R.I.P. Johnny Storm (1961-2011)

[News]

Acording to the Associated Press...

Fifty years after cosmic rays transformed him into a man ablaze, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch will burn no more as Marvel Comics embarks on an ambitious story line that ends the Fantastic Four as a quartet. In the newest issue, 587, of one of the company's longest-running comic books, Johnny Storm's life is taken amid a massive battle that writer Jonathan Hickman has been scripting for a year-and-half. Illustrator Steve Epting did the art.

Hickman, along with his editor, Tom Brevoort, have been unsurprisingly mum on what the future may hold for the characters, but one thing is certain, the end is nigh for the Fantastic Four next month.

Brevoort, senior vice president for publishing at Marvel told The Associated Press that "588 is the final issue of the Fantastic Four. Beyond that, we're not ready to say exactly what we're doing. There won't be an issue 589."

All he would say about the future was that the various subplots and threads that Hickman has written "will converge in a new thing that will be exciting and different and yet, very familiar and very much the same."

[Jay]

Killing off the Fantastic Four? I'm guessing we won't get a 3rd movie then?

[The Game Doctor]

All he would say about the future was that the various subplots and threads that Hickman has written "will converge in a new thing that will be exciting and different and yet, very familiar and very much the same."

That sounds so familiar. I suspect the failure of the movies and dwindling sales inspired this. And that last sentence ("very familiar and very much the same") pretty much sums up every change that DC and Marvel have made in my lifetime.

They should do a special issue called Real Estate Man where this guy from Century 22 is showing off the now-empty Baxter Building suite to a bunch of villainous super groups. ("And Sandman, you can NOT use the Jacuzzi!")

[The Game Doctor]

  Hey, I wonder what happens when they try to cremate Johnny Storm? Won't it be like those gimmicik birthday candles that you can blow out but they keep re-igniting?

[Crash Override]

Sounds like what happened with Superman. I quit reading comic books a long time ago (the superhero kind) because the stories were either too political (as if they ever weren't) or same boring crap. at least when comic books were fairly new they were fairly fresh.

[The Game Doctor]

  C'mon, Jeff, it's about time that Superman stand for:

  "Truth, Justice... and the way of the world."

  [To anyone who's been living under a rock, Supes is renouncing his honorary US Citizenship (see, THAT'S why he could never run for POTUS -- of course, it didn't stop George [father of Mitt] Romney who ran without question as the GOP Guv of Michigan despite being born in Mexico) in the latest desperation gimmick to hype comic book sales.]

[Crash Override]

IIRC, Superman was UN Ambassador for UNICEF sometime in the 70's or 80's (still have one of my comics lying around with an advertisement with him endorsing UNICEF).