Description:
Galactus is ready to feast, and only Reed Richards can save the inhabitants of Nu-World. Sue Richards is mediator between the long-lost tribe of Old Atlantis and Prince Namor, who is itching to mete out ages-old vengeance. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm are the last line of defense against the coming of a new Annihilation Wave through the Baxter Building's Negative Zone portal. And in the end, one of these heroes will die.
Collects:
Fantastic Four (1961) #583-588
Authors: Jonathan
Hickman
Artists: Steve Epting, Nick Dragotta
Published
By: Marvel
Published When: Nov. 9
2011
Parental Rating: Teen
Review:
Oh what an ending!
This TPB collects six issues of the original run of the Fantastic Four, and for most of the book it is standard late-'90s plot fare for this team. Multiple threats and responsibilities pull the members in different directions, scattering their efforts and focus.
Reed Richards must save a population from Galactus. Sue Richards is caught between warring factions, with Prince Namor seeking to manipulate her in his conflict with Old Atlantis. Ben vacillates between human and Thing. The Richards children use their own powers and abilities in precocious ways. And so on.
The notion of family drama, of over-worked parents pulled in too many directions, and unsupervised children exploring their abilities and their world, is certainly one that will connect with many readers. And it is one of the perennial strengths of the Fantastic Four – this sense of family, both blood-relatives and extended bonds of close relationships.
And for most of this book, that drama plays out, not with the piano-lessons-and-overtime-hours elements of us mere mortals, but in the FF context. Pretty standard fare. Giant purple-and-blue-clad Galactus towers and glowers. Hordes of spike-covered, sharp-toothed monsters threaten. Ho-hum.
But the hook of this book is that "in the end, one of these heroes will die." And *Spoiler alert* in the end, Johnny Storm must battle "a billion to one" odds, alone. To save his friends, his family, the world.
Which leads to that ending, one that turns an ordinary story into something remarkable.
If comic books are, fundamentally, graphical narrative, then the final chapter should be near the top of the mountain of Marvel accomplishments in such story-telling. Panel after panel, page after page depicts a month of mourning, as the heroes of the Marvel universe, and especially the FF family, come to terms with the death of Johnny Storm.
From Ben Grimm pounding out his grief on the Hulk, to daughter Valeria Richards writing her To-Do list "Kill Annihilus" with hate and determination frozen onto her face. From Thor's subtle tears to the return of the tattered remains of Storm's uniform, the wordless images are breathtaking, moving, powerful story-telling.
Word-bubbles do appear at last, on the final few pages, as Spider-Man shares a moment of understanding and grief with Franklin Richards. A brief exchange, packed with sympathy and companionship, and a fitting cap to the whole six-chapter arc.
Score: 4.5 capes
ISBN-10: 0785151435
ISBN-13:
9780785151432
Language: English
Pages:
184 pages
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