Marvel Comics
In the wake of of Superman: Earth One, Marvel responded with their version of a graphic novel that is good for new readers. They seem to have two waves, with the first being Spider-Man, Daredevil, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. The second comes later in the year, with the Hulk being the only one been announced. Fantastic Four: Season One is the first of the Marvel Season Ones, and it's......well just mediocre.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is a mixed bag as the writer. The plot follows the origin of Marvel's First Family pretty much to the letter. The Fantastic Four get their powers from cosmic rays and go from there. Nothing really has changed since the 60's. And this is a good thing, as nothing is lost removing the Communist veil that Stan Lee put on their origin. Mole Man is given a slightly different origin, and it works in the overall story more than the current villain works. If you are looking at the book as a whole, I like Mole Man more, but know some will not like the way he is portrayed. Namor isn't treated well in this book, being forced into the plot. While it's good that Aguirre-Sacasa gets the readers acquainted with the Fantastic Four's two most famous villains, Namor's dignity shouldn't be sacrificed in the process. All the characters are developed well, but nothing beyond what we already know. Aguirre-Sacasa does a commendable job, but doesn't go anywhere deeper than what long time readers will already know. Fans of the two movies will know everything about these characters already. Susan Storm gets a better treatment than her original origin, being more of a strong character than she was originally. It's something small, but works very well. She is more assertive and open about her feelings instead of just being the "girl who gets kidnapped every story" girl. The rest of the characters aren't explored more than superficially. Reed is smart, Johnny is stupid and hot (not a pun), and Ben is a Yancy St. stereotype. One thing that Aquirre-Sacasa does omit is having Johnny Storm lose the "Flame On" thing. As a long time Fantastic Four fan, I don't like it, even with Aquirre-Scasa doing his own thing. Aguirre-Sacasa throws a lot of pop culture references, but it only dates the graphic novel, something that never works. Having Sue be jealous and not sure of their marriage is a nice touch to update the Fantastic Four, as it's something that Stan Lee could have developed more if he had thought of it. Aguirre-Sacasa also relays to much on having characters shout and the dialogue be one big sentence. It's good every once and a while, but not almost ten times in the same graphic novel.
While Aguirre-Sacasa's writing might be mediocre, David Marquez's pencils are a sight to behold. They fit the Fantastic Four well, with the science atmosphere perfectly. The Human Torch looks especially good. His Thing is very expressive, and has more emotion than most artists give him. Marquez has a good future at Marvel. With Jonathan Hickman leaving the Fantastic Four franchise within the next year, maybe Marquez can join on when the next writer takes over. He will have a great run. When reading Fantastic Four: Season One, I couldn't help but thing that his pencils would suit an Avengers book well. His pencils look good for a team book. The monsters look big and challenging, but the heroes look great as well. With the book costing over $20 after tax, his art makes the price worth it considering Aguirre-Saca's writing isn't as great as it could be. His pencils suit a superhero book well, with the characters being jacked muscle wise and the girls being borderline cheesecake. It's not as bad as some artist are these days.
As previously stated, I have been a long time Fantastic Four fan. I started reading the book regularly when Jonathan Hickman started writing, but I read trades and back issues years before to catch up. Part of me found it ironic that Marvel put Fantastic Four #570 in this graphic novel, given that that arc is a better introduction that this graphic novel. This graphic novel acts as a massive .1 issue. That's not a bad thing, as that's what the graphic novel's purpose was. But I was under the impression that this book was going to bring the Fantastic Four into the current generation. But the Fantastic Four were already well suited in this generation. While they had a Cold War veil surrounding them, they still worked very well. That Cold War veil was mostly ignored by current writers, which worked at making these characters timeless. Those writers made this graphic novel redundant. Especially Jonathan Hickman. His first arc on the book perfectly showed readers how this quasi-family acts like a family, while also showing the high concepts that these characters are associated with.
If you haven't read any Fantastic Four books or seen either of the movies, Fantastic Four: Season One is good for you. Otherwise, it's only good if you are a die hard fan of the franchise.
Fantastic Four: Season One gets 3/5.
Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa is a mixed bag as the writer. The plot follows the origin of Marvel's First Family pretty much to the letter. The Fantastic Four get their powers from cosmic rays and go from there. Nothing really has changed since the 60's. And this is a good thing, as nothing is lost removing the Communist veil that Stan Lee put on their origin. Mole Man is given a slightly different origin, and it works in the overall story more than the current villain works. If you are looking at the book as a whole, I like Mole Man more, but know some will not like the way he is portrayed. Namor isn't treated well in this book, being forced into the plot. While it's good that Aguirre-Sacasa gets the readers acquainted with the Fantastic Four's two most famous villains, Namor's dignity shouldn't be sacrificed in the process. All the characters are developed well, but nothing beyond what we already know. Aguirre-Sacasa does a commendable job, but doesn't go anywhere deeper than what long time readers will already know. Fans of the two movies will know everything about these characters already. Susan Storm gets a better treatment than her original origin, being more of a strong character than she was originally. It's something small, but works very well. She is more assertive and open about her feelings instead of just being the "girl who gets kidnapped every story" girl. The rest of the characters aren't explored more than superficially. Reed is smart, Johnny is stupid and hot (not a pun), and Ben is a Yancy St. stereotype. One thing that Aquirre-Sacasa does omit is having Johnny Storm lose the "Flame On" thing. As a long time Fantastic Four fan, I don't like it, even with Aquirre-Scasa doing his own thing. Aguirre-Sacasa throws a lot of pop culture references, but it only dates the graphic novel, something that never works. Having Sue be jealous and not sure of their marriage is a nice touch to update the Fantastic Four, as it's something that Stan Lee could have developed more if he had thought of it. Aguirre-Sacasa also relays to much on having characters shout and the dialogue be one big sentence. It's good every once and a while, but not almost ten times in the same graphic novel.
While Aguirre-Sacasa's writing might be mediocre, David Marquez's pencils are a sight to behold. They fit the Fantastic Four well, with the science atmosphere perfectly. The Human Torch looks especially good. His Thing is very expressive, and has more emotion than most artists give him. Marquez has a good future at Marvel. With Jonathan Hickman leaving the Fantastic Four franchise within the next year, maybe Marquez can join on when the next writer takes over. He will have a great run. When reading Fantastic Four: Season One, I couldn't help but thing that his pencils would suit an Avengers book well. His pencils look good for a team book. The monsters look big and challenging, but the heroes look great as well. With the book costing over $20 after tax, his art makes the price worth it considering Aguirre-Saca's writing isn't as great as it could be. His pencils suit a superhero book well, with the characters being jacked muscle wise and the girls being borderline cheesecake. It's not as bad as some artist are these days.
David Marquez's art is damn pretty (Marvel Comics, via IGN)
As previously stated, I have been a long time Fantastic Four fan. I started reading the book regularly when Jonathan Hickman started writing, but I read trades and back issues years before to catch up. Part of me found it ironic that Marvel put Fantastic Four #570 in this graphic novel, given that that arc is a better introduction that this graphic novel. This graphic novel acts as a massive .1 issue. That's not a bad thing, as that's what the graphic novel's purpose was. But I was under the impression that this book was going to bring the Fantastic Four into the current generation. But the Fantastic Four were already well suited in this generation. While they had a Cold War veil surrounding them, they still worked very well. That Cold War veil was mostly ignored by current writers, which worked at making these characters timeless. Those writers made this graphic novel redundant. Especially Jonathan Hickman. His first arc on the book perfectly showed readers how this quasi-family acts like a family, while also showing the high concepts that these characters are associated with.
If you haven't read any Fantastic Four books or seen either of the movies, Fantastic Four: Season One is good for you. Otherwise, it's only good if you are a die hard fan of the franchise.
Fantastic Four: Season One gets 3/5.
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