Weekly Comic - 02/29/2012

FF#15 - Jonathan Hickman/Nick Dragotta

Hickman wraps up the Future Foundation's fight with the Celestials in this issue that closes off some stories while further connecting this title's narrative to that of Fantastic Four. This issue doesn't have the urgency or rising tension in its sister title, but it does have a fun, whimsical voice and a good sense of forward movement. The plot actually really jumps around here, as Nathaniel and the kids traverse through a lot of settings to get to the final sequence, where the action replicates the ending of Fantastic Four#603, but from a different perspective. Much of this is a lot of fun - the group interaction, particularly when focused around Valeria, is always stellar, there's a good clip to the kids' dialogue, and all the main characters get a moment to shine. Particularly poignant is Kristoff's reaction to losing Dr. Doom. The jumping around does cause this issue to slightly lose focus in spots - for example, I'm not entirely sure what the point of fighting the evolved Moloids was, beyond shuffling every character without the last name 'Richards' out of the story. But the pace is good and the tone is fun throughout. The subplot involving Franklin's mysterious friend, who narrates parts of the issue in a very effective fashion, speeds up here, and is very interesting. In the midst of this wide-reaching story, it's nice to have such a character-focused plot unfolding. The final scenes do repeat what happened in last week's Fantastic Four, but the scope of the fight is still evident and the final reveal still a great moment. Nick Dragotta takes over on art from the reviled Juan Bobillo (who, for the record, I quite liked). He keeps a lot of Bobillo's trappings - the youthful energy, the design for the kids' faces - but has more of a sure hand in pulling of the cosmic scope of this story. I liked Bobillo's use of white space, but Dragotta adds a lot in the way of backgrounds, and it looks quite nice. He brings a very Kirby/Buscema-style to the book, which can only be a good thing. It's a solid issue, with a lot of fun to be had. As Hickman's mega story builds to its end, it lack the intensity of its sister title, but it's still an enjoyable read.