What Does It Mean? Your Mileage May Vary
Chilling implications abound in this issue of FF at the cost of yet another month of interrupted action that will no doubt leave many readers confused and potentially unsatisfied.
Enjoying this issue is entirely predicated on trust. Either you trust that Hickman has a reason for doing what he's doing and you go along for the ride or you don't enjoy this issue. It reminds me of his Prime Elements arc during Fantastic Four, only more obscure-seeming. There were four seemingly random, one-shot stories being told in Prime Elements, but they had the benefit of featuring the Fantastic Four. FF#6-7 feature the confusing, not-quite-beloved Inhumans and setting up how Black Bolt went from dead to Earth.
If you trust Hickman, there are huge plot points in place revolving around Ronan and what he might do with autonomy. There's also the threat of the combined might of the Inhumans, Universal and otherwise, stepping into the conflict on Earth to stop whatever plans the Reeds have in place, not to mention their threats to claim Earth as New Hala. Hickman's writing is good and it is very interesting, but, once again, it can feel out of place right in the middle of the action like this.
I've gotten used to Tocchini's art and I rather like it in this issue, but I'm unsure if I'm reading his faces right. Granted, I don't know Black Bolt's history or characterization very well, but the way I was interpreting Tocchini's art made it seem like Black Bolt might have come back wrong. Tocchini does a lot of great work with loose lines that really emphasize Black Bolt's might and power. I got lost in some of the fight scenes, but that may be my fault more than Tocchini's.
At the end of the day, FF#6-7 will not be remembered as Hickman's best or most important work on this title, at least in the short term. Until we have payoffs for things he mentioned in these books, it's up to the reader to determine how much they want to tolerate a two-issue interruption in the action with no immediate payoff. I'm on board, but YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY.
