Marvel 2 In One #5: Doom’s Day

I picked this issue up largely to try to catch up on what’s going on in the Fantastic Four section of the Marvel Universe.  Reed and Sue haven’t been seen in a while, but this series shows us what Ben and Johnny are up to.

The Cover

I would initially describe this cover as very fitting of the Fantastic Four.  It has a feel that is very reminiscent of the team.  The cover features Doom looming over The Thing and the Human Torch.  Destructive purple energy is emanating from him.  The heroes look surprised by Doom’s appearance, yet prepared to fight back.  All told, this is a great cover.

The Art

Valerio Schiti does the interior art in this book, and I was surprised by just how good it was, not being familiar with the artist’s previous work.  The details in each of the characters are fantastic(pun not intended).  The alternate dimension Reed Richards is especially well drawn.  The scene at the beginning of the book where Ben throws him into a window is just beautifully drawn.  The art supports the story impeccably, and creates a great atmosphere.

The Story

The story for this book centers around Johnny and Ben’s ongoing search for Reed and Sue.  They have been travelling through the multi-verse in their search, and have come to a world that is facing destruction at the hands of a Victor von Doom that has stolen the power(and hunger) of Galactus.  They encounter this world’s versions of Reed and Sue, and while Sue is leading the fight against Doom, Reed has seemingly given up.  Ben whips him back into shape, and a Doom from another world joins them to defeat his alternate universe self.  It’s a pretty basic story, but well told.  Chip Zdarsky wrote a great book.  If the new Fantastic Four series that is coming in a few months is as good as this, it’ll be a title worth picking up on a regular basis.