The Three storyline kicks off in high style with the spotlight on Valeria and it's once again clear just what affection Hickman holds for the children of Reed and Sue.  Will the FF are off putting a stop to an incident at the High Evolutionary city, Valeria investigates her father's rebuilt Bridge before walking through it and retrieving the remaining Reeds from the council.  Then she goes to make a deal with Doctor Doom.

This issue is very much set up, with the main group very peripheral to the real action.  Their adventure seems like a distraction to Valeria's story, and given the pages devoted to it I guess this is the kind of distraction that fans complain about in the Hickman run.  Any criticism seems to be that Hickman is great at ideas, and the book is full of them, but they never seem to build into a story.  I understand this but, from experience of the writer, I'm absolutely convinced that most of the big ideas will build into the bigger story.  I'm also convinced that some of the big ideas will stand alone and are simply there because they seem cool.  And I have no problem with that at all.  I love the wild concepts he throws at us, every one of them an attempt to remind us of how groundbreaking the FF have been in the past.  Why the two page Silver Surfer sequence (which no doubt WILL lead somewhere) is worth the price of admission alone.

As for the main thread, it remains very vague about just what is going on.  Val talks in riddles, and never really tells us just what's happening and what lies ahead.  There may be criticism that Doom is not villainous enough, but again I'd disagree and maintain that the characterisation demonstrates just how complex Doom's relationship is with Reed and his family.  As for the panel of Doom kneeling and taking her hand, I thought it was worthy of Panel of the Week status.  Doom's an intelligent man and he would never underestimate someone as intelligent as Val.  Instead he strikes her bargain and it makes for a mystery worth following to the next part.

The art from Epting is excellent as we've come to expect.  He gives Kirby designs a more modern, definitely darker appearance but he draws it all with aplomb.  The Silver Surfer sequence mentioned above works just as much as a result of the imagery as the script.  It's awesome to behold and I hope that Epting stays to give the title a consistency it's sorely needed since Eaglesham left. 

I'm definitely still on board with this run, and keen to see what's next.  I'm fairly sure it's not likely to be what we expect.