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Ultimate
Fantastic Four
The Fantastic – Part 1
1/FEB/2004
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis & Mark Millar
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Inks: Danny Miki
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letters: Chris Eliopoulos
Price: $2.25 US/R25.50 SA
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The long wait is over and finally the fans out there waiting for
the next big thing in Marvels ‘Ultimate’ line of comics
can breathe a collective sigh of relief. Ultimate Fantastic
Four has arrived but will it live up to all the hype and
achieve greatness alongside the other Ultimate books?
Reed Richards has been picked on from an early
age. His fellow classmates see him as a huge nerd and his father
verbally abuses him due to his own misunderstandings of his son’s
mental aptitude and inventiveness. His friend, football jock Benjamin
Grimm, is favoured by his father over Reed but nevertheless
Ben continues to stand close to Reed’s side through it all.
After Reed invents a machine which allows him to open windows into
another dimension a government organisation spots his awesome talent
and asks him to join their developmental ‘think tank’.
Reed happily leaves his painful school life behind and joins them.
Once there he meets up with Sue and Johnny Storm, the children of
one of the top professor’s in the ‘think tank’.
With arguably the top two writers in comics, Brian Michael
Bendis [The Pulse, Ultimate Spider-Man]
& Mark Millar [Wanted, The
Ultimates] joining forces to bring us a new twist on the
classic Fantastic Four tales this has been seen as a hit project
even before the first issue shipped to stores. In some ways it is
a success and in others not so.
The story is interesting and well thought out, but is also quite
dry and a touch on the boring side. With the focus on Reed and the
rest of the Four as teenagers without powers, it is a story
that lacks ‘The Fantastic’ we are used to and
is very dialogue heavy. The positives of such a style is that it’s
a great spin on the original origins of these heroes and the characters
are well thought out and we get to know Reed very thoroughly in
this first issue. With the focus on Reed, his personality and those
surrounding him, we get a really good grasp of what drives him and
where he comes from in life. The only feeling I have so far is that
the book seems a bit prolonged and drawn-out, I hope this is not
due to Marvels ‘decompressed’ policy of writing for
the trade paperback market as this usually results in prolonged
story arcs when it’s not feasible to do so.
Adam Kubert [Ultimate X-Men] once
again graces the pages of the Ultimate line with his balanced artwork.
Most noticeable in this first issue are the colours and textures
implemented over Kubert’s drawings by colourist Dave
Stewart [Conan, Superman/Batman].
These add a depth and visual excitement to a book that is fundamentally
void of any major action scenes.
The page layouts are done in a central column of panels flanked
by black gutters giving the book the ‘widescreen’
DVD feel that the Ultimate line of comics has produced
in the past. Marvel has upped the paper quality and the cover is
a slightly heavier stock than the ‘super floppy’
stock they are known for.
A nice start to the new origin of a fan favourite super team. A
bit dry and void of any major action but with an alternate
focus on character which leads to a greater understanding
of the head of the Four, Reed Richards.
Score 7/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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