The Good
What an awesome issue. It's great to see Hickman rope in Black Panther, a character that is such a huge part of Fantastic Four history into the latest story arc. Not only that, but based on this first issue, Hickman is gearing up to tell a rather interesting story. While the last arc was really heavy on the science, this one seems like it will be a story rooted in fantasy and Egyptian mythology. So far, it's really interesting.
When you need someone a little bit smarter to keep up with you to solve a big problem, who better for the job than Reed Richards and the Fantastic Four? I have to say, I really like this team up and its nice to see a story about T'Challa and Wakanda again. I also thought it was good of Hickman to address the issue of Wakanda's depleted vibranium resources. For as long as I can remember, Wakanda's main source of income had been vibranium, and following DOOM WAR Wakanda lost that resource. I don't know if Hickman had to address that, but he did, and I think that's helpful. It helps explain what's happening to Wakanda, an important region of the Marvel universe that is sometimes overlooked.
Mike Choi delivers a beautiful cover, depicting Black Panther on a regal throne. The interiors by Giuseppe Camuncoli and Karl Kesel are equally as good. The pacing in this issue is great; the way that Reed and T'Challa interact is really interesting, and the flashbacks in the issue are placed at just the right time.
The Bad
The only really "bad" thing I saw in this issue was the interaction between Storm and T'Challa -- not having seen them on panel together as a married couple in so long, it certainly felt strange to see that here. The fact that the two characters really didn't interact at all was strange too. However, that might be more my issue with the marriage in general opposed to the portrayal of the marriage here.
Otherwise, that's pretty much it.
The Verdict
I really liked this issue a lot and I'm very interested in seeing where this story is going. I'm a big fan of T'Challa when he's written well, and so far the premise and the characterizations are on point. I think it's nice that Hickman addresses the current state of Wakanda, too. Beautiful art and an interesting story rooted in mythology is certainly exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to the next issue.