I love the Fantastic Four. I was a bigger DC fan through my youth (during the Silver and Bronze Age), but even then, I collected Fantastic Four comics. The first Marvel character I knew was Spider-Man, naturally. That’s probably the character most non-Marvel fans were most familiar with…

As I became a collector I appreciated and became a fan of Thor. Avengers also became a favorite and thanks to reprints and the black-and-white Essentials series I’ve managed to read most of the adventured of the Big Guns (Iron Man, Captain America, etc.).

My daughter says my favorite hero is Thor. For Marvel characters, that is probably true, with Captain America a close second.

But comic-book-wise, as a group dynamic, the Fantastic Four is my favorite. While waiting three weeks on Long Island it was the Essential collections of the FF that helped me pass the time. It was my comfort comic during stressful times.

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After a long legal hiatus, Marvel will resume publishing a Fantastic Four comic starting in August. Why so long? The rumor is Marvel cancelled any FF comic in retaliation for Disney/Marvel not assimilating absorbing attaining the rights to the group cinematically from 20^th Century Fox. I suppose the logic was if Marvel nixed any FF comics, the movies would suffer.

Funny how the word “suffer” automatically brings up the 2015 Fantastic Four film. It wasn’t baaad, but it wasn’t good. I liked it better than Uncle Thor’s Goofy House of Wacky Fun (others call it Thor: Ragnarok), but I enjoyed my colonoscopy more than Ragnarok … maybe because I saw Fantastic Four on DVD for free with my pizza order from Marcos and I had to pay to see Ragnarok (which actually cost about the same as my colonoscopy…).

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So as of August 2018 the Fantastic Four will be once again a comic published by Marvel. To celebrate, Marvel is honoring the event in much the same way they have handled the FF over the past decade …

… poorly.

The party line is as follows:

“The Fantastic Four have returned, and what better way to celebrate the homecoming of Sue, Reed, Ben and Johnny than with a collection of variant covers highlighting the different iterations of Marvel’s beloved first family? This August, some of the industry’s most acclaimed creators will bring you the Fantastic Four through the years, highlighting the team during their many different and memorable eras in Marvel Comics!”

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Here are some of the covers … would YOU buy these comics based on these covers?

 

 

 

Now, at least THESE comics feature the star (well, She Hulk WAS also an Avenger) … but again the interior story has nothing to do with the cover…

 

 

Another comic that at least has the star on it. And I must admit this is a GREAT cover! (based on the events of Fantastic Four #347-349 in 1990 or so)

Here is a sweet variant cover by Chris Sprouse …

I will probably pick up the new FF comic – at least for a few issues … out of loyalty if nothing else. Let’s hope for good stories and good art …

{sigh}, yeah, me either…

Original material by Michael Curry