On the Rack: Marvel 100th Anniversary Special Fantastic Four
Marvel has released the first of its 100th Anniversary issues. They are a series of one-shot books that try to predict what the Marvel Universe will look like when it does turn 100 in 2061. The first of the series is the “Marvel 100th Anniversary Special Fantastic Four”, and under the creative team of Jen Van Meter and Joanna Estep, the book features a whole new team and a reunion of the original team.
In the future, the Fantastic Four will include Sue and Reed Richard’s grandchildren with Valeria Richard at mission control. Van Meter envisions the a future where several members of the original Fantastic Four are drawn into a dimensional anomaly, as they are want to do, and as the years pass the new team works to keep new Earth safe. The concept of a comic set in a hypothetical future can be a difficult one to swallow, but Van Meter handles it with ease. Without exposition, she manages to explain all of the new characters in a sufficient way to make you feel invested in their story while setting up the narrative to reintroduce the original characters. The entire structure marries the imagined future team to the original in a very organic way and is extremely readable.
All in all, the one shot is a fitting tribute to the team that was so instrumental in building Marvel’s fame. It incorporates many of the story elements that you can find in any of the classic Fantastic Four issues with contemporary storytelling to create an enjoyable marriage of old and new. While it is a self-contained story, there was a hint that the story would continue into the Marvel 100th Anniversary Guardians of the Galaxy issue. So keep an eye out for the rest of the anniversary issues, because this first one has set a precedent.
