[Comic Book Review] FANTASTIC FOUR #8 from Marvel Comics

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[Comic Book Review] FANTASTIC FOUR #8 from Marvel Comics

Adrian Care

March 27, 2019

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PopCultHQ received a review copy of FANTASTIC FOUR #8 from Marvel Comics. Available March 27th, the creative team for this issue features writing from Dan Slott, art from Aaron Kuder, Stefano Caselli, David Marquez & Reilly Brown, colors from Matt Yackey, and lettering from VC’s Joe Caramagna.

Here’s PopCultHQ’s spoiler-free review of…

FANTASTIC FOUR (2018) #8

Written by Dan Slott
Art by Aaron Kuder, Stefano Caselli,
David Marquez & Reilly Brown
Colors by Matt Yackey
Letters by Joe Caramagna

Main Cover by Esad Ribic

“HERALD OF DOOM” continues with “FIRST-WORLD POWER”!

Latveria is about to take its rightful place on the world stage. Thanks to the benevolence and ingenuity of your beloved leader, Victor Von Doom, Latverians will soon know a new age of peace and prosperity! All of this shall come to pass — as long as we can repel these four nefarious foreign invaders who have illegally entered our beloved country! Death to the Fantastic Four!

PopCultHQ’s Comic Book Review:
FANTASTIC FOUR #8

The Fantastic Four are defeated and held captive by Doctor Doom. At the mercy of his mad genius as he lets the world in on his plan that all hinges on his other captive…Galactus.

Writing:

They don’t churn out writers like Dan Slott anymore. The guy is so steeped in Marvel traditions that eventually finding his way to a Fantastic Four book was a no-brainer. The heart, humor, and classic action that was a hallmark of his lengthy Spider-man work and the mirth, quirk, mayhem, and madness that produced the excellent and gone-too-soon Silver Surfer with Mike Allred, fit like a glove made of unstable molecules in this book.

He hits all the right notes for an FF read and perfectly communicates the voices and relationships between each character. This story arc features all the familiar toys in something that often goes wanting in the world’s greatest comics magazine…new ideas. Dr. Doom capturing Galactus. Of course he would. Why didn’t anybody ever see it before that the ultimate narcissist wouldn’t simply settle for a taste of the Silver Surfer’s power cosmic? Slott uses this issue to get to the core of Doom’s hubris, using everything at the issue’s disposal to show that even Doom understands his failings but still strives to achieve his goals despite them.

The subplot looks like it’s going somewhere interesting too, but a few minor pacing issues and the moments were Slott lets an idea, or another character’s voice, drown out the good writing and hard work become a little distracting amongst the otherwise great writing.

Art:

It’s both a blessing and a curse that the art is split (appropriately) four ways this issue.

Aaron Kuder is somehow still an underrated artist who’s proven by working with Grant Morrison that he can handle big ideas. His Galactus is perfection. Stefano Caselli gets better with everything he works on and his style is really evolving into something that could see him become Marvel’s premier artist. David Marquez is reliable, obviously talented, and handles his art chores like he has been working in comics since the silver age, while still bringing modern dynamics to the look of an issue. Reilly Brown, of Cable and Deadpool, isn’t exactly an upand-comer himself and does expression remarkably better than his peers in this book.

The problem is this is a very random point in proceedings to throw four artists onto an issue and it takes the reader out of the experience despite the high-quality work of the artists involved. Having said that, it’s better than breaking in a new artist on half a book on such a big story, but it’s an interruption all the same.

Colors:

On Thunderbolts and Suicide Squad, Matt Yackey showed he would be perfect for taking heroes from all corners of the genre and rendering them with a sense of realism without losing what makes them fun and appealing. Yackey is no fool and gets the dour tone of some of the scenes but finds a way to inject them with the spirit of the silver age and not let any of it seem ridiculous. The effects work is eye-popping too, really making the reader understand why the power cosmic’s such a desirable thing and not just casting it aside as plot device. The Latverian landscape is also given more than adequate attention by Yackey’s brush. You have to appreciate a colorist who can pull off such great work in an issue that doesn’t feature a lot of the iconic costumes.

Letters:

No stranger to the cornerstone titles of the Marvel universe, Joe Caramagna is at his best when pairing with the words of Dan Slott. He’s already proven this on Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers: The Initiative. Whether it’s a jarring exclamation, a subtle door slam to emphasize dissent, or the way he displays how monolith-like Galactus should sound, Caramagna covers all bases to tie the eclectic art team together with the script to really underscore the quintessential Marvel feel of the issue.

PopCultHQ’s overall assessment:

I wanted to love this issue, but I had to settle for finding a lot to like amidst some missteps instead. There are some big moments and bigger ideas, and the things working against them don’t completely undo what’s great. The suspenseful and “ha!” moments really land. Keen to read on and take this as a necessary piece of larger, enjoyable read.