The Fantastic Four #645 Review: An Ending
05/01/2015 02:35 pm EDT
It is with difficulty that I lift my metaphorical pen to try to review the "final" issue of The Fantastic Four. I put the word "final" in quotations because in the world of comics there is rarely (if ever) a true ending. In comics, death has a revolving door and often a series ends only just long enough to set up the next relaunch.
Here though, I can't help but feel a greater sense of finality than I've ever experienced in an issue of Fantastic Four. Much has been made, rightly or wrongly, of the FF's cancellation and no one, at least no one who isn't a Marvel employee, knows exactly what the Marvel Universe will look like after Secret Wars. Taking it as presented, is The Fantastic Four #645 a good ending? Is it a good book on its own merits? Who's cutting onions around here?
Full disclosure, I might be an easy mark for an issue like this. I've been a fan of this team almost as long as I've been alive and they've meant a lot to me. I can't say precisely why. Maybe it's just that it's often so much fun. As dark as things can often get in comics in the modern age, the FF can usually crack a smile. Maybe it's how much I identified with Ben Grimm for reasons best left unexplored here. Regardless, I'm going to try to take a critical and fairly objective look at this book, but I cannot promise to what degree I will succeed.
Starting with the cover, this book does something that I really appreciate. Yes, they go back to the original logo treatment but they go the extra mile by adding one very small word, "The." This is an incredibly minor thing to notice but it has a certain amount of meaning. You see, for the first 15 issues, the official title of the Fantastic Four's eponymous series was actually The Fantastic Four. Starting with issue 16, the "the" was dropped making it simply Fantastic Four. I can't say with absolute certainty since I'm not in a position to sift through the intervening 630 issues as well as annuals, one-shots, and miniseries, but this might actually be the first time since issue 15 that we've actually seen the "the" reappear. It's a small touch to be sure but it shows a level of attention to the team and their history that is carried through the rest of the book beautifully. I'm going to assume that this and a number of the other little touches in this book are the work of editor Mark Paniccia and give him his first shout-out on a job well done.
The main cover by Leonard Kirk and Jesus Aburtov is fairly simple, a shot of the FF from behind with their slightly revised logo created in the rubble just behind their feet. Still, it is a very effective image and appropriate give the level of chaos and danger in which this book opens. I'm not generally one to get hung up on variants but I did pick up the Character Variant by Michael Komarck, Connecting Variant by Michael Golden, and Avengers Variant by Pasqual Ferry and Chris Sotomayor. All are quite good and appropriate for this issue. Oddly, I might be most fond of the Avengers Variant which riffs on Jack Kirby's cover to Fantastic Four issue 26, showing us what might have happened roughly one minute after scene depicted in the King's original. It's bright, fun, and has a slightly cartoon-y style that I quite appreciate.
Digging into the main story of the book, I found it to be an excellent ending to this arc and the series as a whole. The creative team (and in this one it's a bit bigger) is firing on all cylinders with James Robinson writing, Leonard Kirk on pencils, Karl Kesel and Scott Hanna on inks, and Jesus Aburtov and Israel Silva on colors. There is a lot that needs to happen to properly wrap up this arc and it's all done pretty beautifully. With so much going on, there was a risk that this book could feel jumbled or incoherent, luckily that isn't the case. What is achieved is a sense of fast-paced action and a sense of things barreling toward a conclusion at an excitingly breakneck pace.
The art is pretty uniformly gorgeous. I've praised the art team before and they deserve all that praise all over again. Every page feels full to bursting and no shortcuts are taken. We cut from intimate moments between just a few characters to group shots and massive fights scenes with everything feeling as though its received equal care and attention. Leonard Kirk fills each page admirably using wildly varied panel arrangements that draw your eyes along the proper narrative path with almost absolute perfection. In this issue, Kirk has to capture subtle facial expressions, battles, architecture, destruction, basically the gamut of superhero content and doesn't falter in any particular. Kudos should also be given to Karl Kesel and Scott Hanna for their excellent work on inks.
The colors from Jesus Aburtov and Israel Silva are brilliant as well. The colors add form and substance to the inks, and fill out the artwork brilliantly. The level of detail in the coloring is quite evident as well with subtle shading, light effects, billowing smoke, fire, and energy constructs all dealt with wonderfully. If it feels like I'm barreling along myself, it's only because there is just too much content here to really talk in great detail.
Turning to James Robinson's work, I have to give him an immense amount of credit. This issue functions beautifully as an ending to his arc, the series, and as a blast of a read in itself. This issue touches on the ever-present theme of family inherent in the Fantastic Four, brings together numerous figures from the FF's past, and tells an excellent story. I've said a number of times before that it seemed like Robinson was cobbling together a truly fantastic tale using bits and bobs from the FF's past coming together in one awesome tale. He accomplished exactly that and did so in a way that felt like it made sense and wasn't just gratuitous fan service and cameos. This issue sees appearances by just about every character that has popped up in the arc thus far making for some truly memorable moments. I for one will never forget Reed and the Quiet Man's final fight, the Frightful Four's appearance, Sue facing down Psycho-Man again, and the final word on Johnny's powers.
The FF is about fun, family, exploration, and adventure. ALL of that is here in almost equal measure. The stakes are high and the scale is huge involving the fate of not only our world but encompassing the Heroes Reborn universe as well. In the midst of all of this, the characters shine and the little touches are not forgotten. I for one really appreciate such gags as Valeria's display reading "Daddy" and "Evil Jerk" for her father and the Quiet Man respectively. Through everything that happens, this feels unquestionably like the Fantastic Four that I know and love. With its ending, this story feels as though it is simultaneously bringing closure and providing hope for the future, something difficult to achieve but handled deftly here. You'll note that I'm deliberately not giving much away about the plot. That's because you really oughtta read this book for yourself and I'm certainly not going to spoil that experience for you.
Beyond the conclusion to Robinson, Kirk, Kesel, and Aburtov's story, there is a bunch of other content here. Aside from four back-up stories, we get a heartfelt letter from Senior Editor Mark Paniccia that is a touching tribute to the work of the creative team and the Fantastic Four themselves. Also included is a section where important creative figures from the FF's past call out some of their favorite covers. We get to hear from such luminaries as Roy Thomas, John Byrne, Tom DeFalco, Stan Lee, and Joe Sinnott. We also get thoughts from Walt Simonson, the creative force behind one of (in my opinion) the more underrated runs in the team's history. For a fan of the FF who grew up in the 1990s, I also have to thank Paniccia (I assume he made the call) for including artist Paul Ryan. In the dark days of the 90s, Ryan kept the FF looking their best and looking back I've always been thankful to him for that.
Finally, we get a Willie's Mailbag feature where Willie Lumpkin answers fan letters. The letters themselves are all heartfelt expressions of appreciation for the FF and for Robinson and Kirk's run in particular. It's great to see this outpouring of love for the team but just as heartwarming is Willie. Whoever wrote Willie took the time to give him a Stan Lee-ish voice, letting him give himself goofy monikers like "Prof. Willie," "Longreads Lumpkin," and "Wistful Willie." Short of having Stan himself answering the mail, I felt that this was an excellent touch. Heck, after playing Willie in the first-ish Fantastic Four film, Stan and the FF's mailman are pretty closely intertwined in my mind, making this even more appropriate.
Turning to those four back-up stories, we get tales that spotlight the FF family pretty beautifully. Karl Kesel writes a Johnny Storm tale that sees him being his usual cocky self until a face from his past emerges. I know that at least some longtime readers will appreciate this blast from the past and a reminder that Johnny hasn't always been a "player" or womanizer. I also appreciate this story for the art by Joe Bennett which has shades of Jack Kirby and Bruce Timm, the latter possibly without intending to. Writer Louise Simonson and artist David Marquez contribute a simple yet effective entry showcasing Susan Richards and her son Franklin which delves even deeper into the family aspect of the FF. Toms DeFalco and Grummett then treat us to a short Ben Grimm scene. It's pitch-perfect and gives us that "working stiff who can't catch a break" vibe that works great with Ben.
Perhaps my favorite back-up comes from writer Jeff Parker and artist Pascal Campion, and features Reed Richards and his daughter Valeria. This is a touching vignette that hits the themes of both science and family in a heartwarming way. I don't think I've ever seen Reed get the opportunity to have this kind of bonding with Valeria and it is extremely welcome. I think part of the reason I enjoy this scene so much is that it reminds me one of the reasons I love the FF. This story doesn't involve powers except in an incidental way and it brings home that the FF isn't about crime-fighting and they don't need to be doing more than just existing as a family to be their recognizable selves.
What else can I say about this book? It's a must-read for fans of the series and the team, but I think that goes without saying at this point. It's a perfect end to Robinson and Kirk's run, and has made it one of my personal favorite runs of the series. I suppose the best compliment I can pay it is that if this really were the absolute last issue of the series to ever be printed and the characters were being well and truly retired, I would feel that all involved had done right by them. I would actually be content to have this stand as THE final issue.
As Mark Paniccia said in his letter:
Fantastic Four Forever, my friends. Fourever.
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