The Fantastic Four was my favorite comic book growing up. I loved this comic more than anything. To see what Hollywood had done to my favorite characters really depressed me. And then for Marvel to cancel the title brought me to new lows. I rejoiced when I read that Disney was buying Fox! Maybe now, that the rights are going back to the MCU, they’ll finally get this title done right. The title is also returning to the world of comic books. I hope that Marvel gets back to basics, not just with this title but with their entire universe. It’s been an up and down bumpy ride being a fan of Marvel comic books. It’s like when the rock band Kiss was in their unfocused period. I was a huge Kiss fan as a kid and loved their music, but I found it hard to like the band when they went from hard rock to disco. They came roaring back in the ’80’s and I expect the F.F. and Marvel in general, to come roaring back too. It’s time for Marvel to get focused on what works in their universe. In the meantime, DC is giving us The Terrifics. An obvious knock off/homage to Marvel’s flagship title.
The Creative Team:
Bennett and Lemire know that the Fantastic Four work best when they work as a family and this little DC homage brings that dynamic to these characters and to the forefront, even if it’s in a forced way. This gang of superheroes winds up stuck together weather they want to be or not! If they travel outside of a one mile radius of each other they will explode! this team is forced to work together even if they don’t really want to. Metamorpho confronts the lady he loves, Sapphire, and an argument ensues over their relationship to her father. This leads to Sapphire leaving in anger. Great stuff includes Phantom Girl trying to convince Holt not just to help her control her powers, but to contact her home world and Plastic Man tying to convince this gang that they’d make a good team. The spirit of the Fantastic Four lives on until the actual return of Marvel’s first family. I just wish this title would have come out when Marvel decided to disband my favorite foursome. It’s a good fill in.
Hope, Mendoza and Thibert help bring this groups conflict to the forefront. Plastic Man’s good natured ribbing is enhanced by his always smiling facial features and his desire to work with this group as a team. Metamorphos desire to just work alone and not in a team dynamic is made obvious and the tension he feels is felt within the renderings of these awesome artists. His desire to break away from the team is clear and he obviously feels like he can work better alone. This feeling is also clear when it comes to Sapphire’s father, this man doesn’t want to take orders from anyone. Highlights include the double page splash of the gang as they have to take out the war wheel and Metamorpho taking on giant size to save the day.
In Conclusion:
A satisfactory entry into the sordid tale of the Terrifics. They’re thrown together and forced to work together despite all obstacles that would prevent them from becoming a team. Plastic Man’s enthusiasm and Metamorphos resisting change make for good conflict and story telling. This group now has to work together to stay alive. Phantom Girl’s struggle seems real and comes across strong in this issue, she’s almost desperate to find a way out of her predicament. All in all DC’s homage to the Fantastic Four works well and if Marvel and DC are ever able to do cross overs again, I hope that this team will hook up with Reed Richards group in the near future! **** (9.2 rating)
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer – Joe Bennett, Jeff Lemire
Art – Sandra Hope, Jaime Mendoza, Art Thibert
Colors – Marcelo Maiolo
Letters – Tom Napolitano
Publisher – DC
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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