As ‘Fantastic Four’ #601 closed, the Kree armada and the Inhumans had clashed with Johnny Storm in the middle. As Johnny and the Inhumans were turning the tide of battle in their favor, the debris from the battle above Earth began to rain down on the planet. Now it was up to the rest of the Fantastic Four and their Avengers teammates to save the world before it turns into a barren wasteland.

In an attempt to stop the battle and its destructive fallout, Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) makes a hard decision to summon an old foe that may turn things in a far worse direction. But, when Richard’s super-genius mind can come up with no other way to save the planet, Reed summons the planet destroying Galactus!

When Galactus and Reed last met, the godlike superbeing told Richards to summon him at “a season of dying”. Since the world is about to be destroyed Richards calculates that this must be what Galactus was referring to. But, as this issue closes, Reed discovers his error, and the real “season of dying” begins.

This massive story arc from writer Jonathan Hickman’s began over in the pages of ‘FF’ and spread into the ‘Fantastic Four’ when the series returned to its original numbering at issue #600. Now, as the battle above earth rages and Galactus and the “season of dying” is upon us, it seems as if the tale is nearing its end… and what a ride it has been! Hickman has deftly woven a virtual ton of plot threads from the Fantastic Four’s legendary history into one great literary tapestry. It’ll be interesting to see where Hickman goes with the two FF teams once this first arc comes to a close.

Of course, with so much going on (and as I recommended with this week’s issue of ‘FF’), if you haven’t been reading these two titles thus far, I’d recommend waiting for the trade paperback collection of this arc or you’ll have no clue what’s going on. This is definitely not a jumping-on point for new readers!

Verdict: Buy

FANTASTIC FOUR #602
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by BARRY KITSON
Cover by MIKE CHOI