Fantastic Four #643 Review: Barreling Toward a Conclusion

There have been a number of times in this run where I’ve read through an issue multiple times and found it to be a perfect, little gem of a book.  What I mean by that is that there hasn’t been anything in the book that has stuck out as particularly wrong or problematic.  More than that though, there is energy, effort, and artistry that truly impresses me.  The kind of experience I’m talking about comes about when the characters, story, and art just all fall into place in a wonderfully compelling way that leaves you beaming once you’ve finished it.

Anyway, let’s jump into some of the reasons why I recommend this issue so highly.  First off, there are three very attractive covers to pick from.  The main cover by Leonard Kirk and Jesus Aburtov is very striking, beautifully rendered, and while it isn’t perfectly reflective of the content of the issue, it’s still closely related.  It’s intriguingly structured and nicely symmetrical.  Michael Golden’s “Connecting Variant” is also lovely, Kirby’s art style and showcasing a number of classic FF villains, including Doctor Doom, the Mad Thinker, the Wingless Wizard, Quasimodo, and Giganto (the subterranean one).  Finally, Chris Samnee and Matt Wilson’s cover featuring Reed Richards is a lot of fun and as always Samnee does great work in his timeless style.

Digging into the content of the book itself, I’d like to start by calling out the artwork.  It is gorgeous and it obviously took a lot of work.  Absolutely no corners were cut with the art in this book.  This issue features a full-scale attack on earth from the Franklinverse where all of earth’s heroes are struggling to deal with a massive horde of violent creatures.  This fight is massive and feels massive.  Pages are given over to depicting multiple scenes of the battle with numerous figures and heroes rendered in fairly great detail.  No space is wasted and this book is just plain jampacked with wonderful touches.

All of Kirk’s talents are at play here.  There are plenty of expressive faces, panel layouts are engaging, fight scenes are sprawling, anatomy is rendered perfectly from various angles, and his creature work is quite good as well.  In the midst of everything he has even takes the time to add some little touches that show he really cares.  He thinks to give Wyatt Wingfoot his own unique number on the power armor in which he suits up.  I also choose to believe that the hamfisted way he cuts off Franklinverse Captain America’s foot with mist is a deliberate nod to Rob Liefeld who drew this character back in the 90s.  Why?  Because if you are a devoted comic fan, then you know Liefeld’s aversion to drawing feet.  Oh, and I can’t forget Namor’s disgusted face in one key scene.

Once again, I have to make the caveat that I cannot be sure how much inker Karl Kesel has influenced the look of the book as I have no way of knowing what the pencils would have looked like prior to being inked.  Still, I have to say that all of the linework is crisp, clean, and polished.

Before I leave the subject of artwork, it would only be fair for me to call out one page that really didn’t work for me.  The very first page of this issue showcases a Franklinverse creature diving at the reader and taking up most of the page.  Really though, we only see half of the creature because the spine of the comic seems to cut off the other half of him.  Unfortunately, this first page is a left-hand page and the right hand page is an advertisement.  This makes it feel as though this first page was originally part of a two-page spread and the advertisement is somehow intruding.  There’s something about seeing almost exactly half of the creature’s face bumping up against the spine that leave one with a nagging sensation that art is missing from a hypothetical opposing page.  Compositionally, this was an odd choice, at least for me.

Turning to the writing, we’re getting toward the end of this run so I’m hesitant to give away too much information in the form of spoilers.  What I will say is that Robinson is packing a lot into these books now and juggling it beautifully.  I already said that characters are written perfectly in terms of using their own recognizable voices and there are plenty of great moments here.  We get to see Reed as the smartest guy in the room once again, Ben Grimm and “Doc Green” get to exchange a couple of fun lines, the introduction of Sleepwalker remains an fascinating touch that I cannot wait to see developed further, and there are some legitimately heartwarming moments.

And aside from once again stating just how awesome this comic is, that’s all I want to give away about the writing.

That’s just about all I have to say with regard to this comic.  Another excellent entry in an excellent run of Fantastic Four, the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine.  Pick up a copy for yourself and get in on the action.  There are only a couple more issues until the series is cancelled and I’m excited to see Robinson, Kirk, and Co. stick the landing.