As ‘Fantastic Four’ #602 closed, the Kree and Inhumans were at each others’ throats, Reed Richards had summoned Galactus, and the Celestials had arrived in our universe!

It is with the fate of worlds hanging in the balance that we open on the new issue. The Kree and Inhuman battle is quickly taken out of the equation with the two warring factions fleeing in the wake of the Celestials arrival. Even with the threat of that war eliminated, the fate of our universe still seems dire. Back above Earth, it’s a literal battle of the Gods as Galactus attempts to stop the Celestials from invading his home universe. Before all is said and done, Gods will fall, heroes will make their stand, and an unexpected arrival promises to turn the tide.

Over the past several years, ‘Fantastic Four’ and its sister series ‘FF’ have been under the helm of writer Jonathan Hickman. Now all of the story threads that Hickman has so deftly woven are starting to come to a perfect head. The next couple of issues of both of these series will end Hickmans epic storyline and a new creative team will take over with ‘Fantastic Four’ #605.

And, while this issue is a spectacular and exciting read, I can’t recommend it to the casual reader. Even for a long time comic fan such as myself, I have found myself hitting Wikipedia a few times along Hickman’s story to figure out who some of the characters are since the story draws from a lot of the First Family’s lengthy history. If you’re planning on starting ‘Fantastic Four’, wait until #605 when the new story arc begins. Of course, you won’t want to miss out on Hickman’s awesome tale so be sure to pick this one up when it hits trades! It’s one of the best Fantastic Four stories I’ve read in a long while and one that no comic reader should miss!

Be back next issue when we discover the fate of the world in ‘Fantastic Four’ #604.

Update: It has come to my attention after writing this review that Jonathan Hickman will not be leaving this series as writer after issue #604. That is great news and one that I am overjoyed to have misreported since Hickman’s FF is made of pure sci-fi win!

Verdict: Buy

FANTASTIC FOUR #603
Written by JONATHAN HICKMAN
Art by BARRY KITSON
Cover by MIKE CHOI