There’s an old saying that is the name of a comic is a number, then all exponential forms of that number will be confusing. But since this doesn’t come up much, there’s no way to prove it. Still, as far as time travel goes, the plot in the story arc “Divine Time” is pretty clear. Yep, the old F4 went on a routine romp through the fourth dimension while attempting to find some lost time, which was destroying the universes, when they got randomly dumped in the desert of ancient Egypt. But Reed Richards thinks that maybe it wasn’t so random. Luckily the rubber-like genius figures out exactly where they are and how to get to the nearest oasis by simple deduction. Meanwhile, Kang the Conqueror’s son, Ramades, is taking over the present. (I know what your thinking, “Hey, I thought he was going to rule over huge times pans, not just the present.” But come on; give the guy some time. Oh, wait). And in a confusing twist, Johnny winds up in the future New York where Dr. Doom rules everything. (I know, you thought Kang ruled everything, but you were wrong, stupid). Where he is saved by a grown up Valeria (Susan and Reed’s daughter).

Don’t let the cover fool you; the art inside is much better, though not great. Penciler Jim Muniz’s drawings are not always consistent and have too many weird lines and patches of different shading, especially when he draws people. You’ve got skill Muniz, don’t overdo the details, but don’t underdo them either. Some cells are almost only outlined. The coloring, by Brian Reber is pretty standard, but sometimes it looks very patchy and almost “cell shaded.” Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing is what makes this comic worth reading. The narration is very well done, I think.

What we're looking at here is the standard time catastrophe story. It has all of the standard elements. People stranded in the past, horrible and bizarre future, run ins with children that are now adults, and an evil maniac using time travel to rule the world. There is a twist to this story, however. It seems that Dr. Doom will not put up with another evil maniac ruling the world. I personally would prefer Ramades to Doom. I mean, everyone has already been taken over. So you join his army, push some protestors around, and get your very own concubine. What’s everyone complaining about? What’s that you say? What about the women? They’ll be all right. I like Ramades' style. I wish he would go ahead and take over. So check out the rest of “Divine Time” and rout with me for everyone’s favorite Pharaoh.

-Fumanchu