Johnny Storm Gets Creative… & Organized: ‘Fantastic Four’ #3 Reviewed

The current volume of Fantastic Four continues to be off to a great start, and Fantastic Four #3 might just be one of the funniest and authentic Human Torch stories in years.

Ryan North, Iban Coello, Jesus Aburtov, and Joe Caramagna show Johnny Storm what true power is.

While Ben, Alicia, Sue and Reed hit the road, Johnny Storm stayed in New York, incognito. But his new life is put in danger by an evil businessman and his unethical practices. This time, it’s not going to be the Human Torch that saves the day, but Johnny Storm…

This isn’t just one of the funniest stories I’ve read featuring Johnny, but it’s centered in the character, who he is and how he can grow. North uses more than broad slapstick here, and it’s all the better for it. Even better, he’s proven in this arc that he understands who each of his leads are so he can forge ahead into new territory. I mean, this issue’s conflict is revolved through Johnny growing, putting his ego aside and organizing a labor union. Even if it’s only a little growth, it’s growth.

A lot of the comedy comes from Coello’s art and Aburtov’s colors. Johnny’s ecstatic revelation of his alias and new look gets a laugh just from how they pace the reveal, and execute the page itself. They make Johnny sheepish through his flames, then they make the actual union look intimidating. They also execute a one-page flashback by depicting Johnny similarly to how Byrne would, including classic Glynnis Wein-style colors. They are able to make this one of the better looking books on the stands.

Caramagna is always a steady hand on letters. He conveys a lot of information from North’s relatively wordy script. He creates some very fun sound effects in Johnny’s fights. He even adds slogans to the union posters (even if those do stick out a little). He always makes a book better, and I’m always glad to see him on.

This volume is a great series for any superhero fan. It’s fun, it looks great, and it makes me want to read it over again immediately.

Fantastic Four #3 is available now from Marvel Comics.