Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Fourever

Fantastic Four (2018)

by Dan Slott (Writer), Esad Ribić, Sara Pichelli (Illustrator)

The wait is over! The Thing, the Human Torch, the Invisible Woman and Mr. Fantastic - the fi rst four heroes of the Marvel Age of Comics -are about to be reunited! Nothing is impossible anymore. Anything can happen. It's time. Jump in and be part of the grand return of the greatest family in the Marvel Universe! As an event occurs that will forever change the Fantastic Four, the next chapter begins in the life of Victor Von Doom. Meanwhile, Alicia Masters adopts two kittens. And no, they're not Skrulls. They're two normal, everyday kittens! FANTASTIC FOUR is a book about the grand, cosmic wonder of the Marvel Universe. It's also about family and real life. And people get pets. Stop obsessing about Alicia's kittens.
COLLECTING: FANTASTIC FOUR 1-4

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

120 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2019

About the author

Dan Slott is an American comic book writer, the current writer on Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, and is best known for his work on books such as Arkham Asylum: Living Hell, She-Hulk, Silver Surfer, The Superior Spider-Man, and Ren & Stimpy.

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've never loved a Fantastic Four book before. <--no, not even Hickman's stuff, before you ask.
I've liked Fantastic Four books, I've loved the characters themselves and the parts they played in other stories, but I've never read a FF comic that WOWed me.
Until now.



Midway through the 1st issue I just knew that this was the version of this iconic team that was actually going to stick to my ribs.



I think most everyone (who would care about this comic) already knows that after Secret Wars Sue, Reed, Franklin, Valeria (and the rest of the Future Foundation) disappeared. Comic book fans, of course, saw them jet off for places unknown to explore and adventure off-page until the Powers That Be decided to bring back the FF as something other than the Failing Franchise. Ben Grimm joined Guardians of the Galaxy & Johnny Storm has been...doing stuff, too. <--I haven't kept up with him. Sorry!
Anyway. Plot stuff happens on both sides of the multiverse.
Especially for The Thing. --> Congrats, you lumpy romantic!
And then a signal lights up the sky and WHOOSH the Fantastic Four (every last one of them) are reunited to fight a threat that could wipe out everything.
Because that's what they do.



So, yeah. This was kind of great.
It had a pretty interesting plot, but more importantly, it had humor and heart.
Definitely worth the wait and Highly Recommended.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this a little lackluster given how long the Fantastic Four has been gone. I did like what Slott was doing with the Richards and the Future Foundation. I hope they get their own book. Those kids have so much potential for fun adventures. Editorially, Marvel really dropped the ball. This doesn't mesh up with what Ben and Johnny were doing over in Marvel Two-In-One, Vol. 2: Next of Kin at all. The two of them are trapped in another dimension when Sue appears to them in that book, for Pete's sake. Here, they are just hanging out in New York. Sara Pichelli's art wasn't as polished as it was in the past. It looks like she couldn't keep up with her deadlines, so I guess that was the cause.

[Sam Quixote · Rating 1 out of 5]

I remember at the end of Jonathan Hickman’s loud mess that was Secret Wars, Reed Richards and his weeny son Franklin going off to remake the Marvel Universe, or something ridiculous like that, and apparently they’re still doing that but Ben and Johnny think they’re dead or gone forever or something dumb?

Anyway, this book is the two halves of the Fantastic Four predictably reuniting (because Disney now owns Fox so that petty feud is over, they own the film rights to the characters again so they can be in MCU movies). They fight a rubbish done-in-one villain and that’s it - this is still one of the worst, incomprehensibly longest-running titles in comics.

I hated Dan Slott’s lazy writing on this from page one. It’s so unbelievably sappy, I’m amazed some of this stuff got published - the whole book’s full of eye-rolling lines like this: “We are adventurers. And we’re on the greatest adventure of all: being part of a family.” Fuck. You.

Ben proposes to Alicia, Johnny’s acting like a lil bitch and everyone’s saying “meaningful” (read: corny AF) things to each other. The villain is just horribly conceived - everything about this character is staggeringly unimaginative. She’s Entropy, aka the heat death of the universe, personified in the form of a female version of The Maker with creatures from Half-Life at her side. Entropy is a real thing but it’s not a person - Slott makes her a person because the superheroes have to punch something. Awful - unoriginal, brainless crap.

Also restored to the mundane status quo is Doom and the book closes out on a story that would’ve been cheesy to see in a Scooby-Doo cartoon.

Dull story, even duller characters, and wholly uninspired from tedious start to even more tedious finish, the annoyingly puntacular Fantastic Four, Volume 1: Fourever is complete trash. This is such a lame series. It’s a bad soap opera with superpowers - these idiots remain the fantastic bores.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

"There's only one equation we've ever needed. Two plus two equals four. That solves everything." -- Johnny Storm, a.k.a. The Human Torch

"Ha! Well, even I can't argue with that math." -- Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mr. Fantastic

The big draw for Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Fourever is a 21st century reuniting of the original core line-up from Marvel's 'first family,' who made their debut waaaaay back in autumn 1961. I'm unfamiliar with what exactly transpired just before this storyline, but Human Torch and the Thing have been cooling their heels on Earth in a melancholy manner, while Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman have been star-trekking across the universe having adventures with their two super-powered young children. Fortunately, the plot kicks into motion with a sudden extraterrestrial threat which necessitates the convening of the team . . . made all the more awesome by Mr. Fantastic cunningly 'calling down the thunder' (as Marshal Wyatt Earp imposingly quipped in the cinematic Tombstone) by inviting allies such as Spider-Man, She-Hulk, Black Panther, Ghost Rider and many others to join in the fray. While I don't think it was a great story it was still sort of fun having this bantering 4-some back in action.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

November 2020: Had to reread this so soon, as I lost my personal comic book issue by comic book issue reviews! Slott manages as best as he can from the, in my opinion, ridiculous situation the Four were left in post Secret Wars. 7.5 out of 12.. on the flip side, they're back!!!

March 2020
Love him or loathe him, Dan Slott did some magic with Spider-man, and lo and behold he's a tearing it up with the return of the Fantastic Four! Where have they been? How did they get back. Where's Johnny and Ben? All the answers are in here and more with this dazzling debut of the Fantastic Four in the post Secret Wars Marvel-verse... missing from the comic stands for years! 9 out of 12

[Artemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Slott's wonderful Silver Surfer run had a huge heart and a wild imagination, which was a clear evidence that the guy has the chops to write a great Fantastic Four comic. Obviously I was very excited when he was announced as the writer of their newly resurrected series. And yet for the first three issues this relaunch was fairly underwhelming — bland plot, unexciting villain and no satisfying reveal as to why Marvel's most famous family was MIA for so long. Fortunately, when Slott gets the whole reestablishment of status quo out of the way, the story significantly picks up with a fun issue #4 where the entire team finally reunites back on Earth. That issue showed a lot of promise for the series going forward and proved that Slott has a strong grip and understanding of these characters, especially Val, who desperately needs her own solo title already (which would get cancelled after five issues, knowing Marvel). All the interior art looks great thanks to considerable talents of Stefano Caselli, Simone Bianchi and Sara Pichelli, though issue covers by Esad Ribic are all uncharacteristically and spectacularly ugly — what happened?? Overall, Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Fourever is just an okay comeback for the legendary team, but with a lot of potential to get better in the future.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pro: Slott gets at the core of Marvel heroes exceedingly well.

Con: There are only four issues in this collection.

Pro: Sara Pichelli’s art rocks.

Con: The Thing is still The Thing, and a little bit of him goes a long way because, well, he’s always so Thingy

A good start—enough to make me want more.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

After recreating the Multiverse after the events of Secret Wars, it's time for the Reed, Sue, and the Future Foundation to come home. But New York is not as they left it, and neither are Ben and Johnny. Plus, the threat of Griever, a proposal, and the Fantastix!

Dan Slott can do no wrong, it seems. After a fantastic (pun intended) Spider-Man run, I wondered where he'd turn his hand next, and yet after four short issues it's clear that he was always destined to write Fantastic Four. He just gets these characters to a tee - from Reed's insufferable know-it-all-ness with a heart of gold to Valeria's need to please wrapped up in massive intellect and a child's body, Slott just gets how to make them come across as their own characters, and interact in a way that shows how much they've been through both as a family and apart.

He doesn't shy away from the crazy situations that the F4 are famous for finding themselves in - they barely even land back on Earth before a Galactus type threat drags them back off, only to be defeated in such a Slott way that I couldn't believe I didn't realise what he was doing before he did it. But then we get back to a more ground-level story with the arrival of the Fantastix, which shows the versatility of the characters as well as giving them time to acclimatize to their new status quo.

On the art is Sara Pichelli, although she doesn't stick around for too long since she seems to have deadline problems. Instead, Stefano Caselli and Nico Leon show up to help with the latter half of the book and easily grab the torch and run with it. Neither of them are the current artist for the book, but I wouldn't be adverse to seeing either of them come back for a longer run.

The Fantastic Four have been on the shelf for far too long, and Marvel have found the perfect writer to bring them back to the forefront of the Marvel Universe.

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slott is famous for Spider-man, and I did enjoy some of that run a lot, while other parts not so much. I also didn't like his Iron Man volume 1 at all. So I wasn't sure about Fantastic Four. Finally reading the copy I bought awhile ago, I can't believe I waited so long. This was a freaking BLAST!

So we all know Sue, Reed, and the kids have been out of the Marvel universe since secret wars. When Johnny and Ben are about to throw in the towel, Reed and Sue let them know they are still alive. But the fantastic four might be in trouble as a new villain has popped up and hellbent on destroying everything...again. Oh and Doom makes his grand return!

Overall, this was some good stuff. I love the chemistry between Reed/Sue, Ben/Johnny, and Val is fucking ADORABLE still even if she aged and makes me cry cause little baby val was also too cute. But everybody gets a chance to shine and the ending is building nicely to something special. I also love the art, it's great. The new villain (or she might be old? Not sure) was the only part I didn't care for. She was okay.

This is great for fans of fantastic four or can jump on if new to the family. Easy, fun, and exciting. This is what Fantastic Four should be. A 3.5 out of 5, but I'll bump it to a 4.

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dan Slott does a throwback reset on the Fantastic Four back to what old fanboys like me consider the glory days, especially after the last decade of harrowing stories we've been given where various characters have been dead, separated into other groups, or taking part in vast and convoluted conspiracies.

At the heart of the book are the four people I've enjoyed visiting with again and again over the years, actually being likable and happy to see each other. I'm sure it won't last, due to the nature of the beast, but I'm hoping Slott keeps up the lighter tone for a few volumes at least.

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this more than I thought I would. This story puts a strong focus on family and on the connections between the Fantastic Four and the guest members and friends of the team. That gives this story a lot of heart. Since it is a Fantastic Four story, we get a lot of cosmic hijinks. The space environments are beautiful and quirky. My only complaint is that the villain would have been better if it were a classic Fantastic Four villain.

At the end of this book, there is a story that seems to address DC's Fantastics series--a series that was created to fill the hole left by the cancellation of the Fantastic Four comic. Here they are called the Fantastix. It turns out that the Marvel copy team has been set up by their manager to fight staged battles in New York City. The heroes themselves are unaware of this, though. So at the end, the Fantastic Four shake hands with the Fantastix and even allow them to keep the Baxter Building. So, criticism is leveled at management (DC Comics), but not at the characters and the new team. I thought that was kind of open-minded of the Fantastic Four.

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite good actually!

This features the return of the FF after quite some time and the first issue is Johnny and Ben going about their lives accepting that they are not coming back and a big thing that Ben does and then the signal lights up and here they are and its epic and then we see what the Richards have been doing and then them facing off against their new enemy, THE GRIEVER! Cosmic entity! And finally them all coming together to fight this villain and the way all members of FF (like in publication history) are here and they fight them and defeat them and its epic, the way its done! Hints as to what will happen with Griever in the future are laid out. I remember reading it when it came out and was so excited because of it and have fond memories of it.

Plus the final story with a new team called The Fantastix and its an okayish story with predictable twist and I like the teams reaction to it. Finally a new home base, reunion, new mission, new threats and everything and its amazing the way its done! And I loved the art here like its so good. The whole volume is a blast to read and like pushes the story of this characters forward in a compelling way and highlights whats awesome about them. A must read for FF fans!

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

THEY’RE BACK!

I quite enjoyed this. I think what was missing was a true return moment when all the team are together in costume on an awesome looking splash page, but otherwise, a good read. Slott looks to be focusing on the family side of the team, at least for this arc. And the calling in of previous members was cool.


But I do not know what is going on with Esad Ribic because his covers are not that good here...

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first three issues in this collection are great. We get lots of emotional moments and a bunch of callbacks to the Fantastic Four's history. People new to the FF will like this well enough, but people who have been around the block will get a lot more out of it. The last issue, however, was kind of a dud for me. Not much happens, we are introduced to a new group of really stupid FF knockoffs, and it just felt like a really anti-climactic ending to the volume overall.

[Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty enjoyable re-launch of Marvel's First Family. Reed and Sue have been wandering about lost with a group of youngsters in a series of alternate universes, and eventually re-unite with Ben and Johnnie back in the New York where they belong. The family theme runs through-out, and expands to gather together everyone who's been one of the Four. The book collects the first four issues (funny how that worked out), and I enjoyed the first three but thought the fourth was a little lame. The art is mostly quite nice, but looks rushed and lacks much detail in a few spots. It's a well written book, though, with a few warm and fuzzy spots and a bit of good humor. (For example, a smirking Sue waiting for the reason to dawn on Reed as to why he is so outraged at the tall, slim, pointy-eared, bare-chested young man who's hitting on their daughter, Valeria. And when Ben tells Franklin to "Say it with me!" and we all know what time it is.) It's a pretty good start to what will hopefully be a long-running sequence. Excelsior!

[The Lion's Share · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did enjoy this but after what he did with the silver surfer, you might think this is sub par.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

For long-time lovers of Marvel's First Family it was great to see them, eventually, brought back together. Aging up Franklin and Val was a bold choice but, honestly, probably long overdue. Now we have to watch Reed Richards come up with 8 Quadrillion Simple Rules for Dating his Teenage Daughter, though...



On the plus side for the super siblings, they have code names now. And...they aren't terrible! Franklin is now known as "Powerhouse" and Val is "Brainstorm."

The long-awaited reunion occurs with a backdrop of cameos from former members of the FF, and I mean all of 'em, and I couldn't help but chuckle how Slott handled some of the, erm, continuity-based challenges of pulling in far-flung characters for a one off battle.



The final issue was a bit of fluff concerning the fate of the Baxter Building, the introduction of some knockoff schlubbs from Philly called the Fantastix, and a bit of what lies ahead. Oh yeah, and Ben and Alicia got engaged. For real.

On the whole it was generic but fun, and rather than being dismayed by the average-ish quality I'm more interested to see where Dan goes from here now that all the stage-setting has been taken care of.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considering they were Marvel's First Family as they laid the benchmark for every subsequent superhero for the publisher, the Fantastic Four doesn't always get the greatest respect compared to the likes of the Avengers and the X-Men. Following the cancellation of the comic book in 2015, as well as the events of Secret Wars by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribić, the Richards family was working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, whilst Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm were off on their own adventures during other Marvel publications.

In August 2018, as part of Marvel's Fresh Start event, the Fantastic Four returned, headlined by writer Dan Slott and artist Sara Pichelli. As Ben and Johnny tries to move on with Johnny struggles to do so, whilst Ben decides to pop the question towards Alicia Masters, the Richards family as well as the rest of the Future Foundation make their grand return as they are being threatened by the Griever at the End of All Things.

As this volume is only four issues long, Dan Slott takes his time in establishing the characters before we get to the cosmic action with the Griever. No doubt that you get the heavy sci-fi ideas, which has always been a key theme with the Fantastic Four, but from its first page which is a splash featuring the loving family foursome as well as the siblings Franklin and Valeria Richards, another key theme is "family". Following what happened with Ben and Johnny in Chip Zdarsky's 2-in-One, Slott nicely continues that thread, whilst pushing some things forward, such as Ben and Alicia's engagement.

When we see the Future Foundation, they have been restoring the Multiverse, while also creating entirely new realities, thanks to Franklin's new powers. They are certainly in a good place, even if they do miss Ben and Johnny, but when you're having much fun in creating these new universes, what is there to worry about? Other than an entity that is willing destroy every reality other than hers. Although her art isn't as polished as her work on Brian Michael Bendis' Guardians of the Galaxy, Sara Pichelli still has great fun in illustrating these alien worlds and inhabitants, whilst the Griever is a radical design.

Although the Fantastic Four are eventually reunited for the sake of saving realities, other heroes across the Marvel universe are teleported to help save the day. There may be a big superhero ensemble against the Griever, Slott takes a step back and focuses on the touching family reunion, although that doesn't stop him giving Spider-Man a funny moment or two. In typical FF fashion, the resolution is not so much a fistfight or an explosion, it's science with Reed giving a lecture, but what shines afterwards is the brief interactions between the various heroes.

In the final issue, which is drawn by Stefano Caselli & Nico Leon, the family return to Earth and instead of a big celebration for their comeback, the Fantastic Four witnesses a carbon copy of themselves known as "the Fantastix" battling the Wrecking Crew. This was a fun little tale that is playful in showing the similarities between the two teams, but it gives a bit more into what the status quo is now for Marvel's First Family, which is exciting to read more about.

[Blindzider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange. I know I've read this before but can't find any record of it on Goodreads.

Regardless, this isn't bad. Clearly Slott's first job is to bring the band back together and he takes a little bit of time doing it. My biggest complaint is that Zdardsky wrote a well-crafted, heavily emotional story with Johnny and Ben in the Marvel Two-In-One, Vol. 1: Fate of the Four and compared to the feelings of the reunion in this book (slight spoiler, but c'mon you knew it was going to happen) it felt lacking.

After reading Slott's Spider-Man for years, his frenetic pace has slowed significantly (thankfully) in this book. He obviously has to move the pieces around the board to set-up his version of the FF, and there are a few hints at things to come. A strong start.

[Anas Abdulhak · Rating 5 out of 5]

My babies are back

[Chantaal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to give Dan Slott a lot of credit for having the Fantastic Four feel like an adventuring family again. Yeah there are some big stakes, and yeah it feels a bit heavy handed, but I love this family and I love them the most when they’re being adventurers and saving the day.

The whole Fantastix side story was incredibly lame, but I enjoyed where this volume ended.

[Des Fox · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was... not great? I've been VERY excited for the reboot. I very much enjoyed Silver Surfer and Slott's Spider-Man. I also love Pichelli's artwork. This series though, just seems to be struggling to find its footing. It's just meandering, and thrusts a lot on the reader at once. It feels like the characters never have the appropriate reactions to emotional beats, and the reunion scene is a weird and rushed affair, plainly betraying the set-up from Zdarsky's book. This title also seems to ignore a few Hickman-era key characterizations, which was a let down. I mean, we KNOW Reed can grow an awesome looking beard, come off it with that patchy mess. I also hate how the Baxter Building and the Fantastix were all sorta last-minute solved in its own issue of nonsense.

I liked reading it. I had fun watching my favorite science people get back together. But boy, this was a rocky start. Was torn between a 2 and a 3, but after writing out my feelings, I'm rounding down. I'm fairly disappointed, but will buy the next volume in hopes of an uptick. Sometimes Slott takes a bit to get going, and I'm hoping that's the case here. Otherwise, maybe I'm just not going to be satisfied with anyone other than Hickman writing the FF.

[Tesutamento · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marvel'ın ilk ailesi çizgi roman dünyası için uzun denebilecek bir aradan sonra geri dönüyor. En son Secret Wars'da gözüken FF için Marvel editörleri suskundu. Secret Wars sonrasında Reed ve Sue çocuklarla birlikte Secret Wars arefesinde yok olan çoklu evrenleri yaratmaya gitmişti. Bunu yaparken de Johnny ve Ben'e haber vermemişlerdi. Onların yokluğunda Johnny biraz Inhumanlarla takılmış biraz da Avengers olmuştu. The Thing de bir süre için Guardians of the Galaxy'e katılmıştı.

Reed ve Sue'nın artık olmadığını düşünen Ben hayatına devam etmeye çalışsa da Johnny umudunu sürdürüyordu. Gökyüzünde aniden beliren bir 4 işareti ile FF ekibinin dostları (Spider-Man, Wolverine, Storm, Medusa, Black Panther, She-Hulk gibi zaman zaman ekipte yer almış isimler) kendilerini uzaklardaki bir alternatif evrende buluyor. Reed'in başı dertte ve bu kez karşısında "Griever at the End of All Things" var. Nedir bu şey derseniz şu ki Marveldaki bir başka simgesel varlık. Tıpkı Eternity, Infinity, Death gibi soyuttan somuta.

Çok şaşalı bir dönüş olmasa da FF'in özünü taşıyan ve yansıtan bir dönüştü. Havai fişekler eşliğinde veya çok epik anlar eşliğinde olacağına zekice bir dayanışmayla olması daha güzeldi. Son bir önemli gelişme de Ben sonunda Alicia'ya evlenme teklifi etti ve düğünleri hemen olacak gibi gözüküyor. Yani bir sonraki ciltte. Umarım Sara Pichelli çizmeye devam etmemiştir çünkü pek sevemedim tarzını. Hele de ufukta bir düğün özel sayısı varken lütfen!

[Adam M · Rating 2 out of 5]

Marvel: "Hey Dan Slott, do you think you could write a quick and dirty run on FF to bring them back to earth?"
Dan Slott: "Should I try hard and make it really heartfelt and impactful?"
Marvel: "Oh, god no. Please don't."
Slott: "You got it. Consider it phoned in."

Ben Grimm proposes. Reed, Sue and kids return to Earth.
There. I saved you 4 issues of NOTHING HAPPENING.

[Dimitris Papastergiou · Rating 1 out of 5]

I guess this is what happens when Dan Slott takes a bet that he can write a story filled with every single cliche that's ever being.

He won!

[Ivan Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's CLOBBERIN TIME!



The Fantastic Four are one of the best superhero teams of all time and for a long time Marvel didn't treat them the way they deserved.



Ben decides that it is time to marry Alicia and asks his friend "the matchstick head" to be the best man at the wedding, and this highlights the pain that this couple felt for the absence of their family.



While the Torch and the Thing made their life on planet earth, Sue, Reed, the kids and the Future Foundation have been traveling through different realities (created by Frankin) for 5 years, a long time has passed and the kids are not kids anymore...



However, that journey between realities comes to an end when Franklin's powers begin to wane and a cosmic entity confronts them.



Being very unintelligent, she (the entity whose name I can't remember) allows them to bring their family, but... what she does not know is that the family is much bigger than it seemed.



I loved this book, the perspective of Sue and Reed as parents of a couple of teenagers is a situation that honestly I had not imagined but that I really like.



also mega crossovers have always been great and in this comic is an epic one. Having the first super family back is something that was already fair and necessary.

[Shannon Appelcline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bringing in everyone who was ever a member of the FF to fight against a brand-new cosmic villain probably seemed like a good idea for rebooting this venerable, long-lost comic series. And it largely flops. No one cares about the new villain, who is exactly as powerful as she needs to be, as with most abstract villains, and meanwhile we get almost zero characterization for any of our characters because they're just members in a large crowd.

It's actually the Future Foundation who comes across best in all of this ... and then they're sent off in the third issue (alas) to frontline their own series (yay!) which will be short-lived (alas). And the kids, Val and Franklin: aging them up five years was a great choice to help turn them into even more interesting people.

The fourth issue starts to turn things around a bit, as we actually get some attention on our main characters. But it begs the question: will Slott be able to tell the personal stories that he's great at or will he tell more mediocre galactic abstractions? Time will tell.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hope Dan Slott is the right person for this. He did a great job with Spider-Man, but this first volume of the FF was a bit silly, a bit cheesy. It's got to be hard to follow someone like Jonathan Hickman, so here's hoping. The artwork was a bit variable throughout from issue to issue, with the common denominator being Sara Pichelli. Let's hope that settles down a bit and gets more steady and consistent. Anyway, if you weren't aware, the Fantastic Four are finally back...

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Shame, this would have been a 4 star rating because I really enjoyed this story. However, I had to dock it a half star for continuity issues. The way Reed and Sue came for Johnny and Ben differed from the Marvel Two-in-one Thing and Human Torch and that bothered me. C’mon editors and writers pay attention. But again other than that, great story.

[Dubzor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, Dan. We've all seen that one episode of BATMAN BEYOND.