This trade just doesn’t hold up as well as the first few from Jonathan Hickman. I can appreciate the way Hickman puts the focus on Mr. Fantastic, but the guy just isn’t that interesting. Teaming up Thing, Mr. F, Dr. Doom, and Reed Richards’ Dad isn’t the answer to make the title more appealing. I want to see the Fantastic Four, the real team, not a weird team facing down alternate versions of a supporting character. (The four characters team up to take on an evil version of Dr. Richards.) The Human Torch story is pretty good, and I’ll take any excuse to see more of the super-villain Arcade.
The seeds Hickman plants for his Future Foundation are the most interesting parts of the story. I love the idea of the Fantastic Four gathering the greatest minds on Earth and putting them to work solving problems. I never thought Alex Power was that smart, but I admit I haven’t read a lot of his previous appearances.
Another factor in my lukewarm reaction is the art. When a book has covers by Alan Davis, and launched with the fantastic pencils of Dale Eaglesham, the solid if unspectacular Neil Edwards is not going to cut it. Everything looks fine, but I find myself hoping for a more dynamic penciller in the next volume.
Average
1 comment:
I actually prefer Neil Edwards' art over that of Steve Epting in this run. I've seen Epting turn in far superior work to what he does in Fantastic Four.
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