Fantastic Four Vol. 4 by Jonathan Hickman Review
I was recently grabbed by an inexplicable desire to explore. Any seasoned comicbook reader knows the feeling - You crave something different to read, something outside your wheelhouse. Sometimes you get tired of your usual haul and want something entirely new.
So that's when I, just like the Fantastic Four, realized I had an itch to EXPLORE.
I had heard whispers of Jonathan Hickman's run on Fantastic Four. Epic whispers of grand storytelling and world-building. I hadn't read much, if any, Fantastic Four prior, but I was familiar with Hickman because of his run on New Avengers. I liked the grand scope of his storytelling. Like New Avengers, FF was smart. Almost too smart for its own good. Hickman often employs advanced technical talk, using conversations of the multi-verse, "incursions" and sprinkles it all with a healthy serving of technobabble. It could be enough to drive impatient readers away. But those that love a smart script and huge payoffs, get all they could ask for with FF.
This volume in particular is a real high point in his run. I haven't read past Volume 4 yet, but it's easy to see this series has just gotten better and better with each subsequent volume.
Hickman laid so many foundations for future stories in the first few issues that he has been exploring them ever since. He made Fantastic Four an evergreen series. One with tons of stories to mine. He also made them fun as hell with these stories. He captures what makes the FF unique.
Out of all of Marvel's big superhero teams (FF, Avengers and X-Men), FF is the most science fiction. Hickman gives us that realization, in case we forgot. The FF are all about exploration, of both inner and outer space. We see that in the sound character work (inner space) and the grand universe-trotting adventures of Reed and the gang (outerspace).
This particular volume sees the (SPOILER) "death" of Johnny Storm. Some of the impact is alleviated as I know he's currently alive. Not that it bothered me much as any big superhero that dies always comes back. It's usually just a matter of "how soon?" Also, the death scene packed such an emotional punch that I nearly cried. Johnny and Ben's exchange was Wrath of Khan worthy as far as touching friendship death scenes go. I mean, come on, they even reached out to touch hands.
The final issue is mostly silent and is done well, but considering the subtle genius of the previous issue it felt a little over the top in comparison. I understand the necessity of it, though.
Overall, this is one of the best comic runs I've ever read. I'm not done yet, but I might put it up there with Geoff Johns' run on Green Lantern. Seriously.
As for this particular volume, I'd rank this as a tie for the best FF volume written by Hickman with volume 3. This one doesn't explore too much of the other Reeds like we saw in the first volume (which I'm dying to see more of by the way), but it did have a ton of awesome stories all going on at the same time. It didn't explore too much of the ramifications of what future Val and Franklin have going on but it juggled so much, so amazingly that it's hard to gripe about that. The build up was tremendous. Top notch pacing and suspense work from Hickman.
All this, and to say nothing of the tremendous art by Steve Epting. I became a fan of this guy for his work on Captain America with Ed Brubaker. Just stunning. Well Epting dials it in once again for an epic 5-issue story. I love when an artist can do all the interiors on a story arc. It makes it more cohesive and fluid. I loved Eaglesham's work on FF, but he was hardly consistent and didn't stay for long. Considering the work by Hickman and the consistently great art in this trade by Epting and colorist Paul Mounts (even the sixth issue has some killer pencils from Nick Dragotta), I have to give this volume the highest grade I can give. This is the kind of comicbook that exemplifies everything great about the medium - smart storytelling, compelling characters and beautiful art.
I just want to conclude by saying Hickman's FF run, on the whole, has it all: Other dimensions, zany sci-fi, tons of Reed Richards from other universes (sweet) and subplots galore. I can see why it's called the World's Greatest Comic Magazine. With this volume, it just might be true.
