Fantastic Four: Full Circle brings bold and vivid colors to a fantastic world

If you’ve been dying for an old-school comic book story with a modern-day art style and a color palette to feast your eyes on, Fantastic Four: Full Circle is right up your alley.

This is Alex Ross’s first solo foray into writing a drawing a superhero graphic novel. He’s well known for his breathtaking covers over the last thirty-plus years of Marvel Comics. Taking on a full-blown story feels like a natural next step for the artist.

And it is absolutely gorgeous. Almost every page of Fantastic Four: Full Circle is breathtaking color and beautiful visuals. Ross perfectly encapsulates a modern twist on 1960s comic book art style. Something catches your eye with every page turn, from the lines and shading on Mr. Fantastic stretching his outfit or a complex, overwhelming, futuristic cityscape. You’ll find your eyes dancing across every page.

This is the first graphic novel in 40 years that Marvel has licensed out to another publisher and marks the launch of MarvelArts as well, which is a graphic novel collaboration between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts.

What is Fantastic Four: Full Circle all about?

If you want sci-fi comic book storylines, Full Circle scratches that itch. When someone breaks into the Baxter Building where the Fantastic Four live, it’s Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm who encounter him first. He’s wearing a familiar face that quickly becomes so much worse: a swarm of infesting parasites bursts from the body, attacking everything in sight.

It sends our fantastic team into the Negative Zone, one of the most dangerous universes, with the fate of the cosmos in their hands. The twists and turns of the plot will keep you turning every page to find out what happens next. And (no spoilers!) there’s even an emotional resolution to the whole story, which doesn’t always land in comic books, but it works great here.

Truly it’s the art style that makes this graphic novel gleam. The Negative Zone pops off the pages. The team’s new suits specifically for the Zone shine with brilliance. Even The Thing’s facial expressions give emotional resonance throughout the story. You’ll find yourself having to turn back to read the dialogue again because you’re just looking at the artwork.

If you’re a comic book fan, whether new or old school, this should be on your must-read list.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle releases today! Do you plan on picking up your copy? Let us know in the comments!