The End

Delightful book! Got to me fast! Thank you!

Alan Davis draws adventure comics almost better than anyone else. Seems like he's just as good at writing them. I was really concerned that "The End" was going to gloomy and depressing. While Mr. Davis puts his cast through some rigorous challenges, he gives us a big story full of traditional and exciting super-heroing with a smart and modern twist. This is the Fantastic Four at their best!

I have a soft spot for the so-called "imaginary tales" of the comic book world that occur outside of normal continuity. A good number are well-written and interesting looks at familiar heroes in unfamiliar contexts. "Fantastic Four: The End" is no exception: a great story with outstanding art, both by Alan Davis. After the mayhem of the Mutant Wars, Earth has become a paradise. Environmentally sound, technologically advanced, and with humanity united it is virtually free of crime and disease. The human race has taken a place among the galaxy's other advanced peoples, such as the Shi'ar, Kree, and Skrull. All this is due to the genius of Reed Richards, leader of the Fantastic Four. However, utopia came with a price: the apparent death of Reed and Sue's two children, Franklin and Valeria, during an apocalyptic battle with Dr. Doom twenty years before. As we pick up with the FF, we see that they have gone their separate ways. All are still youthful due to Reed's lifespan-extending Methuselah formula, as are many well-known superheroes like Spider-Man and Captain America. Reed has become a recluse on the FF's orbiting station, working day and night on a project to utilize the Negative Zone for instantaneous long-distance space travel. Alicia Masters and the Thing have sired three children and live among the Inhumans. The Human Torch now leads the Avengers as they hunt down the last remaining super villains. And the Invisible Woman has become an archeologist, seeking a powerful mystical artifact that may hold the key to reuniting with her children. Yes, the Earth is peaceful, healthy, and prosperous - but there are dark forces arrayed against it. Some of the FF's oldest adversaries emerge with plots to destroy them and dominate the Earth. Alien races believe that the Earth is a threat, specifically due to the advances created by Reed, and human enemies enter into treasonous alliances with hostile aliens to put our planet in its place. As good and evil forces gather for a final titanic confrontation, the Watcher struggles with his oath of non-interference. In "The End," Reed Richards will be forced make a momentous choice between faith and logic. What will be the final fate of the FF and the planet Earth? Well True Believer, I don't want to reveal any more, so if you want to know you'll have to buy "Fantastic Four: The End." Alan Davis is one of my favorite artists (in my opinion he draws the most beautiful superwomen), and he's also written a fine tale worthy of the storied Fantastic Four. Recommended for FF fans and comic buffs.

Though some might say this is a typical Fantastic Four story, i.e. the ultimate defeat the the team is the break up of the family first, but it really hits so many great marks you can't miss this. First off is the amazing future we see when Mr. Fantastic's genius is finally implemented, and the "end" story here really shows why the fantastic four is so great. Family first. The art is also amazing, don't miss this one.

In recent years, Marvel Comics has put out several stories under the THE END banner, stories which aren't officially within the Marvel universe's mainstream continuity but which, nevertheless, purport to chronicle the last days of various superheroes. The Punisher, Wolverine, the Hulk, and the X-Men received the THE END treatment and are mostly downers. Then came FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END, the most upbeat of these stories so far. In six issues, it tells the final adventure of Marvel's first and premiere superhero family. As written and artistically rendered by talented Brit Alan Davis (with invaluable help from long time collaborator and inker Mark Farmer), FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END is an exciting, galaxy hopping epic which kept me awake and feverishly reading to the very end. SPOILERS alert: Set in the future, times have changed for the world and for the Fantastic Four. One final battle with Dr. Doom resulted in a tragic loss for the close-knit superhero family, for which Reed Richards claimed personal blame. The Fantastic Four disbanded and each member went his and her separate way. Ben Grimm, the ever lovin' Thing, moved to Mars with Alicia Masters on a terra-forming mission and began his own family; Ben has given up crime fighting and he's pretty content. Johnny Storm joined the space hopping Avengers and became their leader. Susan Richards, who had become somehow obsessed with archaeology, spends all her time gallivanting from one dig to another, but in search of what? It's been a long time since she's spent quality time with her husband. And Reed Richards? Some more background re this future universe: In the aftermath of the cataclysmic Mutant Wars, which devastated humanity, Reed Richard's technology gave the people hope and, in fact, it is Reed's technology which eventually ushered in a new era of prosperity for mankind. Mr. Fantastic had invented the Methuselah Treatment, which cures diseases and retards aging. Too, he has brought Earth official status within the galactic community. It's now the best of times for humans as Earth has become someting very Utopian. However, nowadays, the most brilliant mind on Earth is off Earth, living a hermitlike existence in his asteroid space station, preoccupied with his experiments and drawing further and further away from friends and family. Folks have become concerned with Reed's mental health caused by his prolonged isolation. Accordingly, ex-attorney Jen Walters (She-Hulk), now a therapist, visits his asteroid to give him counsel. It is, naturally, at this point that the smelly stuff hits the wind machine. There's always someone not content with paradise. Earth's solar system has been quarantined, which serves to keep out the Skrulls, the Kree, the Shi'ar, and other grumpy Marvel space aliens. When mysterious insurgents commit acts of sabotage within the solar system, John Storm and the Avengers proceed to investigate. Meanwhile, Susan Richards, intent on her own quest, ends up on the bottom of