June 2019's pull list - Fantastic Four #11

It has been just under a week (as I write this) since I picked up this issue from my LCS (on release day) and, of that, it took me just under a week to actually break it open and read it. Such is the demands of real life that it takes so long to read just one single comic book.

However, let us give praise to Love Island (which, admittedly, I can't stand) for running long last night, allowing me to hide in our dining room to get my self some Fantastic comic goodness.

Fantastic Four #11

Fantastic Four #11 sees Franklin and Valeria doing what all teenagers end up doing in the end; taking their driving test, after the FF's current mission to seal a number of interdimensional tears around the city requires the kids assistance, a fact that does not go well with agents of the DEMV (or the originally named Department of 'Extra-normal' Motor Vehicles). Therefore, with some help from their uncles, the kids prepare for their test which gets interrupted when the original mission draws them back in.

Now, I've been up and down, back on forth on this newest Fantastic Four run since Dan Slott started it last August for, while the Grimm wedding offered me hope of potential, the Doom story seemingly took it away before the War of the Realms tie-in tease it once again.

This issue left me in two minds by the time I reached the end (after two read throughs), unsure about which way the series was going to go in the long run.

The bad points first. I think the thing that made me unsure about this issue was that it felt like an almost identical re-hash of the previous issue, with Franklin struggling to find his place and role within the team and life. Now, I might not have had such a problem with this had issue 10's ending been more open ended, but given that I felt it to be quite final in what it was trying to say, seeing Franklin struggling without his powers just felt really unoriginal and took a little away from that last story.

That said, while this was a main vexing for me, it didn't take away from the fact that this was still a fun read, thanks primarily to Paco Medina's artwork. I remember as I awaited the Fantastic Four's return that, while I wasn't sure about Dan Slott on as writer (and admittedly, the jury is still out with me), I look forward to Sara Pichelli's great work filling the pages.

The art team really do get the
'Fantastic' part of the book.

Well, it must have been six issues now since she was last drawing and I have to admit that, between Aaron Kuder and Paco Medina, I'm not really missing her. Here, I absolutely adore Medina(and several others; Kevin Libranda, Paolo Villanelli and Juanan Ramirez)'s rich, colourful style which looks so inch perfect for a Fantastic Four book that it's unreal. Chief among this has to be the major dimensional tear and the Microverse visuals which just truly blow me away. As long as these guys, along with colorist Jesus Aburtov, stay on this book, then I've got now problem hanging around either.

Now, I just said about Slott's work and how I'm still undecided. Now, that's still true but, based on this issue, my decision is certainly pushing more towards the positive. I think this is because, much like in the last 2/3 issues, the characters more and more seem to be finding voices which just feel right to me. While Ben is almost quintessentially Ben like for many issues now, I thought that it was here that Johnny really found his voice (finally), while also making me realise that he is Jake Peralta (from Brooklyn 99) in all ways except for one's a cop the other's a superhero.

Meanwhile, while I wasn't a fan of the overall story involving Franklin primarily, I just loved a gorgeous scene midway through the story where Val offers to help him only to be rebuffed. I've never been the biggest fan of Valeria Richards (I find her irritatingly arrogant), but this nice moment helped me see her in a new light as the pair actually felt very sibling-esque in my eyes.

Don't worry, this isn't art from a DC
book. It's only a new FF big bad!

Beyond that, I enjoyed that this was yet another done-in-one story (reminding me of some Waid/Wienigo story. My favourite time) as well as getting the chance to see a fantastic (pun not intended) microverse, complete with Tardigarde's (which I think are a great creature design cropping up all over fiction of late) and a new villain who could be a dead ringer for Granny Goodness (I mean seriously!!!)

Of course, the Doom pages felt a bit wedged in and while, they were necessary, I think they should have been used as book ends, opening and closing the issue. Also, the final page in this book I have absolutely no idea of its relevance and has me totally confused.

In the end, though, while it didn't show so during my first read through, this issue followed on strong from issue 10 in my eyes. And while I'm not sure it was necessary to be included, the Doom pages did nicely set up the next issue, which I'm very much looking forward to.

I mean, when was the last time we had a Thing/Hulk fight?