Comic Review: Fantastic Four: Life Story #6

Fantastic Four: Life Story #6

Marvel Comics

Writer: Mark Russel

Artists: Sean Izaakse, Ze Carlos, Angel Unzueta

Fantastic Four: Life Story by Mark Russel and Sean Izaakse has been a fascinating take on these classic characters. In just six short issues, it feels as if the team managed to cover quite a bit of ground (roughly 60 years of it if you want to be precise) and were able to make the most of their short time with the characters. While this sixth and final issue isn’t perfect, it serves as a satisfactory conclusion.

This issue deals with the fallout of the Galactus incident, Doom’s final gambit, and what remains of the Fantastic Four family in the face of perpetual tragedy. Johnny Storm is dead, and Reed Richards is in a catatonic state; so, things are certainly looking bleak.

Something that stands out to me about it is how it’s almost more of a “clean-up” issue. I would argue that the through line of the book has been the impending doom of Galactus’ arrival, and with that plotline being tied up in #5, we are left to focus on what is left in the wake of narrowly avoided disaster. Though the Doctor Doom/Mad Thinker plot that takes a front seat has been building alongside everything else, it’s still obviously more of a backdrop to the family drama. The actual final fight with Doom is what I would describe as traditionally anti-climactic, but it fails to weigh the issue down much due to the divine character work. Ultimately, that strong sense of character is what carried the series before this point, and it continues to do so through the very last page.

Russel’s meticulously built dysfunctional family is obviously more introspective and modern than Lee and Kirby’s original design, but it very much works in the context of this story. At least, that’s the conclusion I came to upon completion as I didn’t quite grasp the entire picture before. Now, it seems clear that Russel’s intent was to explore what family means after breaking down our more optimistic view on the subject. I think we wish it could all be fun, exploration, and friendly bickering, but the reality is it’s often far more complex than that. With Life Story, Russel makes the tough, and no doubt controversial, decision to seemingly destroy Marvel’s First Family (on the surface), but in the end makes it clear why it had to happen. This tough reality is not always one I want to see reflected in my superhero comics, but Russel brings such a genuine introspection to his work that makes me want to hear him out.

Sean Izaakse, our regular artist, is joined by Ze Carlos and Angel Unzueta on art duties. These additional artists were likely brought on board to speed things up to meet a deadline. Whatever it is that the two contribute to the book (there’s no info on this in the credits), I must assume that they did it very well because the visuals are as solid as they always have been. There are moments of inspired storytelling from Izaakse, at least one or two moments that make me say “wow” aloud, and the masterful control of facial acting necessary for telling a story as emotionally complex as this. His style isn’t my absolute favorite, but it is a natural fit for Marvel Comics. It reminds me a bit of Dale Eaglesham’s work back during his Justice Society days, or Bryan Hitch at the peak of his popularity and influence. Izaakse strikes me as a very talented artist, and one with enough versatility to take on a wealth of characters and stories.

Fantastic Four: Life Story #6 brings to the First Family what only someone who came from outside the comics world, like Mark Russel, can. Comics were not originally a world he chose to run in, and I think that gives him a certain degree of freedom to do whatever he wants. He likely doesn’t have a deep and personal respect for the characters he’s writing, and that allows him to do so much interesting stuff with them. I find not respecting a fictional character enough is often as detrimental to storytelling in comics as respecting them too much, and Mark Russel often strikes the right balance. Accompanied by a small army of great artists and editors, and I think this book has turned out very well in the end. I look forward to giving it another read one day, it deserves that.