Dan Slott recaps his time with the Fantastic Four in an action-packed deluxe volume published by Panini Comics in the Marvel Deluxe line.
The first family of the Marvel Universe had a regular series again after a period when these characters were in a kind of limbo, and this is done by a scriptwriter who has been successful for a long time with Spiderman. Thanks to Panini Comics, we can now enjoy the first collection volume of this level coming to us under Marvel Deluxe. Dan Slott’s Fantastic Four 1 – Forever.
He disappeared after the secret wars
The regular Fantastic Four series hasn’t interested readers in a while (since Mark Millar, perhaps?) and hasn’t generated the expected meager sales of these iconic characters. The new creative teams and shocking events (including the death of the unfaithful) failed to revive the series, which was practically dragged after the crisis. In the year This was the case before the development of Jonathan Hickman’s Secret Wars, which was about to overturn the Marvel Universe in 2015.
Despite everything, the characters continued to work well as a team in the series and supported the events that happened in other series, but that was not enough and the decision was made: in that kind of reboot we will be Secret Wars. For the first time since its inception, we were going to be without a monthly 4F series. And that absence continued for three years.
After this important event, Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards are left out of the picture: their responsibility is to recreate the multiverse by creating worlds from Mount Olympus, a group of gods from ancient Greece. . But they do all of this away from the eyes of the Marvel Comics reader. Meanwhile, the closest we get are Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, who wander through different titles (like Chip Zadarski’s Marvel 2 in 1 or Guardians of the Galaxy) without finding their place. …
After this long absence, expectations were high when CB Cebulski announced the return of the series, especially considering that Dan Slott himself, author of carte blanche after a long run of success, may be responsible for this revival. Head of the running series level for the wall-crawler. The result? Perhaps because of the successes and failures of this comeback, it drew as much applause as Bush…
Family meeting
Slott does not delay the meeting between the two halves of the 4F family that was divided at the beginning of this volume. The Human Torch and the Thing come face-to-face with the others after two issues have passed. And they do this in an incredibly anti-climactic and cold way, to be honest…
Obviously the meeting takes place in a time of crisis, so it’s true, there’s no time for crying words, but no one should think of anything similar to what happens in Avengers: Endgame when Steve Rogers says, “Avenge, unite! ” (although at the same time the plot is presented in terms of majesty). But the truth is, he knows little.
In these beginnings we take part in one of those events that every follower of the group has been waiting for and evokes simpler times. What wedding? Well, what happens? Considering that Reed and Sue are divorced, Johnny will never be able to settle down, and Valeria and Franklin are still too young to star in such an event despite their stunted growth, so it’s clear that Ben and Alicia Masters are hopeless.
But there’s no wedding in the Marvel Universe unless it’s briefly interrupted by some villainous attack. In this case, it’s Galactus who threatens to end the party under the silly excuse of world destruction, but Doctor Doom takes over the role of godfather and seems to take care of everything until the ceremony ends. Turn the series into something very simple and campy. By the way, this Victor Von Dom has nothing to do with what Brian Michael Bendis recently did …
The wedding is a good example of what Slott gives us in this volume. The plots here aren’t very interesting, they aren’t fully engaging and for many readers they don’t recapture that science fiction essence that this series had in its prime. However, Slott also plays his best cards here. As one of the greatest experts on all things House of Ideas, the screenwriter knows how to treat the characters, develop them and make the action revolve around their people and make them the center of the series.
A mishmash of cartoonists
In the graphic department, we have the right Sara Pichelli as the main character, doing a little more reckless work than in other previous series, but still managing to avoid any problems.
Among the rest of the cartoonists who took over Italy, the name of Mike Allred stands out the most (with the most colorful Laura Allred), cartoon list can be nominated for a long time. Let’s remember what the Silver Surfer regular series did right with Slott, one of the best Marvel Comics comics out there.
What remains, however, is a group of artists whose work, more or less at Pichelli’s level, strives not only to please, but also to amaze. Simon Bianchi, Scotty Young, Nico Leone, Stefano Caselli, Laura Braga, Mark Buckingham, Adam Hughes, Aaron Kuder, David Marquez, Paco Medina and Juan Ramirez are some of the most recognizable names in this cast.
In short, here is a volume that fans of these characters will especially love. Dan Slott is very good at portraying a familiar character, and he knows 4F very well. But anyone looking for a challenging story will probably leave here very disappointed…
Published in hardcover by Panini Comics, it contains 360 color pages measuring 17 x 26 cm. And the American edition includes a translation of the first eleven issues of Fantastic Four and the special Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special, in addition to the covers of all the issues included, an introduction and an epilogue by Pedro Monje, and an extensive gallery. At the end it covers the options. It has a recommended retail price of €42 and goes on sale in October 2023.
Marvel Deluxe. Dan Slott’s Fantastic Four 1 – Forever
That’s why you asked… The best comic in the world is back! After the Secret Wars ended, there was a void that nothing could fill.
Now, a sign in the sky announces the return of hope to the wonderful universe. They were, are and will be The Fantastic Four. And the world will never be the same again.
Authors: Mike Allred, Laura Allred, Dan Slott, Fred Hembeck, Gail Simon, Sarah Pichelli, Simon Bianchi, Scotty Young, Nico Leone, Stefano Caselli, Laura Braga, Mark Buckingham, Adam Hughes, Aaron Kuder, David Marquez, Paco Medina and Juan Ramirez