Fantastic Four #583 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Steve Epting (art), Paul Mounts (colors), and Rus Wooton (letters)

The Story: While the FF do battle in the Neutral Zone, Val strikes a deal with Victor von Doom after discovering some of her father’s secrets.

What’s Good: This month sees the start of a new story-arc and Steve Epting taking over art duties.  I’ll start off by saying that Epting’s art this month is fantastic and he very well-matched for the Fantastic Four.  I love Epting’s art, but I was a bit concerned over how his darker, more shadowed art style would work on FF, but work it does.  Epting’s style gives the book a heavier sense of mystery and epic scope, as well as a high-budget feel of polished professionalism.

With respect to Hickman’s side of the book, this issue is really carried by two people: Val and Doom.  Both of them are wonderfully written.  Val oozes undeniable intelligence and confidence which work in perfect contrast to her age and appearance.  Hickman writes a fantastic Val, as has been the case throughout his run, but here he takes it further, giving us a Val that seems one step ahead of the rest of the book’s cast, even her own father.  Under Hickman’s hand, Val is lovable, heroic, and incredibly smart and I adored reading her, which is significant given my long-standing ambivalence to child characters.

Doom is also pitch-perfect.  He’s brooding and he’s intelligent, and one can practically hear the gears turning whenever he speaks, or even by his body language alone.  Frankly, even when down on his luck, Hickman’s Doom is the total badass that Dr. Doom should be.  Moreover, Hickman does a great job writing Doom’s feelings regarding personal weakness, and how he deals with his own.  The fact that we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in future issues has me giddy.

Brought together, Doom and Val have a really, really strong dynamic.  Their conversation works so well because it’s a mix that reflects both Doom’s being older, while also respecting Val’s intelligence.  There’s a kind of familiarity, even a familial aspect here, and yet there’s also a cat-and-mouse rivalry as well.  It’s perfect and the frame where Doom and Val come to an accord is easily the most memorable image any comic has given me this month.