Ultimate Fantastic Four - Volume 7: God War

I'd give this a 3.5 if I could -- I tilted towards the high end to balance out some of the overly negative reviews from other readers. I agree this isn't the greatest story arc for the Ultimate FF, but it was okay. This volume collects issues #33-38 of the series, which comprised a stylish if somewhat muddled space opera featuring remodeled versions of Marvel's cosmic big baddie, Thanos and Ronan The Accuser (formerly a Kree super-cop, here the equally uninvolving son of Thanos). The FF team up with a boring, techno-fethishy outerspace supergroup called Seed 19, and find themselves in the middle of a transdimensional civil war, in a cluttered storyline that was painfully reminiscent of Chris Claremont's endless space operas in the 1980s "X-Men." Still, it was an engaging read, fun enough if a bit thick in the cosmic, sci-fi jargon. The series is still involving for the way that the fledgling teenaged FF is still finding its feet (although here they are so capable and self-assured that the book comes perilously close to being just the same as the regular FF title.) Still digging the Thing's Ultimate persona - hopefully they'll "teen" him up a bit more, so that he's not just an "Earth Two" version of the adult Ben Grimm we already know and love. In short, this volume was okay - I still find it a diverting, entertaining title, but I agree it does seem to be tilting towards the same-old, same-old and losing the originality and verve of the Ultimate universe. (ReadThatAgain book reviews)