Once again, the House of M concept provides a strong spinoff story premise. What sets this apart is that it's not about an alternate version of a hero trying to make sense of his life, but about a villain whose own ambitions are being eclipsed by those of an even more powerful villain. One needn't be intimately familiar with the events of House of M to follow this story; all that's required is a passing familiarity with the Fantastic Four and their deadliest enemy. Layman explores a world in which a super-power nation is a far more literal definition, and Eaton provides some exciting visuals in the form of some intense new character designs. This alternate vision of the Fantastic Four -- dubbed the Fearsome Four -- reminds me of the sort of fun I had while reading DC and Marvel's Amalgam one-shots a few years ago.
Mutants are the dominant species on Earth, but Magneto's House of M doesn't rule ovr the entire planet. One nation is even governed by a human: Victor Von Doom's Latveria. Mind you, he's an altered human, possessed of fantastic powers, not to mention a brilliant scientific intellect and a natural affinity for sorcery. He also leads and commands the power of the Fearsome Four, which includes the Inhuman Torch, the Invincible Woman and the It. Magneto's power means Doom's political agenda must coincide with the mutant master's, but the Latverian ruler thirsts for more power and is disgusted at the notion of being subordinate to any man or mutant.
This is the sort of strong artwork we saw from Scot Eaton during his stint with the now-defunct CrossGen Comics. I was quite disappointed with Eaton's recent Marvel work (see Spectacular Spider-Man from a few months back), so I'm relieved to see him back in figurative artistic shape on this project. His efforts here remind me of Paul (Fantastic Four, DP7) Ryan's style a bit, but with more intensity and energy. His designs for the Fearsome Four are sharp and exciting. The Inhuman Torch is particularly mesmerizing and monstrous. The colors really pop as well.
Layman wisely doesn't explain how all of these differences in Doom's corner of the world work. We don't learn how the Fearsome Four gained their powers, and we don't know who the It is (I have a theory). I hope the reason is that Layman will reveal these secrets as the series progresses, because watching this alternate, twisted vision of a major Marvel icon (about to become even more major with the release of the Fantastic Four movie) is a great deal of fun.
My favorite aspect of this book is that Layman doesn't fall into the easy trap of transforming Doom into a hero. He leads the Fearsome Four, not the Fantastic Four (which the cover unfortunately proclaims). He's brutal, he's still a dictactor, and he's raised his son to be cruel. He's petty, vindictive and never satisfied. While the world around him has changed, Doom hasn't, and it's rather fun to root for the bad guy. We did the same in the Mel Gibson movie Payback, but this time around, the bad guy we're cheering for may be more corrupt and nasty than those he fights against. 7/10
