Anghus Houvouras reviews the latest issue of Marvel NOW!’s FF…
“Darla vs Yancy Street! ‘ Nuff Said!“
FF has hit a lull. It was inevitable. The title has been a lot of fun, exhibiting the kind of high-speed comedy that you find in shows like Futurama and Venture Brothers. Mike Allred’s art has perfectly complimented Matt Fraction’s wonderfully over the top writing style to make the most consistently amusing book in the Marvel NOW! line up.
Unfortunately, nothing lasts forever.
This is the first real stall the title has seen. After a fifth issue which shed some light into the warped mind of Furture Foundation student Bentley 23, we are given an Allred-free issue which feels like filler. Medusa and Bentley-23 have gone missing. The FF, led by Ant-Man, tries to track them down. There isn’t much more to it than that.
It’s funny how exposed this book feels without Allred’s art. I realize no one artist can pencil a title forever, but the book doesn’t have that same pop. The characters just don’t seem as fun or vivacious. The fact that there is very little progress to the main story isn’t helping.
In the past few issues we’ve seen the formation of the team, the Human Torch emerge from the future warning of a villain that is equal parts Kang, Doom, and Annihilus, a potential betrayal by members of the Future Foundation, and Scott Lang introducing the idea that all their efforts should be focused on ending Doom once and for all.
This issue doesn’t take one step forward in any of those interesting directions. We get a little characterization for Lang, who is still dealing with the ongoing trauma of losing his daughter. The final panels leave readers with an effective cliffhanger: the Baxter Building is transported to the negative zone. Those excursions never end well.
FF #6 feels like the best intentions gone amiss. I’ll be glad when Allred returns for the next issue. Maybe then they can get this thing back on track.
Anghus Houvouras is a North Carolina based writer and filmmaker. His latest work, the graphic novel EXE: Executable File, is available from Lulu.com.
Originally published April 25, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
