New Comics Reviews 7/9/25: Fantastic Four First Steps AND a New FF series! Plus The UnChosen & MORE!
New Comics Reviews for Wednesday 7/9!
Hello! Here are our new comics reviews for the week of 7/9/25! Featuring Fantastic Four: First Steps by Matt Fraction and Mark Buckingham AND a New FF series from Ryan North and Humberto Ramos! Plus David Marquez’s The Unchosen and the return of Patrick Horvath’s Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees!
Be sure to check out the review show if you want to hear our full discussions!
Joe’s Reviews:
Cover by Marquez & Louise
The UnChosen #1
Image Comics
Story and art by David Marquez
Colors by Marissa Louise
Lettering and design by DC Hopkins
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: 13-year-old Aida wakes in a city laid waste by a massive explosion — a scene of devastation that SHE caused. Pursued by rival forces wielding incredible powers, she must discover who truly wants to help her, who wants to control her, and the truth behind her own mysterious past. Acclaimed creator DAVID MARQUEZ (Uncanny X-Men, Miles Morales) makes his highly anticipated debut as both writer and artist on his first creator-owned series.
Review: David Marquez’s first creator-owned series kicks off with a bang, or, more accurately, the aftermath of one, before jumping forward in time and throwing readers into a kind of apocalyptic Harry Potter scenario. The story leans on a lot of really familiar tropes, but it’s told well. The time jumps do a good job of filling you in on everything you need to know in the moment, while teasing you with hidden information kept just out of reach for now. There Aida is likable enough but her caretakers are definitely more interesting, especially the enigmatic powerhouse Vasha.
The art is the real star of the show, with Marquez’s incredible talent on full display. The character designs look like love letters to late-90s Wildstorm and Top Cow comics, and his depiction of the characters’ combat magic (or whatever it is) is distinct and inventive. Marissa Louise adds a beautifully dark color palette that contrasts against the brilliant glow of the power effects, which are so intense at times that they set me a bit on edge (and maybe that was the point).
The UnChosen #1 is a strong creator-owned debut from Marquez and company that may draw on some familiar YA fantasy tropes, but it’s executed very well. I love me a school for superpowered misfits, and the rival school angel and phenomenal art are icing on the cake.
Rating: BUY IT
Cover by Phil Noto
Fantastic Four: First Steps #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Matt Fraction
Art by Mark Buckingham
Colors by Alex Sinclair
Letters by VC’s Joe Caramanga
32 pages for $4.99
Solicit: FROM THE WORLD OF THE UPCOMING FILM, AS AUTHORIZED BY THE FUTURE FOUNDATION! Four years ago, the world was transformed as an amazing cosmic-powered quartet revealed themselves and their astonishing abilities to the public! Since that time, they have become world-famous as the Fantastic Four! Now, to celebrate that anniversary, Marvel Comics recounts their very first exploit, when they clashed with the subterranean Mole Man and his underground legions! MATT FRACTION and MARK BUCKINGHAM bring you this all-new adventure marking the moment that all of history changed!
Review: In 1962, Marvel very famously introduced the idea that the Fantastic Four had their own authorized comic, produced by the fictional Marvel Comics of Earth-616. First Steps takes that idea and runs with it, presenting an early adventure of the FF as told by the Marvel of the MCU. It’s a fun idea in theory, but the reality is that it almost always wears out its welcome real quick in execution.
Matt Fraction returns to Marvel for this completely innocuous tale, that at least manages to offer a new take on the Mole Man and his subterranean kingdom. Here, Harvey Elder is presented as a disenfranchised scientist that’s fled underground and created an entire society. Sure there are moloids and weird monsters, but the MCU Subterranea is also populated by plenty of humans, including Mole Man’s baby mama! Sadly, that’s the most interesting thing the story has to offer. There’s nothing here to set this version of the FF apart from any other, and because it’s a “retelling,” the narrative is constantly interrupted by talking head quotes from the cast. Fraction tries to offer bits of characterization here and there, like Johnny being scared to flame on in front of onlookers because he’s worried about spooking them.
I love Mark Buckingham – I really do – but his work here just isn’t a great fit for this. I understand what they were going for. Buckingham does have a style that lends itself well to stories set in the past, but I just found it kind of boring. I think Phil Noto would have been a better choice, because he can capture that throwback feel without sacrificing any flashiness. The story is further interrupted by fake ads for retro-futuristic products and magazine articles about the family. They’re fun at first, but I found myself ignoring them after the second or third full page of text.
Maybe I just wasn’t in the right mood, but I really wanted to like the Fantastic Four: First Steps tie-in comic more than I did. But despite the talent of the creators involved, it wears out its novelty quickly. I still have high hopes for the movie, so fingers crossed this isn’t a sign of what’s to come.
Rating: SKIM IT
Matt’s Reviews:
Cover by Humberto Ramos
Fantastic Four #1
Marvel Comics
Written by Ryan North
Art by Humberto Ramos
Colors by Edgar Delgado
Letters by VC’s Travis Lanham
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: The Fantastic Four return with a new issue #1, kicking off a whole new volume of their adventures through time, space, science, and the human condition! When the Fantastic Four take on Doom, things go well until they suddenly go catastrophically wrong — and they’re sent to four different eras in Earth’s history! Alone and isolated in wildly different time periods, Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Sue all have to fight to survive. Their only hope is to reach the Forever Stone: a mass of dense granite that happens to be one of the longest-lasting rocks on the planet, which — through a combination of obscurity and raw geological luck — has stayed both intact and accessible for most of Earth’s history! Also featured in this extra-big, extra-special issue: Ben Grimm fights a dinosaur! No other comic DARES to feature the Thing battling several Mapusauruses, but that’s just where WE get started! And it’s all brought to life by the incredible new series artist Humberto Ramos!
Review: Marvel is looking to capitalize on the Fantastic Four movie’s box office success with a new #1 issue of Ryan North’s ongoing FF series—this time featuring superstar artist Humberto Ramos on art duties. If you’re a fan of Ramos’ slick, detailed ’90s style, you won’t be disappointed. I often say drawing The Thing is one of the toughest jobs in comics, and Ramos is among the best at penciling Ben Grimm—especially when he’s battling dinosaurs. The issue looks fantastic and includes a full-scale downtown New York City brawl that kicks the story into high gear.
If you’ve been enjoying North’s previous FF run, you’ll feel right at home. Honestly, there’s no reason this couldn’t have been the next issue in the series, other than the timing with the movie premiere—which is actually a good thing. Returning readers won’t feel alienated, and new readers are welcomed with an engaging story that sees Emperor Doom (yes, that’s a bigger story—see One World Under Doom) magically scatter the team across four separate timelines. North continues to shine with his take on each family member, and splitting them up gives everyone a chance to stand out—while Ramos gets to show off his dynamic range with different settings and power sets.
Did we need a new #1? No. But I get it. Is it a good jumping-on point? Absolutely. Will it win over readers who weren’t sold on North’s FF before? Look, the book has Humberto Ramos now—what more do you want?
Rating: BUY IT
Cover by Patrick Horvath
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring #1
IDW
Written and illustrated by Patrick Horvath
Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
32 pages for $3.99
Solicit: The six-issue return of the Eisner-nominated cozy horror smash hit! It’s been eight long years since a bloodlusting brown bear drove into the city, kidnapped a kind young duck, dissected his body, and buried the pieces in the woods. The duck’s family painstakingly sought justice… but this brown bear was smart… she covered her tracks… and in the ’80s, there simply wasn’t a way for the duck’s family to find answers. But it’s not the ’80s anymore. Almost a decade after cuddly brown bear Samantha Strong solidified herself as the sole serial killer in Woodbrook, the world is entering a new era. As Samantha will soon find out, there are no secrets in the age of the internet. And those who lost loved ones to her massacre haven’t given up the flame of justice. A reckoning is coming to Woodbrook. Join visionary writer and artist Patrick Horvath for one of the most anticipated comics of 2025.
Review: Patrick Horvath’s Golden Beppo-winning anthropomorphic serial killer story is back with a new six-issue miniseries, set years after Samantha—the killer—thought her small-town secrets were buried along with her rival. This time, the story veers away from the Richard Scarry-style innocence of the original and takes on a grittier tone, following Monica, the sister of one of the victims from the first miniseries, as she obsessively searches for her brother’s killer.
Even Horvath’s art reflects the darker direction, making the city’s animals appear more desperate and highlighting more gore. Monica visits police stations to identify other duck victims and scours the early, shadowy corners of the 1990s internet for any evidence. The story makes it clear that the secrets of Beneath the Trees are out, and now it’s time to explore the horror that lies beneath. Once Samantha reappears, she adds an even more dreadful weight to Monica’s already grim search.
Horvath is a singular talent in both art and storytelling. Anyone looking for a creepy thriller in the vein of Dexter or The Silence of the Lambs (no lambs have been harmed—so far) will love the world he’s built here. My only advice: read the first miniseries before diving into this new chapter, so the full emotional impact lands as intended.
Rating: BUY IT
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