I've read a fair amount of modern Fantastic Four recently, most notably the runs by Mark Waid and J. Michael Strakzynsi. I must admit that I didn't warm too much to those storylines as they seemed too family-focused and dealt with fairly pedestrian villains. There was little of the high drama and huge concepts that made the FF such a great read for me as a kid when I soaked up the Kirby/Lee stuff.
This, however, seems a welcome return to form with grandiose set pieces and huge Kirby-like structures being wonderfully illustrated by the now legendary Bryan Hitch. We are talking great machines and lumbering robots and the construction of artificial worlds. This seems to be closer to the proper soul of a Fantastic Four comic, and although this isn't necessarily ground-breaking writing on the part of Mark Miller, it still warms the cockles of this mid-40s comic reader's heart who wants to recapture the spirit of those early years, but also feel that the comic has grown up somewhat and that the stories have a modern, mature flavour.
Also, Waid and Strakzynsi focused too much on the Richards children, and they are, thankfully, given far less importance in these storylines (though there is that tantalising notion that Valeria is somewhat special, which bodes well for the future), which allows more focus on the fab four themselves.
I gave this five stars not because it is the best comic I have read recently (as I absorb the things like a sponge soaks up water) but because it is the best Fantastic Four comic I have read in a long while (barring some rather excellent early storylines in the
Ultimate Fantastic Four series). I just hope that Mr Millar and Mr Hitch can keep up the good work, especially as I've already ordered the second volume.