There’s a lot of moving strings and parts as we head into this penultimate installment of Hick-F4M with our look at “Fantastic Four” #600-604 and “FF” #12-16. Over two years of set up brought this series here as The War of Four Cities begins, and ends, and morphs into something much bigger.
“Fantastic Four” #600 sees the return of the world’s greatest comic magazine to celebrate 50 years of existence with a huge anniversary issue. “Fantastic Four” had morphed into “FF” after the death of Johnny Storm in #587 and an epilogue issue in #588. The 11 issues of “FF” were used to make up the count between 588 and 600 and saw the two books alternate one after another, telling two parts of the same story. “Fantastic Four” takes up what the adults are doing during the conflict, while “FF” continues to follow the Future Foundation kids, Nathaniel Richards, and Doom.
The reading order I used was #600, #12, #601, #13, #602, #14, #603, #15, #604, #16. While more important with #600, #604, and #16, the middle issues could perhaps have been read in a different order, just so long as you read the two issues that are “paired” together before moving to the next pair. So I could have read #14 before #602 for instance, and it would probably have been ok. The issues work in tandem, and don’t fall into the trap of one book becoming the “main” series, and one being subjected to rehashing large swaths of the plot from the more important book. Both series pair well together, and feel necessary – it would be very difficult to not be reading both of these books.
You can find all of these issues in trade paperback, in back issues, on comiXology or wherever else digital comics are sold. In Marvel Unlimited they can be found under “Fantastic Four 1998-2012” and “FF 2010-2012.” From here on out it’s full spoilers as we mad dash to the end. But with all that out of the way, the trumpets are sounding for war.
“Fantastic Four” #600-604; “FF” #12-16Cover by Dell'Otto
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Illustrated by Steve Epting, Carmine di Giandomenico, Ming Doyle, Lenil Francis Yu and Gerry Alanguilan, and Farel Dalrymple (#600); Epting and Rick Magyar (#604); Epting, Magyar, and Mark Pennington (#601); Barry Kitson (#602-3); Juan Bobillo and Marcelo Sosa (#12-14); Kitson; Nick Dragotta (#15); Dragotta and Epting (#16)
Colored by Paul Mounts, Andy Troy, Jordie Bellaire, Javier Tartaglia, and Jose Villarubia (#600); Mounts (#601-604); Chris Sotomayor (#12-15); Sotomayor and Mounts (#16)
Lettered by VC’s Clayton Cowles
Covers by Gabrielle Dell’Otto (#600); Steve Epting (#12); Mike Choi and Morry Hollowell (#601-3); Choir and Guru-eFX (#13-16, #604)
“Fantastic Four” #600 begins an arc labelled ‘Forever’ that runs through #604. While the “FF” issues don’t have an arc title, and instead are labelled as individual issues, they work alongside ‘Forever’ to fill in more of the emotional backbone of the payoff in #604. As I said, they aren’t extraneous in the way that many main event/side event books, event comics, or tie-ins have the tendency to be. Instead, they give us the tale of the Future Foundation – primarily Franklin and Val, and Val and Nathaniel’s ongoing plan – during the time that the Fantastic Four are in space fighting the Kree. This makes the book absolutely necessary to explaining and understanding exactly why the Mad Celestials get to Earth to try to kill Reed and how Val and Nathaniel have been working for months to counteract what was happening. This is the first of Hickman’s dual-running series (“Avengers”/”New Avengers”, “House of X”/”Powers of X”) and showcases his ability, and almost a necessity in his stories, to tell multiple perspectives. It also just helps unburden the continually growing large cast of this run. The Future Foundation suffered in later issues of “FF”,” and while it’s really the Val/Nathaniel/Doom/Franklin show for #12-16, Alex, Dragon Man and everyone else get some moments. And Power Pack drops in!
#600 works as another one of the natural phase changes in this run as Hickman and co. have lined everything up in “FF” #1-11 and are ready to knock it down over the course of the next ten issues. #600 is also divided into 5 parts, the first two being the longest, and the last three setting up small tidbits the story will come back to later over the course of the arc. #600 opens in massive, widescreen destruction sold with such aplomb by Epting and Mounts who continue to put in stellar work in this section of the run. They sell the end of the world scenario and the horror, and even when Johnny makes his return at the end of their section, he’s portrayed as someone to be feared, an image that would have worked gangbusters as a monthly cliffhanger, but is soon explained away in di Giandomenico’s section. While this is ever the necessity of an anniversary issue, I felt like it undercut the end of Epting’s section and the emotional payoff we were supposed to have to suddenly move back into flashback territory, especially a just because flashback rather than one that had in-story, plot reasons. Still though, this section is also illustrated beautifully, di Giandomenico and Troy moving from hope to horror with the snap of a finger. Their story narrates Johnny’s rise to power in the Negaitve Zone, connecting to the Universal Inhuman warriors who gosh haven’t been seen for like 20 issues? Wildly long game here.
Continued below
The other three smaller sections, while the most captivating pages of the issue, also fall victim to some of the anniversary, overstuffed issue problems that are innate in books like these. Doyle and Bellaire’s pages are the best looking of the issue, though their story with Medusa and Black Bolt seems out of place. Yu’s Galactus prelude is powerful and strong, and short, and works to set up what will happen with Galactus in #602 and beyond. Farel Dalrymple wasn’t a name I had heard of, but he brought a childlike-ness to the Franklin pages he did and created a more sketchy effect in the vein of Aaron Kuder or Ramon Villalobos which was really cool. All in all, #600 sets the stage, but as an issue itself could have benefited from being broken up more. Still so much needed to happen to get to the conclusions, and who can pass up celebrating 50 years of a series, so I understand.
That brings us then to how these two series split the party. Reed, Sue, Johnny, Ben, and Peter are in space fighting the Kree, the Inhumans, and eventually the Celestials, while the Future Foundation teleports to Latveria fleeing the Negative Zone attack, and also because it was Val and Nathaniel’s plan. They try to rescue Doom from alt-Reed, and reuse The Bridge to get back to the Council Chamber at behest of alt-Reed. I loved that this series has continued to portray Val as the puppet master behind the hero’s effort to win, and places her in her rightful position over her dad as smartest there is. The flashbacks to her and Nathaniel planning for what was to come I thought were really cool and had me utter an “oh shit,” after the first one. I think I remembered that this Nathaniel remembered the future of future Val and Franklin, but I hadn’t put together that that would mean him and present-day Val should be working together. Hickman does a great job of balancing her intelligence and her being a child. These issues also in the way that they talked about needing to add 27 minutes to the plot made me feel like Hickman was offering an in-story explanation for the decompression of the events of the war. We’ve had mention of the war for over 20 issues, and everything finally falls into place here, and while I think everything has paid off really well, and there’s only been a few times I have felt impatient or frustrated with the pace of this comic, I could see why someone would cry foul at how spread out these series have been.
What I struggled with some in the “FF” issues though was the art from Bobillo and Sosa. Especially in “FF” #12. I had such a hard time trying to figure out who was who and distinguish between Bentley, Alex, and Franklin. Likewise, Dragon Man looks absolutely nothing like he has looked in the rest of the series. In these issues he looks more reptilian, and his huge head where his brain is is completely gone. I found it really distracting, and the art style of those issues detracted from the present-day scenes. The flashbacks are fine and are very coherent with only a few people on panel, but the present-day talking scenes are confusing. There are moments of absolute beauty though, particularly in the Council Chamber after the crew have gone through The Bridge. That double page spread in #13 with the Celestials hovering in the background is stellar. These larger than life scenes the art team nails, it’s the smaller character beats that struggle.
When Nick Dragotta arrives on the scene in issue #15 though the book returns to that same artistic high it had with Epting and Kitson (who also does great work over in #602-603). I really love Dragotta’s work on “East of West,” and while I think his work in #588 portrayed the emotions of the silent issue and the weight of Johnny’s death, he outdoes himself here. I remember thinking that him on a brighter-colored issue seemed strange, as much of “East of West” is so futuristic and darker with more reds and yellows, and #588 seemed slightly off because of it. His work here on “FF” #15 and #16 is nothing short than fanatastic, and might me some of my favorite art of his. Those panels in #15 with the sound effects and Val releasing a high pitched noise to subdue the Moloids had me grinning from ear to ear thanks to its inventiveness and the way the sound effect is drawn as portraying the action. It’s just great.
Continued below
Switching back over to “Fantastic Four,” these issues served to make the story bigger yet still, just when I thought it couldn’t expand anymore. It also pays off so many plot threads that had been set up over the course of the last two years from Galactus “dying,” the future Val and Franklin, Inhumans stuff, and more. #604 (and #16) are the two most brilliant issues of this run thus far thanks to all the ridiculously huge shit that happens. After sending the Four back into space with Johnny’s Annihilation Wave (even typing that is wild) to fight the Kree, we get Galactus summoned to wipe the floor with the Kree, then he gets wrecked by Celestials, then Sol’s Anvil, and then Future Franklin Fight. It’s huge thing after huge thing, which every issue of this book has managed to, and which this one still does even through the epilogues in #604 and #16.
I audibly gasped when Franklin summoned Galactus back to life in #604. It’s the most wild comic book-y thing yet, and him saying “To me.. my Galactus” is nothing short of Marvel gold. But more than that, #604 managed to tie everything back to Reed’s ego from the ‘Dark Reign’ miniseries, and his desire to fix everything coupled with wanting to keep his family. His sins have caught up with him, there is trouble to be had on all sides, but it is trouble that is able to be overcome because there is a tomorrow to be had. Val thinks he made the wrong choice, which we find out at the end, which is heartbreaking. Everything about #604 ties up all the issues that came before, ties back to the very first issues of this run, and just hits all the feels. “FF” #16 one-ups #604 by giving us Val’s narration of the epilogue as she struggles with Franklin having been the one who saved the day. It also gives us a chance to see Future Franklin and Galactus interact in what might be the most gorgeous page in this whole run up to this point from Dragotta and Chris Sotomayor.
I remember reading #604 and wondering, “Where do we go from here?” The Mad Celestials are defeated. A horrible future has been avoided. Problem solved. Oh no. The epilogue to #16 was a surprise. Doom is still alive and Val gifted him a Council of Doom. AHHHHHHHHH.
Doom is here, and we have one more installment next week as we finish out this run. We’ll be reading “Fantastic Four” #605-611 and “FF” #17-23, so read along with us and tune in next week for our last Hick-F4M!
