Daily Breakdowns 010 - WTFF

When I not only reactivated my Breakdowns column but brought it back as more or less a daily occurrence--let's say 3-5 times a week--I guess I wasn't thinking ahead. I need to read more comics, as I just don't have the time to knock off a graphic novel a night, much less review it. So, in that spirit, I figured I'd maybe pick up one or two new floppies a week as well, nothing too crazy, and in that way also re-wet my feet with the Marvel/DC shenanigans. While I looked at quite a few titles in the shop this evening, I just didn't want to drop right into the middle of a storyline, and quite frankly, that excludes about 90-95% of most monthly titles. So I picked this one, as I've been hearing some rumblings about this writer, and this is the first issue of the new creative team.

Fantastic Four #570
Written by Jonathan Hickman
Art by Dale Eaglesham
Published by Marvel Comics. $2.99 USD

First of all, I like that I was the one to pick up the variant cover. It's really just an enlargement of the circular character illustration on the first page, but even though I'm not looking to sell this issue and probably won't even treat it that well, I like to get the variant more often than not.

Secondly, I like that Marvel reinstated the practice of making the first page of the comic background for new readers. Maybe that means one less page of story, but still, it seems like a good idea. Of course, next issue it won't, since I'm caught up now.

The issue starts with a scene from Reed Richards' childhood, when he's scared and doesn't want to take a chance, and his dad instills in him that it's okay to fail, but unacceptable to not try. It's about as on-the-nose as writing gets, but I didn't mind it. At least Hickman is trying to explore a lesser-seen side of Reed. I didn't think Eaglesham needed to draw the vines around the panels, but okay, he's trying to make a good first impression.

The villain in this issue is the Wizard. Right there, anyone who has read one comic featuring the Wizard will realize that he will not be the real focus of the issue, and he will be brought down quickly and easily. This time he's using clones of himself inside armored suits, each one designed to handle a specific member of the FF. For a genius, that plan seems really narrow-minded, huh? Still, Hickman manages to get some resonance from the boy left behind. Is he a young clone of the Wizard? The Wizard's real son? I wasn't sure, but a sleepy Franklin Richards imploring his dad to help the boy means that that particular plot thread will definitely be dealt with later.

Eaglesham draws a nice Reed. Growing up with John Byrne's rendition and then everyone after him, I really haven't had much exposure to a barrel-chested Reed aside from Lee/Kirby reprints, and it's fun for a change. With his stubble, he's basically a two-eyed Nick Fury. The rest of the team are fine but don't really stand out, and they don't really get a chance to show off their powers here. That's fine, though. If Hickman wants to do his FF with Reed as the star, I'm okay with that.

I honestly don't remember when Valeria came into this book as the second child of Reed and Sue--maybe the Waid/Wieringo run?--but I like that she will end up smarter than Reed, and that her brilliance isn't portrayed as totally creepy, just a little unsettling.

Some Ben/Johnny comedy feels like filler, and then we get to the cool part of the issue, where Reed starts thinking of how he can save his world, and then he's visited by three versions of himself, who take him to a place outside of time, where there are dozens of other Reeds from other timelines. It's a very Alan Moore kind of moment, reminiscent of something in Supreme, but it works well, especially as Hickman and Eaglesham are not compelled to do variations on something as tired as Superman's costume. What can I say? I thought this was a pretty good start, and will stick with it.