Fantastic Four #554-555 Review

Marvel’s First Family looks for a fresh start.
by mr. b

Following an insanely successful run on The Ultimates, superstar creative team, Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch, check in for an extended stay at the Baxter Building. The aptly named “World’s Greatest” storyline kicked off last month and continues (on time!) this week.



I was apprehensive when this story arc was announced. Aside from the obvious prospect of having Hitch falling behind schedule, Millar has had a rough couple of years critically. I, personally, enjoyed the majority of Civil War but the ending felt extremely disappointing. His previous runs on Ultimate Fantastic Four were underwhelming and forgettable. That being said, I approached the first issue with high expectations.

Those expectations were met within the first four pages.

Everything a Fantastic Four comic should be was here. The sarcastic Ben Grimm. The nerdy, oblivious Reed. The annoying kids. All balanced out by the ever-present mother figure that is Sue Richards. The opening of this comic oozes Millar’s obvious love of the Lee/Kirby era. It was amazing to me that he nailed the characterizations so quickly. All against the backdrop of a time traveling train, barreling through the Old West. Millar spends the rest of the issue setting up a handful of interesting subplots that will run through his tenure on the title.

“Wow” seems to be as good a word as any to describe what Bryan hitch brings to this book. Every panel is illustrated with pain-staking detail. No empty spaces and no shortcuts taken. His trademark widescreen panels are made to give the book a blockbuster movie feel, and they accomplish just that. Imagine if Michael Bay made good movies. These two issues also showcase Hitch’s underrated ability to draw “quieter” moments. His facials and body language add a whole dimension to Millar’s already excellent dialogue.



The running subplots make sure the book never seems stale. Every member of the team seems to have something going on. Sue has joined an all-ladies group of superheroes to fill her time. Johnny has moved out of the Baxter Building and getting ready to start work on a reality TV show. And Reed has been recruited by his ex-girlfriend to rebuild the planet. Millar was so good at putting these side stories together and having them seamlessly run through the book, without bogging it down.

Two issues in and the nay-sayers already have begun speculating how late the next issues will be. Bad news for them. Millar has twelve scripts finished and hitch has enough issues in the can to last to December.

One Sentence Review: A great Fantastic Four story in the tradition of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. | 9.0/10

Subscribe in a reader

Civil War #7 Review (Spoilers)

How will the Marvel's superstar creative team wrap up this controversial year-long event?

I flipped open the cover of Civil War issue seven with extreme anticipation. The controversial series which saw Spider-Man publicly unmask, the Fantastic Four break-up, and Goliath die was finally coming to a close and I was pumped to see how writer Mark Millar would wrap it up. Unfortunately, by the time I had flipped to the last page I was filled with disappointment. Not because the issue wasn't up to par, it is, but because the conclusion didn't match the scale of all the other events in the Marvel Universe during Civil War.

What bothered me about this issue is that Marvel has been hyping up the conclusion to Civil War for so long that everyone was expecting something big. Whether it was the death of Captain America, the destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D., or something completely out of left field; comic fans were expecting something huge to go down. Unfortunately this wasn't the case. After a few pages of heated battle we see Captain America surrender, along with most of the Secret Avengers, and Iron Man's side take victory. There weren't any notable deaths, plot twists, or significant moments, just a disappointing conclusion to what had been a great storyline thus far.



What also bothered me is that this issue doesn't wrap everything up. A handful of the Secret Avengers are still in hiding, there's no mention of what happened to the villainous Thunderbolts, and although we're shown a panel of Cap in prison, it's not clear what his fate will be. Now, I'm glad they left a bit of the storyline open for conclusion later on in the Marvel Universe, but I think Millar left the story too open for my liking. I also didn't like how the issue quickly jumped from the end of battle to a few months later with such a quick transition. I felt it should have been dragged out a bit longer.

Steve McNiven's art is top notch as usual in this issue and he does a great job capturing the emotions of the heroes (and villains) in such a exhausting battle. I can't wait to see what's next for McNiven after Civil War as I'm sure it'll be excellent as well.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the conclusion to Civil War but I did enjoy the comic run as a whole. Although it seemed as if every Marvel book on the shelves had something to do with the event, they were able to keep the story moving for readers who didn't buy any of the tie-ins as well as those who sought out them all.

Have you read the last issue of Civil War? What did you think? What did you think about the entire series? Was it worth shaking up so much of the Marvel Universe? Post a comment, let me know.

Cheers.

Subscribe in a reader