After an excellent milestone 700th issue, the Fantastic Four return in Fantastic Four #8 this week. After defeating Dr. Doom (or did he defeat himself?), the team is back at Ben Grimm’s family farmhouse, and something is amiss. Something abnormal happens in this issue, and the wood-skinned beast on the cover might have something to do with it.
This issue is an impressive feat of details, laying out information and introducing yet another brand-new threat for the team to investigate and thwart. Writer Ryan North has not skimped when it comes to ideas, with another threat creating a bit of mystery for Invisible Woman and Alicia to uncover. After putting it down, I can’t imagine how long it took to think up and craft, which sets it apart from most superhero comics these days.
This issue is another example of how North has explored different dynamics of the FF family in each issue. This time Alicia and Invisible Woman bond as they head out to get supplies. Seeing these characters bond and slowly uncover something weird in the town is a nice change of pace. It makes their adventure seem more realistic.
This issue is another example of how North and artist Ivan Fiorelli explore each member’s powers. In the opening, we see Human Torch attempt to make shapes, and the idea is floated that he might be able to pair his powers with Invisible Woman to do new things. Neat. It’s also super fun to see Invisible Woman casually use her powers to block the rain. It’s a small detail that shows the creative team is thinking about things thoroughly.
Look it up, kids. That’s a real shape!
Credit: Marvel
The weird happening does, however, take ages to get going. It’s done naturally, and likely it’d like the same in a live-action show, but it feels unnecessarily slow in a comic. There’s also the strange wrinkle that half the family is affected but not Sue and Alicia. Maybe that’ll be explained next issue. The slowness may be partly due to this being a two-part story. It spends too much time easing into the mystery, bringing the realization to Sue and Alicia because it can with another issue to wrap it up.
Smart and clever with impeccable attention to detail, Fantastic Four continues to be as good as ever. This issue is slower to get going, but it’s impossible to miss the character work, love of the characters, and nuanced storytelling.
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