One of the amazing things about Ryan North as a writer is, of course, how he’s shaped the Fantastic Four mythos over the past few years. Purely on the reader side of things, the Fantastic Four is a tricky nut to crack. When a Fantastic Four sings, it flies higher than The Human Torch. It’s difficult to dissect why I like a particular Fantastic Four run over another, but I do think I know part of the formula that makes a writer particularly adept at tackling an FF tale: A writer has to be able to deftly balance world-building, characterization, and mad-cap adventuring all at once–and North seems to be make that alchemy work.
Case in point: the current Marvel Comics miniseries Doomquest, written by North, with art by Francesco Mobili, colors by Frank D’Armata, and lettered by Travis Lanham. In issue #3, out today from Marvel Comics, Doctor Victor Von Doom continues to find himself flung across time and space, this time in the body of General George Washington during the American Revolution. While Doom had initially intended to time travel to remake the world in his own and lift his country of Latveria to greater heights, things went awry due to the machinations of the Fantastic Four, Doom’s sworn nemeses. Although Doom might have not intended to find himself in Washington’s body, in this issue he attempts to make the best of it, using his scientific and magical acumen, along with his knowledge of the present, to try to not only win the American Revolution more quickly and decisively than history remembers, but to set his sights on Great Britain herself.
From DOOMQUEST #3
This miniseries has been a joy to read these last three months, as North highlights all the qualities that make Doom such a fun character to behold: The good Doctor is incredibly capable, intelligent, and resourceful, but those attributes are only matched by Doom’s repeated Achilles’ heels; that is, his arrogance and his fiery disdain of the FF’s Reed Richards. In another writer’s hands, watching his hubris trip Doom up time and again might come across as cartoonish, making the dictator appear oafish. However, North knows how to balance Doom’s failures and triumphs perfectly. Yes, Doom’s reach may sometimes exceed his grasp, but he always bounces back quickly without falling into despair. Despair is for mewling men, not Doom. While, of course Doom is a villain, North makes it easy to root for him, in spite of his inherent nature. Watching Doom lay waste to the British militia in such utter humiliation using just the resources the 1770s allow him will make you hope that this time Doom will succeed–even if it is at the expense of rewriting history. Mobili’s linework and D’Armata’s colors pair perfectly with the narrative, with renderings that make the imposing figure of Doom feel very much weirdly and fantastically at home in 18th century North America. It just works.
From DOOMQUEST #3
An often-lobbed complaint at modern-day comics is that many series are so labyrinthine that it’s difficult for new readers to get an entry point where they don’t feel totally lost. Thus far, Doomquest has avoided any such exposure to that criticism. From issue 1 flowing into issue 3, North and company give you all you need to know. Doctor Doom. Egotistical yet powerful foe of the heroic community. Lost in time and using his wits to achieve his goals and return to the present day. Boom. No need for a time machine to get caught up: The team behind Doomquest gotchu covered.
Doomquest #3 is on sale now from Marvel Comics.
From the official issue description:
Doom has escaped the Titanic and now finds himself in a strange new body, in a strange new world: America, at the start of the Revolutionary War. The world is about to change, and a young nation is about to take on the British Empire: the single most powerful military in the history of the world. But Doom has other plans – and sees an opportunity here to give history a better form. Can one man, acting alone, truly change the course of history? And does the answer change if that one man, acting alone, creates a laser Gatling gun centuries ahead of schedule?