If I had read this last year, it would have ranked as my favorite book of 2018. But funds and the holidays prevented me from getting it until just a couple of days ago. But that's okay as this issue of Fantastic Four ranks as one of my all-time favorite issues!
Dan Slott (Amazing Spider-Man) bookends this deluxe sized issue with the prep work and final vows of the true Marvel wedding of the century.
Then Mike Allred and his lovely wife Laura recall the origin of the team. As you know with all anniversary issues, it's a mandated law that the origin of one of the heroes or the entire team must be retold. But the Allred's do it with such nostalgic charm as they have done for decades!
We also get a glimpse of the early days of Ben and Alicia thanks to the Allreds. Another sort of origin story. But one of which I do not recall getting this much detail into. I did not know how much Sue Storm played matchmaker. Plus, I love the great cameo of a famous rock group in one scene in which The Thing takes his gal to a petting zoo! That's classic Allred right there!
Then the amazing Adam Hughes (Betty and Veronica) tackles Ben's bachelor party. (For Alicia's hilarious bachelorette party, see the Fantastic Four Wedding Special #1) It's a wild ride. Hughes adds such a layer of humor and classic FF style to the book. And I love the tick-lined art style of his. I never realized how much Hughes and the Allreds are alike in that aspect. I am also a fan of thick inkings. So it's no wonder I am a fan of both artists!
Originally, I was thinking I would be faked-out like with the wedding of lies between Kitty Pryde and Colossus. But Marvel went through with these nuptials and thanks to a Facebook buddy posting a scene from that story, I decided to grab this book. Man was I so glad I did. This issue was fantastic!
I've been very impressed with the Fantastic Four since their return! It's been one of the few bright spots of Marvel in a two-year period that has had way more lows than highs when it came to comic books for them. Please keep up the good work and use the formula for this and Spider-Man to help return the House of Ideas to it's former glory days.
While I love what Dan Slott and artist Aaron Kuder is doing with the team right now, I realize that creative teams don't last forever. Might I suggest Mike Allred? He did such a great job here and he's proven that's he's got the chops in the pages of FF to do that part of the Marvel Universe the right way! But in that series, we didn't get Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny. I would love to see how Michael and Laura would do focusing on the First Family of Marvel! Heck, I'd even be a monthly subscriber to that!
One of the most perfect comics of all-time! Definitely worth the couple extra bucks!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars.
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