Review: Fantastic 4 #18

“…your great and powerful Oz over there, he’s the one who bombarded me and my friends with cosmic rays.” – Johnny storm

Synopsis:

The Marvel 2 has been rebuilt, a reconstruction of the ship that was used on that fateful mission many moons ago which saw our fabulous foursome gain the powers they possess today. In an attempt to complete their first voyage they landed on Spyre, which was their original destination. The local populace, however, was dreading their prophesied return. It’s been revealed that a creature called the overseer had been manipulating DNA with cosmic radiation and ordered the death of Reed and Sue!

The Creative Team:

Dan Slott continues to impress with his unique writing style and obvious love for the source material as he treats Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s creation with the reverence it deserves. Here he keeps the basic premise of their origin story all the while introducing new elements with the revelation that their powers come from DNA and radiation manipulation. That keeps the origin story fresh and exciting all the while updating it for a modern audience. The pacing is great as we see Ben Grimm seeking an audience with the Overseer with the help of the local populace. The anxiety mounts as our heroes once again face insurmountable odds. Great stuff includes Johnny’s hot-headed response to the Overseer’s revelation concerning Sky and the populace of Sprye. Also the local populace understandable unease with their situation.

Medina, Manna, and Magno keep the motion at a fast pace with intriguing visuals and original characters. Their monsters on the Planet Sprye are diverse with some looking “normal” and others menacing while others still are passive in appearance. Truly a mixed world of strange but relatable aliens. Highlights include the battle between the Torch and Elementa. Also the team-up between the F.F. and the monster mob to face a common foe.

In Conclusion:

More good old action and adventure as only mighty Marvel can bring it. I love the Overseer’s outlook, it seems to be similar to Thanos, if only for the planet Sprye, instead of the universe. His solution to bringing balance to his homeworld may not be as devastating as Thanos was for the universe but resulted in tragedy nonetheless. The usual team conflicts threaten to break up the family dynamic but Reed succeeds, as always to put things together in a satisfactory way. Some may think this is cliched, but I prefer to think of it as a trope, as long as our heroes behave in the ways we’ve come to expect and rise to the occasion to succeed, I’m more than happy with the outcome of this issue which promises… to be continued. **** (8.8 rating)

SCORE: 4/5

Writer – Dan Slott
Art – Paco Medina, Francesco Manna, Carlos Magno
Color – 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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