at least, if not the weary, ravaged people of Benson.


Turning to the final page, we learn that Wendy's friends are still watching over her, information which neither the FF nor anyone in the town are aware of. In essence, the FF depart having done what they can in the face of something they can only barely comprehend, an up-in-the-air denouement which brings this very unusual tale to a close--leaving twenty-eight people remaining out of a population of 1,745, including Ben's uncle and aunt. I would think that given the events of the previous night and the fact that whatever forces struck remain at large, Ben would have a few things to say about that--we'll have to assume that Aunt Petunia's legendary clout with Ben settled the matter handily.

BY THE WAY...
Did any of you score that Columbia 10-speed racer?

(They should have offered the Fantasti-Car!)

9 comments:

  1. I picked up these early Byrne issues on Comixology for free during the last lockdown. Byrne did come up with all sorts of amazing ideas in these early issues but (and I'm prepared to be lynched for this) I just don't like his artwork. Byrne as writer, Sinnott as inker. That would do for me.

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  2. You're not the only one dangermash - back in the day I recall a fair bit of grumbling in my little circle of comic readers about Byrne doing his own inks on the FF.
    Personally I liked it, at least early on - it sort of recalled the look of the early Kirby-era of the world's greatest comic mag while also feeling quite fresh and modern, a neat trick to pull off (although it got a bit bland later on, say around the Trial of Galactus).
    Mind you, I was the odd one out who wasn't overly fond of Terry Austin's inks on Byrne's X-Men beforehand, which my mates had all been mad for. A bit stiff for my taste.

    Much as I liked Byrne's FF generally, coming up with an actual Aunt Petunia was the kind of overly literal approach to continuity that sometimes got annoying.
    You don't have to fill in all the spaces Byrne.

    -sean

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  3. Agree on being disappointed with Byrne’s inking at the time...Just too damn scratchy, like the dreaded Frank Giacoia dribbled his indigo all over JB. I loved the clean lines of Austin, and the earlier Byrne/Sinnott FF combo was darn near perfection.
    Overall, I understood what JB was trying to do with FF, and while a lot of fans say it was a renaissance for the title, tbh it all left me cold...
    As we have seen in countless mags, creative tension produces awesome results. Byrne and Claremont never were as good apart as they were together, same for Stan and Jack.

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  4. I assume that Byrne used a real place - Benson Arizona - as a shout out to the film Darkstar.

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  5. AND...fast forward to 2019 and the rebooted Fantastic Four #5-#9. The wedding of Ben and Alicia is to take place at Benson, Arizona.

    Aunt Petunia no longer looks like a super-model, but (in her words) "really let herself go." Plumper is all down to exercise/diet, but I'm not sure how her hair turned white.

    Wendy and her judgemental demonic friends appear as a teeny side-plot while the F.F. are in Latveria. The little shadow fiends menace the family until Valeria and Franklin teleport the creatures to rain down on Doom and his forces. The same teleporter then brings the F.F. safely back to Benson. Dr. Doom has his hands full at that moment, but a look-in at Latveria during issue #11 sees an underling reporting to her monarch, "the demon infestation has been dealt with."

    Byrne's story was full of turgid mystery, slopping over with ominous "there are things Man is not meant to know!!" organ music. And a few decades later (real time), the demons are barely more than potent nuisance-distraction.

    Times change...

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  6. The problem I feel with Sinnott's inks, Factory Yoyo--and I say that with no small amount of reservation, since I'm a major fan of his work--is that there tends to be more Sinnott in the end product than what you might otherwise see of what the penciler is bringing to the drawing table. Many if not all of us have been privileged to see Sinnott paired with a number of talented pencilers--and while the latter artist's individual style is still evident, it's difficult at times to extract it from Sinnott's finishes and appreciate all that it was meant to represent and convey. (I could say the same for Tony DeZuniga, Jack Abel, et al.) Byrne's early FF work, IMO, levels the field between reader and artist, bringing us the Fantastic Four exactly as he meant to portray them--discernment that eluded me during Byrne's FF work with Marv Wolfman.

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  7. It’s probably more that it felt JB, in trying to bring back some of that Lee/Kirby magic, made his art subservient to the look he was trying to homage. There was no hint of this style in hardly any of his prior work, which was the MAIN REASON HE GOT THE GIG. His Iron Fist, Avengers, prior FF and of course X-Men art was a perfect blend of George Perez’s detail and Sal & Big John Buscema’s action. It all kinda went sideways as he went down a somewhat backwards-facing nostalgia trip.

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  8. SuperJoe has beaten the evil Trump - it's like a Marvel comic come to life :D

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  9. If that's the case, Colin, then we'd better hope that Marvel never decides to bring the villain back!

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