Three: Conclusion or How Hickman Killed the Fantastic Four
Jonathan Hickman is bringing the Fantastic Four franchise a brand new breath of fresh air in "Three" by doing the unthinkable; killing off one member in the team. On issue #587 we finally know who will be the "casualty", with Reed trapped in a dying Nu-World, Susan in the middle of the Atlantis fiasco and the Johnny-Human Ben duo facing another Annihilation wave in the Baxter Building, things look dire for all of them...but only ONE of them DIES. I want to calrify now that I WILL NOT SPOIL WHO DIES IN THIS ISSUE so don't worry and read on if you are curious about the writing and style for this historical installment on Marvel's First Family. Let's take a look at Fantastic Four #587:
WRITING:
Let me begin the review saying once again that Jonathan Hickman is a true master of sci-fi storytelling, specially when it comes to scientific-hard-to-follow dialogue combined with great dramatic narrative. The last time we saw the FF, they were divided and faced with impressive threats that promised to definitely kill one of them, in this final installment we get a proper end for one character who truly makes its last hurrah one of the best moments in comics history since the tragic death of Captain America. All plot threads are resolved in a somewhat proper fashion and really there are no major complaints in the storyline's conclusion, it all adds up nicely to the big reveal in the final pages of the book slowly preparing us for the inevitable casualty.
I DO want to talk a little bit about the identity of the charcater that dies, I WILL NOT SPOIL IT or GIVE YOU ANY CLUES, YOU CAN CONTINUE READING. I was surprised since Hickman keeps plot twisting right till the very end, he gives us almost no clues and when we finally know who gets the dirt nap somehow everything we saw of this character in the arc (as a whole) and the complete run adds up and makes sense. This was the right choice, even though many will criticize the Hickman's choice, those of us who read the whole thing and the complete run will in time agree it was all for the best since this character's development had hit rock bottom a while ago, long before Hickman or Mark Millar were in the picture. The actual last moments in this character's life are superb, the whole move is justified and amazingly well written, many will shred a tear or two when getting to the end of Three.
ART:
Steve Epting is freaking awesome, his pencils truly shine in #587, every detail, shadow, lighting set up and facial expresion was killer effective. I don't to go into details because I might reveal too much. I love every scene but the final pieces of art were my favorite specially the casualty's last piece of dialogue before the end was drawn beautifully. Well done Mr. Epting.
SO:
Get this book. Right now. This is a landmark historical issue for the Fantastic Four. Both writing and art are amazing, keep an open mind and just think that the man behind "Secret Warriors" always has a plan for the long run. See the bigger picture and you will see that this character's death was in the end a pretty nice development that will one day pay off nicely. DO NOT SPOIL THE CASUALTY and encourage readers who just wanted to see who died to read the whole run. It's worth it.
WRITING:
Let me begin the review saying once again that Jonathan Hickman is a true master of sci-fi storytelling, specially when it comes to scientific-hard-to-follow dialogue combined with great dramatic narrative. The last time we saw the FF, they were divided and faced with impressive threats that promised to definitely kill one of them, in this final installment we get a proper end for one character who truly makes its last hurrah one of the best moments in comics history since the tragic death of Captain America. All plot threads are resolved in a somewhat proper fashion and really there are no major complaints in the storyline's conclusion, it all adds up nicely to the big reveal in the final pages of the book slowly preparing us for the inevitable casualty.
I DO want to talk a little bit about the identity of the charcater that dies, I WILL NOT SPOIL IT or GIVE YOU ANY CLUES, YOU CAN CONTINUE READING. I was surprised since Hickman keeps plot twisting right till the very end, he gives us almost no clues and when we finally know who gets the dirt nap somehow everything we saw of this character in the arc (as a whole) and the complete run adds up and makes sense. This was the right choice, even though many will criticize the Hickman's choice, those of us who read the whole thing and the complete run will in time agree it was all for the best since this character's development had hit rock bottom a while ago, long before Hickman or Mark Millar were in the picture. The actual last moments in this character's life are superb, the whole move is justified and amazingly well written, many will shred a tear or two when getting to the end of Three.
ART:
Steve Epting is freaking awesome, his pencils truly shine in #587, every detail, shadow, lighting set up and facial expresion was killer effective. I don't to go into details because I might reveal too much. I love every scene but the final pieces of art were my favorite specially the casualty's last piece of dialogue before the end was drawn beautifully. Well done Mr. Epting.
SO:
Get this book. Right now. This is a landmark historical issue for the Fantastic Four. Both writing and art are amazing, keep an open mind and just think that the man behind "Secret Warriors" always has a plan for the long run. See the bigger picture and you will see that this character's death was in the end a pretty nice development that will one day pay off nicely. DO NOT SPOIL THE CASUALTY and encourage readers who just wanted to see who died to read the whole run. It's worth it.
4 Comments