What a long story title for the story we will review from Fantastic Four #15. Forget the idea of it being “A Book-Length Saga!” it is almost a book length title.  but this leaves us to wonder, is the story that falls under it any good? and worth of such awesome words?  Or does it Fail to impress?  All i will tell you for now, is this one has proven to be a hard comic book for me to review.

The Story

Synopsis

Our story is set around an evil genius named known as The Thinker, whom using his own brainpower combined with “computing machines”  is able to predict all events down to the second.  He uses this careful planning to devise a way to invade the Fantastic Four’s headquarters after seeing to it that they are gone for a while.  Can the Fantastic Four stop someone who can predict everything?

Review

A key part of the story is spitting up the team and getting them out-of-town; this is also the one part I take great issue with.  The whole idea of the team taking vacations from being hero’s and doing other work just strikes me all wrong when compared to what I have seen lately.

This story could have worked a lot better if the “thinker” got the fantastic Four out-of-town any number of other ways.  It even could have tied in that his actions occurred while the Fantastic Four where away last issue.

Once we get past this, I feel the story was well done,  the action and adventure that takes place is top-notch, as the Fantastic Four return home.

Art

In reviewing the comic books art I feel Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers did a good job. Much of the story, take place. I feel the action sequences with the thinkers android is quite compelling, but not as all telling as the 3 panels where the android approaches the Fantastic Four.  There is something magical about it,  each panel being just moments apart, you can see, and feel the tension.

Originality & Continuity

while I can not say, that this does not fit in with the continuity, I do feel it does not do as good a job as some of the more recent issues of Fantastic Four.  Here the continuity is more or less assumed, but this story could easily fit in most anywhere, and perhaps would have been better as an earlier story.

The awesome android seems to be the first mimicking creature we have seen, although he seems a bit too unintelligent to use it effectively. This i feel is a good plot device, although I do feel given its spot in the title, his role in the story could have been more compelling overall.

Characters & Development

The Fantastic Four

This issue lets us delve a little into each of there lives, what they may be doing if they where not apart of the super-hero team.  Giving each one a little short solo story during there “vacation”.

The Thinker

The Thinker is made to be an interesting and brilliant character,  whom seems more interested in the game between him and the Fantastic Four then he is in the goal he posed to get the other criminals help. for him I feel this issue plays out almost like a chess came that he calculated to the end.

Yancy Street

We have heard of Yancy Street, and the Yancy Street gang before this issue, but this is the first time we see the Thing on Yancy Street,   This alone makes this issue a bit more significant, for a fan of The Thing or Yancy Street.

Comic Book Review Summery

To keep it short, this Fantastic Four #15 is far from perfect, having a good number of flaws in the story, but I still feel it was worth the read.  the climax helps redeem the story for its less satisfactory implementation.