It feels like the FF have been a tough sell for decades. The things that mostly sell comics -- relevance to the ongoing "Marvel" story, cultural currency, "cool"/modern factor -- are uphill battles for them. You can't change the roster, you can't shake up the dynamics. They're not political or cutting edge or, aside from Torch, youthful the way Spider-Man is. Of all the Marvel properties, including Captain f'n America, they're the ones that feel most stuck in the past and destined to remain as throwbacks. Which is why Mark Waid's run worked so well, because he could bring that love and care to them that other writers couldn't.
I admire Hickman as a thinker, I think he gave as good a go at revolutionizing them by leaning hard into the futurism of it all, but I don't think it worked to move units. For Fraction's run, I was more into the Allred-drawn FF than Fantastic Four, but even then it was just a curiosity adjunct to the books I looked forward to every week. And these are not untalented writers!
When Marvel stopped publishing them for a while, I was honestly impressed. I didn't think it had anything to do with movie rights and just was a flat-out acknowledgment that they had tried and tried and tried to revive this franchise for years and it never took, so let's give people a chance to miss them. I could be wrong but that's something that had not been done with a Stan Lee-created title since, like, X-Men in the early 1970's.
Putting Ryan North on it is actually a stroke of brilliance because he might actually be Reed Richards, even moreso than Hickman. I'm actually intrigued by what he might do, and that's hard to do for me in modern comics.
I still don't know that "good classic superhero stories" sell in any major numbers -- unless Marvel can figure out a way to center a year's worth of stories around the FF as an event or a must-read experience, it may always remain in the middle of the pack, but if it's good and people like it, then all it needs is a secure enough place within the pack to ensure its continued existence.
As someone who sold the books, Hickman’s run moved units. It was a top ten book for a chunk of 2011, and THE top book for a couple of months, industry wide.
I’m not entirely sure how the Ryan North run is doing in general, but I tend to find my store still runs on trend for single issues, and our subscriptions tripled when North jumped on, and they’ve maintained, so I hope that means good things!
I should have remembered that run also included the much-hyped "death" of Johnny Storm but I hope it was a sales success for more sustainable, zeitgeist-capturing reasons beyond that. I'll take your word for it!
It certainly blew things up. But yeah, it sustained well enough that for a bit there, they had two FF titles running - and as much as I liked the Fraction run, those numbers bled mightily during his run.
You sold me on the new team, Brandon! I love the Waid/Wieringo run (especially that first issue) and I grew up on the 1967 FF cartoon. Judging from the online previews, the North/Coello team nails the FF essence. I love how it is about characters and family and it´s full of fun. It has a spark in the eye. Thank you for the pitch!
It feels like the FF have been a tough sell for decades. The things that mostly sell comics -- relevance to the ongoing "Marvel" story, cultural currency, "cool"/modern factor -- are uphill battles for them. You can't change the roster, you can't shake up the dynamics. They're not political or cutting edge or, aside from Torch, youthful the way Spider-Man is. Of all the Marvel properties, including Captain f'n America, they're the ones that feel most stuck in the past and destined to remain as throwbacks. Which is why Mark Waid's run worked so well, because he could bring that love and care to them that other writers couldn't.
I admire Hickman as a thinker, I think he gave as good a go at revolutionizing them by leaning hard into the futurism of it all, but I don't think it worked to move units. For Fraction's run, I was more into the Allred-drawn FF than Fantastic Four, but even then it was just a curiosity adjunct to the books I looked forward to every week. And these are not untalented writers!
When Marvel stopped publishing them for a while, I was honestly impressed. I didn't think it had anything to do with movie rights and just was a flat-out acknowledgment that they had tried and tried and tried to revive this franchise for years and it never took, so let's give people a chance to miss them. I could be wrong but that's something that had not been done with a Stan Lee-created title since, like, X-Men in the early 1970's.
Putting Ryan North on it is actually a stroke of brilliance because he might actually be Reed Richards, even moreso than Hickman. I'm actually intrigued by what he might do, and that's hard to do for me in modern comics.
I still don't know that "good classic superhero stories" sell in any major numbers -- unless Marvel can figure out a way to center a year's worth of stories around the FF as an event or a must-read experience, it may always remain in the middle of the pack, but if it's good and people like it, then all it needs is a secure enough place within the pack to ensure its continued existence.
As someone who sold the books, Hickman’s run moved units. It was a top ten book for a chunk of 2011, and THE top book for a couple of months, industry wide.
I’m not entirely sure how the Ryan North run is doing in general, but I tend to find my store still runs on trend for single issues, and our subscriptions tripled when North jumped on, and they’ve maintained, so I hope that means good things!
I should have remembered that run also included the much-hyped "death" of Johnny Storm but I hope it was a sales success for more sustainable, zeitgeist-capturing reasons beyond that. I'll take your word for it!
It certainly blew things up. But yeah, it sustained well enough that for a bit there, they had two FF titles running - and as much as I liked the Fraction run, those numbers bled mightily during his run.
You sold me on the new team, Brandon! I love the Waid/Wieringo run (especially that first issue) and I grew up on the 1967 FF cartoon. Judging from the online previews, the North/Coello team nails the FF essence. I love how it is about characters and family and it´s full of fun. It has a spark in the eye. Thank you for the pitch!
I hope you check it out and enjoy it! Either way, I’d love for you to check in and tell me your thoughts down the line, good or bad.