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Fantastic Four #11 - East of Eden (Part 3)

4

Sue returns home to Reed after her encounter with Doom, and Ben Grimm gets into a prison shower fight.

The Good

Ben Grimm continues to adjust to being in prison and Sue comes home very upset. Also, Wyatt Wingfoot is being hunted by a familiar face.

I was so back and forth on Scarlet Witch being in this issue, even though she's only in the opening. At first, it felt pretty pointless, but when after thinking about it, the scene became something I really loved. She inspires confidence in Reed, who feels like he's losing everything. I love the dialogue between these characters, and writer James Robinson does start this book off with a bit of hope, since the series does have this overwhelming feeling of complete hopelessness.

This is the best super-powered fight scene that takes place in a prison shower I've ever read. Ok, I haven't read many of those. but Robinson and artist Leonard Kirk, with Jesus Aburtov on colors, do one heck of a job. It's paced incredibly well and it has the perfect length. It works for the overall story and Kirk's art and page layouts are fantastic.

Sue returns home after her battle with Victor in FF ANNUAL #1 fro last month where Victor tells her that Malice may still be inside her. It's a suspenseful moment and a bit of a relief to see her return to Reed. Once again, this is something I love about this series. Robinson dips back into stories from the past and utilizes the here. While I'm not an avid FF reader, I strangely feel very included in this book because of my familiarity of older stories.

The end of this issue is simply the best Wyatt Wingfoot is on the run from someone trying to kill him, but he's saved by a very familiar face. First and foremost, Kirk's art is out of this world here. The rain hitting Wyatt is gorgeous and the way the eye leads down these pages is so natural. Robinson paces these pages out until the reveal so well. This is a truly thrilling ending to the book.

The Bad

Believe it or not, there were a couple moments where Kirk's art really took me out of the scene, inside the Bistro. There was a bit of inconsitancy in Wyatt's face. That, with the combination of Jesus Aburtov's colors looking not so hot at times in this scene made it a tad rough.

If you passed up the Annual issue a couple weeks back, first of all, that was foolish because you missed out on something awesome, but it also sheds a lot of light on what happened to Sue. That's the double-edged sword with Annual issues. It can either be a throwaway story no one cares about or something that matters. The thing is that there are people that won't buy them regardless. I wouldn't say it's a "must read" to understand what's going on with Sue, but it truly heightens the emotional impact Robinson presents of her returning home.

While this has no baring on the issue, I'm insanely bummed this is getting cancelled. I'm actually "fanboy" mad about this. Aside from one bump in the road issue, I love this series.

The Verdict

There's some minor problems, but FANTASTIC FOUR #11 is a huge hit. Robinson and Kirk provide the readers with a really fun story that builds on each individual story incredibly well. This book chugs along, month after month, like a well-oiled machine. It's engaging and gripping for new and old readers alike. I love the fact that Robinson continues to dip into the FF well to pull out some old favorites as well. As for the ending, it's brilliantly executed. This is a series you should have on your pull list.