Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection, Book 4

Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Ultimate Collection

by Mark Waid, Karl Kesel, Mike Wieringo (Artist)

Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #514-524.

It's the final volume of Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo's blockbuster run! The Fantastic Four have a lot to answer for after their authoritative action in Latverian - but when trying to regain a cynical public's trust, is associating with a certain misunderstood wall-crawler really wise? Then, Manhattan is cut off from the rest of the world by a fleet of miles-high alien spacecraft - and that's just the beginning! New York reluctantly turns to the disenfranchised FF, the only heroes in town, to save them - but which member will make a decision that will radically change the team? Plus: Johnny Storm, Galactus' worst Herald...ever!? So far, the Human Torch has been able to stall Galactus from sating his cosmic hunger - but that luck won't hold forever. What planet will be chosen as Galactus' next victim? And will Johnny ever be the same now that he's tasted the Power Cosmic?

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction, Comic Book, Adventure

264 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 21, 2005

About the author

Mark Waid (born March 21, 1962 in Hueytown, Alabama) is an American comic book writer. He is best known for his eight-year run as writer of the DC Comics' title The Flash, as well as his scripting of the limited series Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright, and his work on Marvel Comics' Captain America.

Reviews

[Simeon Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed getting to revisit a nice big chunk of this run, read it all in full online a few years ago and it still holds up. Waid just has such a great voice for all these characters, though his incredibly nuanced understanding of The Human Torch is especially on display in this volume, and his penchant for interesting sci-fi concepts, solid comic book style drama and perfect pacing on an issue to issue basis is in top form here. Wieringo's art is also right on stride here, though the style isn't exactly to my taste it does really work for these stories and some of the panel layouts are really smart and economical. All that's without even getting into the fact that the second and main arc collected in this volume is actually one of the main stories that made me want to give FF comics a shot after watching the B-Mask YouTube Documentary on the FF back when it came out, if you have also seen that video or just have a basic understanding of who the FF and Galactus are, I would highly recommend Fantastic Four (1961) #517-524 because they did not disappoint me upon initial reading and they are still impressive today. Not to say #514-516 aren't also good, they just are much more standard super hero fair that's not ass interesting as all the deep sci-fi and character stuff in the other arc to me and they require a bit more general Marvel knowledge to be completely understood in my opinion. However even with that said, on the whole this is still a great collection worth your time.

[Terry Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Waid and Wieringo gave us a great run of stories during their tenure on Fantastic Four, going out in style with a unique take on Galactus, and surprisingly, Johnny Storm (who is often given short shrift emotionally by most writers). For every story beat that Waid nailed, Ringo matched him panel for panel (and Mike's version of Ben Grimm is still one of my all time favorites). Even when things were darkest for the team, this creative team kept things hopeful and bright. In fact, this might have been the swansong for the F.F. as a positive force in comics, as many of the later tales painted the group in darker and darker shades. In particular, Reed Richards has been ill-served and damaged by company wide tales such as Civil War - which found Sue and Ben abandoning their leader and with good reason. No matter how brilliant Reed was pictured as being, he was still at heart a man who cared deeply about his family and humanity. Pick up any of the four Waid & Wieringo F.F. Ultimate Collection volumes - you can't go wrong.

[Candace Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was not for the comics class for once, I just saw Mark Waid wrote it so I had to try it. And wowowow I am so glad I did! This is the first Marvel comic I've really, truly enjoyed! Kevin told me he thought I would like the Fantastic 4, and he was right.

I love the family dynamic. It's my favorite part of DC comics, and I think is was a major component I was missing from Marvel. It still has some Marvel stupid, like people not liking superheroes because obviously, why would you like the people trying to save you, but that was a much smaller part of the story. I loved their squabbling, I loved how much they obviously cared for each other, I LOVED IT.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a while to read this, mostly because I had to go back and read book two so that I was aware of what was happening. I enjoyed this run. I don't know a lot about Fantastic Four, but I felt like this run gave me a good overview of their basic traits.

[José Ignacio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spectacular ending

This is just great.

Waid gets these characters so well and the work done with Johnny especially is so good. My only big complaint is something that happens towards the end that kinda comes out of nowhere and gets almost no resolution.

Still tho, this is considered amongst the FF's greatest runs for a good reason and it deserves that praise so much. Just excellent.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

In light of the passing of artist Mike Wieringo this past Sunday (12/08/07), I thought this was an opportune moment to revisit his past work.

This is the last batch of his stories on Fantastic Four with Mark Waid and, along with the other two hardcovers (a total of six trades for softcover buyers), is my all time favourite run on the book and one of my favourite runs in all of comics.

Everyone talks about the first 100-odd Stan Lee/Jack Kirby stories, and rightly so, but since then no-one has captured the essence of the book so beautifully: pure science fiction crossed with a wonderful family drama. It's got drama, tragedy, comedy and a huge dollop of ideas and twists on a 60 year old franchise.

As always Wieringo's art has a cartoony bent, but not to the detriment of any seriousness. He will always remain one of the great storytellers of the industry - perfectly capturing the tone of a piece while moving the story along in a few panels, parts that would take lesser artists whole issues to do, and to a lesser standard. A specialist at facial expressions and character, he suits the F4 so well because he could perfectly combine the weird and the wonderful with the normal.

A supreme talent who will be missed, on a supreme comic. Waid and Wieringo truly made this the World's Greatest Comic Magazine. Buy it.

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wait and Wieringo's run sadly comes to a close, but it goes out on a strong note, despite not hitting the high points of the middle of the run. Karl Kesel co-writes a story about the Wizard and the Frightful Four trying to take down the Fantastic Four once again...or whatever. He was not a villain I'd heard of, and I wasn't too interested in him, but Waid and Kesel did concoct a decent comic book story with a cute romance for Johnny. Galactus, however, I did know as one of the FF's other major villains, so I'm glad I got to read Waid's Galactus story, which was unusual and funny. These issues focus on what individual team members mean to each other. But Waid doesn't simply delve into the relationships these people have with each other but also the relationships they have with their powers. What do their powers mean to them? How do they define them? How do they make them feel? It was interesting that the Fantastic Four, throughout Waid's run, have felt like people first and superheroes second. Their powers are sort of incidental to who they are, but they're still part of who they are. Thank you, Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo, for making me a Fantastic Four fan.

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waid and Wieringo wrap their lengthy tenure on Fantastic Four with three final arcs - "Dysfunction" which pits the team against a new version of the Frightful Four, some "Avengers Disassembled" tie-in issues and "Galactus" which brings the Devourer to the forefront once again. The stories are mostly enjoyable but quite forgettable affairs, with Galactus is particular feeling like a mostly tame villain here.

Waid's run was mostly a fun time - comprehensive with respect to the types of stories since it involved many of the Fantastic Four's classic villains and also took time to explore individual team members fairly well. It was all pretty surface level stuff, with minimal growth for the characters and nothing that felt too high stakes. In the pantheon of great Fantastic Four runs, I'm sure Waid's & Wieringo's run stacks up well, but I do think there have been much better runs too. Well worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a modern jumping on point for the Fantastic Four.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This last volume of Waid's run is divided into two parts: the FF go up against a new Frightful Four and then once again battle Galactus.

Wieringo's art isn't quite as cartoony looking as in the first volume, and I prefer it this way. He's excellent at portraying nuanced expressions in the characters' faces.

Overall, Waid's tenure with the FF is marked by spots of creativity and ingenuity, but it never really has that "epic" feel, spanning dimensions or exploring space. Even the Galatctus story, doesn't really feel world threatening. The plus side was that Waid does delve into the guilt felt by Reed, which needs to happen every few years to remind readers of that. While it was certainly a pleasant and enjoyable read, and one of the better writing stints in the long history of the FF, it doesn't quite reach the high bar set by Lee/Ditko, John Byrne, and Hickman.

[Miles · Rating 3 out of 5]

The final volume of Waid and Wieringo's run on the Fantastic Four has its moments, including some very good artwork, but this has the feel of a team that is wrapping things up. They have fun with a Frightful Four plot line that is reminiscent of the more innocent early days of the FF, and they get in their inevitable Galactus arc (which every creative team seems to want to do - how many times can the FF cross paths with this guy?). It was enjoyable, but didn't quite live up to the first couple of volumes in the collaboration.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't care much for the first story, The Wizard and The Frightful Four are not very interesting. Plus there was some frankly weird and uncomfortable rapey implications in some of the story. Not fun. But the second story is really great, a cool exploration of Johnny's character and Galactus. Plus Sue with fire powers is a neat thing for her to experience, and gain some empathy with Johnny. The final issue of the book explores and puts to rest some major themes of their run, around Ben's "curse". Overall it's a good ending to the run. Enjoyable.

[Shane Perry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found the Frightful Four issues that begin this volume to be pretty terrible. After that, though, Mark Waid makes his last mark on the FF by telling a pretty interesting Galactus story. It's a shame the run ends here, because I was really getting used to Wieringo's art. I think he was a great fit for these characters. The final issue of this run is one of my favorite FF comics, despite some cringeworthy dialogue from Reed at times. Overall not a bad run for Marvel's first family!

[Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This run started out great, but the end was kinda meh.
Mark Waid is clearly a great writer, but I get the feeling he was bored with this title. He had some big plans and the publisher cut him off, so he tried to do a lot in just a few issues. Also the artist Mike Wieringo was leaving, so Waid decided to just leave with him.

It has some nice moments. Maybe in time I'll re-read it and feel better about it, but right now I'm kinda angry that they kinda ruined it.

[Don Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Mark Waid/Mike Wieringo run on Fantastic Four should be considered a definitive take. It's brilliant, innovative, and filled with all the adventure, good humor and family bonds that are have always been associated with the series. The fresh spins on classic villains like Doctor Doom, the Frightful Four, and Galactus, coupled with the chemistry between the writer and the artist, made the stories something to look forward to, and so much fun to read.

[Elliot · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Waid's writing on this one - his usual wit and knowledge of the characters was something he really played with this time around. The Frightful Four storyline was very good, and the Wizard was actually made interesting for a change, and the Galactus was great fun and also a new take on fighting the World-Eater.

[Greg Callahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my stars, Galactus was an interesting endeavor. I'm not sure if I'm quite on board with the turn the story took, but I did enjoy the play with the FF's shifting powers. Overall, Waid's run was... fantastic. Easy recommendation, though I was more on board early on and felt less connected with the family in the second half.

[Brendan Mckillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once you get past the ho-hum first story (which is waaaay too talky and was co-written by Karl Kesel) the rest of the collection is great fun. Mark Waid and Mike Weiringo were a perfect pairing on the FF.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Waid is one of the best comics writers from the past 30 years. Only Peter David comes close. Doesn't mean everything either writes is the cream of the crop. Take this here. Yeah, I did quite enjoy the last pair o tales but on the whole, this run is far from the FFs best.

[Βαγγέλης Τόλιος · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mentally, eimai to panel pou o Johnny xwrizei thlepathitika sta 2 th sarka kai meta toys mys kai meta ta organa toy typa katalathws kai tromazei kai ton kleinei grhgora kai tou leei sorry sorry sorry kai ton stelnei sthn eyxh tou theou. Kyriolektika ΣΘΕ.

[Devin Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last read January 14, 2010.

[Shawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the stories in here are very good but the last story (particularly the last issue) was fantastic (pun intended).

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were some good ideas here and the Ben Grimm characterization is strong. But I don't know.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

ok the first few issues in this kinda sucked, but then suddenly it got into probably one of my favourite fantastic four stories ive ever read??? so thats cool love that juxtaposition

[Lucas · Rating 4 out of 5]

First few issues were a drag, the rest were pretty great and the last one was so good. I love their family dynamic