FF #1

Let me start by saying I liked this. I'm saying that because when this was announced, I was very against this book. I thought the concept sounded dumb, the team looked lame, and it was going to be a waste.

I read Fantastic Four, and did for most of Hickman's run. I never really bought FF outside of three issues. I was able to follow Fantastic Four just fine. I like Fraction as well. His run on Iron Man is probably the best in my opinion. I love what he is doing on Hawkeye. I liked Defenders for what it was, and I hated his stuff on Thor. I thought Thor was confusing and hard to follow. I was reluctant to try this.

So after reading the first issue of the Fantastic Four (and digging it), I decided Tuesday I would get at least the first issue. Well now I'll be getting issue 2.

This is a setup issue and if you are reading Fantastic Four you don't have to read this. Sure the woman who will be be Ms Thing is in Fantastic Four, but again this issue isn't a part 2 of anything.

Basically the Fantastic Four are going away from this universe for 4 minutes. Since Reed is a believer in Murphy's Law he asks the rest of the team to find a temporary replacement. That's what this issue is. Setup of the characters, and the Fantastic Four picking their replacements. The best sequence was The Thing and She Hulk. Also they didn't really stray too far away from the original FF book. All of those characters are still there, and we get a good introduction to them if you have never read FF before. You'll know all you need to know about Dragon Man in one panel.

The art in the issue is done by Mike Allred. You either love it or you hate it. I like it. I'm glad they aren't using the same artist for this and Fantastic Four, it sets both apart.

So if you were like me and you were against this book, give it a chance. It was fun. It makes a good side piece to Fantastic Four. If you read both books, they match up really well. The beauty of it, I believe you could read one or the other and not be lost.

I wanted to hate this book so much, but I can't. Check it out. Not the oddest book I've read this week either, that honor goes to Chew.