Created on April 27, 2012 and written by MQuannBoyd
Category: Comic Book Reviews, Marvel Reviews

Rating: 5/5

Publisher Name: Marvel Comics

Writer: Jonathan Hickman

Artist: Nick Dragotta

Colorist: Chris Sotomayo

Number of Pages: 22 pgs

Price: $2.99

Color: Color

Safety Content Label: T+ TEENS AND UP – Appropriate for most readers 13 and up, parents are advised that they might want to read before or with younger children.

 

“The Roommate Experiment”

 

Publisher’s Blurb: Now that he’s back among the living, The Human Torch moves in with Spider-Man! Can two Super Heroes share an apartment without driving each other crazy? What secret lies behind the door to Annilhilus’ closet? Who throws a house party like The Light Brigade?

Review:

After the long and complex “War of Four Cities” storyline that Jonathan Hickman has been weaving through his run on both the Fantastic Four and FF this particular issue is a palate cleanser. If one is expecting a typical Spider-Man/Human Torch team-up this isn’t the book to find it. However, if one is the tiniest bit interested in the living arrangement of Peter Parker and Johnny Storm, than this is the book for you.

FF #17 is an amazing (pun intended), done-in-one issue. What works so well for this issues is that both longtime fans of the series or somebody that’s just jumping aboard can get right into the meat of the story without the concerns of continuum to interfere with the reading experience. The only thing that one needs to know coming into this particular comic is that Johnny Storm is self-absorbed and that Peter Parker is a pushover. These character traits work in tandem with the plot of the issue and the results are more than a few laugh-out-loud moments.

The odd couple of Johnny Storm and Peter Parker pull off a few moments that have a bit of “The Hangover” feel to them, where at any moment you’re just waiting for a narcotic-dealing monkey to show up (and a certain member of the Light Brigade fills that role within the 22 pages). “The Hangover” aside, there is another scene later in the book that is reminiscent of “Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.” If you haven’t seen the film basically there’s a scene in the movie that involves one Neal Patrick Harris (as a parody of himself) hanging out of a stolen car’s sunroof preforming lewd act upon a woman. Now, I’m not suggesting that there is an equally lewd and distributing act involving the duo of Peter Parker and Johnny Storm, but due to events that transpire in this issue, Peter Parker is understandably a bit out of character.

Jonathan Hickman and artist, Nick Dragotta (whose pencils brim with visuals that are akin to John Romita Sr. or Steve Ditko’s work on Amazing Spider-Man), do a superb job of exhibiting why friends that are usually the life of the party aren’t always the smartest choice in a roommate. After a story of the ages which involved Dr. Doom, multiple Reed Richards’, Galactus, the resurrection of Black Bolt and a bit of time travel thrown into the mix, issue #17 of FF is one funny lighthearted breath of fresh air that one dare not miss.

 

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About the Writer: MQuannBoyd (35 Posts) M. Quann Boyd has published two fiction short stories, “The Love Movement” and “Hate... Reasons to be Happy,” and a non-fiction research article, “Hip-Hop of the Gods: the Five Percent Nation's Influence on Rap Music.” Recently, M. Quann Boyd has been a contributor to XboxExclusive.com with reviews including: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Spider-Man: Edge of Time and LA Noire. Currently he writes the blog, 3hree's Man Cave and the soon to be released Blossoming Bushido.

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