I really wasn’t kidding when I said I want on an insanely large graphic novel spending spree. Seriously. If you had the money, wouldn’t you? And I kind of had the money. I won’t go into the kind of part, though. What I will go into is that you should expect to see quite a few reviews coming out from me in the future. Right now, though, you get a review I found in a tiny little corner of a store while searching for the elusive Fantastic Four: 1234 (which I know I’ll never find). I picked it up when I saw the title and the author, and the artwork had me sold. What is this little book I’m talking about? None other than Fantastic Four: The Books of Doom.
Fantastic Four: The Books Of Doom has decidedly nothing to do with the Fantastic Four. If you’re looking for a good book featuring a battle between Marvel’s first family and their most powerful villain, look further. What The Books Of Doom is is the definitive origin of Doom, from his birth in a group of gypsies straight through his eventual conquering of Latveria to become it’s most feared and powerful monarch. It effectively elaborates on a collection of mythos that had been jumbled for quite some time and a bit convoluted, putting all the pieces in order and showing exactly who Doom was, is, and how every inch of his essence came to be. The entire book is also narrated by Doom as he recaps his story to a reporter (yes, you read that right). You’ll follow Doom as he learns to mix science and the dark arts, the first time he meets Reed Richards, his innocent childhood love with Valeria, and his eventual descent into “madness” (although he certainly wouldn’t consider himself mad) as he rises up against the King of Latveria to assume the throne he believes rightfully his.
I will read pretty much anything Ed Brubaker writes. He’s just one of “those” writers to me. He was my initial pull to giving this book the time of day, because I love Doom and so many writer’s goof him up or underplay his strengths. Doom to me is one of the greatest villains of all time, even though I’ve admittedly never been a big fan of Fantastic Four until recently with Millar’s run and Hickman’s work. Dr. Doom just personifies what makes for a great villain – no remorse and a massive intellect. Sure, he is defeated time and time again, but if he always won what would be the fun in that? Brubaker writes Doom with supreme skill, bringing his quirks in to the full front – his habit of speaking in the third person (which is introduced at a very young age), his vanity, his need to be the most powerful there is despite his assuming that he already is due to the aforementioned vanity. Brubaker pretty much hits the nail on the head with this book and it’s a real treat for a fan of Doom to sit and have this comprehensive origin story. I know I for one love books likes this that retell origin stories in comprehensive and updated forms to accommodate the ever changing mythos surrounding characters the comics we all know and love reach their 70th year in existence.
I’ll come clean with you though – I love Ed Brubaker, but I almost passed on this book because of the cover art. The image above is made by Paolo Rivera, and it’s not very pretty to look at. The art of a book has a lot to do with how one enjoys the book, and if it was going to look like this I wanted no part of it. What I didn’t realize upon first viewing was that Paolo only did all the cover arts. The insides of the book were done by Pablo Raimondi, who you might remember from X-Factor (and if you don’t, shame on you). Pablo Raimondi’s artwork is positively AMAZING, and I’ve made a note to feature it very much through out this article (which also makes sense for obvious reasons). Take a look at the image below, however. It’s absolutely stunning. Pablo is pretty much a dead ringer for the combined efforts of both David Finch and Bryan Hitch, and he’s right up with them and that style of art in my opinion. The way he handles his pencils is absolutely top notch supreme and I couldn’t have asked for a better artist on this book. Every page is an absolutely treat for the eyes as Pablo masterfully brings to life Brubaker’s words with stunning acclaim.
There are some panels that I wish I could’ve found online but was unfortunately unable to provide, but for the most parts I’ve been able to provide some of my favorites. The above image with Doom finally sealing himself in his metal sanctuary/prison that is his costume, Victor as he finds out what happened to his mother (which in turn fuels him to embark on the quest that turns him into Dr. Doom), and finally Doom killing the King of Latveria and taking his throne, finally completing the classic costume that we all know and love so much. What can I say? The story is just handled with so much respect from both Paolo and Ed that you really get a great sense for the character and his twisted view on how the world should and does work. And just because you think you know how the story goes doesn’t mean you’ll guess all the twists left in store for you by the end. Even I was surprised at some of the results. It makes for a very satisfying read from beginning to end.
I do confess, I gush over the book a bit. I mean, when you combine the elements that are combined in this book, you’re bound to get a book I love – great artist, great writer, and a great central character. However, as I mentioned earlier, I found this book in a corner. It cost me barely anything, and that’s a shame. Sure, this may not be the case EVERYWHERE, but it only came out a few years ago, and I’ll be honest when I say I don’t even remember seeing it on shelves. Often times I may skip a book when it comes out with the plan to buy it in trade later, but I had never even heard of this book when I saw it on the shelf. So if you happen to be lurking through your local stores trade section (as I so often do) and you happen to see this little book up there on the shelf, grab it off and take it home. I see a rise in Fantastic Four popularity coming with Hickman’s run and Millar’s run about to be all out on trade, and it never hurts to have a couple books on your shelf to show off to people as they come over and ask you just who the Fantastic Four really are. While you may not know their origin, you’ll definitely know the origin of one of the greatest villains of all time.
