Review: Annihilation Scourge: Fantastic 4 #1

“The Human Torch doesn’t get cold sweats.” – Johnny Storm.

Synopsis:

Annihilus and Blastaar are rivals but they’re forced to team up when the Cancervers invades the Negative Zone. The Cancerverse is a realm where nothing can die. The invasion wave has infected the local denizens forcing these two mortal enemies to band together. The Cancerverses Avengers, who call themselves the Revengers, show up and turn the tide of battle. Blastaar holds them off as best as he can while Annihilus escapes to the positive zone seeking help. But the leader of this deadly verse arrives, and it is the Sentry!

The Creative Team:

Christos Gage opens this issue with a nightmare for Johnny Storm. But Johnny wakes up and sees his teammate, Ben Grimm asleep in a chair and to take his mind off the bad dream, he plays a little joke on the Thing, dressing him up as Santa Claus, using shaving cream for a beard! I am so enjoying what Marvel is doing with the Fantastic 4 and I hope they continue because they are bringing me back to the Lee/Kirby days of when comics were great. I always loved the banter between the Thing and the Torch and this issue gives it to us in spades. As usual, Reed and Sue show up to ruin their fun and put them to work. A distress signal from the negative zone sets them on a new adventure! Great stuff includes The family dynamic where Reed says he must go, but the others don’t need to if they don’t want to and they’re scolding him for trying to go alone. I always loved how the F.F. operate and this is another great touch for this issue. Also the arrival of one of Johnny’s ex-girlfriends, only she isn’t what she appears to be.

Olortegui, Vlasco, Smith, and Hanna bring the negative zone to detailed life and the characters are fleshed out well. The interaction with earthlings is believable and their fear is well envisioned here. Highlights include images from the Cancerverse and dark versions of our heroes. Also the splash of the clash between positive and negative versions of the heroes!

In Conclusion:

It’s a helluva ride as the F.F. face what could be the deadliest foes they ever took on…themselves! The Cancerverse versions force our heroes to examine their motivations and they may not like what they see. But then they turn that mirror on their attackers and the Cancerverse counterparts are forced to see a part of themselves that they may not like either. It’s a battle of wills and wits, only who will come out on top? Just when you think everything’s going to get tied up nice and neat…to be continued! **** (9.2 rating)

SCORE: 4/5

Writer – Christos Gage
Art – Diego Olortegui, Juan Vlasco, Cam Smith, Scott Hanna
Colors – Erick Arciniega
Letters – VC’s Travis Lanham
Publisher – Marvel

Author Profile

Kevin Given

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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