Sometimes, writing reviews is about hyperbole, about superlatives. In an effort to get one's point across, the writer runs the risk of overemphasizing it. I'm sure I've done it in the past. It's a challenging thing to come up with new reviews of an episodic medium; often, I find I'm running out of new things to say about a fantastic creative team or inventive storyline. Please keep that in mind when reading my next statement, which I truly believe:
This may be the best Fantastic Four story ever.
"Hereafter" captures the spirit of adventure and family that is at the heart of the property, but it brings an uncharacteristic sense of melancholy and a thought-provoking, theological element to bear that sets this story apart from just about everything that's come before. Waid offers up a tale that's about both tradition and reinvention at the same time, and it's not to be missed.
In the wake of Reed Richards's takeover of the nation of Latveria and the deadly outcome of those efforts, the Fantasic Four is no more. In order to stave off the United Nations and the United States's plans to prosecute, Reed has had to sell off the team's multitude of lucrative patents, leaving a shattered family to mourn on their own. Johnny Storm has immersed himself in a regular life as a mechanic in Connecticut, while maintaining an active daydream of life as it once was. Sue and the kids are staying with a despondent Alicia Masters, and Reed has isolated himself in the one lab he has left, desperate to find a solution to an impossible problem.
Mike Wieringo boasts a rather bright, even cartoony style, but he proves here that it doesn't mean he can't deliver drama. The deeply sad and bitter tone that permeates the entire issue stems first and foremost from the artwork. Johnny's quitely smoldering anger is clear, as is the strength Sue exhibits in order to care for those around her. Reed's guilt, obsession and sadness literally drips from his face. Mounts does an excellent job in reinforcing the downer of a mood. The shift in colors in Johnny's solo scenes reinforces the extreme different in emotion between his fantasy life and the mundane world in which he now finds himself. I also love the dark, muted tones that dominate the scenes set at Alicia's apartment and studio.
You have to give Mark Waid credit. Though this story takes the title characters into untouched realms and issues, he uses something from the characters' earliest days as a key plot device. It's a symbol of the writer's recognition of where these charadcters are coming from.
At the same time, though, what really serves as the greatest strength of this script is the blurring of lines between science-fiction and philosophy. Though the notion of the FF losing everything due to an international incident brings credibility to their world, it's Waid's attempt to tell of the most fantastic journey imaginable that really grabs the reader's attention. Waid emphasizes imagination and adventure here and combines them with emotion and impulse. The characters' focus has shifted from discovery and knowledge to love and an end to grief. One cannot escape the sense that they're doing something wrong, but at the same time, one cannot blame them for taking on the mission.
