Fraction Forms ‘FF’ And ‘Fantastic Four’ Futures With Allred and Bagley

Continuing the week-long announcements/confirmations of last week's Marvel NOW! teases, Matt Fraction has been confirmed as the new man in charge of Marvel's First Family, writing relaunches of both Fantastic Four and spin-off title FF.USA Today had the details about Fraction's plans for the two series, with the writer saying that "it's very easy to say, 'I want to stay true to what Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby] did.' Well, what Stan and Jack did was invent the entirety of the Marvel Universe in 104 issues. 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."

Fraction will be joined by Ultimate Spider-Man co-creator Mark Bagley on Fantastic Four, as the two send the Richards family (along with Uncle Johnny and Uncle Ben, of course) on a road trip across time and space for what's being called an "epic historical lesson." "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."

During the road trip, which is planned to last a year, their place in the Marvel Universe will be taken by a hand-picked replacement team, who'll be taking over the FF book with art by Mike Allred. That team will include Ant-Man, Medusa, She-Hulk and a brand new character called "Miss Thing," who Fraction describes as a "Lohan-esque celebutante blonde" wearing armor that replicates the strength and appearance of Ben Grimm. "She's the overwhelmed 'Whaaa?' of it all," the writer explained.

Fraction is aiming high with the two books; in addition to Lee and Kirby, he name drops Pixar as an influence on his thinking for the two. "I feel like one of the best Fantastic Four stories was The Incredibles, and I want to take that back. It's so arrogant to say, but it should have been us. We should have done that," he told USA Today. "If this could be the Pixar version of the Fantastic Four, something that everyone can enjoy, not just our medium 30-year-old white-dude reader, I'd be happy."

Both Fantastic Four and FF launch in November.