The Good
Things are about to change.
The Fantastic Four has always been about family and you really get a sense of that here. Continuing from the first issue, we know the team (along with Franklin and Valeria) are planning on leaving Earth for a year with the idea they'll only be gone for four minutes. We get to see each member of the team prepare for their departure and tie up any loose ends before they leave, just in case things don't go as expected.
This means there's is also a bridge between this title and FF, where we'll be seeing their replacements. There is some great interaction as we see Reed Richards and Scott Lang talk about the situation. Matt Fraction adds in subtle touches to add a little more humanity to the characters. Taking these, two for example, family and science is important to both of them but in their brief scene together, you really get a sense of how completely different they are. It's a factor that will make each title have it's own distinct feel.
By this point, it's expected to see Fraction's humor thrown in. He doesn't let us down. Whether it's Medusa and the Future Foundation kids or the Thing and She-Hulk competing with each other, Fraction shows that there is more to these characters than just superpowers and spandex.
There's a lot of characters in this issue. Mark Bagley has to perform double duty as characters from both titles are present here. It's always great to see his take on everyone.
The Bad
This issue is still setting up the departure of the team. We're still seeing the replacements set up. Because we saw their introduction in FF #1, it's a little weird to see so much emphasis put on what's supposed to be a four-minute trip.
As much as I love Bagley's art, there were a couple times the characters looked a little off. It could be that the inking felt a little muddy at those points. There were two inkers here so it's likely that contributed to some discrepancy.
I'm ready for their trip to begin!
The Verdict
The Fantastic Four are about to leave the building. As seen last issue and in FF #1, Reed is keeping his injury a secret from his family and has planned an extended 'vacation' in order to find a cure. A team of replacements has been chosen and we're seeing the passing of the baton, as started in FF, continue here. Because we've already seen the introduction of the FF team, it feels a little unnecessary to have so much time devoted to the changing of the guard but for those not reading both series, it's an important bit. Mark Bagley has to draw a lot of characters here which is always fun to see. The problem is a couple times the art felt a little muddy possibly due to the inking. Because of Matt Fraction's storytelling and humor, this book manages to put a smile on my face. I can't wait for the action to begin.