Last week was kind of wild as a Marvel fan, and what better way to celebrate that than with a brand new comic to read? BACKGROUND:
In case you missed it, the Disney Investor Meeting (or whatever the fuck it's called) happened last week, and that brought with it a cavalcade of announcements, including but not limited to new Disney movies and series, more Marvel Studios stuff, and a bunch of things for Star Wars. In the case of the MCU, they announced a whole bunch of shit, many of which made me lose my shit (in a good way). One of these things (and arguably one of the biggest announcements of them all) was the confirmation of a Fantastic Four movie in the MCU. There were other comics I could have read that tied into the other announcements, but it's the goddamn Fantastic Four. I had to do this one. Much like Spider-Man and the X-Men, the Fantastic Four are a childhood favorite of mine. A lot of my all-time favorite characters were introduced in FF comics (to name a few: Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer, Black Panther, and the Inhuman Royal Family), and I'm familiar with a lot of their landmark storylines. However, I've not yet read this brand new run, so this is uncharted territory for me. THE WRITING: Before this book came out, the Fantastic Four have been out of commission for a long while. After the events of 2015's Secret Wars, Reed and Sue Richards (along with their kids Franklin and Valeria) never returned to Earth, and were presumed gone by the Thing and Human Torch. In reality, they've spent their time traveling across the multiverse with the Future Foundation, helping rebuild it after the aftermath of Secret Wars. Ben and Johnny have since continued on with their relatively normal lives, but deep down, they still hope to see their family reunited. When the Future Foundation encounter an immensely powerful being known as the Griever, who is hell-bent on destroying the universes they helped rebuild, Reed uses his smarts to make the seemingly impossible happen: reunite the Fantastic Four. The reunion was as emotional as expected, and a little twist helped make it even more amazing. After the battle against the Griever, Reed, Sue, Valeria, and Franklin return to Earth, while the rest of the Future Foundation continue their expedition. Reunited at last, the original Fantastic Four found themselves in an odd spot when they meet the Fantastix, an off-brand version of them who have now taken residence in the Baxter Building (the FF's old HQ, which was sold and resold due to a few Spider-Man related shenanigans). The team let Fantastix keep the building, and they set up their new base at Ben's place. Off the bat, this series has all the things I want from a Fantastic Four story: exploring new worlds, battles against cosmic-level threats, and a focus on the familial relationship of the main cast. This particular volume is on the short side (only collecting four issues), but it covers a lot of the bases that I've come to expect. Plus, the twist revolving around the Fantastic Four reunion was fucking amazing. There are also a couple of short stories in here. One focuses on Doctor Doom, who has been inactive for quite a while, but has been spurred to action when his homeland Latveria is under threat of siege. The other is a meta comic strip starring Impossible Man that takes a jab at angry comic fans' potential complaints over how the new series is being handled. THE ART: I've already encountered Sara Pichelli's art style in other comics before, and I have to say that I really dig her style. Something about her line work (especially on the characters) just feels so satisfying to look at. The last issue is done by a different artist, and I like the style here as well. It's much different in terms of the line work, but it's still well done. VERDICT: Fantastic Four is back in full force with this volume, and while it's on the short side, it's got all the elements of a good FF tale with a few awesome twists mixed in. The book answers the question of "where was the Future Foundation" in a neat way, introduces a new, terrifying threat, and all the characters are as great as I remember them. This is well worth checking out if you're a longtime fan of Marvel's first family, and a pretty safe jumping-in point for casuals. Here it is on Comixology: Fantastic Four Vol. 1: Fourever - Comics by comiXology - end -
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Categories
All
Archives
June 2024
Derryck
|