We interrupt this remembrance of a terrible day for a quick question.
Is it possible to meet someone and completely fall for them in less than 2 weeks?
Because I think it's happened...
Monday, May 30, 2011
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
The Day You Left...
April 1st, 2011.
The day started normally. I woke up and fooled around on the computer for a bit before being fully conscious. Checked Facebook and the Bendis Board, etc.
I guess around 10am or so I heard sirens. I thought nothing of it because this is one of the busiest intersections in this area so I hear them all the time. When I noticed that it stopped outside of my house, I decided to look outside. There was a fire truck with someone walking up the walkway from the sidewalk. I thought maybe my stepdad had overcooked some food or something. Or maybe a neighbor had mistakenly called them here like an instance a few years ago. I stayed up here on the third floor because I didn't want to get involved, especially if it was some kind of misunderstanding. However, about a minute later I heard another siren. I look outside again and see an Ambulance. Huh.
I stayed in the hallway up here, looking over the railing down to the first floor. I heard my stepdad talking to the paramedics who came in. At this point, a lot of people had come in to the house and it's so cramped on the first floor that I would just be in the way of whatever was going on, so I stood my ground and listened. One of the stray sentences I heard was "Yeah, you'll need a stretcher."
I waited a few minutes and noticed the people leaving. From my vantage point I couldn't get a clear view of what was going on, so I went back into my living room and looked out the window. I saw my mom on a stretcher being loaded into the Ambulance that had arrived. She was white as a ghost.
I didn't even know she was home.
I'd last spoken to her just two days before. She was at a rehab clinic and was about to get out the next day. She mentioned going back to the hospital because her lungs were draining with fluid again. She needed my help to pay some of the bills, which I took care of. Someone was coming to do an exam or physical therapy or something, so she hurried off the phone after just a few minutes. That ended up being the last time I heard her voice.
Back to the first...after I saw the Ambulance leave I went downstairs to see just what the hell was going on. My stepdad was standing in the doorway to the first floor. He said it was bad and that he was so confused. I snapped at him. "You're confused? I'M confused! I didn't even know she was home!" I calmed down almost immediately after that and went back upstairs to change as my stepdad called my Grandpop to get a ride to the hospital.
On the way, my stepdad told us that he brought her home the previous night because her insurance had run out so she was essentially kicked out of the rehab clinic she was in. She asked to be given oxygen but they had none to give her. When they got home they called a place and made an appointment for someone to stop by the next day to drop some off. They went to sleep and my mom went to use the bathroom as my stepdad did some laundry. As he came back upstairs from the basement he heard my mom yelling for him. When he got to the bathroom she said that she was feeling dizzy. He grabbed the wheelchair that they'd given her after her stroke and tried to get her into it but she kind of collapsed/fell behind the toilet. She got a glazed look in her eyes and she stopped breathing. My stepdad pulled her out as best he could and did CPR while calling 911. You know...and here I am upstairs totally oblivious to this.
Anyway, we got to the hospital and after a few minutes they took us into the ER to see her real quick as they attempted to get her stabilized. It was a little surreal seeing my mom in that kind of position. They said we could go up to her and say something to her but it was an odd thing to do while she's naked on a bed while someone's pumping her chest to get her to breathe. All the while she's got her eyes open and not blinking. So I said a few things in the 10 seconds I was allowed. I don't fully remember what I said...I think I was in shock that this was happening at all.
They took us out and put us in a waiting room. After about 10-15 minutes a Doctor came and talked to us and said that they got her stabilized but they didn't know for how long and that we would be in for a "very long weekend." We went back in to see her. She was covered up in a sheet this time. She had an oxygen thingamob hooked up to her and a few IVs. I don't recall what they were...I think to regulate her blood pressure. Every breathe she took, her head violently jerked. And she still wasn't blinking...
We stayed for a while. I knew there was a bank next to the hospital and I had a check to cash that I'd received at Christmas time that I hadn't cashed yet so I did that then went to the Rite-Aid next to the bank and bought some cigarettes. On the walk back I called my friend Amanda and told her what had happened. I asked her to tell Jenn, this girl I used to date. I would have told her myself but we had a bit of a fight on St. Patrick's Day and hadn't spoken since then.
I went back to the hospital and did some more standing around and all the things that entails. After a while, I'm not sure how long, but Jenn entered the room. I guess she said that my mom was her Aunt or something. I got her up to speed on what had happened, or at least what I knew of it. She lightened the room a bit by making a joke that this was a lousy April Fool's gag. After some time, the doctors came in to talk to us. They didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about my mom's condition (I'll get to that in a later post). They left us alone with her for a bit then came back and asked us to leave the room for a bit because her body temperature was starting to drop and they wanted to wrap her in something else. Or something...some of the details are a bit lost now.
When they went to move her, she stopped breathing again. As the doctors started CPR on her again, Jenn grabbed my hand and she wouldn't let go. After a few minutes with no response, my stepdad made the call to stop. And to mark the time of death. 2:42pm.
On April 1st, 2011 my mom passed away. It was her 2nd wedding anniversary.
We all held each other and cried for a few minutes before making calls. I called Amanda and told her what happened. She was the first person to know outside of the people in the room. My stepdad eventually got a hold of my grandpop and told him and asked him to come pick us up. He also managed to finally close her eyes. My grandpop's a weird fella so he didn't come in with us when he dropped us off. After a while Jenn and I went outside for a cigarette. My grandpop was outside sitting in his car. He looked lost. Eventually he got out of the car and went inside. As Jenn and I smoked, we made calls. She called her mom and told her. I called my friend Seth, who didn't pick up (though I did get in contact with him about an hour later) and my friend Mike. My grandpop and stepdad came out as Jenn and I were saying goodbye because she had to pick her sister up from work. When we got home we started the process of making calls and telling everyone what happened.
More to come later. I need a break.
The day started normally. I woke up and fooled around on the computer for a bit before being fully conscious. Checked Facebook and the Bendis Board, etc.
I guess around 10am or so I heard sirens. I thought nothing of it because this is one of the busiest intersections in this area so I hear them all the time. When I noticed that it stopped outside of my house, I decided to look outside. There was a fire truck with someone walking up the walkway from the sidewalk. I thought maybe my stepdad had overcooked some food or something. Or maybe a neighbor had mistakenly called them here like an instance a few years ago. I stayed up here on the third floor because I didn't want to get involved, especially if it was some kind of misunderstanding. However, about a minute later I heard another siren. I look outside again and see an Ambulance. Huh.
I stayed in the hallway up here, looking over the railing down to the first floor. I heard my stepdad talking to the paramedics who came in. At this point, a lot of people had come in to the house and it's so cramped on the first floor that I would just be in the way of whatever was going on, so I stood my ground and listened. One of the stray sentences I heard was "Yeah, you'll need a stretcher."
I waited a few minutes and noticed the people leaving. From my vantage point I couldn't get a clear view of what was going on, so I went back into my living room and looked out the window. I saw my mom on a stretcher being loaded into the Ambulance that had arrived. She was white as a ghost.
I didn't even know she was home.
I'd last spoken to her just two days before. She was at a rehab clinic and was about to get out the next day. She mentioned going back to the hospital because her lungs were draining with fluid again. She needed my help to pay some of the bills, which I took care of. Someone was coming to do an exam or physical therapy or something, so she hurried off the phone after just a few minutes. That ended up being the last time I heard her voice.
Back to the first...after I saw the Ambulance leave I went downstairs to see just what the hell was going on. My stepdad was standing in the doorway to the first floor. He said it was bad and that he was so confused. I snapped at him. "You're confused? I'M confused! I didn't even know she was home!" I calmed down almost immediately after that and went back upstairs to change as my stepdad called my Grandpop to get a ride to the hospital.
On the way, my stepdad told us that he brought her home the previous night because her insurance had run out so she was essentially kicked out of the rehab clinic she was in. She asked to be given oxygen but they had none to give her. When they got home they called a place and made an appointment for someone to stop by the next day to drop some off. They went to sleep and my mom went to use the bathroom as my stepdad did some laundry. As he came back upstairs from the basement he heard my mom yelling for him. When he got to the bathroom she said that she was feeling dizzy. He grabbed the wheelchair that they'd given her after her stroke and tried to get her into it but she kind of collapsed/fell behind the toilet. She got a glazed look in her eyes and she stopped breathing. My stepdad pulled her out as best he could and did CPR while calling 911. You know...and here I am upstairs totally oblivious to this.
Anyway, we got to the hospital and after a few minutes they took us into the ER to see her real quick as they attempted to get her stabilized. It was a little surreal seeing my mom in that kind of position. They said we could go up to her and say something to her but it was an odd thing to do while she's naked on a bed while someone's pumping her chest to get her to breathe. All the while she's got her eyes open and not blinking. So I said a few things in the 10 seconds I was allowed. I don't fully remember what I said...I think I was in shock that this was happening at all.
They took us out and put us in a waiting room. After about 10-15 minutes a Doctor came and talked to us and said that they got her stabilized but they didn't know for how long and that we would be in for a "very long weekend." We went back in to see her. She was covered up in a sheet this time. She had an oxygen thingamob hooked up to her and a few IVs. I don't recall what they were...I think to regulate her blood pressure. Every breathe she took, her head violently jerked. And she still wasn't blinking...
We stayed for a while. I knew there was a bank next to the hospital and I had a check to cash that I'd received at Christmas time that I hadn't cashed yet so I did that then went to the Rite-Aid next to the bank and bought some cigarettes. On the walk back I called my friend Amanda and told her what had happened. I asked her to tell Jenn, this girl I used to date. I would have told her myself but we had a bit of a fight on St. Patrick's Day and hadn't spoken since then.
I went back to the hospital and did some more standing around and all the things that entails. After a while, I'm not sure how long, but Jenn entered the room. I guess she said that my mom was her Aunt or something. I got her up to speed on what had happened, or at least what I knew of it. She lightened the room a bit by making a joke that this was a lousy April Fool's gag. After some time, the doctors came in to talk to us. They didn't really tell us anything we didn't already know about my mom's condition (I'll get to that in a later post). They left us alone with her for a bit then came back and asked us to leave the room for a bit because her body temperature was starting to drop and they wanted to wrap her in something else. Or something...some of the details are a bit lost now.
When they went to move her, she stopped breathing again. As the doctors started CPR on her again, Jenn grabbed my hand and she wouldn't let go. After a few minutes with no response, my stepdad made the call to stop. And to mark the time of death. 2:42pm.
On April 1st, 2011 my mom passed away. It was her 2nd wedding anniversary.
We all held each other and cried for a few minutes before making calls. I called Amanda and told her what happened. She was the first person to know outside of the people in the room. My stepdad eventually got a hold of my grandpop and told him and asked him to come pick us up. He also managed to finally close her eyes. My grandpop's a weird fella so he didn't come in with us when he dropped us off. After a while Jenn and I went outside for a cigarette. My grandpop was outside sitting in his car. He looked lost. Eventually he got out of the car and went inside. As Jenn and I smoked, we made calls. She called her mom and told her. I called my friend Seth, who didn't pick up (though I did get in contact with him about an hour later) and my friend Mike. My grandpop and stepdad came out as Jenn and I were saying goodbye because she had to pick her sister up from work. When we got home we started the process of making calls and telling everyone what happened.
More to come later. I need a break.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Hickman, you clever bastard
I've been rereading my Hickman Marvel books to see how all the pieces fit.
I started with Secret Warriors, then went with SHIELD, and now I'm on FF.
Read Hickman's first FF arc (570-572). There's a flashback at the very end of 572 with Reed and his dad. Now read the "1951" flashback in SHIELD #5.
Whooooooooaaaaaaa.
My mind is blown.
There's over 12 months between the release of these issues. One scene is obviously right after the other, yet each stands as a piece of the puzzle in the books that they are from.
I started with Secret Warriors, then went with SHIELD, and now I'm on FF.
Read Hickman's first FF arc (570-572). There's a flashback at the very end of 572 with Reed and his dad. Now read the "1951" flashback in SHIELD #5.
Whooooooooaaaaaaa.
My mind is blown.
There's over 12 months between the release of these issues. One scene is obviously right after the other, yet each stands as a piece of the puzzle in the books that they are from.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Nick Spencer
I mentioned his name back in January as part of my "The best comics you're (probably) not reading" entry.
Well, now he's Marvel exclusive. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/nick-spencer-marvel-exclusive-110309.html
Fuck Tony Stark. I'm a futurist, bitches!
Congrats, dude.
Well, now he's Marvel exclusive. http://www.newsarama.com/comics/nick-spencer-marvel-exclusive-110309.html
Fuck Tony Stark. I'm a futurist, bitches!
Congrats, dude.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Marvel's Big Shots
Alright, so we've got Moon Knight by Bendis and Maleev coming up.
Daredevil and Punisher have been announced, but the creative teams have not.
I'm going to put on my "dream team" hat and post who I'd like to see on the books and what I'd like them to be. Just because.
Daredevil - Jason Aaron and Chris Samnee.
From his work on Scalped and some of his Wolverine stuff, I could see Aaron being a good fit for the character.
However! I hope this is more light-hearted, like Aaron's Astonishing Wolverine & Spider-Man book.
At this point, I'm sick to death of Daredevil being a doom-and-gloom book and each incoming writer trying to one-up the previous in terms of how much they can fuck up Matt's life. Basically, I want to see more light-hearted but still serious stories, in a similar vein to the work done in Daredevil #353-375 by writers Karl Kesel and Joe Kelly.
Chris Samnee I feel would be a good fit on Daredevil, no matter the tone of it. He can do "fun" stories like Thor: The Mighty Avenger as well as his issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and he can do serious stuff like DC's The Mighty, and the "Red Panda" arc on Queen and Country (#29-32, for those playing at home).
Aside from that, I really like his use on contrast and negative space (see his sketches on his site - www.chrissamnee.com) and I feel it could be used to show off Matt's radar.
He's been my "dream" Daredevil artist for a few years, now. He's drawn the character in the Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula one-shot and a few pages in Daredevil #500 but I think it's time for a prolonged run on the book.
Punisher - Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark.
Do I really need to say anything?
These guys work well together and they've used Punisher well in the first arc of their Daredevil run.
I'd also like to see some guest art by Sean Phillips, if possible. Let him do an issue or two after finishing up a Criminal or Incognito arc.
I'm not really sure what I'd like to see this book be, if it happens. I think Brubaker would do a slow burn that would play to his strengths instead of a pedal-to-the-metal-kill-everyone take.
Daredevil and Punisher have been announced, but the creative teams have not.
I'm going to put on my "dream team" hat and post who I'd like to see on the books and what I'd like them to be. Just because.
Daredevil - Jason Aaron and Chris Samnee.
From his work on Scalped and some of his Wolverine stuff, I could see Aaron being a good fit for the character.
However! I hope this is more light-hearted, like Aaron's Astonishing Wolverine & Spider-Man book.
At this point, I'm sick to death of Daredevil being a doom-and-gloom book and each incoming writer trying to one-up the previous in terms of how much they can fuck up Matt's life. Basically, I want to see more light-hearted but still serious stories, in a similar vein to the work done in Daredevil #353-375 by writers Karl Kesel and Joe Kelly.
Chris Samnee I feel would be a good fit on Daredevil, no matter the tone of it. He can do "fun" stories like Thor: The Mighty Avenger as well as his issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and he can do serious stuff like DC's The Mighty, and the "Red Panda" arc on Queen and Country (#29-32, for those playing at home).
Aside from that, I really like his use on contrast and negative space (see his sketches on his site - www.chrissamnee.com) and I feel it could be used to show off Matt's radar.
He's been my "dream" Daredevil artist for a few years, now. He's drawn the character in the Daredevil: Blood of the Tarantula one-shot and a few pages in Daredevil #500 but I think it's time for a prolonged run on the book.
Punisher - Ed Brubaker and Michael Lark.
Do I really need to say anything?
These guys work well together and they've used Punisher well in the first arc of their Daredevil run.
I'd also like to see some guest art by Sean Phillips, if possible. Let him do an issue or two after finishing up a Criminal or Incognito arc.
I'm not really sure what I'd like to see this book be, if it happens. I think Brubaker would do a slow burn that would play to his strengths instead of a pedal-to-the-metal-kill-everyone take.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Oh thank god...
Secret Avengers finally stopped being boring.
I'm kind of glad I didn't drop it after that terrible Mars arc, now. I hope Brubaker never writes an outer space story again. While I didn't like the first arc of this book, at least it was better than Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire.
Now that we're back on Earth, the book is playing more to Brubaker's strengths. I'm not liking the team dynamic (there's really no dynamic to speak of), and too much happens off-panel, but the book is finally winning me over.
With the Heroic Age "reboot" of the Avengers books, I was expecting to like this one the most, but it's actually my least favorite.
I'm kind of glad I didn't drop it after that terrible Mars arc, now. I hope Brubaker never writes an outer space story again. While I didn't like the first arc of this book, at least it was better than Rise and Fall of the Shi'ar Empire.
Now that we're back on Earth, the book is playing more to Brubaker's strengths. I'm not liking the team dynamic (there's really no dynamic to speak of), and too much happens off-panel, but the book is finally winning me over.
With the Heroic Age "reboot" of the Avengers books, I was expecting to like this one the most, but it's actually my least favorite.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Fantastic Three, Two, or One...
All the hype over the Fantastic Four "death" and recent chatting on Facebook has got me thinking about what my buddy Tim said.
"I was expecting more than a "break" in the family, which is usually where writers go when they aren't using Galactus or Doom as the basis of stories."
I will take this time to note that I have not read the latest issue. I know the "who" but not the "how" or "why."
Having read more than half of the almost 600 issues of Fantastic Four, the lineup has changed often (but temporarily) in the time I've been reading the book.
I've only read the first Essential with the Stan and Jack run which had no changes but I know that they come with Sue's pregnancy with Franklin.
After #24 (the last issue in the first Essential), my next issue is #232 which is John Byrne's first. Somewhere in that gap Medusa, Crystal, and Luke Cage were members.
During Byrne's run, Frankie Raye briefly joined the team before becoming Nova (not Rich Rider), a herald of Galactus. FYI, Frankie is/was the stepdaughter of Phineas Horton, the creator of the original Human Torch. Later on, She-Hulk replaced The Thing after the events of Secret Wars.
In Steve Englehart's run (one of my personal favorites), Reed and Sue leave the team to devote more time to caring for Franklin. This was during one of the times when Franklin's powers were "on." Ben was made team leader and replaced Reed and Sue with Sharon Ventura/Ms. Marvel II/She-Thing and Crystal (again). Crystal stayed around for only a few issues before returning to the Inhumans. Sharon stayed, even after Reed and Sue came back. When they returned, the FF was fighting the Frightful Four and Ben ended up losing his powers. Ben wore a really crappy outfit sometimes to still help out and kind of made it a five-some with Sharon still in the picture.
That kind of goes into Walt Simonson's run (another favorite of mine) where the team "died" and was replaced by Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Wolverine for a 3 issue arc drawn by Art Adams.
The very next issue had Doom transfer Sharon's power into Ben, restoring the status quo.
Tom DeFalco's run had a bunch of weird crap in it. In his first issue, it was revealed that Johnny's wife Alicia was actually a Skrull. The switch occurred way back when Reed, Ben, and Johnny were transported to Battleworld for the Secret Wars. The Skrull, Lyja, was an occasional ally and also occasional enemy to the team.
Not long after, the Human Torch was in a serious fight and went "nova" which is his last-resort maneuver. He set the college he was attending on fire and went on the run. To try to bring him in, Dr. Strange reassembled the foursome of Spider-man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Wolverine to track him down. During the fight, Wolverine clawed Thing's face, scarring him. Thing wore an ugly metal helmet after that, until he was healed a few years later.
Controversial at the time, Reed and Doom both "died" when Doom sent them into the past. Things got even weirder after that. Franklin (now aged to his teenage years thanks to Reed's dad Nathaniel) had a team called Fantastic Force (probably the least awesome thing Tom Brevoort's ever been associated with) which Johnny joined. Scott Lang, the 2nd Ant-Man (and father to Cassie Lang/Stature) and Doom's "heir" Kristoff Vernard started hanging around though I don't think they were ever official members.
Eventually Scott and Kristoff left, they found Reed, Ben's face got healed, Franklin got de-aged back to a child, yadda yadda, more-status-quo-pleasing-stuff which led into the entire team "dying" while fighting Onslaught.
The FF and Avengers were actually shunted to an alternate Earth (later called Counter Earth) that Franklin subconsciously created to save everyone. They got better.
Back in the good old 616, not much changed until the end of Claremont's expository run where Doom and Reed switched bodies or something. That was the only arc he did that I enjoyed.
During Carlos Pacheco's run (tied for 3rd on my all-time favorite FF runs, even with Loeb involved), Namorita joined temporarily to help save Reed, Sue, and Ben from the Negative Zone. Also part of this run was the birth of Val, the Richards' 2nd child who was miscarried during Byrne's run. Hooray for altering reality.
Mark Waid's run had Ben die during a thing in Latveria and then brought back mere issues later in a jump-the-shark-groan-inducing arc where the team GOES TO HEAVEN to bring him back. Yeah...I do wonder what would have happened had Waid/'Ringo stayed fired from the book, but that's a whole other topic. Anyway, at some point Johnny became a herald of Galactus but ended up ditching him. Or some shit. Seriously, if you have the team GO TO HEAVEN and meet JACK KIRBY, it's time to end the book.
JMS' run I mostly skipped because I wasn't in need of a sleep aid. There didn't seem to be much change except for the Civil War crap which split up Reed and Sue for a time which led to...
Dwayne McDuffie's run, which had Black Panther and Storm replace Reed and Sue on the team for a time. I skipped this run also. Not only did it feel like a "transistional" run, but it felt like a poor reason to have a black writer put black characters into the book (see also: McDuffie's JLA run).
Mark Millar's run had more of a back-to-basics approach (never thought I'd ever type that sentence) but added an important aspect to Val, which was her super-genius stuff.
And that should bring us about up to speed for Hickman's run, already in progress.
"I was expecting more than a "break" in the family, which is usually where writers go when they aren't using Galactus or Doom as the basis of stories."
I will take this time to note that I have not read the latest issue. I know the "who" but not the "how" or "why."
Having read more than half of the almost 600 issues of Fantastic Four, the lineup has changed often (but temporarily) in the time I've been reading the book.
I've only read the first Essential with the Stan and Jack run which had no changes but I know that they come with Sue's pregnancy with Franklin.
After #24 (the last issue in the first Essential), my next issue is #232 which is John Byrne's first. Somewhere in that gap Medusa, Crystal, and Luke Cage were members.
During Byrne's run, Frankie Raye briefly joined the team before becoming Nova (not Rich Rider), a herald of Galactus. FYI, Frankie is/was the stepdaughter of Phineas Horton, the creator of the original Human Torch. Later on, She-Hulk replaced The Thing after the events of Secret Wars.
In Steve Englehart's run (one of my personal favorites), Reed and Sue leave the team to devote more time to caring for Franklin. This was during one of the times when Franklin's powers were "on." Ben was made team leader and replaced Reed and Sue with Sharon Ventura/Ms. Marvel II/She-Thing and Crystal (again). Crystal stayed around for only a few issues before returning to the Inhumans. Sharon stayed, even after Reed and Sue came back. When they returned, the FF was fighting the Frightful Four and Ben ended up losing his powers. Ben wore a really crappy outfit sometimes to still help out and kind of made it a five-some with Sharon still in the picture.
That kind of goes into Walt Simonson's run (another favorite of mine) where the team "died" and was replaced by Spider-Man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Wolverine for a 3 issue arc drawn by Art Adams.
The very next issue had Doom transfer Sharon's power into Ben, restoring the status quo.
Tom DeFalco's run had a bunch of weird crap in it. In his first issue, it was revealed that Johnny's wife Alicia was actually a Skrull. The switch occurred way back when Reed, Ben, and Johnny were transported to Battleworld for the Secret Wars. The Skrull, Lyja, was an occasional ally and also occasional enemy to the team.
Not long after, the Human Torch was in a serious fight and went "nova" which is his last-resort maneuver. He set the college he was attending on fire and went on the run. To try to bring him in, Dr. Strange reassembled the foursome of Spider-man, Ghost Rider, Hulk, and Wolverine to track him down. During the fight, Wolverine clawed Thing's face, scarring him. Thing wore an ugly metal helmet after that, until he was healed a few years later.
Controversial at the time, Reed and Doom both "died" when Doom sent them into the past. Things got even weirder after that. Franklin (now aged to his teenage years thanks to Reed's dad Nathaniel) had a team called Fantastic Force (probably the least awesome thing Tom Brevoort's ever been associated with) which Johnny joined. Scott Lang, the 2nd Ant-Man (and father to Cassie Lang/Stature) and Doom's "heir" Kristoff Vernard started hanging around though I don't think they were ever official members.
Eventually Scott and Kristoff left, they found Reed, Ben's face got healed, Franklin got de-aged back to a child, yadda yadda, more-status-quo-pleasing-stuff which led into the entire team "dying" while fighting Onslaught.
The FF and Avengers were actually shunted to an alternate Earth (later called Counter Earth) that Franklin subconsciously created to save everyone. They got better.
Back in the good old 616, not much changed until the end of Claremont's expository run where Doom and Reed switched bodies or something. That was the only arc he did that I enjoyed.
During Carlos Pacheco's run (tied for 3rd on my all-time favorite FF runs, even with Loeb involved), Namorita joined temporarily to help save Reed, Sue, and Ben from the Negative Zone. Also part of this run was the birth of Val, the Richards' 2nd child who was miscarried during Byrne's run. Hooray for altering reality.
Mark Waid's run had Ben die during a thing in Latveria and then brought back mere issues later in a jump-the-shark-groan-inducing arc where the team GOES TO HEAVEN to bring him back. Yeah...I do wonder what would have happened had Waid/'Ringo stayed fired from the book, but that's a whole other topic. Anyway, at some point Johnny became a herald of Galactus but ended up ditching him. Or some shit. Seriously, if you have the team GO TO HEAVEN and meet JACK KIRBY, it's time to end the book.
JMS' run I mostly skipped because I wasn't in need of a sleep aid. There didn't seem to be much change except for the Civil War crap which split up Reed and Sue for a time which led to...
Dwayne McDuffie's run, which had Black Panther and Storm replace Reed and Sue on the team for a time. I skipped this run also. Not only did it feel like a "transistional" run, but it felt like a poor reason to have a black writer put black characters into the book (see also: McDuffie's JLA run).
Mark Millar's run had more of a back-to-basics approach (never thought I'd ever type that sentence) but added an important aspect to Val, which was her super-genius stuff.
And that should bring us about up to speed for Hickman's run, already in progress.
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