***THIS REVIEW WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE NERD BLITZ PATREON***
A hearty Happy Thanksgiving to the American Knights and happy Thursday to the rest of the world!
As a special extra bit of content for you good folks I thought I’d take a look at this short Fantastic Four adjacent comic story that I have in the 2009 Marvel Holiday Spectacular.
So let’s kick back, chill out, and have a little holiday themed fun.
As always, this is your much needed ***SPOILER ALERT***
Cover by Chris Eliopoulos: A funny little teaser of the story to come.
I like the blending of cartoony drawings and real grass, trees, and sky when it’s not overdone.
It really works well here.
Art by Chris Eliopoulos: This may surprise you, but I’ve actually been a long time fan of Eliopoulos.
His is one of the few super cutesie styles that I actually enjoy.
As I said above, his cartoony style is great, it always brings to mind childhood staples Bill Watterson and Calvin & Hobbes for me.
This story is perfectly suited to it as well.
I’ve long wondered why there wasn’t a cartoon in this style, but thankfully PBS has rectified that in recent years with their Xavier Riddle series based on Brad Meltzer & Chris Eliopoulos’s children’s book series.
It’s just a fun and squishy design.
Story by Chris Eliopoulos & Marc Sumerak: The night before Thanksgiving, at Fantastic Four Headquarters, Franklin heads into Reed’s lab because Sue needs him in the kitchen.
Quickly, Franklin stumbles through a gateway into an alternate dimension, soon followed by H.E.R.B.I.E., where turkeys are the dominant species.
Will they make it back home before they end up the main course in a turkey dinner?
Weighing in at just 5 pages, this is a quick and fun holiday themed story that almost feels like a throw back to the short Archie comedy comics that you can still get in digests, but with a super sci-fi Twilight Zone twist.
Eliopoulos’s art perfectly suits this story and brings it over the top making it feel like an instant classic you’ll want to revisit every year during this season.
I don’t know how likely it is for you to find this, but if you can, pick it up.
I think it would make for a fun read, especially if you have younger kids that you want to get into comics.
There, surprisingly, is a lot of FF lore packed into these 5 pages to make it a great entry point.
I may start a new tradition and make this a yearly read from here on out.
If you can find it, you can join me.
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And finally, given the state of the world, do what you can to leave it a little bit better than you found it.
As difficult as that may be currently, it can have an impact far greater than you know.
Until next time, stay safe out there, gang.
