Fantastic Four #4 – Review

By: James Robinson (Writer), Leonard Kirk (Penciller), Karl Kessel and Jay Leisten (Inkers), Jesus Arburtov (Color Artist), VC’s Clayton Cowles (Letterer)

The Story:
Firstly, the Frightful Four and Fantastic Four fight, in furious and four-color fullness; Subsequently, S.H.I.E.L.D. serves a summons for a civil suit.

The Review:
My criticism regarding issue #3 detailed its somewhat formless and needlessly multiple plot threads. Thankfully, that criticism is completely absent here, as the comic focuses on one central moment, a massive slugfest between two powerful teams, and its collateral damage, the most serious of which is S.H.I.E.L.D. threatening the Fantastic Four with a lawsuit.

And what a massive slugfest it is. This comic is full of spectacle, with several blows from villains and heroes, toppling buildings and civilian rescuing, and all the cracking energy, speed lines, smoke you’d need to create an intense, high-stakes tone with participation from all the players on both sides of the battle. One particularly effective moment is the choice of small panels to set up the page-turn reveal of the “second string” FF, complete with a dramatic panel and color palette change for emphasis. (Unfortunately, the size relationships among the characters in that panel ruin the dramatic moment, as more context or a more extreme camera angle might be needed to help Ant-Man’s giant-size “read” better.)

It’s more than just a good fight scene, as care is taken to render facial expressions and relationships, too. When the comic’s subplots show up here, it’s in context of the main storyline/battle, so whether it’s Johnny’s frustration or Sue’s desire to protect her family, or even the Wizard’s gloating or Bulldozer’s determination, the characterization flows through the action thanks to the artistic expression.