The current volume of Fantastic Four hasn't been shy about throwing in some fun diversions from its main plot (which usually wind up tying back into the bigger story by the end), and the upcoming Fantastic Four #19 follows in this tradition with a noir-ish yarn involving Alicia Masters as a private eye.
In the issue by writer Ryan North, artist Carlos Gomez, color artist Jesus Aburtov, and letterer Joe Caramagna, Susan Storm Richards is a femme fatale in need of a PI, who comes to detective Alicia Masters for help.
For those who aren't as familiar with the FF extended family, Alicia Masters is the wife of Benjamin Grimm, who is one of the most talented sculptors in the Marvel Universe, relying solely on her sense of touch, as a blind woman.
We've got an early look at interior pages from Fantastic Four #19 right here, showing off the first meeting between "Miss Susie Storm" and Alicia Masters, PI:
"She came in trouble, all five feet, six inches of it. Even her name was a warning that things were about to get bad for me, real quick: 'Storm.' Miss Susie Storm, standing there in a blue gown custom-made to take years off the life of anyone who saw her, big as life in my crummy office," reads Marvel's suitably noir official description of the issue, which also quotes some of the dialogue.
"The doll needed a private eye to find her boyfriend. Seems he'd pulled a disappearing act: one 'Professor Richards,' a hard-luck egghead who'd somehow scored way out of his league. I didn't want to take her case, but my bank account said otherwise, and besides: There was something about her. A sense of danger maybe, but also, a vulnerability. Call me a sap, but the world's a rough place - and me, I didn't want to make it any rougher on her. 'Course, it wasn't long before I wished I'd had the good sense to keep my distance…"
Fantastic Four is in the news right now thanks to reports of Julia Garner being cast as an alt version of Silver Surfer in the MCU Fantastic Four reboot movie, along with the apparent confirmation of Galactus as the movie's big (literally) villain.
Fantastic Four #19 goes on sale April 10.
Marvel Studios has named these five comics as ones to read before the new Fantastic Four movie comes out.
