If there’s one thing that has become clear in these last two issues of FF, it’s that the book definitely suffers from a lack of its main characters. That’s not to say that FF #7 is a bad comic book, just that it’s not as good as it has been  and can be a little confusing for both those who are and aren’t familiar with some aspects of Marvel Comics’ history.

              At the very least, FF #7 delivers on the story that issue number six seemed to promise: how Black Bolt has returned to the land of the living and his people. That being said, it is not a particularly good explanation.  The reader is given an almost completely silent sequence of Black Bolt waking up in The Fault following the explosion of his Terrigen bomb, and then getting attacked by a creature there, who he precedes to kill somehow causing him to be pulled back into the normal universe. There is honestly no good explanation I can come up here and it left me scratching my head. What exactly brought black Bolt back to our universe and how? Was it his voice? Because his voice has never (to my knowledge) shown such an ability. It all felt very glossed over and like writer Jonathan Hickman couldn’t come up with a better way to bring him back, so he just didn’t explain it. This is uncharacteristically sloppy work for Hickman. Unfortunately, for an issue so devoted to Black Bolt, nothing involving him really worked for me, including his non-explanation for the Inhumans return to Earth. There are certain brightsides at least. I like the idea that there are different Inhuman races created through different means throughout the galaxy and that Black Bolt would have a wife in each of these races. Sadly though, there is little more to this issue and it comes off as pure, rushed setup for the events to come. Even the events depicted on the cover, which could have been awesome, never come close to happening, making this issue’s cover just as misleading as the last.

              I honestly wish I had something to say about the artistic half of FF #7, but I don’t. As with last issue, Greg Tocchini’s art also feels rushed and carries little weight and that’s more of a problem with this issue than the last one.  The first five pages are almost completely silent and rely on the art to present the story and Tocchini fails at that. I got so sense of danger from the attack on Black Bolt and no sense of the power or ferocity that was supposed to be evident when Black Bolt attacks. Elsewhere in the book, nearly everything looks rushed and unfinished and character faces look bland and malformed with little in the way of detail. It makes for a visually boring book, even during scenes that are supposed to be awe-inspiring, such as Black Bolt’s scream later in the book that looks much, much weaker than something like that should. If nothing else, Tocchini’s art is consistent and may have fared better with a better inker, but as it is, it was a largely visually unappealing book. I didn’t think I would ever say this, but ever-changing art team on this series that I previously complained about might be something of blessing now as I’m sure Tocchini won’t be on the series much longer if he even does another issue.

              In the end, FF #7 is, without a doubt, the weakest of Jonathan Hickman’s work since he joined the Fantastic Four. I suppose every writer has his off weeks and I’m prepared to write this off as a fluke iven how stellar his past couple of years worth of stories have been. In fact, with a bot more explanation and a different artist, this could have been a much more interesting issue, with or without the FF appearing. With any luck, the series will return to Earth and its star characters next issue and get back on track. Hopefully this hiccup won’t turn anyone away from what I would (normally) argue is one of the best books Marvel is currently releasing.