Book of the Week 2/13/08 Fantastic Four #554

Written by Mark Millar
Pencils by Bryan Hitch
Inks by Paul Neary
Colors by Paul Mounts
Letters by Rus Wooton

I've read the Fantastic Four on and off ever since I started reading comics but this has to be the first time that I've been excited about a new FF run. Don't get me wrong, there's been some great runs over the years and the book has been really good recently but the FF has never received a lot of attention and buzz and I've always loved that about the book because it's great to have a solid book but some really good stories have been told in Fantastic Four lately and you also want people to take notice of that.

That being said, Millar and Hitch do a great job and making fans excited about the Fantastic Four again. I was worried about the Ultimate team moving over to the FF because it's Marvel's first family and I want it to stay that way. Millar is known for being over the top and pretty mature and that's something that I don't want to see in a Fantastic Four book and I'm happy to say that this has the makings of a great family based FF run.

Millar seems to have a great grasp and appreciation for the characters and it really shines through in the book. The personalities are spot on and there are several moments in this issue that made me laugh at loud. I've never had a single bad thing to say about Bryan Hitch and I still don't. His art is amazing, I love his facial expressions and his detail is astounding! There is a page towards the end of the book that is unbelievable.

This was a great comic book and something that you don't see in the industry too often. The Fantastic Four represents the softer side of superhero comics and that's probably why it never stands out and I hope Millar and Hitch will bring new readers on board. This was just a fun read and it made me feel like I was 10 years old again, being in awe of these great superheros and wishing I had an uncle Johnny and uncle Ben.