FF #1
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Jonathan Hickman
Artist: Steve Epting
Cover: Marko Djurdjevic
“The Club“: The Fantastic Four are undergoing changes since the death of family member Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch. The remaining members are now renamed “Future Force” and at the pre-recorded request of Johnny, Spider-Man has been asked to join the team. We also meet the various individuals aside from the team who now call the Baxter Building home, though Ben is feeling less than chatty as he’s still mourning the loss of his friend. During this time A.I.M. agents have set in motion their plan to break one of the Fantastic Four’s enemies free from captivity.
If I knew that Hickman was writing these characters this well there would have been a lot more Fantastic Four books in my collection. Aside from the FF member that died and The Thing, I’m not really too fond of the characters, but I found myself really enjoying this turning point in their lives. Hickman’s use of Susan Storm to acclimate Spider-Man along with the reader is perfect if you weren’t reading Fantastic Four on a consistent basis. Hickman is also able to take what could have easily just been one sad, brooding tale and found time to make you laugh, as it seems as if he’s one of the writers who gets that the FF are a family as well as a superhero team. From Reed’s banter with his father to the great scene at dinner where Franklin includes the beliefs or non beliefs of everyone at the table during grace, it was all just as good as the surprise appearance (at least to me) at the end of the issue.
Epting handles this issue pretty well regardless if it’s the fight scenes against A.I.M. or just the many calmer moments throughout the issue. I will say that his scenes with Ben in his room were actually some of the strongest just in terms of emotion. The new costumes also look good and I’ve liked them ever since the first pic was revealed to the public. Now, I understand that these costumes have the ability to change if the wearer concentrates, but that doesn’t explain the six legged spider on Peter’s chest. It only happened on one panel, so I hope it’s not one of the default settings Sue spoke of to Peter.
At first I thought this was going to be another attempt to just renumber a series for no reason. However, Hickman has Sue deliver a line to Peter that pretty much explains why they couldn’t have gone on as the Fantastic Four even with his joining. That pretty much convinced me that this will be something new all together, so hopefully Hickman keeps up with this level of quality, because FF #1 is a great set up issue for Marvel’s first family’s new direction!
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Infinite Speech
infinitespeech@comicattack.net
I really like the peeps involved with this book, but really just don’t like the concept. I want Spidey (and Wolverine coincidentally) to stay in their own books. I’m on overload with certain characters. Also, I did buy a few issues of FF a year or so ago, and wasn’t really dazzled by the content. I’ll be skipping this one.
If Spidey wasn’t in two Avengers books already plus his own title I think I would be less annoyed as well. I will say that Hickman makes his joining this team a lot easier to take than Spidey being on two different versions of the same team lol. Using Pete’s relationship with the FF and especially his relationship with Johnny just makes it seem right and not forced like the others.
I liked this one, much to my surprise. I agree about Spidey’s relationship with the FF Speech. I’d vote for Peter to be in his own book, and this one, and to drop him from the Avengers titles. He fits WAY better here.
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