The Creators – Josh Trujillo – Writer, Andrea Di Vito – Artist, Erick Arciniega – Colours, Joe Caramagna – Letters

The Players – Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Sue Richards (Invisible Woman), Ben Grimm (Thing), Johnny Storm (Human Torch), Cornelius, Zira, General Ursus, Dr. Zaius, Red Ghost, Doctor Doom

The Story – The Fantastic Four find themselves on an alternate Earth where humans have devolved, and apes are now the dominant and most intelligent species on the planet. Having been captured, they now find themselves in quite a predicament.

The Take – With Planet of the Apes now under the Marvel/Disney banner and with nothing else seemingly planned for them, why not have them cross over with Marvel’s First Family? Surprisingly, it works out quite well in this first issue with some spot-on writing by Josh Trujillo and excellent pencils from Andrea Di Vito. It begins in the present, the Fantastic Four already prisoners and even worse, powerless. How that came to be is soon explained not by Reed or even Sue, but by Johnny, who ends up doing what he usually does: making things worse. Trujillo sticks to the basics in this story, and the same applies to the characters. Those on the team sound as they should and, more importantly, act as they would, which helps to keep things on track. Even better, Trujillo uses the apes everyone is familiar with, namely Cornelius and Zira, Dr. Zaius, and even General Ursus. It is a story that not only feels right but has a healthy dose of nostalgia mixed in as well. A trip to the past is taken, only a day back, but sometimes that is all it takes, and it finds the Fantastic Four in battle with the Red Ghost. Every villain thinks their latest plan is the one that is going to make them come out on top against their foes, and so it is that the Red Ghost believes his latest machinations will make him the victor in this latest confrontation. In this particular instance, though, the Red Ghost needs something, a bit of tech that will allow him to feel more at home than he has been on Earth. That, of course, leads to the current situation the team finds itself in. The book leaves off on a cliffhanger, the best way to end a story and most especially in a comic book, as it ensures that its audience will come back for more, given the creators have accomplished their goal in creating something compelling. Trujillo has done that with his tale, and where one would think that this could never possibly work, it does. Factor in some very clean and expressive artwork from the fantastic and previously mentioned Andrea Di Vito as well, and this book is a win on all fronts.

Worth It? – Yes.