Fantastic Four Movie Comic Book Adaptation
About.com Rating
Publisher's Site
With the Fantastic Four movie in theaters July 8th, Marvel comics have released an adaptation comic book. With anticipation high for the movie of Marvel?s first family, Marvel hopes to bring in some new readers with this comic book.
Storyline - Warning Spoilers!
The story opens with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm at The Von Doom Tower, trying to get funds to study cosmic rays, an unusual energy source that is believed by Reed to be the start of life on earth as we know it.
Another cosmic storm is scheduled to be in earth?s orbit and Reed wants to study it up close. Doom agrees and introduces Reed to Sue Storm, an ex-flame of Reed, and finally Sue?s brother Johnny Storm, the hotshot pilot who is going to fly them to the space station. While in space at a research station, the cosmic storm comes early and without warning. The team, including Doom, is bathed in the rays of the storm. Somehow, the energy of the storm has changed the molecular structure of the all the people aboard the space station, including Victor Von Doom. When Reed discovers a chance at restoring the group to their original state, Doom encourages Reed to test it on himself. Reed agrees and steps into the machine. Doom activates it, and uses the machine to channel the energy from Reed into himself, furthering the change from the cosmic rays. It appears Victor Von Doom has plans to use the cosmic energy to make himself even more powerful and dangerous. It?s up to Reed, Johnny, Sue, and Ben to stop Doom, whatever the cost.
Review
Probably the biggest complaint I think most comic book fans of the Fantastic Four will have is of the origin of Dr. Doom. In the original comic, Doom?s metal body is just a suit of armor that is incredibly powerful. Doom also gets his powers from sorcery. I understand that there will be many differences in Hollywood productions of movies, but I wonder, if they tried a little harder, I feel they could stay closer to the comic and still tell a great story that many would enjoy. The art is good, but not up to the standards of the current Fantastic Four, with Mike McKone. I have seen other work from Dan Jurgens, and this felt rushed to me. I just didn?t feel that it was the same quality I have seen in his other work. Even though this comic is 51 pages long, the comic can be a bit disjointed at times. This is due to the fact that trying to put a two hour movie into a short comic can be complicated. Just be warned that the comic will sometimes jump from one scene to the next with little transition.
Conclusion
My biggest complaint would probably be the cover price. At $4.99, I guess I expected more. There are eleven pages of extra material; a pinup, interview, and short Dr. Doom story. But I guess it didn?t compare to the kind of material that came with another comic book movie adaptation, such as the Batman Begins movie adaptation graphic novel.
For hardcore fans of the Fantastic Four comic book or of the movie, than this comic would be a good thing to pick up. But if you just want to read a good Fantastic Four comic book, then I suggest reading the actual Fantastic Four comic, starting with #527. They just added the hot talent of J. Michael Straczynski as head writer and it is an excellent read.
Publisher's Site
Publisher's Site
With the Fantastic Four movie in theaters July 8th, Marvel comics have released an adaptation comic book. With anticipation high for the movie of Marvel?s first family, Marvel hopes to bring in some new readers with this comic book.
Storyline - Warning Spoilers!
The story opens with Reed Richards and Ben Grimm at The Von Doom Tower, trying to get funds to study cosmic rays, an unusual energy source that is believed by Reed to be the start of life on earth as we know it.
Another cosmic storm is scheduled to be in earth?s orbit and Reed wants to study it up close. Doom agrees and introduces Reed to Sue Storm, an ex-flame of Reed, and finally Sue?s brother Johnny Storm, the hotshot pilot who is going to fly them to the space station. While in space at a research station, the cosmic storm comes early and without warning. The team, including Doom, is bathed in the rays of the storm. Somehow, the energy of the storm has changed the molecular structure of the all the people aboard the space station, including Victor Von Doom. When Reed discovers a chance at restoring the group to their original state, Doom encourages Reed to test it on himself. Reed agrees and steps into the machine. Doom activates it, and uses the machine to channel the energy from Reed into himself, furthering the change from the cosmic rays. It appears Victor Von Doom has plans to use the cosmic energy to make himself even more powerful and dangerous. It?s up to Reed, Johnny, Sue, and Ben to stop Doom, whatever the cost.
Review
Probably the biggest complaint I think most comic book fans of the Fantastic Four will have is of the origin of Dr. Doom. In the original comic, Doom?s metal body is just a suit of armor that is incredibly powerful. Doom also gets his powers from sorcery. I understand that there will be many differences in Hollywood productions of movies, but I wonder, if they tried a little harder, I feel they could stay closer to the comic and still tell a great story that many would enjoy. The art is good, but not up to the standards of the current Fantastic Four, with Mike McKone. I have seen other work from Dan Jurgens, and this felt rushed to me. I just didn?t feel that it was the same quality I have seen in his other work. Even though this comic is 51 pages long, the comic can be a bit disjointed at times. This is due to the fact that trying to put a two hour movie into a short comic can be complicated. Just be warned that the comic will sometimes jump from one scene to the next with little transition.
Conclusion
My biggest complaint would probably be the cover price. At $4.99, I guess I expected more. There are eleven pages of extra material; a pinup, interview, and short Dr. Doom story. But I guess it didn?t compare to the kind of material that came with another comic book movie adaptation, such as the Batman Begins movie adaptation graphic novel.
For hardcore fans of the Fantastic Four comic book or of the movie, than this comic would be a good thing to pick up. But if you just want to read a good Fantastic Four comic book, then I suggest reading the actual Fantastic Four comic, starting with #527. They just added the hot talent of J. Michael Straczynski as head writer and it is an excellent read.
Publisher's Site
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