I really like Dan Slott. I mean, I don’t know him personally, though we’ve met maybe once or twice at conventions, and occasionally I’ll send him a message when I think he’s nailed some great writing. But, as a writer he’s got the goods, and as a human being he comes across as a really nice guy who loves his job of crafting comics.
Now, not every reader has loved Dan’s work, especially when he was doing fabulously unspeakable things to Peter Parker to his now classic run on Amazing Spider-Man. However, the point of comics is to tell great stories and do terrible things to our heroes so that they can rise again. Dan Slott gets that, and he’s demonstrated that throughout his run on Fantastic Four, which is coming to a conclusion later this summer with Fantastic Four #46.
Slott’s leaving comes on the heels of The Reckoning War, which concluded last week with Fantastic Four #45, and which I thought worth celebrating, since it was a massive storyline that Slott had wanted to tell for more than fifteen years. The tale had everything that makes Marvel’s First Family so beloved; drama and high stakes, camaraderie and tension, space action and big decisions. Since he took on the title some four years ago, Dan Slott managed to tell some wonderful stories that really explored and redefined the book, with Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters not only tying the knot, but becoming parents as well, while Johnny Storm’s Human Torch has been burning hotter than ever, thanks to the machinations of Doctor Doom (who else, right?).
With the arrival of FF #45, I took the time to sit back and read The Reckoning War all at once, and I marvelled (yes, I wrote that) at just how good a story it was. I’m not a big sci-fi comic guy, which is where I think the FF’s story often wind up because of their pension for space travelling. Throughout all the issues, though, I was engaged and impressed with the story and art, and always wondering how things would turn out; Slott even had me thinking Reed Richards might actually die for a spell. Truthfully, I’m a little disappointed that his run is coming to an end next month, but I’m certainly glad Dan Slott got to tell some significant stories in the world of the FF.
If you haven’t read this run, or The Reckoning War, definitely go and pick up the back issues and enjoy what I think will be yet another classic Dan Slott story.
