FF #11 – Review

by Matt Fraction (Writer), Michael Allred (Artist), Laura Allred (Colorist)

The Story: The replacement four meets the Impossible Man in their voyage to save the Fantastic Four. Meanwhile, the future foundation gets a class on how to conquer.

The Review: There are some book out there that could be only described adequately with one word: fun. There are dozens of other ways these types of books could be called, yet it all boil down the essence of pure entertainment. Sure, the role of every comic is to provide some form of amusement with its stories, characters, actions and so forth, yet there are some that have that special ”fun” factor that is hard to describe, yet can be felt when they are read.

FF could certainly be qualified as one of those books, with its non-grandiloquent way to look at their characters and their problems, the general adventures they have and the fact that the main story isn’t even that important to begin with. It’s all about the current adventure and how they make us perceive the action and the conflict they need to solve, which makes this book entertaining in ways that some book simply can’t emulate.

This issue as a perfect example as Matt Fraction use one of the classical characters from Fantastic Four created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. While he could have gone ahead and made a more traditional use of the character, making him do crazy stunts and be generally annoying toward the protagonists, he instead subvert the expectations of the readers by showing him in a role unseen with the character: as a father.

Fantastic Four #580 – Review

by Jonathan Hickman (writer), Neil Edwards (pencils), Andrew Currie (inks), Paul Mounts (colors), and Rus Wooton (letters)

The Story: Franklin, Leech, and Johnny head to Arcade Toys for “the most impossibly awesome toy event ever.”

What’s Good: With wacky characters like Arcade and Impossible Man and most of the action taking place in a madcap toystore, the book reads like a really fun kids movie or cartoon of the sort that adults can also find enjoyment in.  As a result, there’s a lot of energy and gleeful abandon to the book, making it basically impossible to dislike.  It’s the kind of action that just makes the reader happy and that’s never a bad thing.

Certainly, Arcade and Impossible Man’s larger-than-life presences are more than welcome and make the comic a livelier and more welcoming experience.  Both characters suit the kids movie tone perfectly and give the book a sense of familiarity.  They’re two Saturday morning type characters and as such, they offer a bit of a reprieve from the big ideas that Hickman usually layers his books with.  I do love Hickman for those ideas, but giving us a little break now and then can be refreshing and liberating.  That and Impossible Man, when written well, is always a barrel of fun.

Amidst all the wackiness, there is solid character work as well.  I was pleasantly surprised by Hickman’s writing of Johnny this month, who came across as uncharacteristically paternal, loving, and even, dare I say it, responsible.  His relating to Franklin’s situation and the advice he gives his nephew hit home and provided something of a tender moment between the two.  Basically, Johnny acted like the perfect uncle this month.  All of this was still distinctly Johnny, however, with his characteristic narcissistic remarks peppered throughout.

The final scene, which involves the Future Foundation seeking a cure for Ben’s condition, was intriguing as well.  I found it particularly effective due to bittersweet note it ended on.  What the Future Foundation does for Ben is so limited, yet for Ben, that’s already a miracle.  It’s heartwarming to see something done for Ben, but also sad that it took this long and is so deteriorated in effectiveness as a result.  Hickman struck this balance perfectly.