Fantastic Four 15, FF 15

Okay guys, time to get serious. Today shall be the QUICKEST OF QUICK HITS because it's the holidays and no one wants to read all these reviews. Let's hit it.

Fantastic Four 15
Fraction and Kesel (s) and Kesel (w) and Ienco (a) and Mounts (c)

The F4 are in that other dimension and trying to stop the bonding of Doom, Immortus, and Annihilus all while restoring their powers which were apparently toyed with by the F4 of this dimension. Everything in that respect sort of works out, things with the villains do not as Immortus gets Annihilus' powers and goes to kill Doom but then Doom flips it around and gets all of their powers.

Still a rather interesting story though one of the neatest bits about this storyline is also one of the most confounding. I find it extremely interesting that both FANTASTIC FOUR and FF are kind of doing the same story but evidently in different universes with slightly different outcomes and different ways to fight it. This book is uniquely able to do this sort of thing and it's a really cool idea but I think execution is a little lacking. The F4 side is a little boring and the FF side is a little obnoxious. I think it would be going better if it played it just a little more straight on both ends.

FF 15
Fraction and Lee Allred (s) and Lee Allred (w) and M. Allred (a) and L. Allred (c)

In this universe, Immortus didn't get so close as in the universe the F4 are in currently to achieving "annihilating conqueror" status. Instead, Doom seems to have done what Doom does and conquered there. The FF plan is complicated and presented in 12 rhyming parts and one not rhyming part. Robots controlled by the kids from a remote area attack Doom's lair and the replacement F4 show up to wail on Doom after he takes power before Scott shows up to finish the job.

This book has suffered, particularly since Fraction left, from tonal problems in that there's something of an incredibly serious threat going on and something of a tone-for-a-five-year-old going on. I think Fraction toyed with this a bit, giving the book a lighter feel and Mike Allred's art matched it wonderfully but he knew when to pull back and the way to bring it back to seriousness. It's a really hard spot to find and I don't really blame Lee Allred for not totally hitting it because he was kind of thrown into it and now wavers a little too much to the goofy side which makes coming back to serious particularly hard. As a result, this book gets a little intolerably cutesy and drags. Ah well. Still a cool idea, I suppose.