Fantastic Four: Grand Design

Fantastic Four: Grand Design by Tom Scioli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story of the Fantastic Four is the story of the Marvel Universe!

Despite not really being into super teams, the Fantastic Four is one of my favorite comics. I was a subscriber for five or six years and have hundreds of FF issues in the totes downstairs. When I saw this coming out, I was intrigued since it sounded like Luis from Ant-Man telling the story of the entire Lee & Kirby run of the Fantastic Four in two issues. Once the treasury edition came out, I snapped it up and devoured it.

I wasn't familiar with Tom Scioli before picking this up but I intend on diving into his back catalog because I really dug this. The art has a retro, Kirbyesque feel, although a little more cartoony than the King. The 25 panel per page grid is insane! I'm glad I have the treasury edition because I would have needed a magnifying glass to appreciate it in standard size. The paper has a matte finish and looks old and weathered, giving the book a somewhat timeless feel.

The writing is a distillation of Marvel history, centering on the Fantastic Four. Honestly, I was expecting a straight up retelling but Scioli made some course corrections. The changes seemed minor but wound up creating an avalanche of awesomeness.

As I said earlier, the Fantastic Four has been one of my favorite comics for decades but it has been limping along, never really achieving its past glory, since Jack Kirby left. Scioli gives the saga an ending that's true to the spirit of the book. There are also some FANTASTIC touches along the way, like spoiler having a kid with spoiler, spoiler becoming herald of Galactus, Galactus giving spoiler a Bane-esque backbreaker, and Black Panther and company forming a Wakandan spoiler to take on Galactus.

Fantastic Four: Grand Design is Tom Scioli's love letter to Marvel's First Family and one hell of a great read. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

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