Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
THE FOURTH WALL, August 7, 2005
This review is from: War Zone (Fantastic Four (Pocket)) (Mass Market Paperback)
If you take anything away from FANTASTIC FOUR: WAR ZONE it's just how great the front and back covers are. Good color, good art work, nice font, it looks professional, serious and looks ready to take you on a nice ride... but everything in between the covers leaves you wanting so much more and wishing for so much less.
More story, more serious interaction between the members of the Fantastic Four, more details into their day to day lives, more personality, more life... and less "same old, same old" action, catch phrases, old threats with past issue problems (the story hinges on two past villains, past confrontations, and a lot of past continuity), and cardboard set up, action and payoff. There are simply no surprises at all... WAR ZONE (even by the end of the book I was still clueless as to the meaning behind the title) just sticks close to home and doesn't take any chances at all. No one will be hurt, no one will be in serious danger, no one will win or lose, and by the close of the book all will be right with the world... problems solved - and yet, hundreds are dead, a portion of New York (landmarks and parks) have been destroyed. There's been fire, invasion, panic, blood, sweat and tears and none of it makes any impression on either the 4 or the city. It's just another day, if you managed to live through it, good for you - if you didn't, well... I guess good for you too, I'm not sure.
While set firmly in the present - the 4 seem to be rooted in the 1960's. Ben still goes out wearing his large overcoat and hat, shunning any contact (and people still react with something like surprise and fear when they finally do seem him - which is odd since THE THING is well known and very popular - it's just because back in the day this was the gimmick, and Cox plays it up here), Johnny is still the teen rebel/hearthrob, and while Sue is saddled with two children here, she's not given much of a chance to show off her family skills as trouble rears its ugly head very quickly. And Reed, he's still very much FATHER KNOWS BEST - but with nuclear weapons, he's too brilliant to notice that times have changed. It makes for dull reading as the 4 go through the expected motions and Cox serves up the team like meatloaf night - it's expected, it's planned and you can set your watch by it.
Over all, nothing happens in this book... yes, buildings do fall, yes, monsters do walk the streets and take to the skies... and yes, people actually die - but despite all that, nothing happens. The villains talk and talk and talk and talk - and when the BAXTER BUILDING itself comes under fire, both Sue and Johnny kick back in their panic room (which, while a cheat does feature perhaps one of the best moments in the book when we learn that the H.E.R.B.I.E robots exist in far larger numbers than we first thought and are actually very useful during the battle - a nice turn around for a very unloved part of FF lore) and throw everything at the intruder until Reed and Ben swing in and save the day.
Simply put - there's nothing new here. Nothing. But it sure looks pretty on the surface...
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An authentic adaptation and a skillful novel, May 27, 2008
This review is from: War Zone (Fantastic Four (Pocket)) (Mass Market Paperback)
I learned to relatively read late in a child's life around 4-5 years old, from a combination of the Old Testament and Marvel Comics. Both have remained close to my heart. I always had a warm feeling for the FF, probably because they seemed the most fallible of the super heroes, and yet somehow the most together, despite agonising personal issues. A bit, I suppose, like some in the Old Testament.
Here we have one out of three new novels about them following the successful movie. That is one reason to be grateful for Hollywood. This, as with the other novels, adapts some elements of the movie into its characterisation. One has to accept that as a legitimate starting point otherwise the critique is of something other than the book. In fact, to write this book requires impressive continuity from both series.
Greg Cox, of all three novelists, has the best feel for the characters' vernacular and personalities. I am slightly perplexed at some other reviews here but put this down mainly to his choice of villains and plot being less popular as they were not the most well known, as opposed to the skill in his writing which is terrific. The FF characters are not only well captured and sound to the ear authentic but they are evenly treated. Johnny Storm in particular reads-over well from the movie, which benefits his character enormously.
There is a superb prolonged sequence when the Baxter Building defends itself well from a fierce attack. I won't reveal the attacker but it is an established FF foe of great power. The creativity in defence provides the durability one would expect of a building designed by a man of Reed Richards' supposed intellect and not the wishy washy sort of knock-overs we routinely read in the comics. (What is the point in having the world's most eminent scientist if he can't defend the building from Spider-Man? FF fans will know what I mean...)
Greg Cox has a vivid descriptive power that brings his scenes to life. The plotting is lucid and skillfully paced, unfurling with mini-mysteries. Reed and Ben form a terrific partnership that is impressive in it's portrayal. What I do like in particular is Cox's introducing some brutality and blood-thirstiness, continued in this series by the next two authors, that transcends what comics used to feel they could safely display. This increased realism adds to the cinema of the brain that books - and comics - truly are.
This is a cracking read. I've given it five stars for that reason, and not because it breaks new ground. I am really surprised to find it's not had better reviews from others but I think it will do eventually. After a life knowing the FF and thewir comics, and having read all three of these novels, I feel I can give that score honestly and as somebody who really cares about the characters and the stewardship of them for the future. As a published writer myself I hope Greg Cox, who is very accomplished, comes this way again. For me, at least, he stuck to the knitting and delivered a first rate thriller.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
War Zone a Flashback to the Good Ole' Days, June 11, 2007
This review is from: War Zone (Fantastic Four (Pocket)) (Mass Market Paperback)
Fans of the FF will be pleased with this book, especially if you have been a fan for a long, long time. The writing closely relates to Stan Lee's style of the 60's & 70's but does stay current such as with Reed & Sue's children; Alicia no longer dating Ben, etc.
I'm at a loss to all the negative reviews here. IMO, this book is enjoyable and offers a new direction for Marvel outside comics and cartoons (and of course the movies). I've been a fan of the FF since the 1970's and being an avid reader this was an enjoyable ride to remember my days of reading these comics and today being able to read more into their adventures. I'm waiting to read the next in this new series!
Thanks Greg Cox! And thank you Marvel!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
