Review: Fantastic Four #588 By Jonathan Hickman – The Final Issue

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Fantastic Four #588

Written by Jonathan Hickman

Art by Nick Dragotta and Mark Brooks

Well, this is it true believers, the final issue of Fantastic Four. With the death of Johnny Storm last issue, this issue is one of mourning, and while we’ve been made aware of Hickman’s impending Future Foundation ongoing series, spinning out of the pages of this, it doesn’t take away from the last issue feel. There’s also one very interesting mechanic that Hickman tries out for the issue, as in the main story there is a single page with word balloons on it. It’s a silent issue, and it’s brilliant.

Sometimes there just aren’t words to describe a situation, or none that would do it any sort of justice. When no matter what you say, it’s not going sit well with everyone, so Hickman took the route best suited for such a thing. He kept it silent and let the artist, in this case Nick Dragotta, do the hard part. Almost a decade ago Marvel dud something called ‘Nuff Said Month where every book that came out for a month attempted the format, and we got some interesting results (Exiles was amazing). Anyway, this issue is devoid of dialogue.

It picks up shortly after last issue left off, with Ben Grimm in full Thing mode, holding Frankin and Val. The Avengers burst in, obviously responding to the distress call, but they find themselves in time to hear the sad news…and for Sue to have quietly arrived behind them and hear the whole thing. This is where the stages of grief begin to set in across the remaining members of Marvel’s first family. Sue retreats into depression, sealing herself off and living in her sorrow until her first glimmer of renewed hope comes from Johnny’s memorial service. Ben is anger, it wasn’t him, it should have been him, he should have been there with him, and it takes him fighting against insurmountable odds to finally find his own acceptance that there was nothing he could have done. Reed bargains, and with his incredible intellect, he has options, options that include opening up a Negative Zone portal and threatening Annihilus with the Ultimate Nullifier, and to be shown just how little leverage he has.

The kids are different, while Val is summed up in the middle of everyone else, her anger formulating her own future plans before our very eyes, Franklin is actually given the backup story. Written by Hickman, and with art by Mark Brooks, the second half of the issue is Spider-Man and Franklin Richards spending the day talking. Spidey and Torch were friends, and on top of that, Spider-Man famously lost an uncle and has ground to relate on. Including Franklin’s own sense of guilt over having his incredible cosmic reality warping powers and not being able to help. Spider-Man is the perfect character for this, and it’s a situation where he truly does fit and isn’t just shoehorned in. Mark Brooks does a great job on the art, which is far more uplifting than the previous story. The story actually fits in to the main story, as there is a page of Spider-Man landing behind Franklin that cues up it’s start at the end of the issue.

The entire issues takes place over the course of a month, and by the time it’s over you don’t really get the sense that anyone is truly over the death, nor should you. If they just moved on with their lives after one issue, that would be awful sloppy writing. Hickman leaves groundwork for going forward, particularly with Reed who really does not do well with failure and throws himself deep into his need to solve everything. To fix everything. The last page features a shocking return of a character not seen in the pages of Fantastic Four in years, and the ramifications of their return will most likely be seen in FF #1.

Nick Dragotta maintains the right tone for this book, as everything feels dark and moody. It isn’t a happy issue, it’s a month of mourning, and it feels like it too. It also has a VERY Jack Kirby feel to it, especially in the faces, and in the scenes with Reed it looks great. I normally don’t really like artists stylizing after another, but when the artist is Jack Kirby, and the book is Fantastic Four, and you’re doing it with class like Dragotta is? I love it.

There are other highlights to the issue, like the pages with Doom both showing up to the funeral, as well as allowing a new monarch to take the throne in Latveria (with an awesome design). Thing’s fight scene at the end is incredible, and I love the way Val is handled. Actually, Val is my biggest pet peeve with this title. It’s clear Hickman knows she’s the worlds smartest under five year old, but she always gets drawn to look the same age as Franklin. Regardless, this is a fantastic final issue to one of the best books Marvel has on the stands. Sure, it’s not farewell forever, but the book does a great job both closing the door and opening a new one. Six hundred is close, we’ll see it again.

Overall?

10/10

A lifelong reader and self proclaimed continuity guru, Grey is the Editor in Chief of Comics Nexus. Known for his love of Booster Gold, Spider-Girl (the real one), Stephanie Brown, and The Boys. Don't miss The Gold Standard.