FF 10, Venom 38

FF 10
Fraction (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

Plenty going on here, but first and foremost, let's talk about things that are meta. Meta, as comic readers probably know, refers to a situation wherein a work refers to itself, usually pretty directly. Hey guys, this book is pretty meta. There's a storyline in this issue where, in an attempt to counter bad publicity, Darla brings her publicist to talk to the team about creating a comic book based on the FF. The people the publicist brings over from Marvel Comics are editor Tom Brevoort, the writer Matt (as in Fraction), and the artist Mike (as in Allred). They then all go on a fantastic journey together, shrinking down to see the wonders of science at a microscopic level. Meanwhile, old Johnny Storm suspects that Alex Power has been dealing with Doom and Doom tells Alex to kill Storm, lest something horrible happen to Power's parents. A handful of the FF kids, led by Ahura and Alex, then go to see Maximus the Mad in response to Alex's question of whether or not they knew anyone who'd ever killed somebody.

I tend not to like serious works that are so self-referential to the point of taking the audience out of it. I don't think this book is so serious, for starters, but it's serious in that it comes out with a new plot every month and the characters are serious characters within this context, in that they are characters who exist in this world. However, I don't mind it here as, for starters, Fraction is fairly self-deprecating in this issue and pokes fun at his job a fair amount. More than that, of course there are also comics in this world. One of the interesting ideas behind Alan Moore's Watchmen series is that there's a big story-within-a-story where a kid reads a pirate-based comic book and the thought is that, with so many real superheroes in the world, kids read comics about pirates, preferring not to read stories about the people they hear about daily in the news. I don't really buy it but it's an interesting idea. I think, more like this story posits (and other comics have posited before), that these people are heroes in this world and, though more commonplace, still the stuff of legend, meaning that kids would still be gobbling them up, maybe more so. Maybe fewer kids would be allowed to read comics but whatever, now we're getting too deep into it. I'd be interesting to know if someone less familiar with Fraction as a person (I'm not connected to Fraction in any way, obviously, but being as invested in comics has led me to most of his work and to all of his online stuff, which create a personality that I kind of love) would find this issue as charming. The most important part, though, is that dropping real humans from our universe into the Marvel Universe means, logically, that we are all in the Marvel Universe. Sure we're not the superheroes but GUYS, I'm in the Marvel Universe.

Venom 38
Bunn (w) and Jacinto (a) and Loughridge (c)

Venom needs help in his war against Lord Ogre, who has some impressive resources at his disposal, including a seemingly endless number of hit men to attack Venom. Flash has decided to get some resources of his own and he's fortunate enough to have all of Katy Kiernan's contacts at his side. Venom, he feels, can no longer work solo out in Philadelphia. He needs help in any form he can get it. That becomes doubly apparent when Jack O'Lantern reveals himself again, showing up in Flash's apartment while Venom is out in the city. Unfortunately, he shows up at the same time Flash's neighbor (and student) Andi tries to go talk to him about what she saw in gym class (when he accidentally revealed to her that he's Venom). Jack promptly attacks her, following her back to her own apartment where Venom crashes in to enter the fray. Big surprise ending here that I won't spoil for you but that's worth reading.

I think this is far and away the best book Bunn has done for Marvel so far. I don't think he's a particularly weak writer in any respect but I don't tend to love his work elsewhere. He had a short run on Captain America before one of its rebrandings and he's worked the Deadpool Kills series and Fearless Defenders. Deadpool Kills, at least in its last iteration and maybe in this one (we're only one issue in) has been interesting enough for a throwaway book but i haven't really warmed up to Fearless Defenders yet (including the newest one, spoilers for Saturday's reviews). However, Venom through and through has been a pretty solid book. I think there have been a few waste issues that weren't the best but overall it's been a solid series and it's really encapsulated everything that made the book interesting under Remender while pushing forward in its own unique way (also, it showed a town in Massachusetts this one time that's right next to my hometown and, considering what we learned in FF this week, was therefore officially the closest I've ever come to getting into a Marvel comic book). This issue is no different as we get an interesting side of Flash, realizing that he needs help out here and that the problems of Philadelphia are bigger than his own personal demons so looking for help isn't any sort of negative on him. The twist at the end was very interesting and sets up next issue pretty well, giving us something (hopefully) to look forward to. It could, as nearly any story, go horribly wrong, of course, but there's reason to be optimistic.