Reviews

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 2 by Jonathan Hickman

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omnibusoverview's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When the first omnibus ended, things had been packed into a hand-basket, and as this volume kicks off, the basket gets punted right into hell!

Make sure you set aside a lot of time when you start, because you'll blow through the first half of this omnibus. Everything that was set up before comes to a climax, and the story goes places that you'd never think were possible! And amazingly, there are great character moments sprinkled throughout the cosmic chaos of this chunk of the book. It's a great conclusion to the arc Hickman was writing.

...and then the story's over, and you realize there's a over a quarter of the omnibus left to go.

In the tail end of his run, Hickman returns to the one-off adventures that he began with. Some of these issues are pretty good - the one with Johnny and Peter Parker living together is iconic, and there stories in here that are even better. But there's a reason why most stories end after the climax - there's nothing more to build up to. These issues don't really get you pumped for anything because the real excitement is over.

And then, at the very end, Hickman picks up the toys he played with and puts them back in their places so the next writer can use them. Some touching moments here, and it's a nice enough ending.

All in all, I'd say Hickman's Fantastic Four run is awesome. I can believe people when they say that, at the time, this was the best content coming out of Marvel. Is it the best F4 run? I'm not sure, but I'd put money on it. Is this the World's Greatest Comic Magazine? Probably not, but sometimes, 'pretty dang good' should be good enough.

fossen's review

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5.0

The scope is so big and complex, but at it's heart is a story about family -- specifically about fathers and sons. It's a story about finding family, and making that family bigger and bigger. And after two full volumes, it punched me right in the heart: "A perfect one."

I wish I could be clearer about my feelings on this run, but it's so many moments packed into so many pages. It's made me think deeply about time and aging and death. It's made me laugh and break into tears. In fact, this might be my favorite comic book run. Ever. I could easily start it all over again right now.

I do wish the collections were clearer with issue numbers or art credits. I understand Hickman controls the layout and wants it to read as an unbroken saga, but the table of contents was lacking as I tried to identify artists.

jekutree's review

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5.0

Hickman finishes his seminal Fantastic Four run in a, well, fantastic fashion.

The first of this book has him wrapping up his run with Forever, an epic arc that is the culmination of everything that came before. The scale of this book is unlike anything else I've read in a marvel book before (Nothing beats Final Crisis), but this is my first marvel Hickman run. That being said, I am more than satisfied with this run. Hickman nails the characterization of every character and even makes me forget I'm reading a Marvel book. The way he writes this book is like it's a bunch of scientists trying to save the world and some of them happen to have some crazy powers. For the most part in this run, Reed doesn't really use his powers and that's ok. Speaking of Reed, he really really shines in this run. Hickman fleshes Reed Richards out more than any writer before him and I cannot see any writer topping his version of Reed. He also nails the family dynamics of all the characters, especially between Reed and his kids. Valeria and Franklin shine brighter in this run than any other FF story, they're the central piece that makes this whole story work and Hickman approaching writing them from that angle is awesome. Putting emphasis on Valeria, Franklin and the future of the FF is really fitting.

Hickman makes Reed and the whole Fantastic Four by extension feel like the most important people in the Marvel Universe. He does it so seamlessly and organically that when the President chooses the FF over the Avengers to solve a problem, you don't even bat an eye. As a massive fan of Marvel's first family this makes me really happy.

The narrative of this run is so well planned it's ridiculous, every issue matters and every issue comes into the forefront and is addressed. All the ends are wrapped up and the run ends in such an optimistic and hopeful way you can't help but smile.

In my review of the first omnibus, I said Hickman is the on;y writer to really make the FF feel modern. I stand by that statement and this volume makes that statement all the more true. The FF feel serious and important and it doesn't feel forced at all. Hickman cares about these characters and crafts a story that makes these characters important. Hickman's run stands as the defining modern take on The Fantastic Four and it's really no contest. It deserves to stand next to Kirby's run as the best run on Marvel's First Family.

10/10