FF #13 – Review

by Matt Fraction, Lee Allred (Writers), Michael Allred (Artist), Laura Allred (Colorist)

The Story: The Future Foundation lands on the blue area of the moon as they play and discuss about past and future events to come.

The Review: This will come off as a rather silly question, but do you prefer fun over drama in your comics? Would you rather have the characters play around with fun concepts and have adventures rather than simply press along with their ongoing storylines, vying for drama and further complication in an endless way?

If you answered yes to these questions, then FFis exactly the kind of comic you might be looking for, as the characters and the story seems to gravitate more toward a certain sense of optimism combined with pure entertainment. It is a joy to read if you are looking for something that isn’t afraid to be silly and to simply point out some of the more out-there elements of the Marvel universe.

A lot of this general vibe come from the kid characters, who let their general enjoyment of things and their sense of adventure permeate the story. Their sense of innocence combined with their playfulness makes their exploration and reactions to what they see on the blue area of the moon fun to see, with the Moloid kids messing around with the apes following the Red Ghost lost in the time mist, or Adolf walking with Luna while holding hands. The kids aren’t the only focus in this issue, yet their scenes are still as delightful as ever.

FF #13 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writing), Juan Bobillo (pencils), Marcelo Sosa (inks), Chris Sotomayor (colors), and Clayton Cowles (letters)

The Story: The Future Foundation cross the Bridge into the former home of the Council of evil Reeds, now owned by the mad Celestials.

The Review: Last month, myself and many other reviewers took FF to task for the bizarre artwork turned in by Juan Bobillo.  While Hickman turned in a solid enough script, the art was completely off-kilter and wacky.

Well, the artwork still sticks out like a sore thumb, but there are improvements.  Bobillo’s take on Doom is fun and his illustrations of the Celestials and any technology is detailed and generally entertaining and charming to look at.  But really, most of the improvement should be credited to the incredible efforts of Sosa and Sotomayor, who work their asses off to make Bobillo’s art as appealing as possible.  Sosa uses pleasant, thick lines while Sotomayor has made a dramatic shift from his work last month, opting for a bright, vibrant palette that makes the comic far more appealing.

That said Bobillo is guilty of some of the same crimes:  it’s still difficult to tell some of the kids apart, Dragon Man looks nothing like himself, and Reed still looks far too old and weathered.  That said, I’m coming to the conclusion that Bobillo isn’t really a bad artist, just hugely inappropriate for this title.  Hickman is trying to tell a grandiose epic tale with heavy cosmic elements.  A heavily stylized indie cartoonist just isn’t a good fit for a book like this.

Hickman’s script, however, hits enough high notes that it makes the issue more than worthy for Fantastic Four fans to give it a look.  For starters, seeing Franklin confront a gang of Celestials is a blast.  We don’t often get to see Franklin flex his very superpower muscle, but whenever he does, it’s always “fist pump” awesome, and that’s certainly the case this month.  Power-level aware comic geeks will also get a serious kick out of a little tidbit the Celestials reveal regarding Franklin.

Also, yet again, Hickman writes a fantastic Doom.  His talking in the third person, his general badassery, it’s all here in spades and as always, it’s a treat to read.  What Hickman does so well is portray Doom’s reasoning, both highly intelligent and with an arrogance that forms a key part of his decision making.  Doom’s logic may make little sense for another character, but for Doom, it’s elegant perfection.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – What a nice change of pace this issue was!  It featured an injured Matt Murdock stranded in a snowstorm with a bunch of blind kids.  You have to take some leaps of faith on the story (i.e. Why how has DD thrived in NYC all these years if snow is his mortal enemy?), but it was touching and uplifting to see Matt/DD doing something very out of the norm for a superhero.  The art was also incredible.  As much as everyone is talking about “Mark Waid’s Daredevil run…”, they should really be giving at least as much credit to Paolo Rivera and the now departed Marcos Martin.  They’ve had just as much to do with the new, lighter tone of the book.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #22 – After a three-issue flashback story arc that some reviewers didn’t love (but I thought was quite good), we go back to “normal” with a story arc set in the 1950’s.  Rafael Albuquerque is back on art!  Yay!  And I can’t wait to see how Scott Snyder is using he batch of characters from the WWII arcs.  Will it be the same vampires we’ve come to know and love?  Will the humans be old by now?  What’ll be new in the world of vampires?  Can’t wait!

Other Picks: Spaceman #3, The Unwritten #32.5, Witch Doctor: Resuscitation One-Shot, Secret Avengers #20, Avengers: The Children’s Crusade #8

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Daredevil #7 – I have to say I quite enjoyed Waid’s interludish Daredevil #7 of the blind leading the blind pulling the blind. Well worth checking out.

Most Anticipated: Warlord of Mars #14 – I’d been hoping for a Barsoom book last week, but I guess I was just impatient. This week, we’re into the second installment of the Gods of Mars in Warlord of Mars #14. Carter and Tars Tarkas together in the valley of death!

Other Picks: Captain America and Bucky #625, Captain America #6, The Mighty Thor #9, Uncanny X-Men #3, X-Men Legacy #260, Captain Victory #2

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: PunisherMAX #20 – While it was tempting to give the title to this week’s issue of Invincible Iron Man, PunisherMAX was ultimately just the better comic.  A gripping read throughout with disturbing and psychological character-work mesh with brutal and amazingly choreographed action.

Most Anticipated: Spaceman #3 – Normally I trade-wait when it comes to minis, but last week I caved on Spaceman and picked up the first couple of issues.  While it certainly will appeal more to some readers than others, I truly love this book.  Azzarello and Risso have grafted a fantastic world here, a dirty, dystopian future that has a distinctively “European comics” feel.  A fantastic book and one where writer and artist carry equal loads.

Other Picks: I, Vampire #4, Uncanny X-Men #3,  The Flash #4, Captain America #5, Captain America #6, American Vampire #22, FF #13, Aquaman #4, Mighty Thor #9