Since Millar and Hitch’s run felt like a dud almost from the outset, a lot of the energy and momentum of Fantastic Four was lost. The first issue of this new arc brings it back in spades. Hickman has already completed an arc on the characters in their “Dark Reign” spin-off series, and although this should effectively be the start of his run, he’s quickly referencing his own story. Luckily, it’s done in such a way that new readers won’t necessarily notice, and as we all know, that’s the proper way to use continuity – as complementary, not essential reading.

Eaglesham gives us bold and traditional superheroics – a welcome departure from Hitch’s ultra-realism. After all, Fantastic Four is one book where realism isn’t part of the appeal. Eaglesham draws a Fantastic Four that look like superheroes, while Hickman writes them as such. Well, I say “them” – this is more of a Reed Richards solo issue than anything. There’s room for that sort of story within the scope of a team book, of course, but it’s odd that he doesn’t start his run with a definitive statement about all four characters. Whether he’ll expand beyond Reed-as-protagonist in the future remains to be seen, but on the other hand… he does write a good Reed. This is a character I want to see more of.

Making the Fantastic Four a potentially interesting read is a difficult task for any writer – arguably, the title hasn’t had a run that truly stood the test of time since Byrne’s two decades ago. Hickman is the first writer in a long time to look like he might have a chance at breaking the mold without trying to reinvent it too, and if the last page is anything to go by, this arc is going to be one hell of an opening shot.

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It might surprise some newer comics fans, but there was once a time when John Byrne was considered a credible comic creator instead of the walking bad mood that he is now. In fact, Byrne wasn’t just credible, he was practically his era’s Brian Bendis or Ed Brubaker, reinventing and redefining every title he touched. One such title was Fantastic Four, which he wrote and drew for 6 years from 1981 to 1986. The run was eventually collected in its entirety in 8 volumes of “Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne” but almost over 15 years prior to that, Marvel took the unusual step of packaging certain issues together into a TPB collection – a rare move at the time, when the industry was still heavily focussed on monthly sales.

The story itself sees Reed Richards (rather than Galactus) placed on trial, accused of repeatedly aiding the devourer of worlds – and, in a story included at the start of the collection – even saving his life on one occasion! It’s full of the epic moments Byrne’s run became known for, though the most famous of these is perhaps Frankie Raye’s transformation into Galactus’ herald Nova.

While the former deals specifically with the Four and, specifically, Johnny’s relationship with Frankie, the latter half of the book becomes a cosmic tour of the Marvel Universe – indeed, it was the inclusion of Lilandra and Gladiator in the title that caused a young me to get it out from the library in the first place, at a time when I didn’t read anything without an X-Men connection.

The “Trial of Galactus” story actually ran sporadically across a 20-issue period of Fantastic Four – issue #242 to #262. In order to ensure the focus of the story remains on the plot at hand, some issues are only partially collected, with unrelated material cut out and rearranged in order to make the collection read as a “single” story. It’s not a seamless job, though neither is it particularly disorganised, and the foreword helpfully prepares the reader for the few irregularities that do appear, such as Ben Grimm’s mysteriously changing appearance, and the otherwise inexplicable presence of Byrne himself in the climactic act (actually mandated by Marvel’s “Assistant Editor Month”)

Also included in the collection is Byrne’s issue of “What The…” – Marvel’s best-left-forgotten humour comic. At the time it would’ve been little incentive to buyers but now its satire of the industry and fandom actually makes for an interesting historical document, if nothing else.

Although the collection is now out of print, it remains a favourite of mine, and comes heartily recommended as the best story in a justifiably lauded run – superhero comics at their bronze-age finest.love potion no 9 divx

The issue opens with the team rebuilding their base following the events of Secret Invasion. Hickman quickly establishes the character dynamic, with some particularly memorable jokes for the deliberately frivolous Johnny. Is this is representative of the quality of Hickman’s usual characterisation and dialogue, Fantastic Four fans are in for a treat over the course of his run.

Dark Reign fans, however, might want to think twice before picking up the book. For this issue, at least, the event gets only the barest sliver of plot importance. It’s little more than background noise. Instead, things follow the classic Fantastic Four. The family squabbles with one another until Reed invents something, and things go awry. The tone isn’t an especially radical shift away from Millar’s, but something about Hickman’s interpretation of the characters feels slightly more natural.

Chen’s artwork is competent and dutiful, but few scenes truly pop like the artist is capable of. Whether he’s simply not that enthusiastic about the characters or struggling with a fairly subtle script remains to be see, but at no point does the artwork for this issue fall below enjoyable. The one hiccup is in his depiction of Franklin and Valeria, where the latter appears to be roughly the same age – if not older – than the former, when it should be the other way around.

Overall, the series looks like it’ll satisfy those fans who want a Fantastic Four story but don’t want to dip into the Millar and Hitch run, although event-completists can and should stay well away until further notice, because despite the prominence given to the crossover in the title, there’s barely a hint of it in the book itself – it’s little more than a marketing blemish on an otherwise decent comic.

While the collection was recently released in the US in the “Marvel Premiere” regular-sized hardback format, Panini have exercised their rights as licensors to collect it as a trade paperback for the UK market. With combined discounts, that means I got 8 issues for £6.50. It’s not hard to see why the singles market is dying when it’s expected to compete with that level of savings.

download geronimo online It’s with only some trepidation, then, that I approach this – a collection of issues #554-#564 – the first 8 issues of their run. And, with the benefit of being able to sit down and read it in one go, there’s actually a lot to enjoy. It’s not quite the ground-breaking material of their Ultimates work, but it is a similar take on the Fantastic Four, steeped in realism while retaining some of the more outlandish territory that the comic traditionally explores.

Indeed, if anything, that’s the problem. The idea of top scientists building a “spare” planet for when ours dies is proper Science Fiction – but juxtaposed against Johnny’s affair with a new super-villain, and Sue’s attempts to start up a support group for victims of super-crime, it doesn’t really work. The tone clashes massively, feeling like separate stories for each character rather than interleaving the way you’d expect a group book too.

Millar’s handle on the group’s relationships is good, though variable. His “Paris Hilton” version of Johnny doesn’t quite ring true, though his take on a more tender, upbeat Ben Grimm is a welcome breath of fresh air for the character. Furthermore, the use of Alyssa Moy and Valeria both represent compelling new developments in the F4 canon. Even the “future Defenders” are an oddly compelling bunch – there’s a familial tone more similar to Clandestine than the Fantastic Four, and it’s easy to see why they’re being spun-off into their own comic.

It’s fairly clear that there’s no inherent problem with the Millar/Hitch F4 run – the dialogue and art are both great, but there’s something of a clash between what readers expect of the characters, and what the intentions of the creative team are. Couple that with a slight lack of coherance throughout the actual story, and you can see why it hasn’t lit up the fandom like people might’ve thought.

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It’s been a quiet week for comics while delayed and mis-timed event books empty the schedules, so this week we’ve only got a few capsule reviews: Captain Britain #7, Fantastic Four: True Story #4 and Wolverine #69, the latest chapter of Old Man Logan.

Review: Captain Britain and MI13 #7
Another month, another essential purchase from Paul Cornell and Leonard Kirk. There’s a risk that the story might not be as much fun for readers not familiar with the recent treatment of the Mindless Ones in Nextwave, but the main thrust of the story is strong, with character relationships developing nicely. Although chunks of the plot are set in the cast’s heads, Cornell is careful not to allow the story to become too introspective, with amusingly direct examples of wish-fulfilment. Some inconsistent inking is the real criticism that can be made, with Kirk’s art looking surprising different on the sections not worked on by his regular co-worker. [JHa]

Review: Fantastic Four: True Story #4
The “other” Cornell book, however, has been a little weak by comparison. Clearly, he’s having a lot of fun with the literary characters, but the general fantasy underpinnings of the concept have left the series feeling a little poorly-suited to the scientific tone of the Fantastic Four. The characters do, at least, carry the comedic elements of the series well, and in that sense a group like the Fantastic Four is an appropriate choice, so it’s a bit of a mixed bag. Despite a fairly enjoyable cartoonish style, it’s really Dominigues’ artwork that forms the weak link in the chain, as he struggles to cram in some chaotic storytelling that relies on a studied depiction of cross-genre travel. It’s not been a bad series by any means, but compared to Cornell’s previous comics work, it hasn’t hit the high standards I’ve come to expect. [JHu]

Review: Wolverine #69
I’ve really got no idea how to approach this. There are a few angles I could take, such as “Let the Millar backlash begin” or “Grant Morrison did it better” but let’s be frank about this – Old Man Logan isn’t very entertaining. Beautifully drawn, yes, but as a story it’s reduced to little more than the scenic route across yet another post-apocalyptic Marvel future, and we’ve seen more than enough of those over the years. The winking irony of earlier chapters still hasn’t disappeared, and the pay off for the series is really now going to rely on whether Wolverine’s story of how they finally “broke” him contains any good twists or not. Right now, the plot doesn’t feel like it’s heading anywhere memorable. [JHu]

Inside this week’s Sunday (and not-at-all Hastily Edited On Monday) Pages, you can find a selection of capsule reviews including Captain America #42, Daredevil #111, Fantastic Four: True Story #3, Ms. Marvel #32, Superman #680, Ultimate Spider-Man #126, X-Men Legacy #216. In addition, we give a quick plugola to an interview with one of our very favourite comics talents, and there’s another big UK show coming up!

Review: Captain America #42
Brubaker delivers some gripping action scenes during the conclusion of “The Death of Captain America”, but it’s a distinctly hollow ending. As feared, it seems that the writer has merely inserted a break in his narrative, rather than allowing the story to reach a natural conclusion. The ongoing plotline isn’t derailed by the events here, but only minor plot threads are tied up. We’re still none the wiser as to what the Skull was planning or why he needed the resources he’s been gathering to do it. Even the reason why Steve Rogers had to be removed from the scene is lacking. Brubaker obviously still has many plans for the title, but dashing readers’ hopes of some answers will damage the goodwill the writer’s work has won. [JHa]

Review: Daredevil #111
Plenty of people have put forth the notion that Matt Murdock is the biggest man-slut in the Marvel Universe, and it’s clearly a concept Brubaker is comfortable with, as Matt adds another notch to billy club in the form of Dakota North. Given the character, this is a fairly natural progression of the story, and with Milla still a presence in the book (if not actually appearing) it plays directly into the Catholic guilt that is such a large part of Matt’s portrayal. The appearance of Lady Bullseye adds just the right external element to counter-balance Matt’s soap opera personal life. Marvel are pushing this new arc as a jumping-on point for the character, and if the quality of the first issue is anything to go by, they’ve made a good decision doing so. [JHu]

Review: Fantastic Four : True Story #3
Nyarg. Despite by far the best gag in a comic this week – “Frankenstein versus Dracula!” – this isn’t really working for me, for some reason. Perhaps it’s that Cornell’s dialogue-heavy writing style (nothing wrong with it in isolation, mind) simply doesn’t mesh with Domingues’ overly cartoony and often quite unclear (the incredibly thick inking lines don’t help) art, creating something of a visual overload that’s just too much to take in at once. Or maybe it’s just that not even Cornell can make the Fantastic Four inherently interesting. Either way – the odd moment aside – this just doesn’t sparkle in the way that Captain Britain does, and isn’t the light and frothy romp through metafiction that we might have expected. Shame. [SP]

Review: Ms. Marvel #32
After teasing the book’s post-Secret Invasion direction last issue, Reed makes an odd jump to an indeterminate point in Carol’s recent timeline to show her visiting her dying father. Unusually dealing with Carol’s memory loss at the hands of Rogue, it shows for the first time this series the emotional detachment problems she has with her past that have estranged her family. The issue has a fairly dark tone to it, and is presumably designed to re-establish Carol’s attitude towards her past for exploration in a coming arc. In that sense it’s mostly successful, though it occasionally relies slightly too much on the reader having  knowledge of Ms. Marvel continuity minutiae which haven’t previously been mentioned in the series. [JHu]

Review: Superman #680
In which Krypto the Superdog takes on the villain that Superman couldn’t beat… and wins. I’m not kidding. Oh, and it’s the best issue of Robinson’s run so far. I’m not kidding on that, either. Lots of questions remain unanswered about Atlas and the shadowy figures behind him, and I’m not hugely keen on the “next issue” blurb being one for a one-off special (it creates confusion for people who don’t keep up with shipping lists meticulously every week). But despite that, this is tremendous fun – and one of the Silver Age’s oldest and ostensibly silliest legacies – a super-powered dog in a cape – becomes a genuine, viable character in his own right. [SP]

Review: Ultimate Spider-Man #126
Hmmm. With Jeph Loeb having apparently decided that continuity means jack shit in the Ultimate universe, it looks as if Bendis has decided to follow him. A note at the start of this issue tells us that it “takes place before Ultimates 3″ – which is hard enough to reconcile in current timelines, but even harder when you see Nick Fury show up with two arms, meaning that it must actually be taking place before the end of Ultimates 2 – which was bloody ages ago. Yet at the same time, Thor speaks in Loeb-esque “Ye Olde” style. That said, I can’t complain too much, since it’s just good to see someone writing the Ultimates properly – coupled with the fact that Nick Fury has been very much at home here ever since the start of Immonen’s run, it strengthens the argument that the entire line should just be stripped back to this one, consistently excellent book. [SP]

Review: X-Men Legacy #216
Mike Carey has often gone on record over his admiration of Grant Morrison’s X-Men run, and this issue is constructed as a homage to that writer’s Murder At The Mansion arc. Whereas the original saw Jean Grey interrogating Emma Frost over her past, here it’s Charles Xavier who is being held to account by Emma. It’s a reasonable effort, bringing some much-needed closure to the Summers/Xavier feud, and an intriguing point is raised by Xavier’s acceptance of his guilt as a means of hiding from it. However, Carey never really overcomes the fact that Emma is probably the X-Man least able to criticise the past morality of others. [JHa]

Event : Birmingham International Comics Show
Yes, the “UK’s other big comics show” is back after a successful 2007, and taking place this coming weekend (4th-5th October) at “Think Tank, Millennium Point”, Birmingham. While we’re sure that almost everyone who’d want to know about the show already does, we just thought we’d give it a quick mention for a couple of reasons: at least two-thirds (and possibly the entirety) of the Comics Daily team will be heading along on the Saturday to cover it for various august web-based publications – so if you spot us and recognise us, say hi – and more importantly, two of our favourite writer/artist friends-of-the-site, Jamie McKelvie and Marc Ellerby, will be sharing a table. So make sure you pop along and buy their books, because they’re VERY GOOD. That is all. More at the official site. [SP]

Shameless plug : Frank Quitely interview
And speaking of favourite artists, yours truly enjoyed one of those rare, brilliant experiences recently, sitting down for a half-hour phone conversation with All-Star Superman (and a bajillion other great things) artist extraordinaire, Frank Quitely. Sadly it was for Den of Geek rather than this fine site, so you’ll have to click away from here to read it – but if you do so, you’ll find the great man spilling all manner of excellent technical artistry-related tidbits. Well worth a read, and I’d have said that even if I hadn’t been the one conducting it. Honest. [SP]

Alternatively, file this one alongside Fantastic Four v1, #454. This issue marked one of the high points of Claremont’s run on Fantastic Four, following several months of rather tedious alternate-universe hopping crammed with villains devoid of personality and a lot of old Excalibur concepts regarding the multiverse thrown into the mix. Not the worst fit for Marvel’s explorers, admittedly, but you only had to look at the F4 fighting a legion of Captain Britains drawn from multiple dimensions to know that things aren’t being handled quite as tightly as they could be. Luckily, with Doom now scheduled to return to the spotlight following a 2-year absence from the Marvel stage, Claremont was free to begin the arc that ended his run, exploring the duality of Reed and Doom.

While Claremont’s run often suffered from fairly two-dimensional characterisation – something deeply evident in Claremont’s hammy dialogue – the plotting in the latter half is (believe it or not) engaging enough to make up for it. Claremont’s take on the F4 is at least consistent, so Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny all stick to their defined personalities just enough to keep you in the story, even if every time a character speaks it feels like they’re overacting.

This particular issue followed a 5th Week event full of comics set on the devastated Heroes Reborn Earth, which had been saved by Ashema in the “Heroes Return” miniseries, but not before it experienced massive environmental and social upheavel following the departure of the Marvel Heroes that had been living there while assumed dead for the past year. Free from (credible) interference, Doom effectively conquered the planet, becoming its champion in the process, and ”Heroes Reborn: Doom”, the final issue of the 5th week event, tied directly into the opening of Fantastic Four #25 as he finally escaped the Heroes Reborn pocket dimension, bringing the entire planet with him.

The Four spend much of the issue fighting Doom and his superhuman allies from the HR Earth, before guidance from Ashema leads them to the real threat – the insane and powerful Dreaming Celestial. With Doom now back on the table, Claremont takes the opportunity to explore the relationship between the teenage version of Valeria he added to the cast, and the man she knows as her father, and these two characters get perhaps the best material of the issue with their interactions. The story climaxes when Reed and Doom unite against the Dreaming Celestial and after the dust clears, only Doom appears to be left standing.

All is not as it appears, however - future issues reveal that Reed is actually trapped in Doom’s armour, with some fairly terrifying consequences resulting from this, and the remaining issues of the Claremont/Larocca run contain some unique and memorable moments. While many elements of the run go unacknowledged, a few have survived, such as “Wilhemina” Lumpkin, niece of the original (now appearing in Cornell’s Fantastic Four: True Story), Alyssa Moy (as previously documented

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) and Valeria, who was eventually added as a permanent member of the cast following some age-regression shenanigans. By no means is this a classic run, but certainly the “Return of Doctor Doom” storyline (encompassing #25) is a hidden gem that, at the very least, deserves to be collected.

Not content with quietly turning Captain Britain into one of Marvel’s best-written superheroes, Cornell is now taking on on Marvel’s First Family. Playing up their status as the Marvel Universe’s pioneers and explorers, Cornell finds a new realm for them to visit – the world of fiction. Nods to Jasper Fforde, meta-fiction’s current poster boy, are immediately take care of before the F4 plunge themselves hilariously into the fictionverse. The first book they visit? Sense and Sensibility. One can’t help but feel that Cornell is taking more than a little bit of revenge on numerous BBC costume dramas by throwing the Fantastic Four into that particular yarn.

Much of the issue is dedicated to setting up the immediate threat from a standing start, and the pace of the issue occasionally feels a little brisk. Even so, Cornell brilliantly uses each character to drive the story along – it’s made clear from both the focus and dialogue that Sue is going to be the real star of this series. There’s a great moment where the essence of the Johnny/Ben banter, an integral part of the F4’s family dynamic, is boiled down to its purest formula, and a lovely self-referential nod where Reed wonders why Sue is such a big fan in Sense and Sensibility, a book where girls have to choose between “uptight heroes who have trouble talking about their feelings” and “dashing, moody villains.” It’s the kind of subtle moment the book is crammed with that proves Cornell REALLY knows his stuff – and extra kudos for including the Claremont-created Wilhemina “Billie” Lumpkin.

Artwork comes from Horacio Dominigues, a newcomer to Marvel. He still feels green as an artist, but his expressive body language and storytelling skills are thankfully more than high enough to do Cornell’s work justice. His work brings a sense of fun to what is undoubtedly going to be a fun story, if only because of the one-liners Ben comes up with.

Lastly – when we interviewed Paul at Bristol, he mentioned that the villain was going to be one of Marvel’s older characters, and one that the team has oddly never faced. Then he chastised me for trying to guess who it was. I’m scouring this issue for clues, so I suggest that any and all Marvel nerds pick up a copy and do the same – a shiny penny to the first one who figures it out!

While Claremont was doing his not entirely horrendous run on Fantastic Four earlier this decade, three companion miniseries came out united under the banner “Before the Fantastic Four.” As the name suggests, they showed the early days of the F4 characters. One was a “Storms” miniseries, focusing on Johnny and Sue’s early days, and the second was a “Ben Grimm and Logan” series, which paired Grimm up with the unit-shifting Wolverine during World War 2.

The third was this one – Reed Richards - which showed the early adventures of Reed and Alyssa Moy – an ex-girlfriend of Reed’s who was part of the F4’s supporting cast at the time, having recently been introduced.

When Mark Millar was conceiving his current Fantastic Four run, he wanted to add someone to his supporting cast, saying in an interview:

It just always struck me that Reed would have had someone prior to Sue, since he’s ten years older than she is. Also, Sue’s so different from Reed and I felt the girl out there would be much more like he was, a female Reed Richards of sorts, and someone he’d have met at university. As luck would have it, Chris Claremont created exactly such a character and her name is Alyssa Moy. Her nickname in our story is Mrs. Fantastic.

Claremont had already established that Reed and Alyssa were involved in all sorts of Indiana Jones-style adventures, and the task then fell to Peter David to write one of these adventures up into a full-length piece. Artist Duncan Fegredo, currently of Hellboy fame, was tasked with doing the artwork.

The story is PURE Indiana Jones, and is more than aware of the fact. You can tell that David had a lot of fun putting together this adventure, and frankly it would’ve been nice if Spielberg and Lucas had this much understanding of what makes Indy fun when they were putting together Crystal Skull. If you can’t tell from the cover, Alyssa occupies a fairly prominent action-heroine role, and David’s mixture of action and comedy make this comic the Indiana Jones/Lara Croft team-up that never was.

During the course of the series, David somehow makes the idea of Reed Richards-as-Indy mesh with the more scientific, considered man the readers know him as – it was never going to be an easy task, but his analytical mind is always visibly at work, even when he’s not talking about science. Alyssa is a strong female presence throughout who can challenge Reed on every level – their relationship actually manages to be more believable than his and Sue’s ever is, and it’s good to see that she’s still being used in the comics today.

Fegredo’s artwork is usually superb, though in this series his style actually suffers under the weight of the colouring, and I’m not entirely sure he’s suited to such standard fare. It looks like a lot has been done to temper his style when he works best when allowed to go absolutely crazy on the details. The book could’ve been improved if he’d been given freer reins or simply replaced altogether, instead of ending up in this sort of halfway house. It’s not his best work, but he services the story well enough and there are some nice pages in there even if it feels a bit rushed overall.

I picked up all 3 issues of this series from a bargain bin at the Bristol Expo for under 20 pence. At that price, it’s impossible to consider this a bad deal – it’s a fun story and might see some renewed interest given the current use of Alyssa Moy in the parent title (and the fact that it’s a better Indiana Jones story than the recent movie). I’m not sure it was ever collected, so you’ll have to go for the individual issues, but if you can ever get all three on the cheap, don’t even think twice.

Do you like Starman? Do you like Paul Cornell and the Fantastic Four? If so, there’s probably something worth reading in here, I guess. If nothing else, why not come in and read my latest Alternate Cover column? A must for people who like the Buffy and Angel comic, though an even bigger must for people who don’t like it! And we tell you who to vote for in what nobody calls “the comics industry’s BAFTAs”, the Eagle Awards.
It’s that time of year again – the Eagle Award nominations are up, and voting is open. Sadly, Comics Daily isn’t up for best website just yet, so to be honest there’s no real point in voting at all. But if you really fancy it, we’ll point out that Phonogram is once again up for best B&W (if it gets beaten by The Walking Dead again, we’ll cry), Matt Fraction has to be a shoo-in for newcomer writer, and I’ll be very surprised if Mike Wieringo doesn’t posthumously make Roll of Honour. There are a couple of strange instances, though – for example, Frank Quitely is down for Best Inks, despite the fact that his only current work (All-Star) is inked by… Jamie Grant (who I’d clearly vote for, if he were nominated). I’d also quibble with Stardust being described as “comics-based” – I’d call the original version, despite the publisher and format, more of an illustrated story than an actual comic. Still, it was better than Spidey 3 and 300, so I’ll probably still vote for it. And if you don’t vote for All-Star Superman as best colour comic, then you’re not allowed to read our site any more. (SP)

It’s been on the cards for a while, but since it’s only just popped onto my radar, it’s worth a mention – if you’ve got a spare twenty-five quid kicking around in late May, then you could do a lot worse than pick up the first volume of The Starman Omnibus, out on the 21st. Sitting somewhere between a regular trade collection (of which there are ten, in Starman’s case) and the bigger, boxed Absolute editions, it’s a lovely looking hardcover collection, with a new cover by series artist Tony Harris (who presumably must have buried the hatchet over the editorial decisions that saw him leave the book in the first place). Crucially, in addition to just collecting the main stories that featured in the original trades, the Omnibus will eventually include pretty much all of the associated spin-off material, including the superb Shade miniseries, and the various Times Past one-shots, a number of which have never been collected before. If you’re not up on Starman, all I’ll say is that it’s just about the best post-Crisis superhero story that DC have published – a genuinely powerful, character-driven tale that gives a thorough examination of such themes as heroism and nostalgia. $49.99 is an excellent price for the first seventeen issues, and if you’ve never encountered the series, I’m convinced that after picking up this first book, you’ll be hooked. (SP)

Paul Cornell on Fantastic Four? Sounds good to us. After his initial Wisdom miniseries for Marvel’s MAX imprint flew slightly under the radar, it’s good to see that Marvel and Cornell are still eager to work together. With Captain Britain released any day now, and Fantastic Four: True Story upcoming, it’s good to see a highly capable sci-fi writer having a stab at Reed & Co. Keep your eye on Comics Daily, too, because after the Bristol Comics Expo in a few weeks, we might have some interesting Cornell-related material to point you towards… (JH)

And, still available to read on Den of Geek is last week’s Alternate Cover column – this one on the subject of licensed comics. After 10 years reading comics, I try to understand exactly why I’ve read nary a licensed comic that doesn’t read like crap, using current faves Buffy, Angel and Gargoyles as reference points. It caused a minor stir on the Newsarama Blog and Whedonesque, so make sure you read it otherwise you might risk looking like an under-informed fool next time the subject comes up. Kind of like I do. (JH)