Fantastic Four: The Wedding Special

    (Marvel, 2006)
™ and ©2006 Marvel Characters, Inc.

Written by Karl Kesel (Challengers of the Fantastic) and illustrated by Drew Johnson (Wonder Woman), the lead story in this one-shot introduces Reed Richards and Susan Storm to other realities’ versions of themselves and forces the couple to take stock of their relationship and consider the nature of their shared life. Obviously, they were meant for each other. The backup story is a reprint of “Bedlam at the Baxter Building,” the magnum opus that saw Reed and Sue tie the knot with pretty much everyone in the 1965 Marvel Universe in attendance—even Stan “The Man” Lee and Jack “The King” Kirby. This is a fun tale to revisit, and Kesel’s lead-in is a fun celebration of one of the longest running marriages in comic book history.

— Thomas Moudry

From the Comics Buyer’s Guide:

What could easily have been a forgettable commemoration of a touchstone event in the Fantastic Four saga is a tale that captures the wonder and the heart of The FF at its best. Writer Karl Kesel takes what could be considered a thin excuse for a special—the 40th anniversary of FF Annual #3, featuring the wedding of Reed and Sue Richards—and produces a clever story uniquely suited to these two and The FF, bringing together versions of the couple from past, present, and future (apparently including, curiously, Ultimate FF’s Reed and Sue) for a reunion of sorts. Kesel’s tale, while sentimental at its heart, ignores neither Sue’s longtime flirtation with Namor nor the marriage’s sometimes troubled history, but ultimately showcases the strength of the bond these two share.

In addition to seeing for the first time how Reed proposed and how the newlywed Richardses spent their honeymoon, readers also get to see a reprint of the original wedding story, compete with its cast of guest stars and attacking super-villains.

— George Nelson
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#1

January, 2006
Cover Price: $4.99
6 copies available from $3.75 		Karl Kesel, Stan LeeDrew Johnson, Jack Kirby