Fin Fang Four’s Hilarious Rampage!

When I first saw the “Fin Fang 4 Return!” one-shot on the rack this week, my mind was filled with a myriad of questions. What was this strange cover with the monstrous super-villain Fin Fang Foom in a chef’s outfit and wielding kitchen utensils? Who were these creatures that stood in the background, completing the cover’s homage the classic Avengers #4 cover? From where were they returning? I didn’t have a clue as to any of the answers, but I knew I had to buy this comic.

Peeling back the comic’s cover, I found that I had wisely judged it by its cover. The issue was packed with great drawing and some pretty funny moments. The issue’s six entertaining shorts follow Fin Fang Foom, Googam, Elektro, and Gorgilla. Seven-pages at a time, these pre-Marvel Age beasts struggle with life in the world of men as they have all been shrunk to human-size. The resulting antics, from time-traveling follies to the dangers of a restaurant kitchen, make for some of the most humorous Marvel comics in a long time!



Fin Fang Foom and Googam may vie the top spot of the one-shot’s most hilarious character, the real stars of “Fin Fang Foom” are the creative team Scott Gray and Roger Lanridge. Gray provides some great jokes and Lanridge’s art really sells the books humor. I’m not sure which part of the team is responsible for the panel-to-panel timing of jokes, but it is solid. Comedic timing isn’t something I usually think where reading a comic book, but here it was hard to ignore due to how stellar it is. My favorite part of the book, however, is the sour look that curls out of Foom’s lips for half the issue. It is little details like this that make “Fin Fang 4 Return!” no laughing matter. Well, except that it is a really funny book so you should be laughing just not at the quality of the book. You should, however, definitely do a fair share of laughing at the jokes. Yeah, the jokes are pretty good.

-Nick