Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 2

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman #6-10

by Jonathan Hickman, Gabriele Dell'Otto (Cover Art), Greg Tocchini (Artist)

Superstar writer Jonathan Hickman revamps and redefines Marvel's First Family! The War of Four Cities escalates, with the Future Foundation caught in the middle! But as the Inhumans return to Earth and Annihilus' forces and the Kree armada lay siege to the planet, will the coming of Galactus turn the tide...or doom us all? As the Future Foundation contends with the Council of Reeds and the Mad Celestials, Valeria turns to their greatest foe! Find out why all hope lies in Doom! And in the aftermath of an endgame beyond imagination, the FF explore the furthest reaches of the Marvel Universe - from Wakanda to the Negative Zone, from the past to the future! And as the Fantastic Four are reunited, Hickman's groundbreaking run comes to an explosive end!

Collecting: FF 6-23, Fantastic Four 600-611, 605.1

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

783 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 2014

About the author

Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist. He is known for creating the Image Comics series The Nightly News, The Manhattan Projects and East of West, as well as working on Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four, FF, and S.H.I.E.L.D. titles. In 2012, Hickman ended his run on the Fantastic Four titles to write The Avengers and The New Avengers, as part the "Marvel NOW!" relaunch. In 2013, Hickman wrote a six-part miniseries, Infinity, plus Avengers tie-ins for Marvel Comics. In 2015, he wrote the crossover event Secret Wars. - Wikipedia

Reviews

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

~NO SPOILERS~

To start with the book itself beneath the dust cover is just as beautiful as Volume1. I collect omnibuses and most of the marvel ones are black with minimal or no design, colour change, but this is lovely. It's the same colour as the F4 classic blue with a matt finish....beautiful to hold and look at.

I've never read an F4 story before, I’ve only ever seen the old 90's cartoons which I enjoyed, but this book and the whole Hickman run is incredible.

With regards to the story, there are parts which made me well up a bit, now for me that means I’m completely lost in the book so it means my complete imagination is all encompassed into their world and the storyline, which is rare for me when reading a story. This book has feeling, intelligence, a fantastic story and some unbelievably good characters and action scenes. For Marvel geeks like myself it's so much fun to Reed this (see what I did there?), because there are so many characters in this book that you wanted to see in a comic and they're all in there (I’m including volume 1 in this). I mean there is one fight in space between 4 gods (I won't say who) and it's just a full on geek fest, loved it.

The bit that made me well up was when The Thing was at his lowest, he was hurting emotionally really badly, but he had no way to release his anger, so what does he do!? He calls two of his mates for a ruck, I couldn't believe my eyes at first, absolutely epic and heart wrenching. Bromance at its finest!

Oh and the humour, when a particular person (comes from negative zone) drops a massive turd in Spiderman’s toilet, kudos for that!

Hickman is king here, god knows how he managed to fit so much character development in between a family, friends and enemies and still pull off one of the best reads ever! Just wow. I would put this in my top 3 reads of all time reads! Absolutely fantastic.

“All Hope lies in Doom!!!”



P.s I want my own pet Galactus too.

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS WAS SO GOOD AGAIN!

At this point I feel like I use that phrase too much but then again this one is just literally living to it, its one of those runs that will make you love comics but also the FF in particular and Hickman gives such an epic ending to his run!

So this one shows "War of the four cities" and its epic and then the coming of Galactus and his fight with the Dark celestials, the return of hope from Future aka Frank and Val and then the big war which is just epic and one of the greatest moments with Franklin and Galactus, that scene had me gawking at my screens and then finally the end which was just brilliant and also we see what happened to Johnny which was awesome! And then Hickman doing smaller issues which just makes you love this team like curing Willie Lumpkin, the adventures in wakanda which shows the bond between Reed and T'challa and the stuff with Inhumans which was heart-breaking (no spoilers but its worth it) and setting the stage for his Avengers run and closing on such a good note with a goodbye between Frank (future) and his parents and future Val too! Just brilliant stuff!

This is just epic and I have read it quite a few times now and each time it feels like its me reading this for the first time and each time you get something new, its so awesome and has so many crazy and awesome and its really worth it!! The art is great, the banter, the dynamics, the story at large and everything just perfect!

[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buddy read with my shallow reading pals. Actually finished it in the required time frame, but was a little too preoccupied with internet pornography to get around to actually reviewing it. Hands are washed and here we go. Sorry I’m late kids.



Hickman’s Fantastic Four run is the only FF stuff I’ve ever really had an interest in picking up. I’ve liked The Thing since I was kid. I had his mego action figure (not a doll) when I was just a tyke. I actually forgot he had that “I just saw my first titty” look on his face. I always thought the Torch was kinda cool too. But Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Girl. Dorks. Now that I’m more comfortable in my nerdiness, I’m ok with giving them another shot. Reed and Sue are still dorks, but I’m good with it. After getting turned on to Johnathan Hickman I decided to pick up both of his FF collections (is it omnibuses or omnibi?) Anyway, definitely not disappointed. I haven’t gotten around to reviewing Hickman’s Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol.1 yet (workin’ on it), but suffice to say I liked it. Recently I picked up Vol. 2 and I liked it even more.



Vol. 2 picks up pretty much where Vol. 1 left off. Read Vol. 1 before picking this one up. You’ll be all sorts of lost. This one collects the remaining issues of both the Fantastic Four and Future Foundation titles penned by Hickman. The team is still reeling from the loss of Johnny Storm and Spidey has joined up to pick up the slack. This one also follows the War of Kings event as well (which I didn’t read and isn’t really required), but completists may want to read that book first too. Most of this book has the team cleaning up the mess left by the other “Evil” Reeds and trying to put things right throughout the universe. Hickman does a good job of making all the Richard’s clan, super-nerds come off as believable geniuses without making it so complex as to lose a blue collar geek such as myself. Doom, the Inhumans, and Galactus all show up and are equally well written. Victor learns that valuable lesson about being careful what you wish for. Galactus (never a favorite of mine) is actually pretty bad-ass in this one too. Spider-man adds some levity to the crew and rounds out this version of the team well. Hickman even sells me on the “kid-heavy” Future Foundation. Had I heard this book was filled with child characters I probably would have skipped it. But they worked for me here too. I actually ended up liking Bentley, the Wizard’s clone, and he had me smiling here and there with his wise-ass quips and nut shots.



A smorgasbord of artists contributed to this monster. While all were above average, there were a few I enjoyed more than others. Some of my favorites were Ron Garney, Giuseppe Camuncoli, Ryan Stegman, and Nick Dragotta. Consistent artwork throughout.



I liked the way Hickman ultimately ties everything together and ended his long run on Fantastic Four. This one dips a bit in quality towards the end and then picks up again right at the finish. Winning me over to characters I’ve never had much of an appreciation for was a challenge and Hickman was up to the task. Overall a great collection and a recommend for any Hickman or Fantastic Four fans.

Get this review and more at:

[Aildiin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my favorite Hickman Marvel story, over his Secret Warriors or his Avengers stuff.
This book concludes the epic run started in the first Omnibus but it's not in my eyes what makes it special.
The really good thing is the amount of time the author takes at the end to resolve everything and gives us some hindsight on what happens to everybody after the big event is over. It's fan service after fan service and it's just awesome! Everything ties in nicely together and we can see that from the start Hickman had a master plan and issue after issue he realized it.
Aside from this I have read very little Fantastic Four and this really made me discover and love those characters.
It's however somewhat sad that the franchise fell down so fast after Hickman left it ( F4 was canceled in 2015 and will probably be restarted later).

Still this is highly recommended but you have to read both Omnibus !

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how I can hate Jonathan Hickman's AVENGERS run so much, and love his FF run so much. And there's a lot to love here, specifically, the relationships. Val and Franklin, the FF themselves, Ben and Val and Franklin, Johnny and Franklin, Reed and Nathaniel, Doom and Val, little Val and big Val, Spidey and Johnny rooming together, the kids of the Future Foundation, that little bastard Annihilus.....so much great characterization, so many wonderful little interactions among the massive action and mind-bending science. Even when Hickman occasionally lost me with the epic plot, I was always hooked on the characters. Marvel's first family...The World's Greatest Comic Magazine, indeed.

[Vismund · Rating 5 out of 5]

Way more amazing than I remembered it. From full-scale battles for entire universes to small heartfelt stories about family, this run has everything; complete with scenes that set up Hickman's following Avengers run.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

These Omnibus editions are really the ideal way to experience these particular stories for the first time--says the person who experienced Jonathan Hickman's FF stories in these Omnibus editions for the first time.

I can understand the frustrations of the month-to-month reader following this epic, though, because Hickman's plotting is seriously long term. Also, he brings one arc to a head, and then abruptly shifts focus to some other storyline, but just when you think he's abandoned or forgotten the first thread, he picks it right back up. It's quite the extraordinary feat of juggling.

He also does what every successful writer has done with Marvel's First Family: he takes only what he likes from their colorful and storied history, and then extrapolates from only those points, so, for example (and this is really just the tiniest SPOILER), he "cures" Ben Grimm, as if the hundred or so times he's reverted back to his human form never really occurred. Which I have no problem with. (Okay, that's the end of my minuscule SPOILER.)

Reading this also reminded me that, whenever the Fantastic Four is done really really well, the potential of the characters and their abilities, and their setting and their villains--all of this has no true ceiling, at least as far as telling groundbreaking science fiction stories go. I forget who said this, but someone argued that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's run on this title was one of the greatest American novels ever written. Hickman's run stands as a worthy successor to it.

EDIT: I almost forgot! There was a brief moment in this second volume when I turned the page and saw FAREL DALRYMPLE ARTWORK, which made me so deliriously happy that I nearly cried. It was only a few pages, but still. There are few artists working today who make me happier than Farel Dalrymple.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Never saw myself getting choked up over the nearly omnipotent son of Sue Storm and Reed Richards yet here we are

[Graham Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m wrapping up both my reading of Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four run and my preparations for “Fantastic Four: First Steps”. This second omnibus covers the second half of Hickman’s run, pinballing back and forth between the main Fantastic Four comic and the FF comic (which chronicles the children and students of the Future Foundation). Most of the collected volumes continued on the various storylines from Hickman’s previous omnibus (including the fallout of the big death from before). It all culminates in a massive yet somewhat confusing climax. Despite the confusing nature the climax is very satisfying and shows Hickman could create a grand tale that covered so much ground of the Fantastic Four’s vast rogue gallery and cast of characters. The odd thing is that climax comes at the 75% mark and the rest is Hickman wrapping up his various other storylines. That said, most of these are very compelling conclusions and make this section worth it.

A break down of each “volume” is as follows:
- FF Vol. 2: This one focuses a lot on the Inhumans which I’ve alway only ever had a cursory knowledge of. The Dune/ASOIAF style politics are interesting enough and seeing this lead into conflict with the Kree Empire was interesting. Didn’t grab me enough but interesting nonetheless.
- Fantastic Four Vol. 5: This one opens with a smorgasbord of Hickman’s storylines colliding with multiple invasions from the Kree/Inhuman storyline, the Negative Zone storyline, etc. And of course, undoing a big death from the last omnibus (at what point do publishing companies realize no comic book readers fall for these deaths any more?). Still, if it rallied the Marvel superheroes who cares I suppose? And then Hickman keeps ratcheting up the stakes and epicness so it’s all good. I also loved the closing scene with Reed and Franklin being a callback to the scene of Reed’s childhood that opened Hickman’s run.
- FF Vol. 3: This one takes place before/during the confrontation between the Inhumans, the Kree, Galactus, etc. but focused on the Future Foundation students. Honestly this was the most convoluted part of the omnibus and demonstrated my problem with going back and forth between Hickman’s different titles, with some issues taking place before others in the different series. But there are still some cool moments of the students and Doom fighting the Celestials. And I did like Doom finding and building the Parliament of Doom amongst the ruins of the Council of Reed’s headquarters.
- F4 Vol. 4 and Fantastic Four Vol. 6: These were the denouement volumes where Hickman wrapped up the remaining storylines, while simultaneously setting up future storylines in the Marvel Universe (Hickman’s Secret Wars). There were parts of this that dragged but a lot that worked. I loved the issue where Reed sees Ben growing old over the centuries, the Wizard clone telling off the original Wizard, and future Franklin encouraging his younger self to keep dreaming and using his imagination (a lesson directed at storytellers everywhere I imagine). And of course we had Doom’s concluding remarks after Val and Reed rescued him, “I was a God and I found it beneath me”. Bad. Ass. Doom is indeed one of the greatest Supervillains out there in fiction.

Ultimately while not my favorite run of Marvel, I did really enjoy Hickman’s run of Fantastic Four. He had vision and ambition for Marvel’s First Family. It’s a Saga that may rival the MCU. Its imperfect but there’s a lot of emotional payoff here that was worth the long page count and reignited a childhood love for the Fantastic Four.

[Jérémy Gosselin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 ⭐️

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic Four omnibus vol 2 by Jonathan Hickman 🔥

This omnibus is all over the place, many many things are in motion, Hickman style, time travel, the death of a family member, The War of the Four cities, Doctor Doom,  Galactus, annihilation, The Kree, Eternals,  Avengers, Wakanda, seems like every World inside of the MCU is thrown into this, dont get me wrong, this book is stellar action wise ans its always a blast when many marvel characters apear, its on the strenghts of the books, but the plot twists are very fast and some of the story goed just to fast is feels rushed at times. It gave me goosebumbs at times, something that rarely happens with comics, but nearing the end the story kinda fizzles out and goes on on and on after the story is sort of finished. This is one i like to reread in the future. One thing thats excellent is the artwork, Dragotta seems like a weird choice but his art works really well, and Steve Epting remains one of my very favorite artists and he proves it every time. My review sounds kinda sour, but i had a really good time with this book, but Hickman just failed the landing a bit in my opinion.
3.5 stars

[Timothy Featherston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Somehow I never read the second half of this run despite generally considering Hickman’s FF my favorite marvel run of all time?

This read through firmly cemented that. Just an incredible example of long term comics storytelling. Hickman is such a master of long term payoff and this one feels as good as his avengers run. I will probably never forgive marvel for cutting his X-Men run off at the knees - imagine where that would have ended up if he was given 5 or 7 years like he intended?

The best Marvel’s first family has ever been written, better than Stan and Jack even. Hickman’s Reed is truly one of the great comic book heroes ever written and his Doom, maybe the best villain.

“I was a god, Valeria. I found it…beneath me.”

[Unemployed Writer · Rating 5 out of 5]

On a whim, I decided to make a start on volume 2 of Hickman's Fantastic Four run. I ended up finishing it in one sitting. It is an incredible pay-off to what Hickman sets up in volume 1, each story beat flows well and makes you want to read more. Everything felt so satisfying and having read Hickman's later runs (Avengers/New Avengers, Secret Wars, Krakoa era etc.) I found some incredible foreshadowing to those series.

There is a reason that Hickman's run is up there as one of the bests. It is a seminal comic book story, let alone another chapter in the wide epic that is the Fantastic Four.

[Will McClintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super heart warming tales of the Fantastic Four. Love the Fantastic Four family and I loved almost every single issue in this collection. Really enjoy Hickman’s writing. He can do a broad over arching story but at the same time make every issue feel like a complete story on its own. He’s really good at making you feel the family dynamic. Sad it’s over. But glad to read some more Hickman in the future

[Omni Theus · Rating 5 out of 5]

FULL REVIEW *Spoiler Free*- https://youtu.be/q5nF8MDfzQg
Unfortunate that Disney was at War with 21st Century Fox for the FF...
OVERALL RATING: 4.75 stars
Art: 3 stars
Prose: 4.75 stars
Plot: 4.75 stars
Pacing: 5 stars
Character Development: 4.5 stars
World Building: 5 stars

[Ric Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

(4 Stars) Has some very high highs and some uninteresting lows. The art work went from amazing to hard to look at from issue to issue at some points. Overall though, it is a very good story with many good twists.

[Gilbert Moreno · Rating 5 out of 5]

The epic conclusion to the greatest comic book story of all time.

[Bryan Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic run! (say that again). Love how it opts for one off issues towards the end rather than trying to top some of the crazy climactic issues from early in the run.

[Jameson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome. Family is at the core of this story and it’s a great one! A bit all over the place sometimes but the ideas in here are wholly original. Can’t wait to keep reading Hickman.

[Batmark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second omnibus volume of Jonathan Hickman's run on The Fantastic Four was much better than the first. Although some of the problems I had with the first volume persist (primarily, his tendency to rush rush rush through plot points), this is nonetheless a more cohesive volume. The first half, which presents a sustained narrative that pays off the overlong, disjointed, and often frustrating set-up Hickman provided in the first volume, is pretty spectacular "blockbuster movie" stuff: flashy and exciting with lots of stuff happening (and things exploding), if not a lot of character development. But hey, this is a superhero comic. They don't "do" character development.

That said, the second half of this volume does focus on character to a certain extent, which provides a nice breather from all of the giant cosmic beings going thermonuclear on each other in the first half. Hickman's take on Franklin and Valeria Richards, as perhaps the two most powerful mutants in the universe, is a lot of fun. And the Fantastic Four has the chance to be a family again, after all of the nonsense in the first volume in which Reed Richards tries to solve everything on his own. And family is what this series is supposed to be all about.

There were still some parts I could have done without: especially the stuff about Nu-World--a subplot that I had absolutely no interest in. I did not know who these characters were, I did not understand why I should care about them, and Hickman made no effort to make me care, except insofar as it was linked to the Reeds' plans to do whatever it was they were planning to do (save the multiverse or whatever--I've already forgotten).

Anyway, a solid volume.

[Ysuf Shari · Rating 5 out of 5]

9/10

I definitely understand why people hail this run as one of the best Fantastic four and more than that, one of the best runs in comic book history.

Without getting into spoilers, the first half of this book is an insanely massive spectacle to behold. Hickman is able to lull out the many threads he quietly weaves in volume one to create some action set pieces, mind-boggling sci-fi travel and emotional punches that feel earned. (Granted I wasn't a huge fan of the inhumans stuff. Maybe because I don't understand their lore as much as other readers).

Like I said in my first review, the reason I love this book isn't only because of Hickman's creative storytelling, because of the way he characterizes the fantastic four and their supporting cast. The character relationships in this book are unique and dynamic. This book genuinely impacted me, at one moment I would laugh out loud while the next I would sigh out of complete and utter distraught. The emotional world building Hickman employs in this book is incredibly effective to say the latest.

I think because this book was more focused around action I do prefer volume one, but in essence they are one gigantic story. The impact they had on me exists as a cohesive story rather than individual books.

Like many other people have said this is a must read. I adore this series. I'm now cautiously optimistic for the implementation of the fantastic four in the MCU. I never cared for them much before but now truly understand why they are called ' Marvel's first family'.

[Audrey Hacker · Rating 4 out of 5]

stop trying to make the inhumans a thing!

[Jake Nap · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hickman finishes his seminal Fantastic Four run in a, well, fantastic fashion.

The first of this book has him wrapping up his run with Forever, an epic arc that is the culmination of everything that came before. The scale of this book is unlike anything else I've read in a marvel book before (Nothing beats Final Crisis), but this is my first marvel Hickman run. That being said, I am more than satisfied with this run. Hickman nails the characterization of every character and even makes me forget I'm reading a Marvel book. The way he writes this book is like it's a bunch of scientists trying to save the world and some of them happen to have some crazy powers. For the most part in this run, Reed doesn't really use his powers and that's ok. Speaking of Reed, he really really shines in this run. Hickman fleshes Reed Richards out more than any writer before him and I cannot see any writer topping his version of Reed. He also nails the family dynamics of all the characters, especially between Reed and his kids. Valeria and Franklin shine brighter in this run than any other FF story, they're the central piece that makes this whole story work and Hickman approaching writing them from that angle is awesome. Putting emphasis on Valeria, Franklin and the future of the FF is really fitting.

Hickman makes Reed and the whole Fantastic Four by extension feel like the most important people in the Marvel Universe. He does it so seamlessly and organically that when the President chooses the FF over the Avengers to solve a problem, you don't even bat an eye. As a massive fan of Marvel's first family this makes me really happy.

The narrative of this run is so well planned it's ridiculous, every issue matters and every issue comes into the forefront and is addressed. All the ends are wrapped up and the run ends in such an optimistic and hopeful way you can't help but smile.

In my review of the first omnibus, I said Hickman is the on;y writer to really make the FF feel modern. I stand by that statement and this volume makes that statement all the more true. The FF feel serious and important and it doesn't feel forced at all. Hickman cares about these characters and crafts a story that makes these characters important. Hickman's run stands as the defining modern take on The Fantastic Four and it's really no contest. It deserves to stand next to Kirby's run as the best run on Marvel's First Family.

10/10

[Fahad Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the first omnibus ended, things had been packed into a hand-basket, and as this volume kicks off, the basket gets punted right into hell!

Make sure you set aside a lot of time when you start, because you'll blow through the first half of this omnibus. Everything that was set up before comes to a climax, and the story goes places that you'd never think were possible! And amazingly, there are great character moments sprinkled throughout the cosmic chaos of this chunk of the book. It's a great conclusion to the arc Hickman was writing.

...and then the story's over, and you realize there's a over a quarter of the omnibus left to go.

In the tail end of his run, Hickman returns to the one-off adventures that he began with. Some of these issues are pretty good - the one with Johnny and Peter Parker living together is iconic, and there stories in here that are even better. But there's a reason why most stories end after the climax - there's nothing more to build up to. These issues don't really get you pumped for anything because the real excitement is over.

And then, at the very end, Hickman picks up the toys he played with and puts them back in their places so the next writer can use them. Some touching moments here, and it's a nice enough ending.

All in all, I'd say Hickman's Fantastic Four run is awesome. I can believe people when they say that, at the time, this was the best content coming out of Marvel. Is it the best F4 run? I'm not sure, but I'd put money on it. Is this the World's Greatest Comic Magazine? Probably not, but sometimes, 'pretty dang good' should be good enough.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first Fantastic Four series, but after hearing the praise for it, I took the plunge. After all, I dig what I've read of Hickman so far. The way he builds his worlds and constructs his stories is very impressive, and very well thought out.
But that also means you have to be patient with him and gut it out to the end.

Which also begs the question, is there a pay off?
Short answer: Absolutely 100%!
Longer answer: This run on Fantastic Four is bordering on genius and it's all down to how he weaves all the plot threads together while still maintaining its core foundation: family.
This run is about the characters and the family and that's what drives the fantastical (sorry) ideas and huge mind-bending concepts. All of the crazy and interesting questions raised in the two books are rooted in humanity and family dynamics.

He builds his mysteries in seemingly disparate ways, laying out paths that seem to diverge off in tangential lines, but they don't. He wraps it all up so nicely by the time you finish. And he does it with care, precision and affection.

He may test your patience, he tested mine at times, but power through and it'll all fall into place.
Hickman just made me fall in love with this cast of characters and I'd never even read an FF book before.

P.S. The kids are the highlight.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now thats the power of family

When I first read this run almost 6 years ago, I immediately claimed it the greatest F4 run ever, without having read any of their other material. All these years later, the magic is still there, but I'm not blinded by my fanboyism.

The first half of this Omni is basically the expected third act and pay off to all the madness of the first vol, complete with twists, returns, scope, and some confusing lore. After the stellar catharsis of the sci Fi scope, the book slowly has its falling action, as the family and the foundation has some adventures solving problems only they know how. Some of its beautiful, some of its silly, some put the toys back in the box.

Theres plenty of emotional catharsis too, as Bentley, Nathaniel, Franklin, and even Doom have notable moments of reflection and some closure. Some argue the issue revolving around Doom is both setup and antithesis of what becomes of Secret Wars, but it gets the core of the character, even if it feels rushed.

I'll always go to bat for this run, especially when it can make me shed a tear, be it happy or sad. The final goodbyes between adult Franklin and his parents stays with me more this time, and I feel it will again if I become a parent in the future. Some consider this to be Hickman's best book, and I wouldn't even argue with them.

[W Freeman]

Never had any inkling that I might like the Fantastic Four - my only familiarity was with the quite dreadful movies but after adoring Hickman’s “Powers of/House of X” run I decided to give this try. Once again Hickman has impressed me away with his grasp on characters and the scope of imagination. And I love the hard sci-fi edges he’s somehow able to cram into comic book zaniness. Not all of this worked for me: Hickman’s loyalty lies too closely with Reed and so everyone gets a short shaft but especially Susan; I’m not fond of precocious children; the Atlantis and Wakanda stories both felt a little tossed off — but there was more to admire, especially I think the Council of Reeds plot line. His literal rendering of Reed’s drive to Solve Everything as ultimately fascistic was great. Loved the Thing living throughout thousands of years. The two wordless comics (one underwater, one centered in grief) particularly stick in my mind. The art was all over the place: some fucking awful, some pretty good - but outside a few frames here and there I was never totally blown away. I liked Steve Epting’s work the most which was contained largely near the start of the run.

[KFUPM2CSULB · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading the first arc in the masterful Ultimate spider-man run by Hickman I was sold on the guy. So I impulse bought all of his omnibuses (ultimate universe by Hickman, secret warriors, both FF, and both avengers). I was ready and hyped, I started with secret warriors which takes place after Bendis's secret invasion event and it was solid.

Then I started reading this busy mess... Maybe I am just too stupid to follow 5 to 6 stories happening simultaneously, but I had to call it quits in the end and stopped reading at the beginning of the second omnibus.

This is not a review but a warning to any "casual" reader who read Waid's and Millar's FF and expected more adventures in that same vain... this is not for you. In this series, you are constantly bombarded with new characters and events to the point where nothing really resinates or sticks. it felt like a twelve year old was just trying play with all 70 of his action figures all at once to mesh up one big "epic".

I say this as someone is currently LOVING ultimate S-M and really enjoyed Hickmans secret warriors, the guy can write, but this was just too "comic booky" for my taste.

[Nicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic and I don't think there was any doubt after reading the first volume. The main storyline concludes half way through this volume with a scope that's epic and feels like an event; I love that this all done within the main titles. The last half deals with the aftermath, ties up loose ends and adds some backstory for the main story: they are interesting, funny and heartfelt; they also leave some threads that I would love to read about too especially the Wakandan one.

The art throughout is consistently good to excellent with only one that I didn't like that much; this is pretty amazing given the number of artists involved.

This run is justifiably high recommended and I agree with that conclusion. If you've not read any FF and don't mind being thrown in then absolutely pick this up; the characters really come through in this story.

Now do I read Secret Wars or wait until after Hickvengers is republished later in the year/early next or read it twice...

[Hal Incandenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I nodi vengono al pettine e la run di Hickman sui Fantastici Quattro giunge alla sua conclusione. Non è tutto perfetto e Hickman mi convince a metà, ci sono ad esempio alcune parti che a mio avviso sono un po’ confuse (davvero non si capisce cosa succede nella pagina). L’autore è bravissimo a tessere le fila di una serie di eventi complicatissimi, ma in questo, secondo il mio modestissimo parere, Geoff Johns su Lanterna Verde è una spanna sopra.
Il voto 4/5 va comunque all’epica che si respira in queste pagine, al merito di avere avuto idee geniali come la fondazione futuro e di aver in un certo senso stabilito i canoni del fumetto Marvel di oggi. Infine, un plauso al fatto di aver assegnato i disegni a una pletora di artisti incredibili.

Sono più di 800 pagine (e quasi il doppio se si considera anche il primo Omnibus), ma si leggono che è un piacere.