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Fantastic Four (1961 Series) #600
December 3, 2011
Title: Forever
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Steve Epting, Rick Magyar, Carmine DiGiandomenico, Ming Doyle, Leinil Francis Yu, Gerry Alanguilan, Farel Dalrymple
Colorist: Paul Mounts, Andy Troy, Jordie Bellaire, Javier Tartaglia, Jose Villarrubia
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover Artist: Gabrielle Dell’Otto
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
So after being FF for a year, this title is flipping back to Fantastic Four. And FF is continuing as a separate series. And stuff happens.
Good stuff, fortunately. Over in FF, a group of alternate-reality Reed Richards have been preparing a war that will hit the entire planet, the Future Foundation has rounded up the Avengers, X-Men and other guest stars to help in the fight, Annihilus is about to break into our universe, and the Inhumans and Kree are up to some assorted monkey business in space. The first chapter of this 100-page mammoth is about the battle for New York, followed by a chapter that’s too spoiler-tastic to get into in this review (even though most of you no doubt know what the spoiler is by now). From there, we see Black Bolt and Medusa pondering their place in the war, Galactus pondering his place in the universe, and Franklin and Leech pondering something else entirely.
If there’s anything about this issue that I find slightly disappointing, it’s that it isn’t actually the end of the story. After this much buildup, a 100-page giant anniversary issue seems like it would be the place for the story – or at least this stage of it – to conclude. Instead, it resolves one cliffhanger and takes us up to another one. It’s very well done, mind you – the opening fight sequence is wonderful, and the long second chapter is great for filling in the blanks of what’s been going on behind the scenes for these characters all year. But when I finished the book, I was most definitely left feeling a tad frustrated, knowing I’ll have to wait another month to find out what happens next.
Still, if you actually want to know what’s going to happen next, you can’t argue that the comic book hasn’t done its job. More excellent work by Jonathan Hickman and a big stable of artists.
Rating: 9/10
Recent Reviews: September 21 & 28 Releases
I’m just realizing I neglected to do a “recent reviews” post last Tuesday. It was a busy day, sorry about that. So here are my recent reviews from CXPulp.com for the past two weeks, including a lot of New 52 and several other goodies.
- All-Star Western (2011) #1
- Avengers Academy #19
- Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #7
- Batman (2011) #1
- Blue Beetle (2011) #1
- Captain Atom (2011) #1
- Darkwing Duck (2010) #16
- DC Universe Presents #1
- Doctor Who (2011) #9
- Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #1
- Fables #109
- FF #9
- Ghostbusters (2011) #1
- Green Lantern Corps (2011) #1
- Green Lantern: New Guardians #1
- The Guild: Clara #1
- Justice League Dark #1
- Legion of Super-Heroes (2011) #1
- Nightwing (2011) #1
- The Red Wing #3
- Star Trek (2011) #1
- Supergirl (2011) #1
- Superman (2011) #1
- Teen Titans (2011) #1
- Voodoo (2011) #1
- Witch Doctor #3
- X-Men: Schism #4
X-Men (2010 Series) #16
August 28, 2011
Title: Betrayal in the Bermuda Triangle Part One
Writer: Victor Gishler
Art: Jorge Molina
Colorist: Guru EFX
Letterer: Joe Caramagna
Cover Artist: Jorge Molina
Editor: Nick Lowe
Publisher: Marvel Comics
The Future Foundation is in the Bermuda Triangle on a scientific research trip, when they stumble upon a mysterious message left for Scott Summers and Magneto. The two teams get together to explore another dimension in the hopes of finding the woman who left the message… who happens to be one of Scott’s old flames.
After the last story arc, Victor Gishler has returned to do what this book was really about in the first place – connecting the X-Men to the greater Marvel Universe. The interaction with the Future Foundation is cool – Spider-Man and the Thing interact with Wolverine all the time these days, of course, but having Reed and Sue in the mix is interesting. Not quite as interesting as the Magneto/Dr. Doom interaction. Both legendary villains are now in an alliance of sorts with their longtime enemies, and Doom especially is uncomfortable about it. The friction makes for a very entertaining read. I’m kind of surprised that Marvel didn’t push the FF tie-in harder, though. Going by the cover, you’d think that Doom was the only guest-star in this issue.
Gishler also draws in a wider net of X-Men than he’s used in the past, with Dr. Nemesis and Pixie getting prime spots next to Cyclops, Emma Frost, and Wolverine. The rather diverse group of characters is fun, and we get a mix here that I doubt we’ve ever seen in comics before.
I really like Jorge Molina and Guru EFX’s work on this issue, particularly on Doom. The different art style on FF sometimes makes it hard to get a feel for Doom’s new look – seeing the white cloak against the silver armor here is particularly striking.
Very good issue, well worth reading.
Rating: 8/10
Recent Reviews: August 24 Releases
A lot of DC comic books last week. This week will probably be not so much…
Recent Reviews: June 29 Releases
Listing, for your reading pleasure, the reviews of June 29 releases I posted at CXPulp.com…
FF #4
May 31, 2011
Title: The Beating of Drums
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Barry Kitson
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Clayton Cowles
Cover: Daniel Acuna
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
A group of Reed Richards from across the Multiverse have a plan to return to their own worlds, but doing so will destroy the world of our Reed and his family. Valeria has brought Dr. Doom into the Future Foundation, along with a group of the Fantastic Four’s most intelligent foes, for the sole purpose of thinking of a way to stop the Reeds before it’s too late. As the dastardly think tank goes to work, a situation in old Atlantis brings Sue and a strike team into action. This is the first time since the title’s relaunch that we’ve really seen much in the way of superhero action, and it works nicely here. Spider-Man is finally getting a chance to do his stuff, and I just love the fact that Alex Power is being brought along on these missions. At this point, he’s got to be at the same age Johnny was when he became the Human Torch – it would seem kind of absurd to leave someone with his power set on the sidelines when things get tough.
I think the great thing about this book is the way that Jonathan Hickman has justified the relaunch. This is not merely the Fantastic Four with Spider-Man sitting in for Johnny. It’s a spin-off series, but it’s not the classic FF at all. It’s a different animal, using the original Fantastic Four as its foundation (no pun intended) to tell new stories in new ways. It’s the most entertaining, innovative comic book Marvel is publishing, and probably one of the top books in the whole industry, and if you’re not reading it, you should be.
Rating: 9/10
Fantastic Four (1961 Series) #588
March 1, 2011
Title: Three, Epilogue: Month of Mourning & Uncles
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Art: Nick Dragotta & Mark Brooks
Colorist: Paul Mounts
Letterer: Rus Wooton
Cover: Alan Davis, Mark Farmer & Javier Rodriguez
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Publisher: Marvel Comics
In the :cough cough: “final” issue of Fantastic Four, the world is reeling from the news of the death of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. In a wordless story that takes place over the month following Johnny’s death, Jonathan Hickman brilliantly shows just how the extended family is reacting, from the too little too late appearance of the Avengers moments after Johnny’s death to a bit of (what seems to be) conclusive proof that Johnny is really dead, all the way to Valeria’s plan to exact revenge. Maybe the best part of the issue, though, is how the Thing copes. He watched Johnny, a man who was essentially his little brother, die to save his life, and that’s not an easy thing for Ben Grimm to take. The way he turns to (of all people) Thor and the Hulk to help him cope is nothing short of brilliant. The one weak point of this main story is the artwork. Nick Dragotta appears to be going for sort of a Jack Kirby riff, but he isn’t doing a great job of it. It looks like an attempt to copy Kirby, and as such loses its own personality.
There is no such problem in the second story this issue, “Uncles.” Spider-Man, who (we know because nothing in the world of comic books is allowed to be a secret anymore) will be joining the team in the new FF title is also mourning the loss of his friend, but he recognizes that there’s someone in agony who may be feeling a little neglected… so as one nephew who once lost a beloved uncle, he reaches out to Franklin Richards. This is perhaps the best Spider-Man story I’ve read in years – something so wonderfully classic and true to the character that I could even forget, for a few pages, all the stupid continuity hula hoops he’s been forced to jump over for the past few years. Hickman clearly understands the spirit of the wallcrawler, and I feel very good now about him taking Peter Parker into the cast of FF.
“Final Issue?” Sure – until FF reaches #12, which coincidentally would also be Fantastic Four #600. Ain’t no way that’s a coincidence. But for the next year, I have every faith that Hickman and company will give us some truly brilliant stories.
Rating: 8/10
The Back Issue Bin 