Book Review: Fantastic Four Ultimate Collection Bk. 1 by M. Waid et al.

Fantastic Four Ultimate Collection Book 1 written by Mark Waid and pencils by Mike Wieringo and Mark Buckingham

Waid and Wieringo had a popular run with Marvel's first family, the Fantastic Four. At the start, a couple of single issues set up the typical FF family dynamic, with the bickering between Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing and the parenting trials of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic and Sue Storm Richards/The Invisible Woman. They have two children, Franklin and Valerie, who have minor roles in these stories. A large role is played by a couple of characters from a PR firm who manage the Fantastic Four's public image. Patents from Richards's invention only cover part of the expenses of the team. They also depend on merchandising and it's hard for the FF to stay in the celebrity lime light. Some of the marketers work with the team, meaning they get to go on the crazy adventures in alternate dimensions and micro-verses. 

The stories are fun and lean into the family dynamics: Reed has troubles with parenting (he is a geeky scientist, after all) and Sue with her immature brother Johnny (giving him a role in the financial department is a good idea according to her since it will help him be more responsible). The kids cause a little trouble for one story arc. The family dynamics are more fun than the scientific nonsense Richards talks about, which comes up quite often. The writer has fun making up stuff, maybe more fun than the readers. 

The book ends with Avengers #400, the first collaboration between Waid and Wieringo. That's a fun, epic story that I enjoyed.

Mildly recommended.