One for the Ages: A Review of Fantastic Four: Full Circle

 written and illustrated by Alex Ross

colors by Josh Johnson

I haven't really read a whole lot of comics illustrated by Alex Ross, having read only  Kingdom Come years ago, but few names are as recognizable to a comic book fan, so when I found out that Ross was drawing his first sequential work for Marvel since Marvels (which I haven't read, ironically enough for me) it was a must-have for me. It hit my wallet like no other single comic book ever has, but it was still worth it. 

In this story, the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, Sue Richards, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm are enjoying a quiet evening at home in the Baxter Building when their tranquility is disrupted by an intruder, one whom Ben almost immediately recognizes as a man who stole his very identity years ago. The intruder collapses, and Reed and the others immediately begin examining him, trying to figure out to help him, when they learn to their shock that their surprise visitor isn't even human at all but rather a husk through which several parasites were transported from that most dreaded of places: the Negative Zone.  Seeing a dire threat, Reed comes up with a plan to trace to invasion to its source and prevent it from recurring, but not without a dangerous trip into the unknown.

The artwork of this book, presented in tabloid-sized pages, is absolutely mesmerizing.  Everything about this book feels like a love-letter to the early days of Lee and Kirby on this book, from the story, which apparently serves as a direct sequel to a forgotten story from the early days, to the color palette Ross has chosen, which hearkens back to the four-color days of Marvel Comics. Every page is a knockout punch, and Ross is pretty darned generous with the splashes and two-page spreads. This is the reason I'm here, and it was worth the (considerable) price of admission. 

That said, I felt that Ross' choice of Lee/Kirby story to revisit felt a tad too esoteric, with side characters that didn't ring any bells at all. Annihilus, the big bad guy of the Negative Zone, has a two-page splash appearance and is basically gone immediately after that.  More than just a lack of familiarity, though I found the pacing of the story to be a bit disjointed, as a result of which the book felt oddly anticlimactic.  This is a first writing effort from Ross, so I guess that can be forgiven.  The story definitely has its charms, like Ross' Lee-esque dialogue.  

In the end, though, Ross captures the essence of what makes the Fantastic Four such compelling characters, and presents it in artwork that is meant to be savored the way one pores over paintings in museums.  This is just drop-dead gorgeous stuff, the kind that's worth waiting decades to see.

9.5/10