Check out the cover to the FF reboot and how the Fantastic Four reboot is basically Doctor Who now

First up, the cover for the new FF series, which I dig.

Like the art? It's by Mike Allred, famous for creating and drawing Madman and the X-Statix. I really like his art style, it's a huge throwback to the comic artwork of the Silver and Bronze Ages. For the non-comic book geeks, here's a brief rundown of things:

• The characters on the cover are Ant-Man II (Scott Lang), She-Hulk, Medusa, and a brand new character called Miss Thing. Yeah.
• FF is a different, but related title to Fantastic Four. Basically, Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic) grows tired of geniuses everywhere resting on their laurels and founds a new group called Future Foundation with the aim of mentoring the next generation of super-geniuses - be they human, mutant, or something else - and making actual contributions and benefits to the world. FF was created after a storyline in Fantastic Four that ended with the "death" of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch. Obviously, he got better and the team was reformed.

The premise of the reboot is tied directly to the Fantastic Four's own reboot:

The story line to kick off both of his new books, which share a definite road map, is actually inspired by, of all people, Gov. Angus King of Maine. When he left office in 2003, he, his wife and his two kids hopped in a 40-foot RV and for six months, saw America by driving 15,000 miles over 34 states.

"It was this intensive road-trip home-school experience," Fraction says. "I don't really know any parent who wouldn't want to do that with the time and money available."

The story stuck with Fraction, and it became the root of his idea for the Richards clan: Reed builds a ship that will take his team and his children across time and space for an epic historical lesson, the writer says. "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."

While the trip will take a year for the Fantastic Four and family, only four minutes will pass for everyone else. Still, Reed decides to put together a backup team to hold the fort for those four minutes. Each member of this team is chosen by each member of the Four. Additionally, Ant-Man is chosen to head the Future Foundation.

Is it just me, or does the new Fantastic Four sound sort of like Doctor Who? During the early years of the show, it had a more historical bent, with the Doctor and his companions traveling to different periods in time. This was before Daleks, Cybermen, and such. I hope Fraction or Allred is a Whovian and sneaks the TARDIS in somewhere.