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Fantastic Four #12 Review
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Fantastic Four #12 Review

The Thing can never catch a break — that’s never been more true than in this week’s Fantastic Four.

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You may have heard Benjamin Grimm, aka The Thing, got married. And after a tumultuous Dr. Doom fiasco involving Galactus, Thing is finally getting the honeymoon he deserves. Judging by the cover though, it’s potentially getting messed up by the Hulk. Some luck eh? Dan Slott and Sean Izaakse deliver a superhero honeymoon for the ages. 

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So what’s it about?

Read the preview.

Why does this matter?

It is always a treat to see Hulk and Thing tangle and it’s particularly exciting since we haven’t seen this horror version of the Hulk fight Thing before. Plus, Slott continues to develop a new married Thing and Alicia Masters. Exciting stuff for long-time readers!

Fine, you have my attention. What’s good about it?

Fantastic Four #12 Review

Tipping is very important.
Credit: Marvel Comics

The main story focuses on Thing and Alicia going on a honeymoon on a remote island in the tropics. Thing has an annual transmutation that allows him to be human for a brief period and it’s aligned just right with this trip. This adds a bit of anticipation and excitement to the story, especially since Reed Richards gives Thing a special watch counting down to when he is flesh again. You can probably guess why Thing wants this to happen on his honeymoon, eh? As with any superhero vacation, things turn bad when Hulk pops up. 

Slott implements subtle things for Thing to do and say that help humanizes the superhero. For instance, at one point he gives out a signed headshot of himself as a tip to the concierge attendant. It shows how Thing is kinda cheap, but also a bit prideful of his superherodom. 

A lot of your enjoyment in this issue is going to be thanks to Izaakse’s sharp art with color by Marcio Menyz. There are eight or so pages devoted to the Thing and Hulk fighting, and Izaakse does a good job showing how super strong and burly characters fight. They’re thrown across the island, smash into things to create rock slides, and generally take a pummeling. It’s also all rendered at night which adds a certain horror element to the battling. Oh, and Thing’s Hawaiian shirt is out-of-this-world good. There are some interesting effects with the sky too that make the tropical island go from angelic to haunting. 

You might be wondering why this issue is oversized — it’s because it comes with a Future Foundation backup that runs 10 pages long. Written by Jeremy Whitley with art by Will Robson (with inks and finishes by Daniele Orlandini) and colors by Greg Menzie, this serves as a good lead-in to the upcoming Future Foundation series. It sets up the two Power Pack characters as well as the whole deal with the team. It’s rather character-driven and serves as a way to show us how grown up the main characters are now.

Fantastic Four #12 Review

Ouch. Diss!
Credit: Marvel Comics

It can’t be perfect, can it?

There are two pages that set up the incoming threat but they both don’t quite convey the power of that threat very well. Maybe it’s due to the difficulty to make open water look menacing, especially at night, but they don’t add much. Plus there are two pages of this, which seems like an unnecessary amount.

Is it good?

The Thing can never catch a break — that’s never been more true than in this week’s Fantastic Four. Pack your bags for this one, as it’s filled with good action and hopeful new future stories.

Fantastic Four #12 Review
Fantastic Four #12
Is it good?
The Thing can never catch a break -- that's never been more true than in this week's Fantastic Four. Pack your bags for this one, as it’s filled with good action and hopeful new future stories.
Good action and art
Nice humanizing of heroes by Slott
A couple pages seem unnecessary and not particularly effective in creating drama over the incoming threat
8
Good

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