written by Chip Zdarsky
penciled by Jim Cheung
inked by Walden Wong
colored by Frank Martin
This is the third comics review I've written this week in which I find myself bidding farewell to a creator whose work I've enjoyed. While I wasn't too sorry to see Brian Bendis leave Iron Man (and Marvel) as I long felt he'd outstayed his welcome, I was not pleased at all to see Dan Slott leave The Amazing Spider-Man even though he's staying with Marvel, and I was even more dismayed to learn, after writing my review, that superstar artist Stuart Immonen has also gone into some form of retirement following his stint on The Amazing Spider-Man.
As much as I enjoyed the work of all three of those creators, some more recently than others, this latest creator, whose work I have enjoyed for many years, is the one I am sorriest to bid farewell.
Superstar artist Jim Cheung returns to the series he launched with writer Chip Zdarsky to end the first story arc as Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm team up with the Infamous Iron Man Victor Von Doom, as well as alternate universe versions of Reed and Sue and other heroes including Emma Frost and a de-powered Norrin Radd to fight the greatest threat that this alternate earth has ever faced: Doom Galactus. With Johnny virtually out of powers, and Ben getting weaker, the odds of their success seem compromised, so they will have to dig deep if they hope to survive this particular battle, and will have to rely on just more than their own skill; they'll need to work with their team, including their own Doom.
Zdarsky's written a fitting finale to this story, even as he leaves threads open for more to come. I had mistakenly figured this book would wrap up just in time for Dan Slott's ballyhooed relaunch of the Fantastic Four, but that's apparently not the case. Still, this issue concludes the first arc on a highly satisfying note. Even though Cheung or his highly capable stand-in Valerio Schiti will no longer be around for the follow-up issues, I may yet pick them up in one form or another. Who'd have thought that just half of the Fantastic Four could feature in such engaging stories? I really love how Zdarsky's captured so much of what makes the FF such an interesting team to follow.
Really, though, Cheung is the star of the show here and with a different inker his art has taken on an ethereal quality that suits this particular story. This is an action-packed issue, and Cheung does a perfect job of conveying both urgency and truly awesome power. It also helps that Frank Martin's color palette here is absolutely gorgeous. Knowing what I do now, I cannot help but wonder what could have been had Cheung been at the forefront of the FF relaunch along with Slott, or hey, even Zdarsky. Ah well, a dream for another day, I suppose. Anyway, for now I will be happy to settle for this outstanding work from Mr. Cheung, whose work will next be seen in the pages of Marvel's Distinguished Competition, drawing a Justice League re-launch. The best of luck to you, Jim, and may you one day find yourself back in the House of Ideas.
9/10
No comments:
Post a Comment