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by **LOLtron** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:29 pm

Take a look at what the writer will be working on with artists Mark Bagley and Mike Allred this fall, with the advent of Marvel NOW!

Source: USA Today

USA Today had a convesation with writer Matt Fraction, artist Mike Allred, and editor Tom Brevoort about what's coming up for Marvel's first family with the Marvel NOW! relaunch about to hit.

Fraction will be working with Mark Bagley on Fantastic Four #1 and with Mike Allred on FF #1, both of which debut this fall. The article debuts the covers for both of the new #1's, and quotes Fraction on some details about what he has in store. The stories for both books, which apparently will be connected, came from the same source, that of a former governor from Maine who took his family out on a road trip through the continental United States.

That leads to some ideas for Fantastic Four:

The story stuck with Fraction, and it became the root of his idea for the Richards clan: Reed builds a ship that will take his team and his children across time and space for an epic historical lesson, the writer says. "If they're studying ancient Rome, then by God let's go have lunch with Caesar on the Ides of March. If they're looking at the Big Bang, they're going to watch it from the front row."

They'll be gone for a year — which will only be four minutes in regular Earth time — and while there will be continuing plot threads, each issue will be a new adventure and new situation.

"It's very easy to say, 'I want to stay true to what Stan and Jack did.' Well, what Stan and Jack did was invent the entirety of the Marvel Universe in 104 issues," Fraction says of the original Fantastic Four comic that launched in 1961.

"This is the place to be wildly inventive, and I would like to put as many things down on the page as humanly possible and offer up another dose next issue."

Of course, there's still the FF, Reed Richards' superpowered think tank to deal with. Fraction has some big ideas for that team, which is actually a brand new team. The new iteration of FF will comprise of Ant-Man Scott Lang, Medusa, She-Hulk, and a new character, hilariously named Miss Thing – a "blonde celebutante" who gets stuck in the situation because she went home with Johnny Storm one night. So now she's wearing a robotic Thing suit, because of course she is.

USA Today also has some quotes from Brevoort about what his creators are bringing to the table on these two books (including the fact that Fraction sees the Fantastic Four as an all-ages tale).

Written or Contributed by Royal Nonesuch

READ THIS ARTICLE ON THE FRONT PAGE, HUMANS!

by **nietoperz** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:31 pm

So very sold.

by **Rockman** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:34 pm

Spidey is no longer on the team?

by **GOSD** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:34 pm

As long as Bagley slows the hell down with his pencils, this could be good.

Farmer will help big time!

by **sdsichero** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:41 pm

That's... interesting.

by **Punchy** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:42 pm

FF looks insane.

by **TimDrake'sDumbWings** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:43 pm

The Fantastic Four book sounds a bit ho-hum. I was expecting the "crazy sci-fi concepts" Fraction of Casanova and the first 24 issues of Invincible Iron Man. FF sounds like it might deliver on that promise a bit more.

by **Jack Burton** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 1:58 pm

No lie this sounds like an idea I've had where the FF leave earth on a long exploration of the universe. This is very cool.

by **Victorian Squid** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:02 pm

The story stuck with Fraction, and it became the root of his idea for the Richards clan: Reed builds a ship that will take his team and his children across time and space for an epic historical lesson, the writer says. "If they're studying ancient Rome, then by God let's go have lunch with Caesar on the Ides of March. If they're looking at the Big Bang, they're going to watch it from the front row."

Translation: "I'm stretched pretty thin on ideas. Maybe I can just rip off Doctor Who...they love that stuff..."

by **misac** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:08 pm

She Hulk and Medusa! Could be really fun.

by **TimDrake'sDumbWings** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:10 pm

McDarkseid wrote:
Translation: "I'm stretched pretty thin on ideas. Maybe I can just rip off Doctor Who...they love that stuff..."

That seems to the the gist of it.

And I ask once again: WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO FRACTION? Issues 1-24 of Invincible Iron Man are brilliant, and the first 2 volumes of Casanova were crazy but still coherent. What explains his IIM run from 25 onward and the abortion that was the third volume of Casanova?

by **chap22** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:16 pm

What really intrigues me about this may or may not be something Fraction even has in mind, but I hope he does (and I suspect he does because the amount of time is so discrete and specific): what happens to the world in the four minutes that Reed decides to take the fam on vacay? Can Doom take over the world in 4 minutes? What about Galactus? Etc.

B/c if you've really got a time machine, you could easily plot it to come back 1 minute later, or the same time, etc. But here the pick is 4...I really hope there's something coming from that other than just being cute with the book's title number.

by **Victorian Squid** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:25 pm

Well, they've sat out through the entire Phoenix event, so four minutes should be no big deal. :lol:

'Sue stays home and has the best 4 minutes she's had in years' IMO.

by **Chris** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:31 pm

FF looks and sounds amazing.

I'd buy anything Allred does, but just the bizarre team alone has me excited.

by **Chris** » Thu Aug 09, 2012 2:32 pm

TimDrake'sDumbWings wrote:
That seems to the the gist of it.

And I ask once again: WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO FRACTION? Issues 1-24 of Invincible Iron Man are brilliant, and the first 2 volumes of Casanova were crazy but still coherent. What explains his IIM run from 25 onward and the abortion that was the third volume of Casanova?

Que?

Casanova vol. 3 was just as good as 1-2.