Fantastic Four has been nothing short of endearing, exciting, and thought-provoking under Ryan North’s new direction. That continues today in Fantastic Four #5, which has the team finally back together on a road trip. Joining North on the latest issue is artist Ivan Fiorelli on a different kind of adventure that many can relate to. You know that of any team to have the weirdest experience stuck in traffic, it would be the Fantastic Four!
Fantastic Four #5 opens with our favorite superhero family stuck in traffic. The Thing and Alicia are in an ordinary pickup truck and the rest of the Fantastic Four are in the Fantasti-car. You know, totally normal. That is, until Nicholas Scratch and his children, Salem’s Seven, show up! Things get really weird really fast, and the team may be on their last legs after what happens to them.
I’m avoiding spoilers here, but North continues to impart a classroom instruction sort of vibe to the series as Reed Richards explains what happened to the team. Similar to past issues, the explanation is mind-expanding and quite interesting. Like a science experiment, we’re walked through the weirdness going on, which is a fun way to think about the team and, in some respects, our own world. Considering the team is possibly doomed and could die, it’s quite interesting how the threat is something they can’t necessarily see or punch. It’s another reminder of how North continues to take creative paths to explain the fantastic in this series.
The voice of these characters continues to be on point. The delight you’ll have when you see Reed try out some cool-speak borrowed from Johnny Storm, for instance, is priceless. It’s also nice to see Alicia have a part to play in these scenes.
Things get weird, y’all!
Credit: Marvel
Fiorelli’s art is great, especially regarding Reed’s powers. The elastic nature of Mr. Fantastic is sometimes cool looking and, in many cases, somewhat half-baked and pretty basic. Not so here, as Fiorelli shows us some incredibly weird things, he can do with his body. The characters in one scene are totally unphased by Mr. Fantastic warping his hand into a cube but know that if you were sitting there, you’d probably throw up or at least look away. That weirdness is visualized especially well in the climax of the issue.
Jesus Aburtov continues to splash this book with bright colors giving it a classic comic book feel. I particularly liked the warm feel given to the outdoors where the Fantastic Four take lunch. It has a brightness that juxtaposes well with their imminent doom.
In Fantastic Four #5, a road trip is in order for this family, but danger and death are around the corner in ways that you don’t see in any other superhero comic. This series continues to capture the family feel of the team, the eclectic voices, and an endearing quality that’s hard to resist.
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