Disappointment is really the word that fills my head as I pen (or…type) this review.  It’s not that this issue was bad.  Well, not bad in that, “Oh my God, what were they thinking” kind of way.  It was just…disappointing.  It took what was turning into a really fun, sci-fi romp and deflated the sphere of awesome fun that was forming around it.

.I’m going to write a spoiler free review here, so people who may be on the fence can read through this without fear of me ruining the story.  There are two fundamental problems that I had with this issue.

1. The villain is completely absurd— It’s a robot, as many know from the last issue, so it’s bit surprising as to just how strong the damn thing is.  Add to that the other guest stars that it battles and it seems like Millar was on stupid pills when he wrote the ensuing battle.  Also, it’s of note that you’ll get flashes of his Ultimates series as you read this issue, which for me does not speak well.  This is an FF book;  I should be thinking about the FF.

2. Hitch’s art looks HORRIBLE!— Really, it’s just bad in this issue.  It’s rushed and poorly paneled with a majority of the fighting taking place in small frame panels.  Sometimes you can’t tell who’s doing what.  Add to the fact that the inking and coloring just made everything look sloppy, and you’ve got a mess on your hands.  This is not the level that we expect from him, and if this is telling of the rest of his work on the series, then I would prefer the delays to get something of higher quality.

As a previous pick of the month, it’s a bit disheartening to see the book turn south so fast.  I’m still on board, as I want to see the conclusion of this story arc to see if the story does anything interesting.  But this issue.  Not so good.