Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman #4

The Fantastic Four endure dark times as one of them meets their demise in this climax of Hickman's run.  

By now most people should have heard of this event. I remember when Fantastic Four #588 came out and all the excitement that surrounded it. Back then I was far to behind on comics, especially Fantastic Four. I knew it would be a while before I got caught up and had the opportunity to read the story. I've finally caught up and have read Hickman's run on Fantastic Four which instantly became one of my favorite Marvel series. His run is not overrated one bit. This lives up to all the hype you heard about. 

Everything you've come to expect when reading a Fantastic Four comic written by Hickman is provided here. An incredible action adventure with plenty of laughs and a light-hearted tone are felt throughout. What this particular installment offers is the culmination of recent events which results in the death of one of the Fantastic Four. This story is really sad for multiple reasons. It's sad the team wasn't together when one of them died. Of course if they were, the death may possibly have been avoided. Sue Storm was off with Namor in Atlantis trying to make peace while Reed Richards was with Galactus trying to preserve the lives of Nu-World. Only Johnny and Ben were together and that final issue was a heart-pounding read. 

While the most significant event from this story is the loss of a member of the team, I have to say the kids of the Future Foundation have really grown on me. All those little Moloid kids are hilarious. Franklin and Valeria weren't characters I liked when I read Mark Millar's run, but lately they've grown on me tremendously. Franklin was awesome in this story when he fought alongside Johnny and Ben. They all round out a well developed cast of characters which make this series so compelling.

Steve Epting served as the artist for this story arc. While I absolutely love his style, I must admit he probably wasn't the best choice for this series. His style works wonders for Captain America but Dale Eaglesham probably would have been the better option. I did enjoy Epting's work though. As I said I love his style. His darker style did work for a lot of this story since it was a dark time for the Fantastic Four. I wasn't crazy about Nick Dragotta's work on the epilogue but Mark Brooks segment was incredible.

This is a must read whether the Fantastic Four are some of your favorite characters or not. Hickman has made me a bigger fan of them since I started reading his run. I look forward to seeing what he has in store next with the Future Foundation. This is highly recommended from me.