Comic Vine Review

12 Comments

FF #2 - The Big Goodbye

5

The four minutes are up and the fate of the planet lay in the hands of an all-new Fantastic Four

The Good

Writer Matt Fraction knows what he's doing. He knows how to create an interesting dynamic through interesting dialogue and character interactions in his current FF series. We are only two issues into this book and already it's in my top three favorite new series out of the Marvel NOW initiative. I imagine it was pretty tough to top the first issue in this new series, which provided a great start and introduction into this new Fantastic Four team, but it seems that Fraction has managed to outdo himself with issue #2.

The issue opens with the new Fantastic Four, a team that consists of a pretty random group of characters who, after waiting for the first four minutes to pass, realize the Fantastic Four aren't coming back. At least not when they said they would. Now, we all knew this was inevitable, but the way the scene is written by Fraction is really great. I love the way that Fraction uses the issue's writer, Mike Allred, to depict the passing of time. You can really sense the nervousness of these characters who have now taken on the responsibilities of mentoring the Future Foundation as well as acting as the new Fantastic Four.

The issue is split up into several parts, chronicling the adventures of the team on different days, and it's great. Fraction manages to throw in everything from laugh-out-loud moments where the Fantastic Four are interacting with the FF kids, to a trip to the "Machine That Says 'Boop Boop' Room," to Ant-Man's struggle with the fact that he's just been made the temporary (and perhaps permanent) leader of the Fantastic Four and the Future Foundation? That's a whole heck of a lot of responsibility. There are plenty of laugh out loud, heartfelt moments as well as action-packed scenes in this issue.

The Bad

Nothing bad here! An all-around great issue that will leave you excited for issue #3.

The Verdict

I absolutely loved everything about this comic; from the way the characters are portrayed and the way they interact, to the fluidity of Mike Allred's panels, to the pacing of the issue. I also love the way Fraction focuses on each character, giving them all a little bit of time to shine without sacrificing the story. It's, overall, a great issue that is fun-filled and ends on a serious cliffhanger that'll leave you guessing and yearning for the next issue.