Fantastic Four: Antithesis

So, 2021 is now in full swing, with 2020 nothing more than a very painful reflection in our collective rear view. However, for me it is not quite over as I still have a few issues of my pull list to catch up on.

So, here is me doing just that.

This past week, I decided to read the Marvel mini series created by Mark Waid and Neal Adams, Fantastic Four: Antithesis. This was a last minute decision by me as, once again, Mister Miracle got pushed downstream a bit and, to be honest, I kinda wished I'd just stuck to my initial guns.

Antithesis follows Marvel's first family who, after pushing their monstrous menace that is Annihilus back through a mysterious fissure from the Negative Zone, learn of a mysterious object crashing towards Earth. This object turns out to be the Silver Surfer with an ominous announcement; Galactus is dead!! Now, the FF must travel the stats and beyond to determine if Galactus is truly dead and stop, if that's even possible, a being even more powerful than the destroyer of worlds.

This in itself sounds like a really epic story and the fact it has two titans like Mark Waid (whose FF run I absolutely adore) and Neal Adams only made the concept all the sweeter. I'm fact, I had just this week thought that the FF need more 'separate' stories away from the main run. Something where the status quo doesnt change by the end, just the adventure.

However, I find myself thinking the old adage 'be careful what you wish for' because I found Antithesis a real struggle to read and enjoy.

The thing is, I'm not quite sure of the reasoning behind the why. Mark Waid is a fantastic storyteller and he's shown before that he knows these characters. However, with this it just felt to me like they had been taken back to something bronze age-esque or maybe even earlier. All four of the FF felt off somehow. Of course, that's not the only thing as I found the story to be unengaging and just not keeping me hooked as much as I like.

Meanwhile, I also found the art to be a struggle. Now, in fairness, Neal Adams is a phenomenal artist and the fact this series didn't appeal to me is maybe more a sign of my lack of art appreciation than his skill. However, while the art was gorgeous, it just felt to me that the style was just too muted for a Cosmic Fantastic Four story and that more flair and colour was needed that the muted visuals I got.

Of course, it's not all bad because, in truth, Waid did get the family dynamic to work well (even if the characters seemed 'wrong' to me). Also, Adam's drew a phenomenal Silver Surfer (especially in close up) and the massive double page spread of the master and herald combo is a thing of beauty.

Unfortunately, all in all, Fantastic Four: Antithesis was not my thing and that is a sad thing to say. After a couple of years of praising one-shot about the first family, is disappointing to see the second of 2 mini's from 2020 fail to impress me. Maybe the team is not meant for tales in a mini-series, just one-shot or ongoing.

However, at least I gave it a shot and I could always re-read and see if it becomes my thing at a later date. However, for the moment, that's probably not something I would consider doing so I'll just chalk it up to experience and move on.