(Note: In case you can't tell, this is a re-post of my first review that has since been lost, hence the "here's my first review" lines at the beginning)Ok, here's my first comic review, and remember, I do not pretend to be anything resembling a professional reviewer. I should probably start off saying that, though I read comic books since I was able to read, I never actually read comics until I was eight years old and happened across Fantastic Four #358. Something about the family dynamic of the book, even when I was starting in the middle of a clearly ongoing story, really stood out to me even then and I rabidly started collecting any issue I could find. It was obvious to me, as is so often stated, that the Fantastic Four were primarily a family first and heroes second.
So if that issue was so important to me, then why am I reviewing this issue that came almost 75 issues later? Short answer: because no other issue to me exemplifies this family aspect and just what and who the Fantastic Four are. I'll probably get to that issue one day, but I think this issue did it better. One of the most important ways in succeeded in this was through the small scale of the issue. There are no world-ending disasters or looming character deaths. In fact, the only supervillain that even shows up in this issue is barely engaged in a fight and leaves on his own accord.
But the action isn't the important part of this issue. The whole issue is framed by the idea of Reed Richards inviting reporters to come the FF's then-home of Pier Four to see what a day in the life of the Fantastic Four is like and to interview them. Through this narrative device, we get a glimpse of each member of the family. Surprisingly, at least considering most recent Fantastic Four stories, the one we see the least of is Reed Richards. This is the start of a period, much like in the current Fantastic Four run by Jonathan Hickman in which multiple new or different characters took up residence with the Fantastic Four and each of the characters highlights a different member of the family. From Johnny Storm's new friend Alysande Stuart to Franklin's new puppy to the then-budding romance between Alyssa Moy and The Thing, we get to see most of the family's interactions with each other and you can really feel the heart of every character.
This issue was fairly early on in a run started by Chris Claremont on the title with Salvador Larroca that lasted about 30 issues and is a personal favorite run of mine, though it is often overlooked and many of the ideas introduced in it were subsequently dropped by later creative teams. This has always seemed unfair to me as there were many interesting plots and characters introduced that could have been grounds for many more interesting stories but instead were ignored. Also, it is important, at least to me, to mention the art by Salvador Larocca. I own approximately 80% of the entirety of Fantastic Four's run since 1961 and I have always thought that Larocca was one of the best artist's the book has ever seen, on par with those of Jack Kirby, John Byrne, and Mike Wieringo. His work here is far cry from the muddy faces and humans he draws currently in Invincible Iron Man and he draw possibly my favorite interpretation on The Thing to date, while still giving him very human expressions. In fact, I can barely see the resemblance between the current work Larocca does and his art from titles around this time and I sorely miss it. He also drew one of the best, most elastic version of Mr. Fantastic I've ever seen.
I've heaped a lot of praise on this book and I think I've done so justly. While it may not offer very much action or give an interpretation of the team's origin, I still think this is one of the best jumping on points for an incoming Fantastic Four reader that the series has seen in its nearly 600 issue run. Few other issues give the reader such an idea of just WHO these characters are and every character acts exactly as you would expect and want them too. The Human Torch, in my opinion, receives the best treatment from Claremont in this regard, depicting him as mature and noticeably older than when he first received his powers while still maintaining the grandstanding, playful, and larger-than-life nature he is expected to have. He is not, however, treated solely as a womanizer and party hopper that is always the first member beaten in every battle. This is a huge pet peeve of mine that Claremont got just right.
This run does not receive nearly the amount of attention that it should. It is a wonderfully imaginative run with terrific characterization that makes for any of the shortcomings it may have at points and really distills the Fantastic Four to exactly what they should be: a true family. If you've always written of the Fantastic Four for any reason or you just haven't bothered to check the our before, give this issue a shot. Even if you don't typically like superhero comic books, this one just might win you over with it's stellar, truly human characterizations.
For Those That Care Score: 10/10
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