Though I've always appreciated the Fantastic Four on an iconic level, I've rarely been a fan of their comic. When I have, it's because the writer has shown that there's still new life, new ideas to be explored with these characters without losing the inherent appeal of the characters and telling generic super-hero stories. Mark Waid has done exactly that, and continues to do so in the first chapter of "Authoritative Action," which asks the question I'm amazed no one has before: "What happens to Latveria when Dr. Doom dies?" The answer is an interesting mix of politics and super-heroes, filtered through the character-based stories that have been developing since day one of Waid's run, and with strong work by former JLA penciller Howard Porter and inker Norm Rapmund, this looks like another in the list of exceptional stories that have populated this book since Waid came onboard.
One of the things I've loved about Waid's run on this book has been the exploration of some of the real world possibilities of a team like the Fantastic Four. The fame and corporate side of their lives, not just the super-heroic side, has made for some interesting new avenues of exploration. Waid opens this issue with another neat idea, exploring the Fantastic Four gift shop, and if he and Mike Wieringo have made the adventuring side of the family's life look like fun, he and Porter also make it look like a blast just to walk through their lives as a consumer and spectator from a safer distance.
That notion is especially appealing given the darker after-effects of the Four's lives of late, as a confrontation with Dr. Doom has brought big changes to all of them. What really impresses me, though, is that despite Waid having brought a darker tone and some truly dark occurrences to this book, he hasn't completely lost the sense of fun at the same time. Ben Grimm retains his sense of humor, and there's still a feeling of enjoyment to be had in the use of the team's powers or their lifestyle that allows them to travel and explore so freely. However, the darker edge of the book remains as well, and we see the Four not just as goofy Silver Age throwbacks but as super-heroes capable of holding off an aggressive army or preventing dangerous technology from falling into the wrong hands.
Waid is exploring a part of Doom's life that isn't usually the focus, his job as ruler of a small Eastern European country, and how the super-villain aspect of his life might impact on that job. I loved when Priest brought the notion of real world politics to fake world nations like Latveria, Wakanda and Atlantis in the pages of Black Panther, and I like the idea of exploring how the Latverian army was set up due to their ruler's personal power or the notion of how Doom hid his technology from would-be thieves as well. It also provides a great reason for the action set-piece of the issue, which really allows artist Howard Porter to shine.
I was not a huge fan of Porter's work on JLA, but his work here, inked by Norm Rapmund and colored by Matt Milla, looks phenomenal. The detailed backdrops of a battered Baxter Building or the villages on the outskirts of Latveria look great, and Porter seems to have changed his style to a more realistic one, at least as far as characters go. The detail on the Latverian soldiers is impressive, and there's a real sense of power in the first shots we see of the Torch, the Thing and Mr. Fantastic in this issue. To be honest, I was a little wary of Porter working on this arc, because my interest in his JLA work was very up and down, but as it turns out I love this artwork as much as I do the writing.
