Andrea Speed
December 23rd 2004, 09:24 PM
Reviewer: Andrea Speed andy@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Good
Doom becomes the Thing - but what happens to Ben?
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/1/whatifthing.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/1/whatifthing.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Karl Kesel
Art: Paul Smith
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy's Randy Gentile
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Art: Paul Smith
Publisher: Marvel
Review: This turned out to be an ironic issue to read after the ”General Ross” one, but I won’t say why. Save to say, while the Fantastic Four grouping changes, some things stay the same, such as Doom being a duplicitous, arrogant weasel.
Another hard one to review. It does stick close to the origin of the Fantastic Four - and then, in a twist, to the origin of another character (can’t say who, though) - and it reads very well. It establishes the single decision in the past that changes the Doom/Reed/Ben dynamic, and then jumps ahead in time to the rocket launch, where things proceed much as established, with some key differences. Admittedly some of this is predictable even if you’re not that familiar with the origin of the Fantastic Four, but it’s a well written, easy read, with a relatively happy ending. (Although I haven’t read all the What If..?’s yet, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess this is an exception to the general rule.)
The art by Smith has a retro feel to it, but seems exceptionally like it in the pre-launch scenes between Sue and Victor, where you can see actual Benday dots (small, and black as opposed to brightly colored, but still Benday dots). The art is generally pleasant, although I think the faces could be stronger and better delineated, especially in the beginning. The coloring by Mounts is strong, but not cartoonishly bright, and the effects are well done.
While the General Ross one was good, for some reason I liked this one a bit better. It reads faster, and has a generally lighter tone overall. I generally prefer darker tales - and I thought Doom was just too cartoonishly evil - but this one was surprisingly entertaining.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1606&cat=WHAT+IF%3F)
Quick Rating: Good
Doom becomes the Thing - but what happens to Ben?
<a href="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/media/1/whatifthing.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.comixtreme.com/gallery/data/thumbnails/1/whatifthing.jpg" align="left" border="0"> </a>Writer: Karl Kesel
Art: Paul Smith
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Virtual Calligraphy's Randy Gentile
Editor: C.B. Cebulski
Cover Art: Paul Smith
Publisher: Marvel
Review: This turned out to be an ironic issue to read after the ”General Ross” one, but I won’t say why. Save to say, while the Fantastic Four grouping changes, some things stay the same, such as Doom being a duplicitous, arrogant weasel.
Another hard one to review. It does stick close to the origin of the Fantastic Four - and then, in a twist, to the origin of another character (can’t say who, though) - and it reads very well. It establishes the single decision in the past that changes the Doom/Reed/Ben dynamic, and then jumps ahead in time to the rocket launch, where things proceed much as established, with some key differences. Admittedly some of this is predictable even if you’re not that familiar with the origin of the Fantastic Four, but it’s a well written, easy read, with a relatively happy ending. (Although I haven’t read all the What If..?’s yet, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess this is an exception to the general rule.)
The art by Smith has a retro feel to it, but seems exceptionally like it in the pre-launch scenes between Sue and Victor, where you can see actual Benday dots (small, and black as opposed to brightly colored, but still Benday dots). The art is generally pleasant, although I think the faces could be stronger and better delineated, especially in the beginning. The coloring by Mounts is strong, but not cartoonishly bright, and the effects are well done.
While the General Ross one was good, for some reason I liked this one a bit better. It reads faster, and has a generally lighter tone overall. I generally prefer darker tales - and I thought Doom was just too cartoonishly evil - but this one was surprisingly entertaining.
Rating:http://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/full.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/half.jpghttp://www.comixtreme.com/reviews/none.jpg
Buy this issue online now from X-World and Save! (http://x-worldcomics.com/yourvirtualstore/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=1606&cat=WHAT+IF%3F)