The Good
If you have been reading FANTASTIC FOUR and FF consecutively then you will definitely appreciate the latest issue of FF. Overall this book is well written and tells the story we saw in FANTASTIC FOUR from the perspective of Bentley and the Future Foundation children. In this issue, Hickman reintroduces Bentley to his father, the Wizard. Bentley and Valeria hop onto Valeria's "old horsey" and travel to where the Fantastic Four and A.I.M. are fighting the Wizard. This is a moment that has sort of been built up by Hickman from early on in his series, and I think it was good that he spent more than one issue telling the story. It was good to see Bentley's perspective on the situation and to see how the character deals with this sort of trauma.
Hickman deals with the age-old question of nature versus nurture in the latest issue of FF. For those who don't know, the Wizard created Bentley as an experiment. When the boy was older, Reed Richards took him in and he joined the Future Foundation. The premise here is whether or not the character's nurturing would influence the person he would grow up to be. Because he (Bentley) shares the same genes as the Wizard, does that mean he is cursed to become like the Wizard? I really like the way Hickman deals with this question in this issue.
The issue is really well organized and you can see how it serves as a great compliment to the last issue of FANTASTIC FOUR. The end of this latest issue also serves as a great teaser to what might happen in the future for two specific characters. It ends with a really sweet moment.
The Bad
I wasn't quite sure how I felt about the art, to be honest. In some of the panels Valeria's eyes are really big and she and some of the other kids look sort of creepy. There was something about their expressions that just seemed a little bit off. Other than that, I did like the art in this issue. I think the way that Andre Araujo drew the alien kids Mik, Korr and Turg was really well done, but when it came to drawing people they looked a little bit strange.
While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, I think this issue might be difficult to understand if the reader doesn't read the last issue of FANTASTIC FOUR before delving into this one. There is context that he or she might not grasp as a result.
The Verdict
I personally really enjoyed this issue. I have been a big fan of both FANTASTIC FOUR and the FF, so seeing the way these two books compliment one another the way they do here is great. I loved the way the children are portrayed in this issue and I have enjoyed the level of depth that Hickman has given these characters. Although I don't recommend reading this issue without having read the last issue of FANTASTIC FOUR, I do think that these two books serve as a great introduction to characters like Bentley and Valeria. The other FF kids get some really fun panel time too, which was nice to see. This is another great issue of FF which will make just about anyone fall in love with these adorable kids.