With the Fantastic Four, and the rest of the Marvel U, in chaos it was only a matter of time before things came to a head with an epic battle. Now, that time has come with Marvel’s Fear Itself: FF.

Written by Cullen Bunn with art by Tom Grummett, FI: FF tells the story of Ben Grimm (aka The Thing) who has been deemed “worthy” by the villainous Serpent and now it’s up to the FF to put an end to his rampage.

But do the FF have a prayer at prying their friend from the God of Fear’s grasp? I’m going to guess it end up being a lot harder than they think. Plus, there will probably be a lot of damage, both physical and emotional, before its all done. Whatever happens, it looks to be epic.

We’ve got preview pages for this comic for you today. Naturally, you can check them out right after the break.

Fear Itself: FF #1 hits comic book stores on August 3rd. We’ll be reading.

Continue Reading →

As we discussed on this week’s episode of The Flickcast, the Human Torch is dead and a new member has apparently joined the group previously known as the Fantastic Four. That character is, of course, the Amazing Spider-Man.

Now, thanks to Marvel, we’ve got a preview of the first issue of this comic featuring the new team for you today. Called FF, the new series comes from the creative team of writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Steve Epting and is described this way by Marvel:

“In the wake of the Human Torch’s heroic sacrifice, Marvels’ first family has re-emerged as the Future Foundation. Spider-Man may their newest teammate, but who else has signed up to protect the future from itself? And what does their presence portend for the world at large?”

I’m not sure, but it does sound interesting. Okay Marvel, you’ve got me. I’m hooked and will read — at least the first few issues.

Check out several pages from the comic after the jump. Marvel’s FF #1 hits comic book stores on March 23rd.

Continue Reading →

Like many good things sometimes they have to come to an end. Even though we might not want them to it is often the case that a story and characters have run their course.

So it is with Marvel’s Fantastic Four who, after the recent tragic death of Johnny Storm (aka The Human Torch) are nearing the end of their comic book run. Of course, Marvel isn’t going to let them go out with a whimper. From the Marvel release:

Huge choices that dramatically impact the Marvel Universe are made this February in Fantastic Four #588, from the superstar creative team of Jonathan Hickman, Nick Dragotta and Mark Brooks! Following up on the sold-out hit Fantastic Four #587, Marvel is pleased to present your first look at the FINAL issue of the long-standing series, guest starring all your favorite Marvel heroes!

But the story isn’t over yet because where one door closes, another opens. It’s now up to Reed, Sue, and Ben to make life-changing decisions of their own volition that set them on a course destined to change the Marvel Universe in Johnny’s honor!

“The reaction from fans and retailers to Fantastic Four #587 was overwhelming and we’re excited to show fans, who have been chomping at the bit, to see what’s next!” exclaims SVP of Sales, David Gabriel. “It may be the end of the series, but it’s the beginning of something much bigger.”

Look for this comic to hit store shelves on February 31st. In the meantime, check out some preview pages after the jump.

Continue Reading →

With X-men: First Class scheduled to start filming next week, 20th Century Fox has turned their focus to the their next Marvel film. That film? A reboot of Fantastic Four.

Rumors about the films casting have started with news that The Thing will be completely CGI and Sue Storm being played by Alice Eve or Amber Heard, and it seems the film’s star power will be stemming from the group leader Mr. Fantastic. The two actors in the running for Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards are Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Adrien Brody.

While Jonathan Rhys Meyers is probably best known for his starring role in the Showtime series The Tudors, he also has From Paris With Love in which he starred opposite John Travolta under his belt. He’s also been seen in film such as Mission Impossible III, Match Point and Bend It Like Beckham.

The bigger get would obviously be Adrien Brody, who is quietly growing into an action film with the recent releases of Predators and Splice. Brody is also the forerunner for Edgar Wright’s Ant-man for Marvel Studios. Having the Oscar winning actor attached to the film would add some credibility to the project.

The title of the film will not be Fantastic Four Reborn as previously report, but the actual title has not been released. Now that Chiklis is moving on to No Ordinary Family on ABC and Evans is headed over to work on that other Marvel movie, who would YOU cast as The Thing and Human Torch in the upcoming reboot?

Even though they don’t get quite the big screen treatment they deserve, Marvel’s Fantastic Four are still great characters. They also have been featured in quite a few successful comics, particularly their own.

To highlight that we’ve got a preview for the upcoming Fantastic Four #583 comic called Fantastic Four: Three. From writer Jonathan Hickman and new series artist Steve Epting, the comic begins a new story arc featuring the also features The War of Four Cities.

However, as bad as wars can be, this one is even worse as it will mark the end of one of the Fantastic Four. Who will fall? It’s anyone’s guess. Although, there’s probably a pretty easy way to find out. I’ll just let you think about that one.

In the meantime, check out the gallery of preview images for the comic after the jump. Fantastic Four: Three hits comic store shelves on September 22nd.

Continue Reading →

It should come as no surprise that in addition to the big announcements yesterday, especially the Disney Marvel deal, there was other news. One such piece that may please many Marvel fans out there who were less than thrilled with the way the first two movies turned out is the late breaking revelation that Fox is rebooting The Fantastic Four franchise. But wait, don’t get too excited because Akiva Goldsman, the man who wrote the two worst Batman films in history (Batman and Robin and Batman Forever) and the feature film version of Lost In Space featuring Matt Leblanc is in charge of the reboot for the studio.

Fortunately, he’s not actually writing the script and is just a producer. Michael Green, co-executive producer of Heroes, co-writer of the new Green Lantern and creator of the short-lived series Kings is the one tapped to write the new script. So, that may mean good things for the new Fantastic Four franchise. In case you don’t recall, 2005′s Fantastic Four and the 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer were directed by Tim Story and starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis. Since the details of the reboot are still being worked out, it is unclear if any of them will return. Or, if they should.

To be honest, I wouldn’t mind if nobody from the first films returned. I wasn’t a big fan of Tim Story’s direction nor most of the performances except for Gruffudd and Chiklis. Starting over fresh is not a bad idea and now that Iron Man and The Dark Knight have clearly shown the way to make really great comic book movies, maybe Michael Green can turn The Fantastic Four into something great also. Let’s hope so because these characters deserve a better cinematic treatment then they’ve gotten so far.