SPOTLIGHT ON FANTASTIC FOUR ANNUAL #33...

Images copyright MARVEL COMICS

Who'da thunk it?  A new comic I actually enjoyed.  FANTASTIC FOUR Annual (#33), written and pencilled by ALAN DAVIS (with inks by MARK FARMER) is a nice, traditional-type story which benefits from being a single issue tale, rather than the first episode of a multi-part 'epic' and the 'slower-than-a-snail's-pace' structure that such adventures usually entail.  (On account of being designed with collected editions in mind, rather than the monthly instalments they first appear in.)

I won't ruin the story for anyone by saying what it's about, but the artwork is more than worthy of a mention.  Clear, at-a-glance, unconvoluted sequential art which glides seamlessly from panel to panel, the reader isn't left scratching his head and wondering what he's looking at.  If I have one minor gripe, it's that the THING's face is perhaps slightly too 'cartoony'-looking on the cover, but that's not something the interior rendition of blue-eyed Benjy is afflicted with.

One thing that does bug me though, is this - take a look at the above page.  When I open a comic, I want to see a traditional splash page - something dramatic that'll whet my appetite for what's to come, not a page of dreary text which just about snuffs my interest and leaves me disinclined to read any further.  And take a look at all those names along the bottom.  What the hell are assistant editors, associate editors, editor-in-chiefs, chief creative officers, publishers, and executive producers doing there?  Who the hell cares?  FECK OFF!

It's the same on the first single-illo page (page two, not counting the text page) of the story.  As far as I'm concerned, the only names I'm interested in seeing are of those who wrote, drew, lettered, coloured, and - at a push - edited it.  The rest of them should be buried in the indicia, not obscuring the art - after all, who gives a monkey's burp?  It'll be office receptionists and tea ladies next.  Kindly feck off, the lot of you, and leave the credits for those who actually crafted the tale.

Okay, rant over.  If you're looking for an undemanding, entertaining way of killing half an hour, Fantastic Four Annual is for you.  Pick it up at your local comic shop today.