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My Unknown Greats pt. 4
2008-03-11 08:54:52

UNSTABLE MOLECULES #1

Today's Unknown Great won an Eisner award, but it also killed one or two projects in its wake. it was UNSTABLE MOLECULES, a four-issue limited series written by James Sturm (now of the Center for Cartoon Studies) and illustrated by Guy Davis.

Shortly after Joe Q took over as EIC, and creators began to get a real sense that the winds had changed, and that Marvel was suddenly open to looking at new projects that ranged far afield from the standard super hero fare, all sorts of interesting people showed up. One of them was James Sturm, whose work on THE GOLEM'S MIGHTY SWING I thought was outstanding. Sturm had an idea for doing a fictionalized biography of the Fantastic Four characters that was as much an examination of the era in which the strip had been created as about the foursome itself.

With Joe Q behind it, the project was approved, and was a lot of fun to work on, even if nobody entirely understood what Sturm was aiming at--including myself. I can recall one early exchange when, trying to find ways to make the series more palatable to a mainstream super hero audience, I suggested adding two more issues on, and picking the characters up again right after they'd received their powers. Sturm wisely didn't listen to me--he had a concrete vision for what he was trying to accomplish.

I remember the covers being a cause of some consternation at one point. This was during a period when there was a concentrated effort being made to have all of the covers basically be pin-up shots of a single character. In that environment, the UNSTABLE MOLECULES covers, with their emphasis on the design and typography, the unconventional Craig Thompson illustrations, and the drop-in Jack Kirby art, were about as far from this model as one could get. I can remember one or two heated discussions before those in power threw up their hands, decided that this was going to be what it was going to be, and let it go. (There was a bit moer drama after the series was completed, when Sturm's design for the trade paperback collection was changed around at the last minute. Fortunately, after the book won the Eisner, a new edition was released, and this allowed Sturm to make adjustments to the design.)

While it features the Fantastic Four characters (or, within the context of the story, the four "real-world" individuals who inspierd Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to create the FF) UNSTABLE MOLECULES isn't a super hero story at all. Consequently, many readers didn't "get" it. (I still every so often get asked about the whereabouts of the fictitious sequels mentioned in the text feature that filled the back pages--sequels that were part of the larger Meta-Fiction.) It became my barometer book of that year--if somebody mentioned to me that they liked it, I knew immediately that they had good taste. One person who didn't get it was a high-ranking executive at Marvel, who looked at the numbers and used them as an excuse to kill any other projects that didn't feature men in bright costumes beating on one another, including the "Fourigin" series that mark Waid and I had been brainstorming on, which would have told the pre-history of the FF, and which we were hoping to get George Perez to illustrate. That exec was gone, I believe, by the time the book took home the Eisner Award.

More later.

Tom B

more like this ,too.

Posted by notapotatoe on 2008-03-11 09:29:48

Fourigin
Never heard of that before Tom. Can you give us any more info on that?

Posted by bomaya on 2008-03-11 11:31:59

One Hell of a Series
A few weeks ago I picked up UNSTABLE MOLECULES on a whim (in part because of the... un-Marvel-ness, if you will, of the trade's cover design). I am very glad I did. It is one hell of a book and well worth the read. While the shtick that the events presented represent a biography of the "real" Fantastic Four can be a bit tiring, taken on its own, the story (which is not Super-hero fare, as noted) is well-told, and well illustrated. Especially with the part focusing on Sue, one gets more of a feeling that these folks are real, believable, honest-to-goodness three dimensional human beings. As much a realistic pre-origin story as a snap-shot of the late 1950s USA, I left this book exhilarated and wanting more (and must admit to being one who has asked Tom about the possibility of a sequel, schtick be damned). If you like well-told comic stories, if you like shockingly original ways of looking at a story you already know, pick this book up. It is definitely worth it.

Posted by Mr. Gustafson on 2008-03-11 12:31:06

Unstable Molecules
This must have come out while I was taking a break from comics. Sounds like something I would have liked. I'll have to see if the trade is available on-line somewhere.

Posted by izzatrix on 2008-03-11 13:00:47

I remember the announcement of "Fourigin" - right around the time Waid "returned" to Fantastic Four - I ended up assuming it was a joke.

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-03-11 14:23:40

It was never exactly going to light up the marketplace but that executive seems about as irrational as you can get. I would like to believe that Marvel is being run by more sensible people than that these days. (Doesn't he know anything about brand-building?)

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-03-11 14:26:07

New blog topic
I think the mention of "Fourigin" suggests a new series, Tom. You can call it "Great Projects That Never Were." The first one can be about "Fourigin" and then you can tell us about anything else that died in the early stages.

As for the executive, I can see his point. If readers didn't get it because it lacked super heroes, you can expect sales to be similar on similar projects. Not that this is the only factor, I'm just saying I can understand his reasoning.

Posted by Jason M Bryant on 2008-03-11 14:53:13

I've always fancied the idea of an anthology title that features unpublishable Marvel books, such as the Way/Crain Ant-Man series, Darick Robertson's Deathlok story, and Peter Bagge's The Incorrigible Hulk...

Posted by Fetsur on 2008-03-11 15:10:25

>It was never exactly going to light up the marketplace but that >executive seems about as irrational as you can get. I would like >to believe that Marvel is being run by more sensible people than >that these days.

I don't know; we still get Wolverine and/or Spider-Man in every single thing Marvel puts out. Just try reading a comic without one of them.

Posted by motteditor on 2008-03-11 21:07:07

This was a great series
'Nuff said.

Posted by Moorish on 2008-03-12 06:49:09

I wanna express my veto..ahem, I mean thanks
Hey Tom, I picked this up as part of a huge job lot of Marvels I purchased about a year ago and would probably have never gotten around to reading it without your recommendation. So, thanks. It really is an odd but interesting little piece.

Posted by cjmcaree on 2008-03-12 11:04:28

Not great, but pretty damn good.
I think the thing that holds UNSTABLE MOLECULES back from being truly great is that there doesn't seem to be any subtext or wider meaning. I love the tone, the art, the writing, the characterization and pretty much everything else, but does it really say anything new about the FF? Or the 1950s for that matter?

So, no, I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it is a genuinely atypical and thoughtful Marvel series.

Posted by skagandboneman on 2008-03-12 12:47:30

Zoovie?
Reading this blog without any input from Zoovie is simply not as interesting or as much fun. Nuff Said on that.

As far as Unstable Molicules goes, I didnt really care much for it myself.

Posted by comics comics on 2008-03-12 14:09:43

i really want to check out all of these unsung greats you've wrote articles about, Tom. I'll ahve to put together a list for Emerald City Comic Con and go looking for 'em. i've seriously always meant to read Deadline.

"I don't know; we still get Wolverine and/or Spider-Man in every single thing Marvel puts out. Just try reading a comic without one of them.
Posted by motteditor on 2008-03-11 22:07:07"

Iron Fist, Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, the Twelve, Avengers:The Initiative (OK, did have one Spider-man appearance, but was relevant to the story), Captain America, Daredevil, The Order, Punisher War Journal, Iron Man: Director of SHIELD etc, etc, etc...

Posted by artiepants on 2008-03-12 15:19:22

A clear diversion to the real issue
Rejoice, Mr Comics Comics, I am here!!! Your keen and insightful view is impeccable, and must be noted. This blog is lucky to have you.

Just so I am not accused of skirting the issue, I will weigh in by saying that Unstable Molecules was a waste of some hard-earned money a few years back.

Not that the pleasantries have been fulfilled... Tom, we await your condemnation of Brand New Day. Anyone wishing to see the downward trend of Spider-man sales may vist any one of the many sites that reports this kind of information (February data due any day). Be a stand up guy Tom. Lets discuss what is happening in 2008...not some failed mini series from years ago. Save Spidey from the very people who are his current keepers!

Posted by Steve Zoovie on 2008-03-13 11:29:57

I'm actually interested in getting the trade now, Tom. Great blog.

Posted by Wolver-Ham on 2008-03-14 11:27:13

Evidence of my good taste! 8-)

http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=1910
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=1951
http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=2003
http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=747&start=22

As for executive timeline... http://www.comicbookresources.com/columns/index.cgi?article=1496

Posted by RichJohnston on 2008-03-16 09:41:21

zoovie if you wanna talk about what's gonna happen in the future instead of the past, shouldn't you stop badgering Brevoort about an apology that he has nothing to do with. Think about it, if it was Queseda's choice, he couldn't have really stopped him. Go write hate mail to Queseda and leave Brevoort alone.

Posted by Anson17 on 2008-03-16 21:43:52

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