Allen Christian reviews Fantastic Four #8…
Are we finally having some fun? I’m not certain why “fun” seems to be anathema to so many comics creators these days, Dan Slott included. Not that Slott has never made anything fun. His Silver Surfer with Mike Allred is entirely that. It just seems like fun should be a constant goal of superhero comics, and everyone is in such a mad dash to write something that will be taken seriously that we all tend to forget the inherent ridiculousness of super-powered characters. Even though I feel that way, I initially balked at the sight of a captive Reed Richards stretched out to hilarious proportions with a comically big face. But why? The silly things in this issue are all things that I would have readily accepted had they been drawn by John Buscema for a warmed-over Roy Thomas plot in the 70s. Here, however, I simply wasn’t ready for it. Whether that was a failing on my part or Slott’s failure to adequately set tone might be up for debate. Either way, I hit the reset button in my brain and started back from page 1.
Fantastic Four #8, “First-World Power,” is a Doctor Doom story. A fun one. Yes, it’s a continuation of a Doctor Doom story that I had previously dismissed as rote and cliché, but it sets a tone that allows for a bit more of the absurd. It’s not that Slott hasn’t tried to introduce some more ridiculous elements into this book in the past, he just hasn’t struck a tone that made them very much fun until now. There are also some good bits centered around Franklin here that bring back some threads from the beginning of this run, which is promising.
The art style shifts too much. I’m not sure why the comics industry has gotten to a place where three or four different pencilers turning in pages for a single issue has become the norm rather than a last-minute exception. It’s not a good look. It’s jarring, and inevitably causes a sense of discontinuity. While I don’t wish to condemn any of the five credited artists on this particular book, as I have no insight into the specifics of its production, the problem has become rampant across the industry. Comics is an artist’s medium. While a good script is important, it’s graphical storytelling first and foremost. That’s the point. When there is discontinuity in the visual flow, it tends to lose the thread. All of the art is good, it just doesn’t flow.
All of that said, #8 is a wonderful issue that made me happy to be reading this run. I have my ups and downs with it, and routinely question what Slott thinks he’s doing here, but if he can routinely strike this kind of tone month after month going forward, this might just end up being must-read comics.
Rating: 8/10
Allen Christian
