Fantastic Four By Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Vol. 1 [New Printing] (Fantastic Four Omnibus)

Fantastic Four has always been one of the best Marvel series and most imaginative. Its the series that kicked off the Marvel universe's silver age and led to new heights for comics.That said the series has had its high points and low points. This run is definitely one of the high points.Hickman takes things back to their roots and examines the natures of the characters. We see the fantastic four as a family and as individuals like never before. We see in new ways what makes Mr. fantastic tick, we see the torch in a new light and so on. These comics are a worthy successor to the runs of Lee/Kirby, John Byrne and Walter Simonson. The stories are on a grand epic scale, the stakes are high and yet the characters remain relatable and likeable. These are fun comics and at the same time very serious in nature. Hickman explores the roots of the characters and shows them in new ways. His run has many changes to the comics. There is a death ( as is foreshadowed on the cover of the omnibus) and we see how the characters react to this.Hickman takes the series and characters in a new direction with the future foundation and explores the ties to the greater marvel universe and old and new characters. We see older villains and allies in a new light and we are shown new characters that feel fresh. It comes off completely organically and not forced at all. This is the fantastic four taken to its full potential, science fiction ( with elements of fantasy) and with humanity and family tied to the science fiction. Its an amazing read and really draws you in.The art on these comics is beautiful and you might find yourself just stopping reading to stare at the art many times.This collection is well built and sturdy with sewn binding. It will hold up for a long time and the pages are thinner than previous omnibus collections but thicker than some recent ones. Its a comfortable read.For extras there is a massive cover gallery of around 45 covers that is extremely nice to look at and some character design variations and a breakdown of the script for issue 588! This a worthy addition to any comic fan's collection!

I am a big Jonathan Hickman fan. That much should be obvious just scrolling through the reviews on my Amazon Profile but why would you want to do that? Despite this there are large sections of his work, specifically that at Marvel, that I've yet to get to. That, however, is slowly changing. Case in point, this new printing of the first volume of his complete run of Fantastic Four in Omnibus format. This series is kind of where it all began, although I believe he was writing Secret Warriors with Brian Michael Bendis before this. What I mean specifically is the start of the road that will eventually lead to Secret Wars (2015) and the end of his time at Marvel Comics until his return with House/Powers of X in 2019, in which he set a new status quo for Mutants in the Marvel Universe. There are a lot of positive aspects to do with this volume and any negatives if you can call them that work out fairly early in the book. Things kick off with a Dark Reign tie-in miniseries, in which Hickman immediately gets into the head of Mr. Fantastic. Reed Richards will prove to be his strongest character throughout this first series and moving on to the main one. For the rest of the four it will take some time for him to find their individual voices, especially in the beginning but they are largely superfluous to that first series anyways so that's fine. Not so for the kids, Franklin and Valeria, as they are made integral to the story right from the beginning and through all three series collected. Hickman does great with them, almost as well as with Mr. Fantastic. Prepare for big moments in this book from start to finish. I cannot claim total ignorance to what the series has in store but even with prior knowledge it is evident from the start that things are being set up for the future to come. The series blends a well established legacy with a lot of new ideas introduced. So many additions are made to the title that are still a big part of it years later. Making this kind of lasting impact is not easy to accomplish but Hickman has done it time and again. Just look to the present, as the Krakoan Era of X-Men he kicked off is still going strong for a few years now, even as he has departed the books. The look of these series comes from an incredible, you could say to an inconsistent degree, number of artists ranging from fantastic to just passable. Too many to mention individually but I will say that Steve Epting is one of them. I love his art but this is the fifth omnibus in a row I've gotten that he contributed on, between the Avengers: The Gathering and Ed Brubaker Captain America Omnis. I can't seem to get away from his art, even if I'd wanted to. Not much else to the book save all the regular series and variant covers and some script pages by Hickman which are a neat little insight into his writing process. I'll be following this up with volume two as soon as I can. Yeah, no debate on this one. It's, forgive me, fantastic.5/5

I'm reading the Fantastic Four: Jonathan Hickman Omnibus, Vol. 1, and I've finally gotten hooked. I'm not too much of a Marvel reader, a little Spiderman here, Daredevil there. I read an Iron Man book and really liked it, but the only two titles I've really gotten into are the eminently popular Ms. Marvel, and She-Hulk by Charles Soule, the latter of which unfortunately didn't last that long. I simply didn't grow up with comic books, and I never really got into Marvel in particular. So, situations like the Civil War and Norman Osbourne's Dark Reign are foreign to me. Most great superhero comic runs don't start with an origin story, and this one is no different.The independent comic, Seth, hates Marvel. He hates the way they're drawn, and I really can't understand why. Some Marvel comics are drawn merely competently, and some are drawn very well. This is among the better-drawn Marvel comics I've seen, although not quite the best. What makes this a great collection to me is the writing. You know, when it's nearing bedtime, and you make a pot of coffee to stay up and read? Yeah, it's like that. And that's what I'm going to do. *****