Fantastic Four by Fraction/Bagley (spoilers)

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Well, #1 is out today.

The best part about it is that Bagley's art isn't as bad as it's been or as I've been expecting this will be.

The opening plot is that Reed discovers that the unstable molecules that make up his body (and likely the others' as well) are decaying.

When was it established that their bodies were made of unstable molecules. I thought he INVENTED unstable molecules and used them in their uniforms.

He decides to take Johnny's Negative Zone ship and kind of turn it into the new Baxter Building and base out of their for a period of time, with the unannounced intention of finding a cure for this decay. He says he will find a new Fantastic Four to stay in their place even though they can pretty much return at the moment of time they left and might only be gone for a few seconds.

(I didn't care for that, but mostly because the new team looks stupid)

So....not bad. This is supposed to be more of an adventure book vs. action, but I thought Hickman and Millar before him did a good job of that any way. I guess it remains to be seen how Matt Fraction writes stories like that.
 
As far as I know the unstable molecules are just what the uniforms are made of.

I decided to try this out since I really like Fractions creator owned stuff. Its full of big ideas and universe hopping stories and huge clandestine orginizations. I thought he'd be a great fit for Fantastic Four. It did nothing for me. I didn't like his Ben Grimm shouting dummies over and over, I didn't like the mombots, I didn't like the random opening. About the only thing I did like was his Johnny Storm. That was pretty solid.

I won't be staying with this.
 
As far as I know the unstable molecules are just what the uniforms are made of.

I decided to try this out since I really like Fractions creator owned stuff. Its full of big ideas and universe hopping stories and huge clandestine orginizations. I thought he'd be a great fit for Fantastic Four. It did nothing for me. I didn't like his Ben Grimm shouting dummies over and over, I didn't like the mombots, I didn't like the random opening. About the only thing I did like was his Johnny Storm. That was pretty solid.

I won't be staying with this.

The "dummies" bit was embarrassingly bad. Mombots didn't really bother me, although I don't think Susan Richards is the type to leave parenting to robots.

Johnny didn't do anything for me. He had major character development with Hickman so I hope that sticks and he doesn't revert to the himbo type.

As for the rest of it...this was obviously set up for the kind of things you mentioned so I think it needs more than an issue before it can be judged on whether or not he delivered.
 
The "dummies" bit was embarrassingly bad. Mombots didn't really bother me, although I don't think Susan Richards is the type to leave parenting to robots.

Johnny didn't do anything for me. He had major character development with Hickman so I hope that sticks and he doesn't revert to the himbo type.

As for the rest of it...this was obviously set up for the kind of things you mentioned so I think it needs more than an issue before it can be judged on whether or not he delivered.

I could see Reed and Sue leaving robots but not something that looks like it wheeled out of The Jetsons and has a swarm mentality.

As for it being a prologue: I want a comic. I want a full comic when I buy one. The first issue should start the story and not just set things up. We already know the players, let us see the play.
 
I am so disappointed with this book. I can't even tell if I'd like it more if the art wasn't terrible. But it is, so I guess that question is moot. #2 is completely dull and un-fantastic.

The cover is terrible, too. I hate these pinup type images that show disembodied floating heads. It's lazy and stupid.

FantasticFour_2_Cover.jpg
 
I just really hate Mark Bagley's art.

fantastic-four-2-bagley_zps0ccf4e46.jpg


Reed doesn't even look like Reed. Sue is staring off into space. Medusa looks like a mannequin or something.
 
The art in this is so bad, especially compared to Mike Allred on FF. It's going to be jarring going from one to the other when they're both collected together.
 
This is, by far, the most disappointed I've ever been in a Marvel book. Part of it is because I generally like Matt Fraction but the bigger part is that Fantastic Four has been so good for so long (I LOVED the Millar run and Hickman's is a modern classic) and now it just isn't. I just don't get what Ben shouting "dummies" all the time is supposed to be. It's stupid! Are they trying to turn this into his trademark or something? It doesn't even make any sense.
 
This is supposed to be Franklin and Valeria from issue 5. Valeria looks like an adult.

1abfbed3aa0bc62d904612323b694f75_zps122f41f2.jpg
 
I'm done with this book. If Fraction's writing could overcome this awful art it would be one thing, but the stories are crap too.

I hate to see a book that has been so good for so long become so bad.
 
I stopped reading Fantastic Four because I don't like Mark Bagley and I thought it was boring.

I'm loving FF though. I hope I don't need to read both of them to get the full story.
 
I stopped reading Fantastic Four because I don't like Mark Bagley and I thought it was boring.

I'm loving FF though. I hope I don't need to read both of them to get the full story.

I usually like Matt Fraction, and the beginning of Ultimate Spider-Man was good enough that the bad art didn't matter. But this isn't good.

FF is really great, though, and the art is awesome.
 
After reading #5AU I'm dropping this. I can't express my disappointment with this book enough. And that issue doesn't even have Bagley on art.

For no reason whatsoever, Ben reveals to Franklin and Val (via hologram, no less) that he was the one that tinkered with Doom's machine in college that exploded and scarred his face. He did it because Doom was a bully.

Just like that. What is the point?

Then Reed goes off on a mini rant and tells the kids there is not heaven or hell or God or anything...completely ignoring the fact that he and the entire family went to both Heaven AND Hell during the Mark Waid run. Franklin was trapped in Hell. In Heaven, Reed met Jack Kirby, who removed the scarring Doom made on Reed's face as HE was getting dragged into Hell.

Dumb. Matt Fraction is better than this.
 

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