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DanSchwent

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Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 5

Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 5 - John Byrne Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 5 contains 268-275, and Annual 18, Thing 19.

Reed, Sue, Johnny and She Hulk deal with Sue's miscarriage, fight Doctor Doom's mask, battle Terminus, meet Reed's father on a future wild west version of earth, and attend the wedding of Black Bolt and Medusa. And Spider-Man's alien costume escapes Fantastic Four custody, never to be seen again...

After me complaining that Byrne wasn't breaking new ground, I have to admit he's done that here, introducing Terminus, tying the Richards' family to Kang, and revealing more about Reed Richards. Reed Richard's past and family is fleshed out quite a bit. Since I read a lot about Reed's dad later on, it was cool to see his first appearance. The Inhuman wedding went the way of most super hero weddings. I was a little surprised that John Byrne was behind Johnny and Alicia Masters getting together. That pairing still makes no sense to me 30 years later.

Apart from some time travel and a quick trip to the moon, this one was a little more grounded than the previous four volumes. Byrne's art and stories have gotten better in the past few volumes but I have to think he was stretching himself a little thin at this point, doing everything on the Fantastic Four and Alpha Flight as well as writing the Thing.

4 out of 5 fantastic stars.