Customer Reviews

Fantastic Four Vol. 1: Imaginauts

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For years the Fantastic Four had been trapped in their own personal editorial hell, in which they were placed into the hands of incapable writer after incapable writer. The "World's Greatest Magazine" was no longer great, nor was it even good. It was horrible. Atrocious. Disgusting. No writer got the essence of this family (notice: FAMILY) and this fabulous quartet were nothing more than mere shells of their past. The artists never paid enough respect to the team and they never got the true feeling of them in their drawings. The Fantastic Four, ladies and gentlemen, were doomed.

Until now.

Until Mark Waid.

Until Mike Wieringo.

Until Fantastic Four: Imaginauts.

Marvel's first superhero team is having a family reunion, and all of us are invited. We can finally laugh and cry with them for all the good reasons, as the Fantastic Four finally return to their loving roots that's clearly presented within the first chapter of this book.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Fantastic Four haven't been this good since -- scratch that, actually. The Fantastic Four have NEVER been this good. Buy this book -- it's literally some of the best available. This is the ultimate tale of love and happiness, a huge contrast to the more popular "noir" and "dark" stories in every creative medium nowadays. If you read this book, maybe -- just maybe -- you'll begin to see that life's not so bad. After all, there's an imaginaut in everyone. All we have to do is listen to it.

(Note: As of this writing, there currently is no hardcover reproduction of this book. If there is one available in the near future though, get it. This work of art deserves the "deluxe Marvel hardcover" format.)

Mark Waid gets it.

When he dies, that should be on his tombstone: "Mark Waid gets it." After years of trying to shoehorn the Fantastic Four into superheroic adventures and bloated cosmic storylines, Marvel comics finally gave the reigns of their premiere title to a writer who understands who these characters are: not superheroes, explorers. Adventurers. Scientists. Reed DOES have a heart, Sue DOES have a brain, Johnny IS a young man and Ben IS gruffer than he is often portrayed.

They're a family.

This volume collects the first several issues of Waid's run, including both the "Sentient" storyline and the "Small Stuff...Big Stuff" story. The artwork by Mike Wieringo and Mark Buckingham is all beautiful, showing off how good Waid's script is.

The book also contains two bonuses -- Waid's "Manifesto" on the Fantastic Four, which is a very entertaining read and can be summed up in three words: "HE GETS IT" -- and Karl Kesel and Stuart Immonen's story about the Thing exploring his own past, confirming for the first time (to my knowledge) that Ben Grimm is Jewish. Until Waid took over, the Kesel/Immonen story was the best issue of FF in years.

If you've ever loved the Fantastic Four, you've got to read this book. They're great again.

For now, anyway. Waid is leaving the book far, far too soon. But while he's there, it is once again a serious contender for the title "World's Greatest Comics Magazine."

Mark Waid does get it. I have never been a Fantastic Four fan before, but picked this up on a friend's recommendation and it has become my favorite current comic and one of my favorites all time. It's just awesome: Great writing (plots and characterization are fantastic) and some really cool artwork make this a must-have for anyone who likes comics.

Back in the 1940's, the Age of Marvels began with a group of explorers known as the Fantastic Four. Under the guidance of creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Human Torch, and the Thing would face the fantastic on a daily basis. For over 100 issues, Lee and Kirby came up with characters and concepts that would become the mainstays of comic books for over 70 years; from the nefarious Doctor Doom to the planet-consuming Galactus, from the Yancy Street Gang to the shape-shifting Skrulls, from blind, beautiful Alicia Masters to the tragic and noble Silver Surfer. From the depths of Atlantis to the Blue Area of the Moon, the Fantastic Four was the comic to read if you wanted non-stop imagination.

Since that time, many writers and artists have tried to put their mark on the Fantastic Four, but only a few have ever truly recaptured that initial "spark" of the first 100 issues. However, I'm happy to say that Mark Waid and Mike Wieringo are more than up to the task. I have only really started getting into the Fantastic Four under Jonathan Hickman (Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 *THIS IS A BLATANT PLUG*) after a series of less than stellar creative runs in the past. However, Mark Waid's interpretation of the Four has come highly recommended by fantastic Four fans, and I can see why.

In Imaginauts and throughout Waid's tenure on the book, the Fantastic Four are given a much needed face-lift, metaphorically for some and literally for others (FORESHADOWING). In particular Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, is one of those characters who is probably the hardest to mess with; he always has to be the young, impulsive member who isn't quite as mature as the rest of the family. Not to be intimidated, Waid tackles this concern head on, and in fact it turns out to be one of the more enjoyable subplots of his run. If you don't come away with just a little more respect for Johnny after this volume, at least you'll have a better understanding of him.

At first I was a little apprehensive of Mike Wieringo's art. However, he gradually won me over with his wide range of expression and attention to detail, with more than a few heartwarming moments and some brilliant "comic" timing. Though I will admit there are a few sequences where his cartoonish style seems a little inappropriate given the subject matter, especially in later volumes. Overall though, it really is beautiful work by a master of the craft and the style really grew on me by the time I finished this volume.

Overall I have to say I'm glad I picked up this first trade; it's a fine set-up for new readers while still paying homage to the 70 years of continuity that have come before it, which is one of those things that can drive the narrative to a halt. I encourage people to find the rest of Waid's run as Marvel has apparently ceased reprinting all but two volumes of Waid's run, so until the inevitable reprinting they're first come, first serve. This is Marvel's First Family, people. Nuff' said.