Counting the series FF, Marvel's first family hits the 600th issue mark with this issue. We're also celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the team as well, and man, is this a doozy. Simultaneously finishing his previous story and starting his next one, Jonathan Hickman's story hits many of the threads he has left throughout his run on FF, and of course includes the surprising (or not) return of a classic ally.
The issue begins with the Future Foundation, Avengers, X-Men, and nearly every other major Marvel hero defending New York from the Kree invasion that we were teased with in FF #11. The action scenes here are really cool, even if Steve Epting's depictions of some characters is a little wonky. His Red Hulk appeared to me to have an extremely tiny head. However, the issue has so many cool action moments that it's hard not to enjoy it, and there's a great fight between Spider-man and some of the annihulus creatures towards the end that reveals our big "surprise" at the end.
But this is just the first story. There are four more contained in this massive anniversary issue. The second story sheds some insight into what has been going on in the Negative Zone in the past year, and this was absolutely my favorite story of the issue. The art by Carmine Di Giandomenico is fantastic, and really makes me wish that he will get a regular ongoing at some point in the near future (Doctor Strange maybe?). The other stories focus on Black Bolt and that Inhumans, Franklin Richards, and of course, Galactus, and it's really fun to see Hickman's take on characters that don't always get a chance to have the spotlight. It proves how great of a handle he has on the Fantastic Four world, and how successfully he is with these side characters.
This anniversary issue costs $8, which is a lot for a comic. However, it's worth the cash. There are no reprints of older stories or useless cover galleries to be found within this book. All 100 pages are written by Hickman. This is what anniversary issues should be like.
Robert Kirkman's other book takes a breather from it's title character's life this issue. It also features the return of original Invincible artist Corey Walker. This issue focuses on Mark's father Omni-man, his wife, and younger brother Oliver on a distant alien planet as they try to deal with the ramifications of the Viltrumite War. The remaining Viltrumites struck a deal with Omni-Man and Invincible to be allowed to remain on Earth, and Allen the Alien (a member of the Coalition of Planets) rightfully thinks this is a bad idea. Omni-Man believes that being with humans will help rehabilitate the Viltrumite's tendencies for extreme violence. While this may seem like a filler issue, Kirkman's strong writing makes this issue better than most of the action-packed issues. Walker's busy alien city scapes are really awesome, as is his facial work, which many times had me laughing out loud. Invincible #85 is a prime example of why this is one of the best superhero books around.
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