Fantastic Four: Antithesis #1

 

 When a living legend shows up drawing one of my all-time favorite super-teams, attention must be paid - especially when he’s working with one of the best writers in the business.

   So I was certainly happy to hear that Neal Adams was going to draw a Fantastic Four mini-series with Mark Waid.

   I’ve been a fan of Adams’ art since he teamed up with Roy Thomas on the original X-Men. 

   (Funny story: I hadn’t seen Adams’ DC work, so when he first appeared on the X-Men comic, my first thought was: “Why is Steranko signing the book with the name Neal Adams?” I soon had it sorted.)

   I have always liked Adams’ style, with a wonderful exaggerated realism throughout. His writing, I must admit, is a bit hit-and-miss for me - so I’m happy to see Waid working with him (his writing is rarely a miss).

    And this is very much a “Classic FF” story, jumping right out of the gate with a battle in New York with a long-time FF villain, and moving right to the family setting that makes the team’s interaction so much fun.

   As you’d expect, Adams gives his own spin to the visual style of the team. His version of the Thing make take a little getting used to - his face is more rubbery and expressive than usual (this is not a bad, uh, thing). And his version of the Invisible Woman has tremendous sex appeal!

   With a cosmic menace cooking up and some familiar faces dropping in, this promises to be a fun ride throughout. It’s off to a great start!

Grade: A-

———————