Rating:  -
I suppose I would class myself as a "Fantastic Four" fan - I loved the original Lee/Kirby run as well as some of the modern takes on the heroes like the "Unstable Molecules" storyline. So, I came to this with high expectations which were met....eventually.
The "origin" story arc represents everything that I hate about Bendis and Millar - turgid dialogue, pointless spectacle, paper-thin characterisation and eyes always on the lowest common denominator. It was like watching some of my favourite characters pushed through a wood chipper.
Thankfully on the second arc, Warren Ellis takes over on writing duties and teaches us all how it should be done. The dialogue zips along with energy and his reinventions are with an eye firmly on the modern world. His Doctor Doom is not just a genius in the realm of academia, but a tech, culture and political savvy manipulator. While the bourgeois FF concern themselves with sci-fi indulgences, Doom connects with the real world to gain power and poses an all-too probable threat that is truly chilling.
This volume looks gorgeous on the shelf, sadly only half of it actually warrants the space.
Rating:  -
1. i don't like the ultimate universe idea at all. i dislike the infinite earths dc junk also. when you have iconic characters i don't think it's good to confuse the average non-comics fan (or even the average comics fan) with earth-2 superman, superboy prime, ultimates nick fury, etc. they water down the legacy and the impact of the great classic storylines and characters.
2. this is nowhere near as good as the lee/kirby fantastic four.
3. despite the above, this is a pretty good comics collection. it's not mindblowing like the lee/kirby ff, and it's a totally different ultimate universe take on the greatest team in comics. it's still a good read though. but just don't confuse the alternative ultimate universe with the real 616 universe.
Rating:  -
Thanks to Brain Michael Bendis, and . . . Mark Millar, The Fantastic Four gets a the long expected upgrade it needed for those who never had the chance to read the various recreations of the "Greatest Super hero [family]" created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The characters are thankfully teenagers around my age, so I suppose I could connect a lot better with these carnations as opposed to the original. Reed Richards, a character I could never bring myself to like in the original FF, is humanized by Bendis and Millar with a background story that resembles to a point, Peter Parker's. While granted it is the usual stereotype-character story, I didn't mind it at all. Richard's father this time around his a big hairy-armed brute and his mother is typecast as the mother who would no nothing to oppose her raging husband. Thrown into the mix are two ignorable younger sisters; Enid and a nameless baby girl. Reed is basically the misunderstood family member and longs for the fatherly affections his father gives his best friend Ben Grimm.
After a mishap at home with one his experiments, several years later Reed is inducted into a "Think Tank" program in which the government enlists the brightest children ever to grace the earth and put them all into the Baxter Building. There he meets Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Victor Von "Damne" (Doom if your wondering) a bit later. In the usual Bendis style, the writer takes his time introducing you to the characters before throwing them into their life changing event, crafted in an interesting way. When they do of course get to this point, the drama and action really pick up in the final pages of the TPB. The Fantastic Four are nicely developed in "THE FANTASTIC" story arc. From Reed to Ben, they are very reminiscent of their counterparts to a point, only younger, much less mature and knowledgeable in other things aside from their specified field of expertise. The introduction of the Mole Man as the villain was a nice starter, you could really detest this man and not feel sorry for him. Victor Von "Damne(?)" was nicely characterized, and is even better in VOL. 2.
To make a long story short, Bendis and Millar craft an intelligent retelling of the fantastic four. To be frank it won't please everyone, especially not the HARD-CORE Fantastic Four fans. There are indeed glitches in the writing concerning the age of Reed and Ben, but it something that's gonna have to be looked over. The artist, Adam Kurbert I believe, was an excellent choice for this starting of the series (better than Jae Lee). Each frame of action is described excellently and art in and of itself (most of the time) is a splendor to behold. His description of facial expressions (I.E, Johnny discovering his arm is on fire and he tries to put it out) are priceless and genuinely funny to boot. There are some problems in the drawing, such as the constantly pointed out size difference of Ben Grimm and Reed Richards during their childhood. Another gripe: Reed doesn't have the trademark gray sideburns in his hair (sighs dejectedly). All in all ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR volume one is a great way to start up the series and in my opinion a good way to introduce these "superheroes" to a younger audience. Highly recommended. ------ [a 5 out of 5]
Rating:  -
Like I've said in some of my eariler reviews, sometimes this is just no fun at all. Whilst it's always funny to rip into, say, Pop Idol or something, here it's just... sad.
The Ultimate series of Marvel comics was a potentially awful idea done to surprisingly awesome effect. Taking the well worn ideas and characters from the Marvel Universe, going straight back to square one and re-imagining the origins and original characters could well have blown up in the writers faces. But not so. The writing in some of these books is simply superb, and sometimes makes the impossible seem scarily possible. Ultimate Spider-Man, of course, is a constant delight, with top class banter, witty one-liners and some brutal action (with the exception of the heartbreakingly average Venom and Carnage re-do's), and then there's the Ultimates (the Avengers) and... oooh, oodles more. Like I said - top idea.
But not here. Again, the characters are made teenagers, which is fine for, say, Spidey, who WAS a teenager in the first place, but a sixteen/seventeen year old Ben Grimm just doesn't cut it. Also, the script lacks major bite. After what we've seen with Spidey et al, we really do need something special to warrant another spin on the Marvel franchise (especially for its oldest family) and there's nothing here that excites or, crucially, convinces. In short, it just makes you pine for the original books.
The most galling thing though, is the sham that is Dr Doom (or, I'm sorry, Dr Damme). Change what you like from the original comics guys; the crummy banter, some dodgy storylines, but DO NOT REPLACE the original character names. So, what, a guy called Victor Von Doom isn't realistic, but having a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD BOY design and build the Fantasti-Car, an interdimensional rocket ship, is?? As the Human Torch himself said, "dude.. that's Fantasti-crappy."
I won't be buying THIS junk anymore.
The_Curmudgeon_Hates_You@yahoo.co.uk
Rating: -
Can it be that someone actually made the Fantastic Four cool? Before reading Ultimate Fantastic Four, I would have said that it was an impossible feat. Characters like Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and the Punisher are cool, but the Fantastic Four? With those outfits, the out of this world science and Reed's graying temples? Aside from the Human Torch (who's cool due to the fact that he's on freaking fire), Reed Richards and company have always seemed like the reigning dorks of the Marvel Universe.
Enter Marvel's Ultimate line, where the best writers and artists in the industry are allowed to throw decades of continuity out the window and reinvent classic characters. Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men were huge hits, and the Ultimates is probably the best comic on the market right now. So when Marvel announced plans for an Ultimate Fantastic Four series, I had to at least consider the possibility that it might not suck. When I heard that Brian Michael Bendis, Mark Millar, and Warren Ellis were all involved, I knew I had to at least give it a try. After all, they are collectively responsible for almost all of the best comic storylines of the past decade.
Following the Ultimate trend, the writers made the Fantastic Four quite a bit younger than their regular Marvel Universe counterparts, with Reed Richards and Sue Storm as a pair of science prodigies. This development works surprisingly well, and it gives the writers plenty of opportunities to work in younger dialogue and pop culture references. Johnny Storm trying to convince a girl that he is Justin Timberlake is one priceless example. Adam Kubert's artwork is excellent as always, and while I'm not a huge Stuart Immonen fan, I will admit he has a very distinctive style.
The bottom line is that this is a good book. Fans of Marvel's Ultimate line will no doubt love Ultimate Fantastic Four, though it is bound to give some traditional FF fans fits. FF skeptics (like me) should take a chance on this one. Look at the creative team involved. They don't often let readers down, and Ultimate Fantastic Four is definitely no disappointment.
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