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It was a Christmas present for my boyfriend - he's already through it and loved it! 5 stars!
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I hold myself to only reading a few comic book titles, lest I fall into the collection craze that consumed my time (and money) back in the 80s when I was a kid. Ultimate Fantastic Four is one of them.
So Ultimate Fantastic Four vol. 3 came out and, having vol. 1 and 2, I just naturally ordered it off of Amazon without reading about it or even looking at the cover. Needless to say, I was disappointed when I saw it. It looked... really gross. I read the back, and it talked about the birth of the "Marvel Zombies". Now, I had seen some Marvel Zombie stuff when I visited the comic book store with my kids, and I always thought it looked gross and stupid. I hate horror/blood and guts stuff in general. Now I was going to read about how Marvel super heroes I really liked became flesh eating monsters. Not cool. I wished I had read more about it before I ordered it, and even wondered if I could return it. But I was already committed to the title, so I gave it a shot.
And all I can say is... Marvel Zombies rock.
I mean, seriously. They are very cool. It sounds stupid saying it, but this was the best comic book I've read in a long time. It was brilliantly written and incredibly well drawn. I read it a few times, in fact. And when I wasn't reading it, I've been thinking about it. Color me surprised.
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I was never much of a Fantastic Four fan, but was impressed enough by the first two (hardcover) installments of the Ultimate Fantastic Four series to take a chance on volume 3, especially once I heard Mark Millar and Greg Land were at the helm. I had no idea that when I was done reading it, I would rank it just below the Ultimates volumes 1 and 2 as the best Ultimate Marvel storyline ever.
In this volume, Reed Richards open a gateway to a parallel universe, this one populated entirely by Marvel heroes turned zombies! The zombified (and highly contagious) version of the Fantastic Four (rightly termed the Frightful Four) follow Reed back home in order to set up the Ultimate Earth as a buffet for the rest of their undead cohorts. Along the way, we're introduced to Sue and Johnny's long lost mother and the Ultimate version of Namor the Sub-Mariner, who instantly claims the title of biggest jerk in the Ultimate Universe. In the second half of the book, the Frightful Four break loose, Reed makes a deal with the devil (in this case, Dr. Doom), and the Ultimate Super-Skrull nearly annihilates the entire planet.
Millar's incredible run on this series is the stuff of legend, combing innovative storylines with clever dialogue in a manner that fans of his Ultimates series will find very familiar. His Frightful Four are absolutely terrifying, and he makes the Ultimate Dr. Doom far more compelling a character than his predecessors did. It doesn't hurt that his storytelling is so ably augmented by Greg Land's gorgeous artwork. If Millar ever comes back to the Ultimates and Bryan Hitch is busy, he definitely needs to bring in Land. The Fantastic Four haven't been this fascinating, or looked this good, in a long long time.
This is easily the best Ultimate Fantastic Four storyline, and one of the very best Ultimate storylines as well (and we already know how much better the Ultimate line is than the plain old Marvel Universe). If you loved the Ultimates, you must buy this book. I just feel sorry for the creative team who has to follow this run. Talk about an uphill battle!
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