Midnight Fantastic Four #1 Review
When Marvel announced its Midnight initiative, a series of horrific reimaginings of beloved superheroes, I was incredibly excited as a massive fan of both horror and superheroes. This felt like a match made in heaven. Now having read the first issue of Midnight Fantastic Four, I can fairly say that this idea of a horrid world outside your window most certainly has the legs to carry it. Written by Benjamin Percy with art by Kev Walker, this book has a great creative dynamic at its center that is clear from its opening pages.
Percy himself is no stranger to the fusing of horror and superheroics in titles like Ghost Rider and the various Predator Vs. books over at Marvel. Here, he quickly showcases this new Fantastic Four sandbox to be a rich playing area of untapped ideas crying out to be used in a cosmic horror setting similar to that of Stephen King or the Lovecraftian mythos.
Watching the classic staples of Marvel’s first family come to a crashing halt under the weight of dark secrets of reality was very entertaining and had me pause at a few moments in realization of what the comic had shown me, waiting, like Reed Richards, to uncover a horrible hidden truth lying below. Speaking of Reed, it’s quite clear he is the star of the issue. The Midnight Fantastic Four version of Reed is so troubled it makes 616 Reed look comparatively well adjusted, a failed university professor hooked on some unique pills which cause him to neglect everything in order to use his genius to uncover the universe’s secrets, turning over stones that quite frankly seem to want to be left alone.
It’s through this never ending question for the truth he believes is hidden in the void that he gets this universe’s version of Victor Von Doom, Reed’s prized pupil, horrifically killed after peering into a different dimension. Victor, now seemingly knowing the universe horrid truths, is brought back to life by his Father (who appears to be Doom), in what was the most Hellboy feeling comic page I’ve read outside of a Hellboy comic in a very gothic-inspired Latveria.
Whilst Reed and Victor are our clear leads (of this first issue atleast), Percy makes short work of introducing us to the whole cast without needless exposition to catch us up on the changes made to them. He also manages to lay flavorful foundations for where each of these characters are coming from before heading into the next few issues. I especially liked the set up for Johnny, a double amputee in this universe, having a scary relationship with flying which I assume will come to light literally when he gets his powers.
What made me most excited about this title, however, is also what made the slow burn approach to this cosmic horror show work, and that’s Kev Walker’s phenomenal art. If you are somehow one of the few people whose eyes haven’t been blessed by Walker’s incredible work over in Marvel’s Hulk corner, you should know that Walker has been bringing his horror A-game to Marvel for a few years now and just like with the jade giant, Walker perfectly sets the tone here. Walker’s visuals align with Percy’s deliberate slow pacing, allowing the mystery behind this book to breathe; the reader is shown things which, for now, feel abstract and nonsensical but have a deliberate, sinister undertone. Splash pages of ominous shapes in the sky, purple energy which reflects in the eyes, and a Lighthouse. All mark deliberate showings of the forces of unwavering light clashing with the ever frightening unknown. All slotted between some lovely pages of text giving us insight to journals and ‘the Oath’, crafted by letterer Joe Sabino, add this eerie vibe which makes the reader feel like Reed uncovering things he’s not meant to see.
Where some may not have enjoyed the slow pacing, I believe cosmic horror stories struggle without a deliberate melodic structure which allows for reality to both be fully felt and undermined by the unknown. It’s clear to me that both Percy and Walker are working together like a well oiled machine and I am looking forward to seeing where the frightening four journey to next in Midnight Fantastic Four, the Negative Zone perhaps?!
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