Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1
Written by Gerry Duggan
Art by Greg Smallwood, Mark Bagley, Luciano Vecchio, Pere Perez, and Erick Arciniega
Lettering by Joe Caramagna
Published by Marvel Comics
Review by Justin Partridge
‘Rama Rating: 9 out of 10
The Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing takes on gentrification in Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1. Standing as a charming side tale to the main Dan Slott-headed title, writer Gerry Duggan delves deeply into the Thing’s connection with his home turf. Which, fans will remember, has now become the new home base of the Fantastic Four.
Someone is tagging buildings on Yancy Street, and it’s got Ben Grimm hoppin’ mad. Worse still, they are pretty vehemently anti-FF, suggesting that the neighborhood he so loves doesn’t want his family around due to rent hikes because of their presence. It's a remarkably simplistic turn for an FF book, but Duggan sells it very well, easing into a old-school, charming cadence for the Thing and aiming him at a problem he can’t simply punch away.
But this being a comic about Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew, of course he throws some punches, and this one-shot is graced with a fantastic roster of artists who detail them beautifully. Anchored by the stony, classically-infused pencils of Greg Smallwood and the kinetic fun of Mark Bagley’s vaulting action, this one-shot’s art team really make the smaller scale and streetbound story work for them. Though it certainly doesn’t have any world-ending stakes, Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1 does tap deeply into the charm and pathos of Marvel’s First Family.
Opening with a heart wrenching recap of Ben’s lost younger brother, given a warmth by Duggan’s narration and Greg Smallwood and Erick Arciniega sepia-toned panel layouts, this one-shot establishes pretty early just how low-key of an affair it is going to be. But small doesn’t necessarily mean bad. Quite the opposite as Gerry Duggan doubles down on the heartfelt nature of the script, making this flashback the bedrock of Ben’s reaction to someone tagging the building that bares his brother’s name.
Naturally, this sends him spiraling, allowing Duggan to display his keen sense of humor with stuff like Ben’s original plan of attack; go back in time one day and clobber the person who tagged the building. But once he calms down and starts to look into the problem, he finds a much bigger one. Predatory landlords are taking advantage of the wave of gentrification happening in the wake of the FF’s arrival on Yancy Street and forcing longtime residents into the street. And they are using the Terrible Trio as muscle to do so!
Admittedly, a clear-eyed look at superhero gentrification was not something I expected to read about going into this issue, but it is a really fun problem to see a character like the Thing tackle. Not only does Duggan make amazing use of his connection to the setting, giving him a real sort of skin in the game, but it makes it a more intangible, society-centered problem for the usual bruiser to have to face. The FF might have the market corner on galactic gods and alternate realities, but 4 Yancy Street #1 shows that that are still just as comfortable down here with the rest of us.
And while the scale of this one-shot is decidedly smaller than the main title, you would never think it thanks to the energy detailed onto the page from the stocked art team. Held together by the rich, vibrant colors of Erick Arciniega, this one-shot comes stocked with, aptly, four fantastic separate artists. We open with Greg Smallwood, who kicks off the issue with a vintage inspired newsprint look only to shift upward into striking Kirby-esque backgrounds and a very, very handsome Reed Richards at his work.
Mark Bagley then picks up the pace of the issue, giving the showdown between the Thing and the Terrible Trio a wonderful velocity and broad humor as his expressive lines barrel through the sequence. Luciano Vecchio and Pere Perez bring us home, downshifting from the kinetics of Bagley into smooth, very polished pencils that highlight the emotional final moments of the one-shot and send the issue out on a high visual note. All together each artist totally nails their sections of the issue, providing a rich, but tonally sound visual tapestry that represents the best and brightest of what Fantastic Four stories have to offer.
Calling to mind more smaller scale runs like Roberto Aquirre-Sacasa’s Marvel Knights run, Fantastic Four: 4 Yancy Street #1 is a satisfying side tale for the Thing and his super-family. Blessed with the wit and heart of Gerry Duggan and a wonderful roster of artists, this one-shot holds the standard of the Richards’ family and Yancy Street well, giving us a fun window into their new street and HQ. Proving you don’t have to head to the starts to have fun 4 Yancy Street #1 is a block party waiting to happen.
