The Superior Companion
Just like it's counterpart, this first issue of FF is pretty much all setup. It's funny though, because even though this issue is MORE setup and LESS action than Fantastic Four #1, I think I enjoyed this issue MORE.
Mike Allred's artwork is a very interesting counterpart of Mark Bagley's. Bagley has a lot of nice details, rich layers of coloring and ink while Allred's artwork is a lot more simplistic and free. I'm not going to say either one is better, they each serve their purposes. Bagley as a more traditional approach to layouts, but Allred experiments a little more. Plus, FF is A LOT funnier than Fantastic Four, and Allred always seems to get used for more comedic comics. Not that this is without depth or seriousness.
This is definitely one of the stranger teams assembled, and certainly far from mainstream. This issue is paced perfectly to introduce us to each of the main '4-minute replacement Fantastic Four' broken up with little interview chunks of various kids from the Future Foundation. As entertaining and informative as this is, it seems a little odd; until the end of the issue where everything is wrapped together nicely. And in addition to giving you information on ALL the wide reaches of the Future Foundation, these one-page scenes were extremely funny.
Scott Lang Ant-Man has definitely won me over enough. He's another one of Marvel's brilliant scientists, but he's lost in a sea of listlessness, no real direction in life and it's affecting his work pretty harshly. He's definitely someone I can really relate to personally, so I'm definitely rooting for him. Medusa is someone I've already been fond of since Hickman's FF, but her scene with Sue won me over even more. She-Hulk I'm still on the fence about, but I can't deny that her scene with The Thing was pretty much as touching as the first two recruitments. Finally there's the new and much debated Ms. Thing. Instead of being recruited in a heartwarming scene like the first three; Johnny Storm completely forgets and makes a hilarious bastardization of type of scene the other three got. So we know she's a part of the team, but she has yet to be recruited or even get that suit. That suit which I find so hilariously goofy I can't help but love it.
In Conclusion: 4.5/5
This issue was ALL preparation, but there was hardly a thing I didn't absolutely love about it. I think its safe to guess that the Fantastic Four WON'T be gone for 'just 4 minutes' so I'm looking forward to this off-beat rag-tag team playing the superhero game.
