Foundation Flip for for Marvel's Fantastic First Family
First-time formal introductions rarely generate thrilling
moments, even amongst superheroes. FF
#1 begins with talking kids, kids that have no immediate clear reason for
filling six panels (although the final panel provides the rationale). The comic
then paces the reader through each member of the Fantastic Four choosing his
and her replacement for their proposed four-minute journey. Each recruitment
scene separates with another interview with kids of the Future Foundation.
That’s it.
No villains.
No revealing
character developments.
Limited tension in Ant-Man’s
reluctance (his obliging answer already known from Marvel’s hype).
The plot exudes the feel of substituting values for the variables
in the equation and then calculating the formula…“plug and chug” as the
mathematicians say.
Certainly Matt Fraction’s competence as a writer exceeds
question (his composition on Defender’s #1 still stands as a favorite
(for me) first issue of all time), but the purpose for this mild introduction
is elusive…for now. Two factors make the second issue worth pulling.
- Faith. The bane of loving comics and reading monthly installments… “maybe the next issue will be better….”
- Allreds.
 |
| Previous replacements for the Fantastic Four |
Mike Allred drawing this new weird team of FF has earned my subscription to this
issue. Allred’s running lines for Medusa’s hair, the Kirby-esque Thing[1],
and Ant-Man’s costume and helmet that
might be found in the fetish section of a dentist’s supply catalogue straddle the
edge of cartoony and realism…a perfect tension to maintain for this FF book (which, despite the slow story,
DOES clearly contain a goofy mood). Allred’s style harmonizes with this book,
and I hope he stays on art duties for the full four minutes the Fantastic Four
uses to walk down their inter-dimensional hallway. I also hope Marvel hires
Shakey Kane and David Hine to fill in when Fraction and Allred need a break and
to take over at the end of Fraction and Allred’s run…then Marvel universe really
WOULD never be the same….
Laura Allred’s eyes are beautiful. Rarely, if ever, has the
eye color of a character stood out, but in this issue of FF, the eyes consistently snag attention for an engaging factor of
the art. Val and Franklin Richards have blue eyes as does Sue Richards, Mister
Fantastic has brown eyes, Ant-Man blue, Medusa, green, Bently-23 brown, Crystal
the Inhuman green, She-Hulk green (of course), Darla Deering brown, Johnny
Storm hazel, The ever-lovin’ Blue-eyed Thing has…oh…you know…. These small dots
of color animate faces far more than what seems possible and conveys a dynamic
dynamism to make stunning art that much more stunning.
The first issue’s final page ends with Scott Lang asking:
“What is the FF? What does it mean to you, the young minds
that make up the program?”
A good question, and one that kept echoing through my
multiple readings and browsings of this issue. As for the bright future
engineered by Allred and Fraction…let’s hold hope and keep a pair shades close
by for the a possible future so bright.
[1] Sorry
Silva, while I know you (and many others) like the look of Allred’s She-Hulk, I
just imagine a balloon animals every time she appears on the page with her bulbous
muscles…and her shoulders (and breasts) keep changing size…it must make buying
properly fitting shirts the height of frustration for She-Hulk…no wonder she
gets so angry….).
No comments:
Post a Comment