Tuesday, December 4, 2012

FF #1

This one, I suspect, is going to be a lot of fun.

Jonathan Hickman just wrapped up his excellent run on FF, which was tightly linked with the regular Fantastic Four title. Now the comic is in the hands of Matt Fraction, but the title (for now) will stand alone - so he sets up an interesting premise, spinning off the events in the "new" Fantastic Four comic.

The original FF is planning a trip through time and space, which Reed Richards estimates will take all of four minutes. But just in case, he wants to make sure the kids who make up the FF (Future Foundation) will be protected, so he sets out to assemble a "stand-in" Fantastic Four.

And an odd group they are, including the She-Hulk, Medusa, Ant-Man and what appears to be a woman wearing a Thing-like body. Your guess is as good as mine.

This issue serves as an intro to both the new team and the existing members of the FF, and it looks to be an odd mix.

But what really sold me on the series was the art by Mike Allred, which just bubbles with energy and a sense of fun. Allred is something of a throwback to the Silver Age (in the best possible sense) - his art is out of the ordinary, but captures the sense of Jack Kirby's style without ever being a direct copy.

This is a title that's walking a different path, and it's not going to be for everyone.

But from where I sit, FF is a title to watch.

Grade: A-

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