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''Fantastic Four'' is the name of several
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
titles featuring the team the
Fantastic Four The Fantastic Four, often abbreviated as FF, is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in '' The Fantastic Four'' #1 ( cover-dated November 1961), helping usher in a new level of realism i ...
(created by
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
and
Jack Kirby Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
) and published by
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
, beginning with the original ''Fantastic Four'' comic book series which debuted in 1961. As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a
pop culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art pop_art.html" ;"title="f. pop art">f. pop artor mass art, some ...
conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
,
John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
, John Byrne,
Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...
,
Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
,
Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
,
Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...
, and
Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', '' The Manhattan Projects'' and '' East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on Marvel's '' Fantastic Fo ...
. ''The Fantastic Four'' is one of several Marvel titles originating in the
Silver Age of Comic Books The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver A ...
that was continuously published through 2015 before returning to monthly publication in 2018.


Publication history

Magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...
and
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
Martin Goodman, a publishing trend-follower, aware of strong sales on ''
Justice League of America The Justice League, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...
'', directed his comics editor,
Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
, to create a comic-book series about a team of superheroes. According to Lee, writing in 1974, "Martin mentioned that he had noticed one of the titles published by National Comics seemed to be selling better than most. It was a book called ''The'' ''Justice League of America'' and it was composed of a team of superheroes. ... 'If the Justice League is selling', spoke he, 'why don't we put out a comic book that features a team of superheroes?'"


1961–1970s

The release of ''The Fantastic Four'' #1 (Nov. 1961) was an unexpected success. Lee had felt ready to leave the comics field at the time, but the positive response to ''Fantastic Four'' persuaded him to stay on. The title began to receive fan mail and Lee started printing the letters in a letter column with issue #3 along with introducing their suits. With the third issue, Lee created the hyperbolic slogan "The Greatest Comic Magazine in the World!!" The following issue, the slogan was changed to "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" and became a fixture on the issue covers into the 1990s, and on numerous covers in the 2000s. Issue #4 (May 1962) reintroduced
Namor the Sub-Mariner Namor McKenzie (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a Character (arts), character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies Inc., the character first appea ...
, an aquatic
antihero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...
who was a star character of Marvel's earliest iteration,
Timely Comics Timely Comics was the common name for the group of corporations that was the earliest comic book arm of American publisher Martin Goodman (publisher), Martin Goodman, and the entity that would evolve by the 1960s to become Marvel Comics. "Timely P ...
, during the late 1930s and 1940s period that historians and fans call the
Golden Age of Comics The Golden Age of Comic Books describes an era in the history of American comic books from 1938 to 1956. During this time, modern comic books were first published and rapidly increased in popularity. The superhero archetype was created and many ...
. Issue #5 (July 1962) introduced the team's most frequent nemesis,
Doctor Doom Doctor Doom is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in '' The Fantastic Four'' #5 in April 1962, and has since endured as the arch ...
. These earliest issues were published bimonthly. With issue #16 (July 1963), the cover title dropped its ''The'' and became simply ''Fantastic Four''. Kirby left Marvel in mid-1970, having drawn the first 102 issues plus an unfinished issue, partially published in ''Fantastic Four'' #108, with alterations, and later completed and published as ''Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure'' (April 2008), ''Fantastic Four'' continued with Lee,
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
,
Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...
and
Marv Wolfman Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's ''The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade (character), Blade, and DC Comi ...
as its consecutive regular writers, working with artists such as
John Romita Sr. John Victor Romita (; January 24, 1930 – June 12, 2023) was an American comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and for co-creating characters including Mary Jane Watson, the Punisher, Kingpin ...
,
John Buscema John Buscema ( ; born Giovanni Natale Buscema, ; December 11, 1927 – January 10, 2002)Social Se ...
,
Rich Buckler Rich Buckler (February 6, 1949 – May 19, 2017) was an Americans, American comics artist and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' in the mid-1970s and for creating the character Deat ...
and
George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (c ...
, with longtime inker
Joe Sinnott Joseph Leonard Sinnott (; October 16, 1926 June 25, 2020) was an American comic book artist. Working primarily as an inker, Sinnott is best known for his long stint on Marvel Comics' ''Fantastic Four'', from 1965 to 1981 (and briefly in the la ...
adding some visual continuity.
Jim Steranko James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comics artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, Illusionist, magician, publisher and film production illustrator. His most famous comic book work was with th ...
also contributed several covers during this time. A short-lived series titled ''Giant-Size Super-Stars'' starring the team began in May 1974 and changed its title to ''Giant-Size Fantastic Four'' with issue #2. John Byrne joined the title with issue #209 (Aug. 1979), doing pencil breakdowns for Sinnott to finish.


1980s and 1990s

Bill Mantlo William Timothy Mantlo (born November 9, 1951) is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics. He is best known for his work on two licensed toy properties whose adventures occurred in the Marvel Universe: '' Micronauts'' and '' R ...
briefly followed Wolfman as writer of the series and wrote a crossover with ''
Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'' is a comic book and magazine series starring Spider-Man and published by Marvel Comics. Following the success of Spider-Man's original series, ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', Marvel felt the character could support ...
'' #42 (May 1980). Byrne wrote and drew a giant-sized Fantastic Four promotional comic for
Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a cola soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. In 2013, Coke products were sold in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, with consumers drinking more than 1.8 billion company beverage servings ...
, which was rejected by Coca-Cola as being too violent and published as ''Fantastic Four'' #220-221 (July–Aug. 1980) instead. Writer
Doug Moench Douglas Moench (; born February 23, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American writer of comics, novels, short stories, newspaper feature articles, weekly newspaper comic strips, film screenplays and teleplays. He is notable for his ''Batman'' wo ...
and penciller
Bill Sienkiewicz Boleslav William Felix Robert Sienkiewicz ( ; ; born May 3, 1958) is an American artist known for his work in comic books—particularly for Marvel Comics' ''The New Mutants (comic book), The New Mutants'', ''Moon Knight,'' and ''Elektra: Assassi ...
then took over for 10 issues. With issue #232 (July 1981), the aptly titled "Back to the Basics", Byrne began his run as writer, penciller and inker, the last under the
pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...
Bjorn Heyn for this issue only. Byrne revitalized the slumping title with his run. Originally, Byrne was slated to write with Sienkiewicz providing the art. Sienkiewicz left to do ''
Moon Knight Moon Knight is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Doug Moench and artist Don Perlin, the character first appeared in ''Werewolf by Night'' #32 (August 1975). The son of a rabbi, Marc S ...
'', and Byrne ended up as writer, artist, and inker. Various editors were assigned to the comic; eventually
Bob Budiansky Bob Budiansky (; born March 15, 1954) is an American comic book writer, editor, and penciller, best known for his work on Marvel's '' Transformers'' comic. He also created the Marvel character Sleepwalker and wrote all 33 issues of that comic ...
became the regular editor. Byrne told
Jim Shooter James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor, and publisher in the comics industry. Beginning his career writing for DC Comics at the age of 14, he had a successful but controversial run as editor-in-chief at Marvel Comic ...
that he could not work with Budiansky, although they ultimately continued to work together. In 2006, Byrne said "that's my paranoia. I look back and I think that was Shooter trying to force me off the book". Byrne left following issue #293 (Aug. 1986) in the middle of a story arc, explaining he could not recapture the fun he had previously had on the series. Byrne was followed by a quick succession of writers:
Roger Stern Roger Stern (born September 17, 1950) is an American comic book author and novelist. Biography Early career In the early 1970s, Stern and Bob Layton published the fanzine ''CPL'' (''Contemporary Pictorial Literature''), one of the first platfo ...
,
Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
, and
Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...
.
Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...
took over as writer for issues 304–333. The title had been struggling, so Englehart decided to make radical changes. He felt the title had become stale with the normal makeup of Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny, so in issue #308 Reed and Sue retired and were replaced with the Thing's new girlfriend,
Sharon Ventura Sharon Ventura, also known as She-Thing, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. She has used the pseudonym Ms. Marvel and has served as a member of the Fantastic Four and the female wrestlers known ...
, and Johnny Storm's former love, Crystal. The changes increased readership through issue #321. At this point, Marvel made decisions about another Englehart comic, ''
West Coast Avengers The West Coast Avengers is a fictional group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team first appeared in ''The West Coast Avengers'' #1 (Sept. 1984), created by Roger Stern and Bob Hall (comics), Bob Ha ...
'', that he disagreed with, and in protest he changed his byline to S.F.X. Englehart (S.F.X. is the abbreviation for Simple Sound Effects). In issue #326, Englehart was told to bring Reed and Sue back and undo the other changes he had made. This caused Englehart to take his name entirely off the book. He used the pseudonym John Harkness, which he had created years before for work he did not want to be associated with. According to Englehart, the run from #326 through his last issue, #333, was "one of the most painful stretches of iscareer." Writer-artist
Walt Simonson Walter Simonson (born September 2, 1946) is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for a run on Marvel Comics' ''Thor'' from 1983 to 1987, during which he created the character Beta Ray Bill. He is also known for the creator-owned ...
took over as writer with #334 (December 1989), and three issues later began pencilling and inking as well. With brief inking exceptions, two fill-in issues, and a three-issue stint drawn by Arthur Adams,Manning, Matthew K. "1990s" in Gilbert (2008), p. 252: "Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine, and Ghost Rider were tricked into forming a new Fantastic Four...Written by Walter Simonson with art by Arthur Adams, this new FF found themselves locked in battle with the Mole Man." Simonson remained in all three positions through #354 (July 1991). Simonson, who had been writing the team comic ''
The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
'', had gotten approval for Reed and Sue to join that team after Engelhart had written them out of ''Fantastic Four''. Yet by ''The Avengers'' #300, where they were scheduled to join the team, Simonson was told the characters were returning to ''Fantastic Four''. This led to Simonson quitting ''The Avengers'' after that issue. Shortly afterward, he was offered the job of writing ''Fantastic Four''. Having already prepared a number of stories involving the Avengers with Reed and Sue in the lineup, he then rewrote these for ''Fantastic Four''. Simonson later recalled that working on ''Fantastic Four'' allowed him the latitude to use original Avengers members
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
and
Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...
, which he had been precluded from using in ''The Avengers''. After another fill-in, the regular team of writer and Marvel editor-in-chief
Tom DeFalco Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comic book writer and editor well known for his association with Marvel Comics, with long runs on ''Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thor (comic book), Thor'', ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' ...
, penciller
Paul Ryan Paul Davis Ryan (born January 29, 1970) is an American politician who served as the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 54th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. A member of the ...
and inker Dan Bulanadi took over, with Ryan self-inking beginning with #360 (Jan. 1992). That team, with the very occasional different inker, continued for years through #414 (July 1996). DeFalco nullified the Storm-Masters marriage by
retconning Retroactive continuity, or retcon for short, is a literary device in fictional story telling whereby facts and events established through the narrative itself are adjusted, ignored, supplemented, or contradicted by a subsequently published work ...
that the alien Skrull Empire had kidnapped the real Masters and replaced her with a spy named
Lyja Lyja is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. A Skrull, she possesses the ability to shapeshift into almost any humanoid or animal form. Modifications on her body give her the power to generate energ ...
. Once discovered, Lyja, who herself had fallen for Storm, helped the Fantastic Four rescue Masters. Ventura departed after being further mutated by Doctor Doom. Although some fans were not pleased with DeFalco's run on ''Fantastic Four'', calling him "The Great Satan", the title's sales increased over the period. The ongoing series was cancelled with issue #416 (Sept. 1996) and relaunched with (vol. 2) #1 (Nov. 1996) as part of the multi-series " Heroes Reborn"
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
story arc. The yearlong volume retold the team's first adventures in a more contemporary style, and set in a parallel universe. Following the end of that experiment, ''Fantastic Four'' was relaunched with (vol. 3) #1 (Jan. 1998). Initially by the team of writer
Scott Lobdell Scott Lobdell (; born 1960) is an American comic book writer and screenwriter known for his work on numerous X-Men series for Marvel Comics in the 1990s, various work for DC Comics in the 2010s, namely '' Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans,'' ...
and penciller
Alan Davis Alan Davis (born 18 June 1956) is an English comic book writer and artist, known for his work on ''Captain Britain'', ''The Uncanny X-Men'', ''The ClanDestine, ClanDestine'', ''Detective Comics'', ''Excalibur (comic book), Excalibur'', ''JLA: ...
, it went after three issues to writer
Chris Claremont Christopher S. Claremont (; born November 25, 1950) is an English-born American comic book writer and novelist. Claremont is best known for his 16-year stint on ''Uncanny X-Men'' from 1975 to 1991, far longer than that of any other writer,Clarem ...
(co-writing with Lobdell for #4-5), penciller
Salvador Larroca Salvador Larroca () is a Spanish comic book artist, primarily known for his American work on various ''X-Men'' titles for Marvel Comics. After starting his career as a Cartography, cartographer, Larroca transitioned to working as a comics artist ...
, and inker
Art Thibert Arthur Thibert () is an American comic book artist, primarily known as a freelance inker, although he has a substantial résumé as a penciler and has even written some comics. Thibert is best known for his work as an inker for Marvel Comics on t ...
; this team enjoyed a long run through issue #32 (Aug. 2000).


2000s

Following the run of Claremont, Lobdell and Larroca,
Carlos Pacheco Carlos Pacheco Perujo (14 November 1961 – 9 November 2022) was a Spanish comics penciller. After breaking into the European market doing cover work for Planeta De Agostini, he gained recognition doing work for Marvel UK, the England-based bra ...
took over as penciller and co-writer, first with Rafael Marín, then with Marín and
Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville (TV series), Smallville'' and ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', writer for the films ''C ...
. This series began using dual numbering, as if the original ''Fantastic Four'' series had continued unbroken, with issue #42 / #471 (June 2001). At the time, the Marvel Comics series begun in the 1960s, such as ''
Thor Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
'' and ''
The Amazing Spider-Man ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' is an ongoing American superhero American comic book, comic book series featuring the Marvel Comics superhero Spider-Man as its title character and main protagonist. Being in the Earth 616, mainstream continuity of t ...
'', were given such dual numbering on the front cover, with the present-day volume's numbering alongside the numbering from the original series. After issue #70 / #499 (Aug. 2003), the title reverted to its original vol. 1 numbering with issue #500 (Sept. 2003).
Karl Kesel Karl Kesel (; born January 7, 1959) is an American comics writer and inker whose works have primarily been under contract for DC Comics. He is a member of Periscope Studio and is known for his collaborations with fellow artist Tom Grummett on ' ...
succeeded Loeb as co-writer with issue #51 / #480 (March 2002), and after a few issues with temporary teams,
Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Da ...
took over as writer with #60 / 489 (October 2002) with artist
Mike Wieringo Michael Lance Wieringo (; June 24, 1963 – August 12, 2007), who sometimes signed his work under the name Ringo, was an American comics artist best known for his work on DC Comics' ''The Flash'', Marvel Comics' ''Spider-Man'' and ''Fantastic Fou ...
with Marvel releasing a promotional variant edition of their otherwise $2.25 debut issue at the price of nine cents US. Pencillers Mark Buckingham, Casey Jones, and Howard Porter variously contributed through issue #524 (May 2005), with a handful of issues by other teams also during this time. Writer
J. Michael Straczynski Joseph Michael Straczynski, known as J. Michael Straczynski (; born July 17, 1954) is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is known as the creator of the science fiction televi ...
and penciller
Mike McKone Michael McKone is a British comic book artist. Career McKone's first published works for the major companies included ''Justice League of America'' and '' Justice League International'' for DC Comics and '' The Punisher War Zone'' for Marvel C ...
did issues #527-541 (July 2005 - Nov. 2006), with
Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television. He co-founded the pioneering minority-owned-and-operated comic book company Milestone Media, which focused on underrepresented minori ...
taking over as writer the following issue, and
Paul Pelletier Paul Pelletier is an American comic book penciller. Career Pelletier began working as a professional comic artist in the late 1980s. His first work appeared in Cosmic Steller Rebellers (hammac publications) and Wayward Warrior (Hammac Public ...
succeeding McKone beginning with #544 (May 2007). As a result of the events of the "
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
" company-crossover storyline, the
Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...
and
Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...
temporarily replaced Reed and Susan Richards on the team. During that period, the Fantastic Four also appeared in ''Black Panther'', written by
Reginald Hudlin Reginald Alan Hudlin (born December 15, 1961) is an American director, screenwriter, and producer. Along with his older brother Warrington Hudlin, he is known as one of the Hudlin Brothers. From 2005 to 2008, Hudlin was President of Entertainmen ...
and pencilled primarily by Francis Portela. Beginning with issue #554 (April 2008), writer
Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series ''The Authority (comics), The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ext ...
and penciller
Bryan Hitch Bryan Hitch (born 22 April 1970) is a British comics artist and comic book writer, writer. Hitch began his career in the United Kingdom for Marvel UK, working on titles such as ''Action Force'' and ''Death's Head'', before gaining prominence o ...
began what Marvel announced as a sixteen-issue run. Following the summer 2008 crossover storyline, "
Secret Invasion "Secret Invasion" is a comic book fictional crossover, crossover storyline written by Brian Michael Bendis and illustrated by Leinil Francis Yu, that ran through a self-titled eight-issue Limited series (comics), limited series and several ti ...
", and the 2009 aftermath " Dark Reign", chronicling the U.S. government's assigning of the Nation's security functions to the seemingly reformed supervillain
Norman Osborn Norman Virgil Osborn is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, he first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first and best-known incarnation of th ...
, the Fantastic Four starred in a five-issue
miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...
, ''Dark Reign: Fantastic Four'' (May–Sept. 2009), written by
Jonathan Hickman Jonathan Hickman is an American comic book writer and artist, best known for his creator-owned series '' The Nightly News'', '' The Manhattan Projects'' and '' East of West'', as well as his lengthy stints as a writer on Marvel's '' Fantastic Fo ...
, with art by Sean Chen. Hickman took over as the series regular writer as of issue #570 with Dale Eaglesham and later Steve Epting on art.


2010s

In the storyline "Three", which concluded in ''Fantastic Four'' #587 (
cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
March 2011, published January 26, 2011), the
Human Torch The Human Torch (Jonathan Lowell Spencer "Johnny" Storm) is a fictional superhero character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. He is writer Stan Lee's and ar ...
appears to die while stopping a horde of monsters from the other-dimensional
Negative Zone The Negative Zone is a fictional setting, an antimatter universe appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The location is depicted in various publications from Marvel, most frequently in ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Captain M ...
. The series ended with the following issue, #588, and relaunched in March 2011 as simply ''FF''. The relaunch saw the team assume a new name, the
Future Foundation The Future Foundation is a fictional organization appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Jonathan Hickman, the team first appeared in ''Fantastic Four'' #579 (July 2010) and stars in the series ''FF,'' wri ...
, adopt new black-and-white costumes, and accept longtime ally
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
as a member. In October 2011, with the publication of ''FF'' #11 (cover-dated Dec. 2011), the ''Fantastic Four'' series reached its 599th issue. In November 2011, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Fantastic Four and of Marvel Comics, the company published the 100-page ''Fantastic Four'' #600 (cover-dated Jan. 2012), which returned the title to its original numbering and featured the return of the Human Torch. It revealed the fate of the character of Johnny Storm after issue #587, showing that while he did in fact die, he was resurrected to fight as a gladiator for the entertainment of Annihilus. Storm later formed a resistance force called Light Brigade and defeated Annihilus. As part of
Marvel NOW! Marvel Now! (stylized as Marvel NOW!) is a comic book branding for the relaunch of several ongoing comic books published by Marvel Comics, that debuted in October 2012 with new #1 issues. The relaunch also included some new titles, including ''Un ...
''Fantastic Four'' ended with #611, ending Jonathan Hickman's long run on ''FF'' titles, and the title was relaunched in November 2012 with the creative team of writer
Matt Fraction Matt Fritchman (born December 1, 1975), better known by the pen name Matt Fraction, is an American comic book writer, known for his work as the writer of '' The Invincible Iron Man'', '' FF'', '' The Immortal Iron Fist'', '' Uncanny X-Men'', an ...
and artist
Mark Bagley Mark Bagley (; born August 7, 1957) is an American comics artist. He has worked for Marvel Comics on such titles as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', ''Thunderbolts (comic book), Thunderbolts'', ''New Warriors'', ''Venom (comic book), Venom'' and ''Ulti ...
. In the new title with its numbering starting at #1, the entire Fantastic Four family explore space together, with the hidden intent for Reed Richards to discover why his powers are fading. Writer James Robinson and artist
Leonard Kirk Leonard Kirk is an American-born comic book artist living in Canada. He has worked on such properties as ''Supergirl (comic book), Supergirl'', ''Justice Society of America, JSA'', ''Star Trek'', ''Batman (comic book), Batman'', and ''Witchblade' ...
launched a new ''Fantastic Four'' series in February 2014 (
cover date The cover date of a periodical publication is the date displayed on the cover, which is not necessarily the true date of publication (the on-sale date or release date); later cover dates are common in magazine and comic book publishing. More unusu ...
d April 2014). Robinson later confirmed that ''Fantastic Four'' would be cancelled in 2015 with issue #645, saying that "The book is reverting to its original numbers, and the book is going away for a while. I'm moving towards the end of ''Fantastic Four''. I just want to reassure people that you will not leave this book with a bad taste in your mouth." In the aftermath of the "
Secret Wars ''Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars'', commonly known as ''Secret Wars'', is a 12-issue American comic book Fictional crossover, crossover limited series published from May 1984 to April 1985 by Marvel Comics. The series was written by Jim Shooter ...
" storyline, the Thing is working with the Guardians of the Galaxy and the Human Torch is acting as an ambassador with the Inhumans. With Franklin's powers restored and Reed having absorbed the power of the Beyonders from Doom, the Richards' family are working on travelling through and reconstructing the multiverse, but Peter Parker has purchased the Baxter Building to keep it "safe" until the team is ready to come back together. Writer
Dan Slott Daniel "Dan" Slott (born July 3, 1967) is an American comic book writer, known for his work on Marvel Comics books such as ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', as well as ''The Superior Spider-Man'', ''She-Hulk'', ''Silver Surfer (comic book), Silver Surfe ...
and artist
Sara Pichelli Sara Pichelli (born 15 April 1983) is an Italian comics artist best known for co-creating and first illustrating the Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Miles Morales version of ''Ultimate Spider-Man''. After starting her career in animation, Pichelli en ...
launched a new ''Fantastic Four'' series in August 2018 to commemorate the 56th anniversary and part of Marvel's " Fresh Start" relaunch. The new series returned the Invisible Woman, Mister Fantastic, Valeria and Franklin Richards to the Earth 616 for the first time since ''Secret Wars.''


2020s

A new volume of ''Fantastic Four'' was launched in November 2022 by writer
Ryan North Ryan North (born October 20, 1980) is a Canadian writer and computer programmer. He is the creator and author of ''Dinosaur Comics'', and has written for the comic series of ''Adventure Time'' and Marvel Comics' '' The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl'' ...
and artist Iban Coello, after Slott had concluded his run with issue #46.


Contributors


Vol. 1 (1961–1996, 2003–2011, 2012, 2015)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 2 (1996–1997)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 3 (1998–2003)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 4 (2013–2014)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 5 (2014–2015)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 6 (2018–2022)


Writers


Pencilers


Vol. 7 (2023–present)


Writers


Pencilers


Cultural impact

The first issue of ''The Fantastic Four'' proved a success, igniting a new direction for superhero comics and soon influencing many other superhero comics. Readers grew fond of Ben's grumpiness, Johnny's tendency to annoy others and Reed and Sue's spats. Stan Lee was surprised at the reaction to the first issue, leading him to stay in the comics field despite previous plans to leave. Comics historian Stephen Krensky said that "Lee's natural dialogue and flawed characters appealed to 1960s kids looking to 'get real'". As of 2005, 150 million comics featuring the Fantastic Four had been sold.


Collected editions

The Fantastic Four stories have been collected into several trade paperback and hardcover editions. As part of the ''
Essential Marvel ''Essential Marvel'' was a line published by Marvel Comics from 1996–2013 that reprinted vintage comic book material in paperback format. Each black-and-white volume reprints approximately 20–30 issues of a classic Marvel title (mostly from t ...
'' range: As part of the ''
Marvel Masterworks ''Marvel Masterworks'' is an American collection of hardcover and trade paperback comic book reprints published by Marvel Comics, with the main goal of republishing classic ''Marvel Comics'' storylines in a hardcover, premium edition, often with ...
'' series:


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 1


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 2


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 3

The issue numbering of Volume 3 reverted to the legacy number of the title, beginning with the issue #500.


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 4


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 5

The issue numbering of Volume 5 reverted to the overall legacy number of the title.


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 6


''Fantastic Four'' Volume 7


''Marvel Knights Fantastic Four''


Other paperbacks


Epic Collections The ''Marvel Epic Collection'' is an ongoing line of color trade paperbacks that republish Marvel comics in a uniform trade dress. Announced in April 2013, their stated intention was to collect entire runs of characters or titles as "big fat coll ...


Hardcovers


International publication


North America

''The Fantastic Four'' has been published in translation around the world, beginning in 1962 in Mexico as ''Los Cuatro Fantásticos'' published by La Prensa until the mid-1970s, then by Macc Division until 1980 and finally by Novedades Editores from 1980 to 1982 and French-speaking Canada as ''Les Fantastic Four'', from 1969 to 1986, after which the title was merged with the Spider-Man title for three more years. Mexican translators were not consistent in their translations of the characters' code names; The Thing was called Coloso (Colossus) in the first series, La Mole in the second and the third (which was the name used for The Hulk in the first series). The other three main characters had more stable translated names: Mister Fantástico (sometimes translated as Señor Fantástico), La Chica (or La Mujer) Invisible, and La Antorcha Humana. Dr. Doom was Doctor Destino and She-Hulk was La Mujer Hulk in her run in the Fantastic Four. In the movie, and in current appearances in Mexico, Mister Fantastic is referred to as "El Hombre Elástico" (Elastic Man). Canada rarely translated character names from their English version, although sometimes switching back and forth between English and French names in the same issue (The Thing / La Chose, Mister Fantastic / Monsieur Fantastic, Invisible Girl / Fille (or Femme) Invisible, Human Torch / Torche Humaine). The names of Dr. Doom and She-Hulk were not translated into French for the Canadian reprints.


United Kingdom

British publication of the series began sporadically appearing in the black and white anthology title ''Mystic'' in the 1960s. It began to appear regularly in ''
Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...
'' from 1966 to 1968, then '' Smash!'' in 1968 and 1969, both titles published by
Odhams Press Odhams Press was a British publishing company, operating from 1920 to 1968. Originally a magazine publisher, Odhams later expanded into book publishing and then children's comics. The company was acquired by Fleetway Publications in 1961 and th ...
. In 1972, the Fantastic Four's adventures were published starting with issue 1 of the US comic in ''
Mighty World of Marvel ''The Mighty World Of Marvel'' (commonly shortened to ''MWOM'') was a British comic book series published first by Marvel UK and then by Panini Comics. Debuting on 30 September 1972, it was the first title published by Marvel UK and ran until 19 ...
'' alongside
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
and
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
reprints when
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
began its imprint
Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...
. In 1976 the feature was moved to star in Marvel UK's ''The Titans'', in an attempt to revive flagging sales, starting with issue #27. But after just a few months the feature was removed from ''The Titans'' (replaced by
The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...
) to form part of the line up of the new '' Captain Britain Weekly'' for its first issue in October 1976. After the demise of ''Captain Britain Weekly'' the FF went with
Captain Britain Captain Britain is a title used by various superheroes in comic books published by Marvel Comics, commonly in association with Excalibur. The moniker was first used in publication by Brian Braddock in ''Captain Britain'' #1 by writer Chris Cl ...
into the merged ''Super Spider-man and Captain Britain Weekly'' in July 1977. A few months after the merger a new title ''The Complete Fantastic Four'' was launched in September 1977 starting with the story from the US Fantastic Four #133. Unusually ''The Complete Fantastic Four'' reprinted an entire issue of the US publication at a time when stories were always broken up into several installments. As a backup strip it started serializing the FF's adventures from US Fantastic Four #1, but this was replaced by
The Invaders ''The Invaders'' is an American science fiction television series created by Larry Cohen that aired on ABC for two seasons, from 1967 to 1968. Roy Thinnes stars as David Vincent, who after stumbling across evidence of an in-progress invasi ...
towards the end of the run. In 1978 that series merged into ''Mighty World Of Marvel'' returning the FF to their original home alongside the
Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...
. Their last adventure in that title was issue 329, when they were moved out so that the comic could be relaunched as ''
Marvel Comic Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
'' in early 1979. Their adventures briefly moved back into '' Spider-Man Comic'' before stopping shortly after John Byrne took over pencilling chores on the strip. In March 1980
Marvel UK Marvel UK was an imprint (trade name), imprint of Marvel Comics formed in 1972 to reprint United States of America, US-produced stories for the United Kingdom, British weekly comic market. Marvel UK later produced original material by British cr ...
launched the monthly Fantastic Four Pocketbook reprinting older Lee and Kirby stories. In September 1980 their new adventures continued in the new weekly anthology title ''Marvel Team-Up'', remaining in the comic until its cancellation with the edition dated 4 March 1981. From 1 April 1981, the ''Fantastic Four'' was part of a new title, ''Marvel Action'', which only lasted 15 issues before it merged with ''Captain America'' (#21). The FF strip transferred to the temporarily renamed ''Marvel Action starring Captain America''. The FF strip's last appearance was in ''Captain America'' #36, stopping in preparation for the comic's merger with another Marvel UK anthology title, ''Marvel Super Adventure'' the next week. After the cancellation of the Pocketbook in July 1982 the classic FF strips continued in the short lived ''Fantastic Four'' weekly title that ran from 6 October 1982 for a total of 29 issues. That series merged into ''
Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...
''. During 1985 the ''Fantastic Four'' and other Marvel titles such as ''The New Mutants'', ''The Avengers'', and ''The X-Men'' were included in the ''Secret Wars II'' reprint title. This mostly focused on issues which crossed over into the ''Secret Wars II'' maxi series. From 2005, around the release of the Fantastic Four film, the super-team appeared in two new publications published by
Panini Comics Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectible stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary ...
: ''
Fantastic Four Adventures ''Fantastic Four Adventures'' was part of Marvel UK's 'Collectors' Edition' line. It was published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. It began in 2005 around the release of the Fantastic Four (2005 film), Fantas ...
'', and ''
Ultimate Fantastic Four ''Ultimate Fantastic Four'' is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running ''Fantastic Four'' comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The Ultimate ...
''. The latter only lasted 10 issues, ending in 2006. ''
Fantastic Four Adventures ''Fantastic Four Adventures'' was part of Marvel UK's 'Collectors' Edition' line. It was published by Panini Comics but reprints Marvel Comics from the United States. It began in 2005 around the release of the Fantastic Four (2005 film), Fantas ...
'' which reprinted the mainstream version of the team lasted longer, ending in February 2010.


France

Publication history in France started with the reprinting of the first 10 pages of ''Fantastic Four'' #50 in 1967 in an anthology title called ''Les Chefs-d'Oeuvres de la Bande Dessinée'' omic Book Masterpieces In 1974, the first four issues of the title were published, one page at a time, in the daily newspaper ''
France-Soir ''France Soir'' () was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006 ...
''. But primarily, rights to the ''Fantastic Four'' in France were held by a company called
Éditions Lug Éditions Lug () was a French comic book publisher based in Lyon, operating from 1950 to 1989. Originally known for publishing digest-sized reprints of old French and Italian comics, it then created its own characters and titles, such as the Ta ...
, which began publishing ''Fantastic Four'' first in a 1969 anthology title called ''Fantask'', along with Spider-Man and Silver Surfer, then in another anthology called ''Marvel''. The censors objected to the content of the book, and citing "nightmarish visions" and "terrifying science fiction" as the reasons, forced their cancellations after respectively 7 and 13 issues. Although other anthologies featuring Marvel strips continued, notably ''Strange'' (featuring the X-Men, Iron Man, and the Silver Surfer), the Fantastic Four remained unpublished in France until 1973. Éditions Lug created a format aimed more for adults; an 80-page series called ''Une Aventure des Fantastiques'' debuted where the old series left off, with the stories that introduced the Inhumans and Galactus. That series lasted over 15 years, coming out four times a year. In the mid-1970s, a title called ''Spidey'' was released by Éditions Lug. Primarily featuring reprints from the juvenile comic book ''
Spidey Super Stories "Spidey Super Stories" is a live-action, recurring skit on the original version of the Children's Television Workshop series ''The Electric Company''. Overview Episodes featured the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man, provided to the Children's Te ...
'', it also featured a similarly themed FF series produced in France. These original stories had art that closely resembled the work of Jack Kirby or John Buscema, but the storylines themselves included watered-down supervillains, the FF on vacation, and even
Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...
. This series was replaced by 1960s-era X-Men reprints when Marvel demanded the same royalties for Éditions Lug's original stories that they did for the US reprints. Eventually, a regular monthly series began publication in France, and the Fantastic Four took over the headlining position in the pocket format anthology ''Nova'' (sharing the title with Spider-Woman, Peter Parker, She-Hulk, and Silver Surfer) and lasted until Marvel began publishing its own titles under the newly formed Marvel France line in the late 1990s. Fantastic Four shared space in the Silver Surfer's own book until the Heroes Reborn storyline created their own title, supported by Captain America. "Fantastic Four" then appeared in the anthology "Marvel Legends" and currently appears in "Marvel Icons", sharing that title with the Avengers. Two different French companies held rights to Marvel Comics at the same time in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Éditions Lug (which eventually became
Semic Comics Semic Comics ( is one of the leading comic book publishers in France. It is officially known as Semic S.A. Along with French comics, the company formerly published the official translations of products produced by DC Comics and Marvel Comics. T ...
) published ''Fantastic Four'', ''Spider-Man'', ''X-Men'', ''Daredevil'', and ''Iron Man'', and most related series, while Aredit held the rights to Avengers, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Sub-Mariner and many of the 1970s-era modern series like Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Power Man and the first She-Hulk series. Often, crossovers would force one company to publish another's title, i.e. the ''
Marvel Two-in-One ''Marvel Two-in-One'' is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics featuring Fantastic Four member the Thing in a different team-up each issue. Publication history Original series The concept of teaming the Thing with a differen ...
'' and ''Fantastic Four'' annuals that crossed over into the Invaders story would have to be published by the "other" company, and in fact that particular crossover was published twice, once by each company. This resulted in different translations of the characters' names — Susan Storm Richards was called "Jane" in her own title by Editions Lug, and Reed was called "Red," a combination of letters easier to pronounce than the double E sound. When Aredit published a Fantastic Four appearance they kept the traditional US names. Generally speaking, their names in France were: ''Monsieur Fantastic'' (although Mister was often used as well), ''L'Invisible'', ''La Chose'', and ''La Torche''. (Rarely was "Humaine" used in the French editions.) Dr. Doom was called ''Docteur Fatalis'' and She-Hulk was called ''Miss Hulk''.


Germany

"
Die Fantastischen Vier Die Fantastischen Vier (, "The Fantastic Four"), often shortened to Fanta 4, is a German hip hop band from Stuttgart. The members are Michael Schmidt (Smudo), Andreas Rieke, Thomas Dürr, and Michi Beck. They were, together with Advanced Chemi ...
" first appeared in ''Hit Comics'', a weekly title that rotated the main feature with other Marvel titles. Williams Comics eventually obtained the rights to Marvel's line and began publishing (for the first time in color) in the mid-1970s. ''Fantastic Four'' was backed up with ''Daredevil'' and began with issue #1. No annual was published by Williams and some early numbers were left out (5, 6, 10, 12, 21 and 44). Condor Comic carried the title in the 1980s and 1990s, and published a series of 47 pocket format books at about 168-196 pages each. It also published a paperback series in a similar format to the Marvel Graphic Novels with 12 issues of 52 pages each. Marvel Deutschland (later Panini Comics Deutschland) publishes "Die Fantastischen Vier". Since 2008 the series is named with its original title "The Fantastic Four". The German names of the characters are ''Das Ding'' (The Thing), ''Die Fackel'' or ''Die menschliche Fackel'' (The Human Torch), ''Die Unsichtbare'' (The Invisible One), and ''Mr. Fantastisch'' (Mr. Fantastic). Silver Surfer and She-Hulk retained their English names. Some early Williams editions refer to Dr. Doom as "Doktor Unheil". In one Williams publication Dr.Doom is also referred to as "Doktor Untergang". Later they call him by his original US name.


Italy

Editoriale Corno initially published '' I Fantastici Quattro'' in Italy (first with ''Captain Marvel'' as backup feature, then rotating with other backup features). Star Comics published the title in the 1990s, followed by Marvel Italia. Character names are typically translated as "la Cosa" (Thing), "la Torcia Umana" (Human Torch) and "la Donna Invisibile" (Invisible Woman), while Dr. Doom is "Dottor Destino". Mister Fantastic, She-Hulk and Silver Surfer kept their English names. Also released in Italy was the series ''I Fantastici Quattro gigante'', an oversized magazine reprinting in chronological order all the super-team's appearances including the Human Torch solo series from ''
Strange Tales ''Strange Tales'' is a Marvel Comics comics anthology, anthology series. The title was revived in different forms on multiple occasions. Doctor Strange and Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. (feature), Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. made their d ...
''.


See also

* '' Marvel Action Hour: Fantastic Four''


References


External links

* * * (UHBMCC gives 1998-2003 for vol. 3) * (UHBMCC gives 2003-2011, starting with #500, for vol. 4)
''Fantastic Four''
at the Unofficial Handbook of Marvel Comics Creators (UHBMCC) {{Portal bar, Comics, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s 1961 comics debuts 2009 comics endings Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Doug Moench Comics by George Pérez Comics by Gerry Conway Comics by J. Michael Straczynski Comics by Jack Kirby Comics by Jeph Loeb Comics by Jim Lee Comics by John Byrne (comics) Comics by Jonathan Hickman Comics by Len Wein Comics by Mark Millar Comics by Mark Waid Comics by Marv Wolfman Comics by Matt Fraction Comics by Roger Stern Comics by Roy Thomas Comics by Stan Lee Comics by Steve Englehart Comics by Walt Simonson Comics set in New York City Fantastic Four titles