FF #2

I was surprised how much I liked the first issue of this new Marvel NOW! version of the FF. The follow-up may not be as strong, but fans should still enjoy themselves in a comic that despite Mike Allred only doing the art is feeling more and more like a Madman comic.

After being disappointed when the Fantastic Four don't return after four minutes, their replacements get to work getting things back to normal at the Baxter Building. This includes Ant-Man explaining to the children why the Daily Bugle refereed to him as a convict, She-Hulk lecturing the children on the finer points of the law, and one member of the team quitting.

When the comic stays with the character dynamics inside the Baxter Building things continue to run smoothly. However, writer Matt Fraction's choice of villain, in a humdrum homage to the original Fantastic Four #1, doesn't work nearly as well. For fans.

[Marvel, $2.99]