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A review by art_cart_ron
Fantastic Four by Dan Slott Vol. 2: Mr. and Mrs. Grimm by Dan Slott
4.0
At some point, the world will realize that the face of Marvel - that is second only to Spider-Man's - is The Thing's. Why? Because he starred in years worth of two-in-one series issues, he is connected to the rest of the MCU in a more personal and historic way than any other single Marvel character (Wolverine is probably #3, Captain America #4).
Dan Slott knows this. He knows his stuff. He's not a gimmick monger, someone out to reinvent the wheel, and not an edge lord. The same can't be said for many other writers w/ the weight of the Marvel (or DC) universe on their shoulders. In fact, one of the first things Slott had to do w/ this series was to deescalate some of the Jonathan Hickman excess. See also how he handled the utter destruction of 30+ years of Spider-Man history, following the most awkward and cringe-worthy unwanted reboot in comics history.
Almost everything you need to know about this collection is the fact that the wedding issue was dedicated to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - and their wives. Nuff' said.
That said - you may want to see more here than you actually get. He handles it in a very straight-forward manner, deliberately taking a post-modern crack at the "galactus crashing the wedding" approach that plagues most comics weddings. It's cozy, as opposed to dynamic - and I appreciate that. He lets them be real people. The bachelor and bachelorette parties could have been longer - should have focused on the fact that all of the guests have massive elaborate connections and crazy lives going on simultaneously. Some characters are missing - Sandman, for instance, has an interesting relationship with The Thing. No Hulk?
Something smarter could have been done for a Alicia's bachelorette party - directed to her personal experience of the world, not the tastes of the friends who were along for the ride. Claremont would have been an apt choice to cover that base.
Ultimately, the book struck the right balance, with the impossible task of entertaining as many new and old readers as possible. Certainly much better than the last most significant wedding in the MCU (Peter and Kitty - part trainwreck, part brilliant switch that went unrecognized by most everyone).
Making #4 Yancy St. a TARDIS was a foreseeable bit of fan wank that I appreciated, too.
Someday, we may yet see Ben Grimm get his due - and recognition as one of the top 5 most well-traveled comic characters ever created.
Dan Slott knows this. He knows his stuff. He's not a gimmick monger, someone out to reinvent the wheel, and not an edge lord. The same can't be said for many other writers w/ the weight of the Marvel (or DC) universe on their shoulders. In fact, one of the first things Slott had to do w/ this series was to deescalate some of the Jonathan Hickman excess. See also how he handled the utter destruction of 30+ years of Spider-Man history, following the most awkward and cringe-worthy unwanted reboot in comics history.
Almost everything you need to know about this collection is the fact that the wedding issue was dedicated to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby - and their wives. Nuff' said.
That said - you may want to see more here than you actually get. He handles it in a very straight-forward manner, deliberately taking a post-modern crack at the "galactus crashing the wedding" approach that plagues most comics weddings. It's cozy, as opposed to dynamic - and I appreciate that. He lets them be real people. The bachelor and bachelorette parties could have been longer - should have focused on the fact that all of the guests have massive elaborate connections and crazy lives going on simultaneously. Some characters are missing - Sandman, for instance, has an interesting relationship with The Thing. No Hulk?
Something smarter could have been done for a Alicia's bachelorette party - directed to her personal experience of the world, not the tastes of the friends who were along for the ride. Claremont would have been an apt choice to cover that base.
Ultimately, the book struck the right balance, with the impossible task of entertaining as many new and old readers as possible. Certainly much better than the last most significant wedding in the MCU (Peter and Kitty - part trainwreck, part brilliant switch that went unrecognized by most everyone).
Making #4 Yancy St. a TARDIS was a foreseeable bit of fan wank that I appreciated, too.
Someday, we may yet see Ben Grimm get his due - and recognition as one of the top 5 most well-traveled comic characters ever created.