Monday, August 30, 2010

Fantastic Four #582

As I mentioned the other day, the Fantastic Four work best with big topics, and writer Jonathan Hickman has been setting some very big things in motion during his relatively short run on this title.

A lot of it has hinged on hints about upcoming events from the future version of the children of Reed and Sue, which makes it all especially tasty for the reader - it's a lot of fun to have some knowledge about what's going to happen, and then try to figure it out as it unfolds.

Hickman does a good job with this, although some of the concepts presented in this issue may be a bit too strange for some readers. Still, we're just at the beginning of the next big story arc, so it's early to be making any kind of final judgment.

There's all kinds of time-jumping shenanigans going in here, including Reed's father, Nathaniel Richards, jumping back to the college-age Reed, Ben Grimm and Victor Von Doom to get help taking on an unexpected foe.

We also have Sue's daughter paying her a visit, offering some cryptic warnings. And much more besides.

The art by Neil Edwards and Scott Hanna is quite good, although a few of the faces seem uneven and some of the action panels are a bit difficult to follow. (Did Reed kill that henchman?) Still, solid, high-energy work here.

Like so many comics these days, this would be a tough series for a new reader to pick up, but it's building nicely and pays dividends to the readers who have been paying attention. Good stuff!

Grade: A-

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