Weekly Comic Book Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Neil Edwards (pencils), Paul Neary (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), and Rus Wooton (letters)

The Story: Young sophomores Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Victor von Doom look to help Nathaniel Richards in a battle with…. himself?

What’s Good: This is without a doubt the best issue of Hickman’s Fantastic Four since his first arc on the series.  I think a good part of it is because he’s ditched the one-shot formula he’s been using for the past few months and is thus able to stretch his legs for a grander, and more cohesive, story.  The result is real Fantastic Four goodness, a good mixture of high-concept sci-fi wackiness and strong chemistry between characters.

Nathaniel Richards is also put to good use by Hickman in a plot that is a total winner on concept alone.  Essentially, as we saw in Hickman’s other Marvel series, SHIELD (a SHIELD reference in FF? Yes!), Nathaniel Richards touched the power source of that… errr… exploding dude.  This resulted in all the Nathaniel Richardses of every reality being pulled into the main Marvel U, and because Immortus will only tolerate one Nathaniel Richards in one reality, all the Nathaniels are locked in a deadly battle royale to be that final Nathaniel.  It’s almost like a mixture of Fantastic Four and Highlander and it’s the sort of mind-boggling insanity that distinguishes Hickman’s work.

While this plot itself is a great deal of fun, Hickman’s character work is strong as well, as he does really well with the voices of undergraduates Reed, Ben, and Victor.  All the characters feel really true to themselves; Victor is as arrogant and elitist as ever, while the friendship between opposites shared by Reed and Ben is quietly heartwarming to see in action.  A debate in a moral philosophy class between Victor and Reed is also a great read, doing a good job of capturing the fundamental conflict between the two characters.  Really, the issue is full of moments like this; little winks and prescient nods to what the characters will later become, unbeknownst to them.

It should also be said that this is Neil Edwards’ very best work on the series.  His figures are as strong as ever, his backgrounds are impressively detailed, and his depictions of portals and time travel in general are absolutely stunning.   What truly makes this Edwards’ best issue, however, is the fact that he manages to get through an issue without any botched, robotic, or otherwise wacky faces.  It’s the first issue where I didn’t just enjoy Edwards’ artwork, I also had no complaints about it and, for the first time, didn’t feel like I was getting a poor man’s Dale Eaglesham.

All told, this is a wonderful issue.  The Nathaniel Richards time-traveling battle royale is the perfectly grand, high-concept Hickman FF plot and it gives the issue its necessary sci-fi lifeblood.  Yet, in spite of this, we also get the Reed/Doom dichotomy and the tender relationships between family and friends that are Fantastic Four mainstays.

What’s Not So Good: I really can’t think of anything of significance.  This was a great issue of Fantastic Four that only points to more awesomeness next month.

Conclusion: Very close to being a perfect issue of the Fantastic Four, all FF, Hickman, and sci-fi fans owe it to themselves to check this out.

Grade: A -

-Alex Evans

Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Alex Evans, Ben Grimm, Chronopolis, Comic Book Reviews, comic reviews, Dr. Doom, Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four #581, Fantastic Four #581 review, FF, Franklin Richards, Heroic Age, Immortus, Jonathan Hickman, Marvel Comics, Nathaniel Richards, Neil Edwards, Paul Mounts, Reed Richards, SHIELD, Sue Storm, The Auditors, The Great Hunt, Time Variance Authority, Val Richards, Valerie Richards, Victor von Doom, Weekly Comic Book Review