6 Things Ben Got Into This Year

Following in Kiel’s mighty footsteps, I wanted to also endorse a half dozen neat things I discovered and found to be rad over these past 12 months as part of our two-year blogiversary. I don’t think any of these will come as any great surprise—or perhaps I am indeed an enigma wrapped in a mystery more than I believe—but maybe my endorsement this time around gives somebody that last little push to give something cool a shot.

MARVEL MASTERWORKS
Silver Age Marvel has always been a big gap in my comic book reading repertoire until quite recently. One reason is simply that I didn’t have access to the material—even at Wizard our Marvel library started a lot later than our DC stuff—and the other was that I’d sampled old school X-Men and Avengers comics as those were my primary franchises and didn’t really fall in love with them (ditto early Justice League). However, over the last couple years over at Marvel we’ve been re-releasing the Masterworks series in paperback, and thus I’ve had the opportunity to sample the classics. This will shock nobody, but wow, those original Amazing Spider-Man and Fantastic Four runs got their reputations for a reason; the fertility of incredible characters and ideas as well as the frankly stunning Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko art is just jaw-dropping. I also really took a shine to the Stan Lee/John Buscema Silver Surfer series and was a bit surprised at how much I enjoyed the Captain America series from Tales of Suspense. Next up for me is giving Doctor Strange a try as well as continuing to wait patiently for the Warlock stuff to come around.
PARENTHOOD
I wasn’t sure what to make of this show when it came on—Rickey loves the original movie but I don’t remember it that well—but it has rapidly become one of my absolute favorites on TV. I’m a sucker for family dramedies with talented big-ass casts, in part because I have a very entertaining extended family myself, and since “Brothers and Sisters” has been running out of steam a bit, this came along at the perfect time. I’m happy to see Peter Krause on a good show (since I suffered through the unevenness of “Dirty Sexy Money”), I’m loving seeing what all the fuss was about in regards to Lauren Graham, I’m shocked at how much I enjoy Dax Shephard’s work, and it’s always nice to see Craig T. Nelson on television. That’s just scratching the surface of the great group of actors on this show, and not even getting into brilliant scripting, the clear improvisation, the heartstring-tugging stuff, and the dynamite chemistry—just a pleasure.

DAYTRIPPER
I’ve spent a good bit of blogging real estate this year talking up Daytripper, but now that the series has wrapped, I think it warrants at least one more solid praising. Credit where credit is due: this book wasn’t on my radar at all, but Ryan Penagos recommended it to me after the first issue came out, I borrowed from Rickey (I believe) and then bought the rest of the series, seriously eagerly anticipating each installment. Fabio Moon and Gabriel Ba created something really beautiful here that I feel like is going to be a timeless work and something I personally look forward to putting on my shelf. Death is a very hard subject for me to deal with or even think about, yet these guys had me devoting time to doing just that every month, and ultimately I do believe I made a little bit of peace with how much living a full life and really appreciating those you love ultimately matters more than anything in the end; can’t speak highly enough of this book.

RING OF HONOR WRESTLING
I’ve never stopped watching pro wrestling, but prior to 2010, I think it had been about seven years since I’d been to a live show. My buddy “The Fallen Angel” Christopher Daniels has tried to remedy this fact in recent years, but I always indisposed whenever he came to town. Finally, back in May, I not only had the fun of Chris joining myself and Megan for lunch at the Saddle Brook Diner, that night I went and saw him perform at Ring of Honor’s Supercard of Honor V at the Manhattan Center in New York City. There and then again on September 11 for Glory By Honor IX, I had a real blast rediscovering how awesome live wrestling can be via the great product ROH puts on. There’s just something real cool about watching guys who are awesome at what they do and pretty damn fearless put on an incredible show while surrounded by passionate and vocal fans who are totally into it. Getting to hang with the boys after the shows was really a dream come true for me as well, as I’ve always been totally fascinated by this bizarre fraternity that is pro wrestling, and love getting to be even a fringe part of it every few months.

MARVEL ALL-AGES BOOKS
I’ve been pretty openly complimentary to Thor: The Mighty Avenger in particular recently, but that’s really just the crown jewel in the awesome all-ages empire of titles Nate Cosby and his band of miscreants have carved out at Marvel. I’ll admit I used to chuck away the bulk of my Marvel Adventures books in my comps, but once Paul Tobin took over MA Super Heroes with that killer regular Avengers line-up of Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Invisible Woman, Black Widow, Vision and Nova, I was hooked and started gobbling it up. When that got re-launched alongside MA Spider-Man, I gave that a shot as well and it’s more great stuff. Those are seriously three of the most enjoyable comic books on the market right now, and I don’t think it matters how old you are as far as digging them; “all-ages” really does mean for all ages in this case. Beyond that, you’ve got Pet Avengers, Power Pack and so on—all great stuff. Roger Langridge, Paul Tobin, Chris Eliopoulos, Chris Samnee, Ronan Cliquet and the rest of the talented crew Nate has assembled are hard-working dudes (and ladies) who love to have a good time and the fruits of their enthusiasm are some of comics’ true gems right now.

AMY’S SOY CHEESE PIZZA
As a guy who gave up pizza about five years ago when I learned I was lactose intolerant and has suffered without it ever since, I cannot thank whoever Amy is enough for this glorious creation.

Earth's Mightiest Sketch Blog: The Wasp

Well this could have gone a lot worse.

Seriously, in all humility, I'm quite pleased with my first lady Avengers sketch of The Wasp.

Since I've always had trouble drawing women (I'm sure that speaks to some sort of issues, but I'll save myself some cash on counseling and just keep sketching), so I used this reference piece by an uncredited artist (Banks? As in Darryl?). However, I ended up doing a lot of "leg work" myself, including switching over to the character's original costume since I find it her most distinctive and because, hey, it's a Jack Kirby design.

So yeah, not too shabby. We'll see if I can hold it up as we continue.

Hallmarks of the Silver Age part two

Picking up from where we left off...

1963: Iron Man
It’s possible 1963 may have been Marvel’s biggest year of the Silver Age, with Doctor Strange making his debut and both the Avengers and X-Men coming together while the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Thor and the Hulk all continued to churn forward, introducing new villains and supporting characters as they went. However, I place Iron Man at the head of the class for this one, and would have done so even without the character’s recent big screen success (though that certainly doesn’t hurt). Just as Thor did with fantasy, Iron Man introduced the realm of technology into super hero comics in a way not done before; yeah, heroes and more often villains often wielded fancy weapons of some sort or another, but Iron Man was really the first high profile comic book character who relied solely on technology to provide him with his “powers,” with invention and innovation playing a huge part in his ongoing adventures. On the human side of the coin, Tony Stark was in many ways Bruce Wayne done over Marvel styles, with the same crazy wealth and playboy persona—though his was not a front—but also with his feet firmly planted in the clay of hubris and the unawareness of the idle rich. Iron Man was a richly flawed character from the start, and he’s never really completely reformed his ways, but he has persevered as a good guy in spite of them, which makes him a compelling character. It’s also worth noting that few tropes in super hero lore have been re-used as often as “guy in a suit of armor,” but not other similar character comes close to Iron Man’s success and popularity.

As a recently enlightened Doctor Strange fan, I was tempted to consider Doc here almost on the strength of Steve Ditko’s visuals alone—coupled with being comics’ most prominent magic-wielder—but like how Thor and Hulk get eclipsed by Spider-Man, so too does Strange by Iron Man. The Avengers was just the Justice Society or Justice League done Marvel style, with all the biggest names coming together, and while it’s proven a vital franchise, there wasn’t much innovation behind it and unlike with the year the JLA was created, there was actual competition here. The idea of misfit heroes embodied by the X-Men and Doom Patrol, both created in this year, took Spider-Man’s plight somewhat to the next level, but the latter have never really managed to hit it big, and the former have succeeded not really in much part due to its original incarnation.

1964: Daredevil
Way before the likes of Frank Miller, Brian Michael Bendis, et al. came along to reinvent him into Marvel’s hard-luck kid and most hardboiled costumed hero, Daredevil was in many ways a sort of second rate Spider-Man, ripping off his counterparts acrobatic moves, witty repartee and other trademark qualities in hopes of lightning striking twice. It was a success in some regard as DD remained a viable star who could support his own ongoing series until the 80’s where his renaissance took place, but he never achieved Spidey’s success, nor could he really be expected to given that he basically inherited all his big brother’s hand-me-downs. However, it’s not like Daredevil just exploded two decades after his creation without there being anything there, as Stan Lee, Bill Everett and their collaborators certainly invented a unique protagonist and took some pretty significant risks in his realization. The idea that a hero with a major handicap like blindness would swim as opposed to sink with an audience chiefly composed of young boys who were highly unlikely to find such a setback sexy or appealing certainly could have been enough to shoot the idea down, but Daredevil’s creators persevered and indeed his unique standing as comics’ first and most well-known blind hero—though not the last—laid the groundwork that gave Miller somewhere to start and that has always set him apart from his contemporaries enough to keep him noticed. Major credit must also go to artist Wally Wood, who created one of the medium’s sleekest, coolest looks by modifying DD’s somewhat gaudy original yellow togs into that slick red costume.

The other most significant creations of 1964 were both villains: Spider-Man’s true archnemesis the Green Goblin, and the Justice League’s evil counterparts the Crime Syndicate; both have endured and made for some excellent stories, but neither rates above Daredevil.

1965: The Inhumans
While both Marvel and DC were thriving in terms of the ongoing adventures of their existing characters, 1965 was a bit of a lean year for new characters in comics. However, I’d tag Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s introduction of the Inhumans in the pages of the Fantastic Four as being the most noteworthy new arrival. Though nobody has ever found quite the perfect recipe to making the Inhumans true headliners—though Paul Jenkins made a damn good case—so many creators come back to them time and again wanting to give it a shot because the characters possess some intrinsic quality that makes them quite appealing. I’d say a large part of that can be attributed to Kirby doing some of the finest design work of a remarkable career, particularly with Black Bolt, whose costume has few peers when it comes to sheer radness. The bizarre and intriguing mix of personalities and powers within an extended family unit also presents an irresistible hook for fans and inviting challenge to writers and artists.

Speaking of great looks, the bizarre Metamorpho also hit the scene in 1965 and parallels the Inhumans somewhat in terms of being a consistently popular character with both fans and creators who has never really reached that upper echelon. These days Donna Troy is better known as being the greatest symbol of continuity’s potential damage, but years before her first retcon she was significant as the first female sidekick who really stuck.

1966: The Black Panther
This was maybe the toughest call of this little exercise, as three pretty iconic and impressive characters all debuted as part of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s ongoing Fantastic Four tour de force in 1966, but at the end of the day, I’ve got to go with the Black Panther. Obviously the major consideration here is that he’s the first African-American hero who really broke through comics’ color barrier and emerged as a legitimate star, but that aside, T’Challa really is a pretty great character on merits aside from that as well. The concept of the warrior king was hardly a new one in either comics or fiction in general by the time Lee and Kirby created the Panther, but I’ve always liked the way they made him a thinker first and fighter second—a trend pretty much every subsequent creator handle the character has continued and improved—who had an edge over opponents who outmatched him based on his ability to keep his cool and strategize. The idea of a technologically-advanced civilization in the middle of Africa may not have been born with Wakanda, but certainly Lee and Kirby gave this particular fictional nation more spark than any others. Ultimately though, great character or not, the Black Panther will always be most remembered for being a trendsetting black character not only due to his coming first (or darn close), but also for the respectability he has garnered.

The other guys I had under consideration for 1966 were the cosmic duo of Galactus and the Silver Surfer, introduced in perhaps the best Lee-Kirby collaboration ever. The Silver Surfer is one of the most incredibly tragic figures in all of comics, Galactus is the amazing realization of two of the medium’s most epic minds working at their biggest scope and both sport, again, great Kirby designs, an had they just been introduced a couple months earlier they would have been shoo-ins; oh well.

1967: Batgirl
While Wonder Woman has always been recognized somewhat de facto as DC’s top female character—and the biggest female character in comics history—I daresay the Barbara Gordon incarnation of Batgirl is not only more affable in many ways, but has also left a more fondly remembered impression on a wider audience (within comics at least; despite Yvonne Craig’s best efforts, she can’t topple Lynda Carter on her best day). At first thought, the idea of a teenage girl slipped into the grim world of Batman may seem an odd fit, and during some periods it would have been, but Barbara came about during the Dark Knight’s more innocent Silver Age days and acclimated perfectly. In the long view though, just as Robin gave Batman a necessary counterbalance to his darkness in the Golden Age, Batgirl added a just as crucial element of renewed enthusiasm as the 60’s began to wind down. With a great costume and that neat link to the civilian side of Gotham as Commissioner Gordon’s daughter, Barbara gained an acceptance among male fans many female characters never enjoy—and was probably the first crush for more than a few—and was certainly also a more than decent role model to young girls with her pluck, independent spirit and ingenuity. Her translation to various forms of multimedia (Alicia Silverstone aside) also demonstrates the character’s enduring value.

1967 also saw Steve Ditko leave the Marvel nest definitively with his creation of The Question perhaps his best-known character from outside the House of Ideas and another chance for him to explore his fascination with the ideals of right and wrong. Vic Sage has become a neat vessel for creators like Denny O’Neil to play with over the years and benefits from strong roots put in place by Ditko.

1968: Franklin Richards
As you’ve no doubt gathered by reading this list (and likely by being a comic book fan), a lot of first took place in the pages of Fantastic Four, including the first time two teammates entered into a lasting marriage, followed in 1968 by the Invisible Girl giving birth to Franklin Richards, the first child of super heroes after a fashion. Certainly Franklin has not always been the most beloved character, but his continued presence (and lack of aging—save for time travel hijinx) in the FF’s world over the last 30 years both speaks to a core of quality and the fact that once again Fantastic Four is not quite like most other comics. Some creators have also done some pretty neat stuff with Franklin over the years—not just in terms of Chris Eliopoulos’ laudable all-ages efforts, but in the Marvel Universe proper as well—including current FF scribe and major Franklin fan Jonathan Hickman.

Two other enduring figures who showed up in Avengers during 1968 were the yin and yang of the Marvel robotic set, Ultron and the Vision, with one becoming an implacable villain who has become only more terrifying with time and the other carving a niche as a unique hero and touching examination of humanity’s nature.

1969: Black Canary
DC wrapped the Silver Age as it had begun it: by taking a Golden Age concept, applying some polish, and creating a new superstar. In this case, the elevation was done in the form of Dinah Laurel Lance, the second and more well-known Black Canary. Though at the time the Canary was thought to simply be the same lady from the 1940’s migrating over from Earth-2 to Earth-1 following the death of her husband, she immediately displayed a new take-charge personality in fitting with the rising feminist movement, and we would learn years later via retcon this was in fact the daughter of the heroine who served in the Justice Society, so we’ll go ahead and recognize her first appearance as being in 1969. Regardless of her origins, the revitalized Black Canary represented a new breed of female characters who didn’t need the powers of Wonder Woman to break out of the role of damsel in distress, and gave the Justice League a feminine counter to the similarly non-powered Batman and Green Arrow. The romance between Arrow and Canary would also quickly become one of the most intense and popular in comics, opening up a whole new world in the 70’s.

Across the street at Marvel, Stan Lee and Gene Colan gave Captain America a new partner who couldn’t be more different from his original teen sidekick Bucky: the street-smart, mature, high-flying Falcon, who also happened to be a black man. Written with a combination of savvy and passion by Lee and successors, Falcon would prove popular enough to share billing with Cap on his series for several years.

Well this was fun and educational for me, so I hope you all dug it—anybody wanna see me tackle the 70’s next?

Hallmarks of the Silver Age part one

Obviously the Golden Age of comics is where it all started, so it’s always going to have that going for it. In the 80’s, revolutionary work by guys like Alan Moore, Frank Miller, John Byrne and more turned the industry on its ear and forced it to grow up while the underground underwent a revitalization as well. The 90’s was the era of access and the past decade has been nothing to scoff at with leaps and bounds both creatively and commercially.

But after all is said and done, no period in comic industry proved as pivotal and creatively fertile as the Silver Age.

From 1956 to 1969 (which is what we’ll be classifying as the Silver Age for our purposes), dozens (if not hundreds—maybe hundreds) of iconic comic book characters were created and a generation of incredibly talented creators picked up their pens and pencils to make their mark. These were the years that established comic books—and the super hero genre in particular—were here to stay as a fixture of pop culture that would spread like wildfire over the second half of the century in beyond into all facets of media.

The other day, Rickey and I were having a conversation about some of the more incredible concepts that sprang out of the Silver Age and how amazingly rich they’ve proven for a time often considered simplistic until you take a closer look. That chat prompted me to do a little digging, figure out what characters debuted when, and try to tag year-by-year what I thought were the most innovative, dynamic and influential creations to emerge over that 14-year stretch; here’s 1956 through 1962.

1956: The Flash
Though I’ve made no secret that the Flash has long been one of my favorite characters (though since we’re talking Barry Allen here, that’s more in the broad, abstract sense that I love the costume and powers in this case), he doesn’t need my personal endorsement to be the undisputed king of 1956, the year that kick-started the Silver Age. Make no mistake: had Julius Schwartz not rolled the dice and commissioned Robert Kanigher, John Broome and Carmine Infantino to give DC’s old Golden Age Flash concept a sci-fi-heavy sprucing up, and had Barry Allen not succeeded, there may not have ever been a Silver Age, and comic books might all still be about war and romance to this day. So yeah, in addition to being the character of 1956 by a long shot, the Barry Allen Flash is also in my mind one of the top five most important super hero characters of all-time.

1957: Challengers of the Unknown
Compared to 1957 with the Flash’s dynamic debut, 1958 was a pretty lean year for comic book creations, but Jack Kirby did produce one standout concept that would end up being even more notable for influencing his more high profile work down the line in the Challengers of the Unknown. With the Chals, Kirby became one of—if not the—first creators to delve into protagonists who weren’t just square-jawed good guys getting into fist fights with society’s undesirable elements, but rather a quirky group built around a family dynamic whose adventures emerged from their ongoing quest to chart the undiscovered regions of our world. And the whole “living on borrowed time” because they survived a plane crash together thing? Pretty cool.

1958: The Legion of Super-Heroes
Super hero teams were not an altogether new idea when Otto Binder and Al Plastino introduced the Legion of Super-Heroes into Superboy’s life in 1958, but whereas the Justice Society of America and Invaders had set a certain precedent, the Legion broke new ground. Unlike those aforementioned teams, the Legion did not come about from a company taking all its biggest name characters and using the surefire recipe for success of putting them all in the same book, but consisted instead wholly of new characters who appeared for the first time as part of a pre-existing team. Obviously this approach stemmed from the original intent of the Legion being to supply Superboy with fresh supporting cast members, but the group proved so rich and popular that they would eventually supplant their ostensible lead in terms of popularity and even longevity. Also making the Legion unique from the start was their membership consisting solely of young characters that represented the ultimate wish fulfillment fantasy for readers and their setting in the future putting them completely apart from the rest of the DC Universe.

Honorable mention for 1958 has to go to another character that came into existence via Superman: Bizarro, who has proven the most popular and enduring in a long line of “evil twin” villains.

1959: Green Lantern
The thing that got this whole ball rolling in terms of the conversation I mentioned between Rickey and I was Green Lantern, who was DC’s next big Silver Age pillar three years after the Flash, with John Broome and Gil Kane stepping even further into the realm of sci-fi for this twist on an old favorite. Honestly, I don’t think Hal Jordan on his own would necessarily have been a hugely impactful character, but the incredible mythology he helped his creators introduce into the DC Universe is virtually unparalleled in terms of grand scope. While Batman and the Flash both have superior rogues galleries, the idea of 3600 space cops from every alien race the folks writing and drawing could imagine has produced some truly amazing characters and stories over the years. Beyond that, the huge ideas behind the Guardians and their Green Lantern Corps have beget such monumental contributions to the DC Universe as Krona, Qward, the Manhunters and so on and so-forth; no franchise has done more to enrich the vast galaxy beyond Earth than Green Lantern, and as the success of the Sinestro Corps War and Blackest Night as well as the seemingly endless parade of new ideas Geoff Johns keeps churning out demonstrate, it continues to be incredible relevant and productive.

Believe it or not, I did think for a moment about giving Sgt. Rock the nod for 1959 as he was the character who first pulled war comics through into the Silver Age, but ultimately Nick Fury became a far more prominent character and Rock can’t hold up against Green Lantern besides. Supergirl was also introduced this year and has merit as the first female version of a male character to really last as well as on general popularity and visibility, but she falls just short as well.

1960: The Justice League of America
Really the decision by Julius Schwartz and Gardner Fox to unite their seven most marquee heroes as the Justice League in 1960 wasn’t particularly innovative since it was just the Justice Society done over, but it was undeniably smart from a business standpoint and has certainly provided immeasurable entertainment for fans over the last half century. Unlike the Flash or Green Lantern, the JLA didn’t deviate much from the JSA formula of simply bringing huge draws together, but there’s no denying the impact of the group or that the success of this launch would raise the stakes as far as team books and thrown down the gauntlet to DC’s competition.

While certainly dwarfed by the events that took place around him during his first appearance, Snapper Carr was one of the first truly non-powered characters to earn himself an active spot as the Justice League’s trusted mascot. Also, Elongated Man never quite achieved headliner status, but his publicly-known identity—a major problem for him way down the line—as well as his more lighthearted persona and well-adjusted romantic life made him a unique creation.

1961: The Fantastic Four
I’ve written at some length before about the huge importance of the Fantastic Four in terms of changing comics and super heroes forever—and for the better in my humble opinion—so I’ll direct you there rather than rehash too much, but to touch on the big stuff, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed the game by introducing a group of protagonists who actually had flaws and distinct personalities and who didn’t always get along; in other words, they were human. With Lee, Kirby took his basic formula from the Challengers of the Unknown and raised it several echelons with the FF in terms of building on the idea of a family of heroes as well as a group that was concerned with exploration first and incidental do-gooding a close second.

1962: Spider-Man
Speaking of game-changers, when I spoke about Barry Allen being one of the five most important super heroes ever, Spider-Man is ahead of him on that list. While the Flash may have begun the Silver Age and the Fantastic Four gave comics its first feet-of-clay heroes, I don’t think I’m overstating that when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created Spider-Man, they spawned a character that ensured the survival of their industry. For the most part, comics have always been the realm of young men when it comes to who is making up the fan base, and while guys in their tweens, teens and slightly above thrilled to the adventures of Superman and company, they connected with Spider-Man in a way they never had any other character. First and foremost, this was a young character who was not playing sidekick to an older hero, he was out there on his own the way the kids reading him longed to be. Second, while the FF had their flaws, Spidey practically made them look like the Justice Society; yes, at his heart Peter Parker is a fundamentally good person who wants to do the right thing and that has driven the success of Spider-Man for over 40 years, but he was not born with this innate nobility, he had to learn it through a series of costly mistakes, the same way most of us do in the real world. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Peter Parker was an outcast in the same vein as many of his fans. Sure Clark Kent was a nerd, but only because he pretended to be, and besides, he was still a hugely successful reporter; Peter could not escape his put-upon persona unless he put on a mask—and even then his life was hardly bed of roses—and he was constantly bombarded by life’s mundane villains, from trouble with girls to bullies to making ends meet financially. I’ve not always been the biggest Spider-Man fan myself, but I could never doubt the nearly-unparalleled and universal appeal by virtue of being relatable the character has among a huge chunk of fandom and the amazing—pun intended—impact he has had on comics.

In any other year Thor or the Hulk would have a good shot due to bringing high fantasy to comics in a way not accomplished prior and the strength of a great Jekyll and Hyde dynamic respectively, but as far as this list goes, they had the misfortune to be “born” in 1962.

To be continued...

The Definitives: Fantastic Four

As a kid, I never really got into the Fantastic Four. I think a big part of that comes from me being in the throes of oncoming adolescent rebellion and not particularly cottoning to the idea of a super hero "family" being cool. Truth be told, I'm sometimes surprised the FF has remained as commercially viable as it has for so many years given that a large part of its target audience has always been tweens who don't want to spend time with their parents, but that consistent success speaks to the strength of the core concept.

That appeal and the inventiveness of what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created is something I came to appreciate a lot more on a more professional/critical level, if still not really a personal one, as I resumed reading comics as an adult (or close to it) and began drifting into the industry myself. I began to gain a respect for what a game-changer Fantastic Four was in terms of moving comics away from the "everybody has the same personality and everybody is always happy" early Silver Age DC stuff and into the more nuanced character work of the 60's and beyond.

My third phase of interaction with the Fantastic Four is where I'm at today: I still wouldn't say I'm among the world's biggest FF fans, but I've developed a soft spot for Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny that was never there before. Part of that may come from working at Marvel and having been exposed to more material than at any other time in my life, but I also think as I've gotten older, strengthened my relationship with my parents, and settled down a bit in temperament, I've been able to move past the bias I had against a family-oriented comic once upon a time and see there are some really excellent stories starring these characters.

Here are some of them.
"Bedlam at the Baxter Building!"
If you want an example of how Lee and Kirby were able to make the Marvel Universe feel like an actual universe long before the advents of Civil Wars and Secret Invasions, this would be the one in the textbook. It's the wedding of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, an event that would in and of itself qualify as a comic book landmark, but Lee and Kirby up the ante by having Doctor Doom use a "high frequency emotion charger" to influence pretty much every prominent Marvel villain who had been introduced by 1965, including Kang, the Mandarin, Electro, the Mad Thinker, the Puppet Master, Attuma, Hydra and more, into attacking the big event. Fortunately, the Avengers, the X-Men, Nick Fury and others happen to be on the guest list (and Spider-Man and Daredevil happen to be in the neighborhood), so the baddies never get inside the church, allowing Reed and Sue to focus on tying that knot. While the sizzle here is getting to see Kirby's unparalleled rendition of the entire Marvel U in one place, at one time, in one book, the steak is still the emotional stuff between the FF members, be it Reed finally committing to something other than science, Ben displaying his softer side or Johnny growing up a bit as his sister gets hitched; you could say it's not just a marriage of two super heroes, but also of dynamite action with scintillating soap opera as well (and I just did!). "The Coming of Galactus"
Ironically, while I have read the actual Galactus Trilogy in its original form at some point, that's probably the interpretation I remember the least; I do recall having seen it in plenty of other incarnations, both in print (most memorably in Marvels) and on the small screen as part of the seminal 90's FF cartoon (featuring Brian Austin Green rapping!). The story has translated so well on so many occasions in so many ways (and while I wasn't the biggest fan of the animated series I just mentioned, I loved the Galactus episodes, probably because they adopted it pretty faithfully) because it really is Lee and Kirby hitting on all cylinders with huge concepts, amazing set pieces, and wonderful characters, from the FF themselves to Galactus to the Silver Surfer. It's an epic that feels like a huge deal even if you go back and read it today, with high stakes and pivotal moments, so I can only imagine the scale back in 1966. While the FF don't necessarily get the whole spotlight, in many ways that is one of the times when Fantastic Four is at its best as a comic: the lead quartet are familiar and likeable enough to take something of a backseat and serve as your guides to a world of unfamiliar and amazing heroes and villains. The pathos of the Silver Surfer, the humanity embodied by Alicia Masters, the brilliant Kirby designs of Galactus and his technology, and the FF's struggle basically against God all make for a classic story that earned its place there.
"Terror in a Tiny Town"
If (like I said above) Lee and Kirby spent their impressive formative run on Fantastic Four largley utilizing the FF as a door to introduce the universe in their minds, a decade after they wrapped up, John Byrne took over as writer/artist and, while not abandoning the exploration aspect of the book altogether, definitely excelled when it came to really getting in the heads of the FF, showing what made them tick, pushing them to their limits, then building them back up. In a particularly impressive yarn from Fantastic Four #236, Byrne cold opens the issue with Johnny Storm having a nightmare about a familiar space flight and bursting into flames only to wake up to his normal, happy life in Liddleville, alongside Reed, Sue, a human Ben, a not-blind Alicia and her stepfather, Philip, who is not the Puppet Master? What the hell? Of course it's all good to be true, and you know that from page one, but Byrne weaves a tearjerker of a tale about the FF getting everything they ever wanted at too great a cost, and the horrible sacrifices they must make to set things "right." It's emotional, it's intensely psychological, and it features an incredible villain reveal as well as great art by Byrne to match his words.
Fantastic Four: Unstable Molecules
I can pretty much guarantee that James Sturm and Guy Davis' Unstable Molecules is unlike any other Fantastic Four story you will ever read--that certainly rings true for me--but it's certainly worth it, as it takes the bedrock characteristics of the FF and uses them as the building blocks for an entirely different kind of story that is extremely thought-provoking and entertaining. Unstable Molecules is basically Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny without super powers, placed in the complex world of America in the 1960's with their character quirks played out in what would seem to be logicial extremes in the "real world" without aliens and tyrants to battle. It's a fascinating commentary on relationships, gender roles, the class system, youthful rebellion and a lot more, as well as a surreal look at how bizarre it would be to live in the same neighborhood as the Fantastic Four even if they didn't turn invisible or have skin made of rocks. This sucker won an Eisner, so you don't need to just take my word for it.
"Unthinkable"
My first real, prolonged exposure to the Fantastic Four as a reader began in 2006 when Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo came onboard as the creative team. I was a big fan of Waid and dug Wieringo too, but I'll be honest: the nine cent price on their first issue was probably the biggest factor in me picking it up. Said issue did it's job though, as Waid penned a story that summed up perfectly why the FF was a fun grouping of diverse archetypes who played off one another beautifully and also demonstrated his ability to tell the sad side of their story while Wieringo just made everything look absolutely gorgeous. However, while I enjoyed the initial seven issues of what would become an excellent run just fine, it was in the eighth story, the prologue to Waid's opus to Doctor Doom, "Unthinkable," that I truly became a believer. I know that some folks weren't huge fans of the revamp Waid and Wieringo gave to Doom (I worked with them at Wizard), but for me, the idea that Doom would eschew science for magic as a way to finally gain his revenge against Reed and the FF made perfect sense and I loved how it opened up the toolbox beyond Doombots and deathtraps. From the prologue issue, which swings abruptly and powerfully from poignant to tragic, through the utter torture Doom puts the FF through in the subseqeunt chapters, "Unthinkable" is just amped-up emotion incarnate and maybe the best demonstration I've ever seen if what makes Doom such an awesome villain and unstoppable force of malice. But as much as the big overtures make "Unthinkable," so do the clever twists Waid throws in, not the least of which is how Reed ultimately saves the day. "Unthinkable" is a case where you can really see two great creators having fun and demonstrating mastery over their craft; it's quite something to behold.