By Matt Fraction, Lee Allred, Mike Allred & Laura Allred
FF has been wonderful. Even when Fraction packed up and left, it still maintained a high quality of storytelling. It’s sad to see it go, but all good things must come to an end.
The finale focuses on Scott Lang and his final showdown with Doom. Doom is responsible for the death of Lang’s daughter, so emotions are obviously high. Lee Allred orchestrates the action wonderfully, throwing in some of the best dialogue yet. Scott’s heroic ranting has tons of depth and stands out as metaphor for Doom and this series itself. Lang leaves Doom in a very vulnerable state which is the perfect time to teach him a valuable lesson. By the end, Doom is both damaged and changed for the better.
The epilogue plays out exactly like the one at the end of Fantastic Four #16. It even has some of the same panels and dialogue. However, some of the pages have been changed to get different views and outlooks from other characters. When both epilogues are read, it leaves you with a sense of immense satisfaction and payoff. If you were reading both books from the start, this was just for you.
Michael Allred’s pencils are as great as they always are. This guy is one of the best, to say the least. He gets the pleasure of drawing Doom’s true face and his depiction is pretty interesting. Like Fantastic Four #16, Joe Quinones draws the backup, with some ink and color help from Michael and Laura Allred. Again, his work is great and has the same style and feel of Mike Allred’s work. Overall, this is a beautiful book.
As time goes by, I could see FF go down as one of those underrated gems. This series didn’t get the attention that it deserved, but perhaps it will at a later time. From start to finish, this volume of FF was a true work of art.
