The week starts anew, and with it comes another tick mark on my comic backlog. Next on the list is a TPB of the FF comic from the Marvel NOW! relaunch of 2012. I won't make any promises, but I'll do my best to put out one of these blog entries at the beginning of the week for the foreseeable future. WHY I BOUGHT IT:
I chanced upon this title at a bargain bin I frequent, and given that it's a) a Fantastic Four comic, and b) it's significantly cheaper than it usually would be in a normal bookstore, I went ahead and bought it. Everyone knows the classic Fantastic Four lineup, but most non-readers don't know that the team roster changes from time to time. I've never seen this particular lineup before, and that was a huge factor behind my purchase. THE WRITING: The Fantastic Four we know and love is elsewhere, and in their place, the team of Scott Lang (as Ant-Man), She-Hulk, Medusa, and Darla Deering (as Ms. Thing) is tasked with watching over the students of the Future Foundation. In a strange turn of events, only Johnny Storm (aged significantly) has returned, warning of a catastrophe that can only be averted by killing Dr. Doom. However, the Johnny Storm angle isn't the main focus of the issues collected within this TPB, and is relegated to a subplot that's expanded upon in succeeding issues. Instead, Fantastic Faux focuses on a mystery villain pulling some strings from the shadows, kidnapping one of the Future Foundation kids, and trying to destroy the Fantastic Four. There are also some minor events interspersed among the main story threads, like She-Hulk on a date, and they're all welcome sources of character development, comic relief, and/or an exploration of the relationships between team members. It should be said that FF is a spinoff series to the Fantastic Four (2012 – 2014) comic run by the same writer-artist team, so the Johnny Storm stuff (and the fact that there's a different Fantastic Four team in the first place) may throw off people jumping into the series at this point. In fact, I'm rather baffled this TPB weirdly omits the first three issues despite being Vol. 1. THE ART: Having read iZombie, I'm no stranger to Michael Allred's art. His art is quickly recognizable if you look at the faces of the characters; there's just something about the way he draws them that makes them memorable to me. I'd say his style is very much reminiscent of '60s comic art: not too intricate, but bright and colorful. While I don't have any strong feelings about Allred's art in FF, I've seen people not really gravitate towards his style. I recall his art in the Silver Surfer comics in 2014 having... mixed reception. However, I will say that I greatly prefer his work in iZombie. VERDICT: FF Vol. 1: Fantastic Faux is a fun read, but it's probably not the ideal starting point if you want to read about the adventures of Marvel's first family during the early-to-mid 2010s. With that said, I didn't find it too difficult to get myself up to speed. Plus, it's nice to see these characters in comics other than their respective solo series. Here's a comiXology link for the interested: https://www.comixology.com/FF-Vol-1-Fantastic-Faux/digital-comic/49787?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC9pdGVtU2xpZGVy - end -
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June 2024
Derryck
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