FF #9

The Team
Writer Matt Fraction Artist Joe Quinones

FF has been pure delight since the first issue of the series. It serves as a sort of weird sister book to Fantastic Four, however the industry at large has caught on to the former title being the superior of the two. The book has a ton of heart, but also a fair share share of tragedy lurking around the corner. A major factor of the book is Scott Lang reeling from the death of his daughter. On the other hand, these new members of the team also have to be babysitters to the girls, boys, and little aliens in the baxter building. When a writer like Matt Fraction throws some ideas like these into the melting pot, and is just completely unleashed readers will be shocked at the quality of a book. FF #9 makes a great case for this as the entire cast endures a pool party. Read the following title with a big smile on your face and simply enjoy.

The basic premise for the fun about to ensue, is that the strange CEO of Julian Enterprises invites the entire Future Foundation to a huge pool party. As absurd as that sounds it is most of what actually goes on in this title. The character of John Storm, gets some interesting play in this issue. He is still being slightly ignored as a character save for a few lines. For a comic book involving a massive pool party there is a dense amount of science fiction in these pages. One of the staples of these issues has always been to expect pure craziness. The framing device in this issue is also genius, as it adds yet another layer of humor to an already hilarious story. The inhumans have gotten a massive spotlight in this title as well. It is great to see Fraction and company paying tribute to the Fantastic Four stories of yesterday. Due to the incredibly strange tone of the title, he never drowns in his influences as this beast is unique. This issue completely shifts the status quota towards the end of the title, into something readers may not have expected to see so early. This may cause the book to be more serialized and it may tie more heavily into it’s sister title going forward. Fraction has done no wrong with this series, no need to lose faith in him now.

The art in this title is slightly frustrating for the longtime reader. Mike Allred, the usual artist for the book is not drawing the title. Joe Quinones steps in for the interior pages here and they all look great. The problem may lie with Laura Allred as she chooses to color the book the same way as she would for the previous artist. While the title looks good enough, it does not live up to the strengths of the new penciller. He does good with brighter colors showcasing his pixar like qualities as an artist. Everything is straight and perfect in the comic by the craftsmen, and in the future I would love to see the art team accommodate the penciller.

Everything in this issue is fantastic, and it is slightly rough to pick apart the smaller pieces of the title. FF is one of the crown jewels of Marvel NOW! Any fan of the Fantastic Four property would be well suited to get in on the action.