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Fomori Vault (The Big Score) - Pablo Rivera

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Swamp by Pablo Rivera

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Artist: Pablo Rivera

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Fantastic Four: Books of Doom

Writer - Ed Brubaker

Art - Pablo Raimondi

Cover - Pablo Rivera

This graphic novel relates the history of Doctor Doom from his childhood through his taking of the throne of Latveria. Told in a documentary style, we get many first-hand accounts of the story from Doom’s perspective, but there are also counterpoints as seen by some of the various characters who were present during the events.

I expected a straight-forward narration of the story in this book, so the documentary style was an interesting surprise. While it worked pretty well for the most part - allowing readers to see how Doom was coloring the story slightly - I don’t think there was enough of that type of material to make me love the format. It also allows for something of a twist to the ending of the book that was likewise intriguing, but also just seemed to be a way to have an actual ending for the story. it was all interesting, but maybe not needed.

As a character study of Doctor Doom it succeeds pretty well. We get to see a lot of his early motivations and desires that lead him to becoming the powerful ruler everyone knows him as in the Marvel Universe. The primary antagonist is a Latverian Duke who killed Doom’s mother. This becomes a seminal moment in his life and drives him for the rest of the book. It was Doom’s mother that introduced him to the use of mystical powers, but she traded her soul to Mephisto for the use of it. Doom swears to claim her soul back, and that forms the basis for his second goal. We get to see a lot of how death and abandonment color his character and his future.

There aren’t too many cameos in this book. if you’re looking for a full-on Fantastic Four appearance, you’ll be disappointed. Reed Richards has a bit of a role early on, but it doesn’t really amount to much aside from confirming they knew each other in the college years. Ben Grimm is relegated to just a few shots of his college football career with no dialogue. You might consider Mephisto a cameo too, but he actually figures in the plot, so while he doesn’t appear that much, he really is more of an antagonist. There are other characters we’ve seen in Doom’s circle over the years that make appearances, but those seem to be really deep cuts.

The artwork is pretty solid, if very standard, comic book art. There are several panels throughout that are really memorable, but overall it’s just solid, readable artwork that augments the story well.

if you’re a fan of Doctor Doom, this would be a cool read. It provides enough background to really flavor his character nicely. It doesn’t add enough or break enough new ground to be considered a “must read,” but it’s certainly enjoyable.