Review: Fantastic Four #1 (Fraction & Bagley)

This is the Fantastic Four?

I’ll be honest I found the “first” issue to be less than fantastic as it felt really inorganic, did nothing to make me want to read more, and basically read as if it was just a preview as there was really no substance to the story, as well being a cheap plug for FF #1 as well.

Shades of Fear Itself?

The issue does start off interesting enough revealing that something happened to Reed Richards’ arm. Bagley draws it in such a way that you can’t help but wonder how the arm is still working, not to mention attached. However, the arm alone wasn’t really enough to keep me hooked.

The issue just didn’t flow smoothly enough for me as, in the case with Reed, he’s chatting with Kerbie and then comes up with the idea to travel different universes to attempt to cure whatever affliction he may have, then he comes up with the idea of a new FF while they are gone. Speaking of the affliction, we didn’t get much on what exactly was the cause or the why’s, with Reed surmising that because he has it, everyone else will have it as well. 

There was no build up, no tension, no hype. And there was no villain – at all – there just wasn’t anything that exciting about the book.

It seems like the issue is resting on its Fantastic Four laurels to sell ie. just because it’s a first issue and it’s the Fantastic Four, but I don’t think that’s enough to keep readers around.

The rest of the issue was, I would say “okay,” as there were humorous parts with Johnny Storm and The Thing, but that was just it — it left me scratching my head why it was even present. Seemed a way to just include Ben and Johnny as they weren’t an integral part to the story and it came through that way in the book.

Fantastic Four #1 was an average issue, and that’s about it.