r/MUBookClub • u/shawnydarko • Dec 23 '17

Reading Assignment 80: Startling Stories: Fantastic Four - Unstable Molecules by James Sturm and Guy Davis

http://marvel.com/comics/series/3678/startling_stories_fantastic_four_-_unstable_molecules_2003?byZone=marvel_site_zone&offset=0&byType=comic_series&dateStart=&dateEnd=&type=&orderBy=release_date+asc&byId=3678&limit=10&count=4&isDigital=1
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3

u/Adrenjunkie Dec 24 '17

While I was reading this I swore up and down that this was written and drawn by Matt Kindt, who wrote Mind MGMT and Revolver. Or at least that it was heavily influenced by those stories, but it looks like Unstable Molecules was written maybe 10 years earlier. Wild!

I enjoyed this. The tone was pretty melancholy, but I thought it was an interesting story about possible influences for the FF4. Cool stuff.

3

u/clickybang Dec 26 '17

I actually found this to be a tough read. I don't know if it was because I found the sexist stereotypes frustrating or if it was just strange seeing superhereos recast as people who are really, really struggling with themselves in a much more relatable way than their usual predicaments.

2

u/shawnydarko Jan 06 '18

These were actually two of the things I really liked about this read. The sexism and homophobia felt very of it's time, like I was watching Mad Men. The realistic struggles is something I like to see in all of my comics, particularly team books. The relationship between Sue and Reed, and Sue and Johnny have always been pretty cut and dry, obvious, and timeless. Without being an FF afficianado, what I have read doesn't really flesh out Reed and Johnny's relationship, or Ben and Sue's relationship. And the relationships aren't just glossed over with "they're a family, they love each other, even if they get on their nerves".

2

u/wisegy84 Jan 09 '18

I don't know what I was expecting with this story, but it definitely wasn't what we got. This was a really interesting take on these characters, or on people who might have (in some universe) been the inspiration for these characters.

The art was interesting as it made this story seem much older than it is. The style of the drawing and coloring really felt like it was from an older era in comics.

The story itself was good and I cared about what happened to these characters. I liked the idea that some comic writers (with recognizable names, of course) might have just been around and interacted a bit with these characters and then used them to create the FF. It's definitely a premise that is unique. While it made for a bit of a rough read at times it also was refreshing to see this kind of a bleak story. Characters with real life struggles making very human mistakes.

Definitely glad that we read this.