by Ah, the Fantastic Four. Right behind Superman, the Fantastic Four is probably the most misunderstood comic book team or character. The average person thinks they are lame and boring and honestly I can not blame them. Do you wanna know why? Because the average person does not read comics, they watch movies based on comics, and the Fantastic Four have yet to be in a movie that is not lame and boring. Anyone who has actually read the comics knows that they are awesome and interesting but the movies don’t reflect that. But finally, after years of terrible movies and horrendous editorial decisions, the Fantastic Four are back and bigger than ever! With them finally returning to comics thanks to Dan Slotts’ most recent run on them and, most importantly, a new shiny movie on the horizon.
With over 28 million views, Fantastic Four: First Steps seems to be revitalizing and bringing them back into the spotlight after Marvel Editorial has tried to bury their legacy, along with the X-Men, during the dark times of the mid to late 2010’s. You see, since the Fantastic Four and the X-Men were considered Fox Studios property, Disney, in all their wisdom, decided they didn’t want to give free marketing to the competition and wanted to promote other characters and teams they did own the rights to, like everyone’s favorite characters…the Inhumans. Unfortunately, this decision was unsuccessful. Who would’ve guessed. But now that Disney has acquired Fox itself, along with everything else they own, they have had a recent push to bring these characters back to their original heights. Hence, Fantastic Four: First Steps and X-Men 97.
So now that they’re back, in both movie and comic form, they’re drawing in a new audience of comic readers. With decades of comics and spin-offs and shows and cartoons and, ugh, movies, it can be daunting to find a good starting spot for them. That’s why I’m here, to guide you in your Fantastic Four reading binge. While normally, I would recommend stand-alone and elseworld stories for the team, to my detriment, they don’t really have too many of those. So this time, we’re recommending some author runs with some standalone stories thrown in there. Now while you can spend 50 plus on an omnibus collecting that particular run, you can also just spend 8 dollars a month on Marvel Unlimited and read them that way. Probably your easiest option outside of sailing the high seas, yar-har. With that out of the way, let’s begin.
- Fantastic Four: Season One by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa
While the origins of the Fantastic Four have been retold and modernized over the years, there is one that I recommend over the others, and that’s Season One. For those unfamiliar, Season One is a line of books made to modernize the origins of classic teams and characters for new readers. It summarizes their origin and some of their early adventures in their careers. While these stories are not completely cannon to the main universe, more like cannon adjacent if that makes sense. It’s a simple story that just hits the major beats and moves on from there. Overall, it’s a good starting point for new readers to learn about the early years of Marvel’s First Family.
- Fantastic Four: Life Story by Mark Russell
An emotional retelling of some of the Fantastic Four’s greatest hits told in real time, Fantastic Four: Life Story is a love letter to the team and their fantastic journey through the years. Uniquely told by exploring different time periods from the 60s onward, Life Story explores a world where the Fantastic Four age through decades, with each issue focusing on a different one. How does Reed prepare for the arrival of Galactus when the Red Scare is at its highest? How does Sue participate in the Civil Rights movement? Unlike in the main Marvel universe which uses a sliding timeline, basically meaning the universe just updates itself to keep with the times and none of the characters notice they aren’t aging, this universe goes in real time and explores the different ongoing crises that are associated with the decade and how the team reacts to it. So while the story hits a lot of the big beats the team is known for, that goes in tandem with the issues of that decade. It’s an interesting look at the time told in a unique way that re-contextualized their place in the universe.
- Fantastic Four by Jonathon Hickman
Can Reed Richards solve everything? That’s the question that was posed in Hickman’s acclaimed run on the Fantastic Four. Introducing more hard science fiction concepts into the run, Hickman explores the different family dynamics in the team and how they affect each other. From Reed having to confront his own ego and his relentless pursuit of knowledge in the form of the Council of Reeds, to a time traveling Franklin Richards (the son of Reed and Susan) delivering a dark prophecy to his little sister in the past. Hickman explores the lore of the Fantastic Four in interesting ways and really redefines their mythos. Major characters and groups associated with the team are reinterpreted and challenged. While not the greatest starting point for new readers, it introduces old concepts in new and interesting ways to ease the reader into this world.
- Fantastic Four by Dan Slott
Here it is, the official return of the Fantastic Four in the main Marvel universe. After Disney had failed to suffocate and devalue the team to the “delight” of many fans, they returned in a big and bombastic way that only Dan Slott can provide. This series brings the Fantastic Four back to basics, a family of researchers and adventurers going on various quests and solving the impossible one question at a time. Witness as they face off against new and old new enemies, welcome new members into the family, and attend the wedding of Doctor Doom? All of it exciting, all of it fresh, all of it fun. What more could one want? Despite being a newer run, it has been collected and concluded and really ends in a satisfying way. I can’t recommend this one enough.
There ya have it true believers! Four excellent starting points for new and curious readers so you’ll be ready for their momentous return to the big screen this July! Really not every beat was covered in this article, most of those stories take place during the 60s and early 70s and while there are many great stories to be had there, the writing and dialogue is just a bit dated. Making it difficult to read to a modern audience. So if you can tolerate that old school slang and wording, go for it! There’s no wrong way to do things. These stories are just to get you started and familiar with the team and what they’re about, so by all means explore other writers and volumes. From all of us here at Happy Hobbyist, happy hobbying!
