This stands out as this creative team's best issue to date on this title, and points to just how rife with storytelling potential the title characters are. Waid's dual focus of science-fiction fun and the ongoing development of these characters is even stronger here, and Wieringo's art is stunning. This new stint on the book has a great sense of humor to it, but at the same time, it quietly explores the humanity of some classic superhuman characters.
Life is as busy as ever 'round the old Fantastic Four homestead. Ben Grimm plays in an other-dimensional underwater realm with Franklin and Valeria, and Reed has invented a new digital notepad with a limitless memory capacity, thanks to its link to a neighboring pocket dimension. Meanwhile, Johnny continues to struggle with his new duties as the chief financial officer of the team's corporate face, and Reed is relieved to discover that recent weirdness around the headquarters isn't linked to his infant daughter. Little does he know that a whole new kind of weirdness in the form of a powerful mathematical entity is about to complicate -- and perhaps destroy -- the lives of those around him.
Wieringo's bright style reinforces the sense of wonder that's an integral part of the Fantastic Four, but he and inker Karl Kesel balance the lighter, cartoony elements with a strong level of detail. The design for the new antagonist is quite eye-catching, and a good deal of the credit goes to colorist Paul Mounts. He brings the character's unreal digital nature to life; those bright greens and yellows convey a strong sense of the alien and dangerous. I also enjoyed how he presented an invisible Reed Richards in shades of grey, in keeping with the novel explanation Waid includes in the script.
Waid's new FF villain is a lot of fun while boasting thoroughly creepy and menacing quality all at the same time. His incredible origins are surprisingly easy to accept, as his fluid and invasive nature is oddly beautiful and unsettling. What really makes the character interesting, though, is his motivation, as revealed in the final panel of this issue.
The super-hero-versus-villain plot elements are secondary here, though. The real focus is on the amazing yet grounded everyday details of the lives of the extended Richards clan. Fantastic elements aside, we see a husband and wife spending some quality time together, an uncle playing with his niece and nephew, and a young man trying to adjust to the overwhelming responsibilities of his new job. The strongest scene in the whole issue is Ben and Sue's trip to the movies, in which Ben exhibits some wisdom and the two share a couple of solid, down-to-earth laughs. "Hey. Previews. How many Innaworlds this time?" Heh.
