Start Reading Marvel's Fantastic Four Now: Best Time Ever

While *Deniz Camp and Juan Frigeri’s The Ultimates* took home the title of the Best Comic Book Series or Original Graphic Novel of 2024, Marvel's *Fantastic Four* was a close contender. The series, under the guidance of writer Ryan North, has been experiencing a renaissance, becoming one of the most compelling reads in recent times. With the upcoming release of *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* in theaters, Marvel aims to captivate an even larger audience this summer.

Marvel is set to relaunch *Fantastic Four* in July, with Ryan North still at the helm, now joined by artist Humberto Ramos, known for his work on *The Amazing Spider-Man*. This dynamic duo will guide the First Family through new adventures, navigating the aftermath of the One World Under Doom crossover and exploring time-traveling escapades. To give readers a glimpse into this exciting new chapter, IGN had the opportunity to speak with North via email. Before diving into the interview, take a moment to enjoy an exclusive preview of the first issue in the slideshow gallery below.

Fantastic Four #1: Exclusive Preview Gallery

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Despite the continuity of the creative team, the decision to renumber the series aligns with the upcoming *Fantastic Four* movie. North explains that this move is designed to make the comic more inviting and accessible to new readers, particularly those inspired by the film. "An opportunity comics has as a medium is always to expand," North shared with IGN. "There are millions of people who don't read comics, who think comics aren't for them, and they're wrong! There are a ton of comics that are absolutely for them, but they just haven't found them yet, or maybe haven't felt like they were invited in to read them. Especially in superhero comics, where every book has a number on it and people may think they have to start with number one, it can be a real challenge. So by giving readers that new number one, the hope is that if they see the movie and love it and want to know more about these fantastic people, that's at least one less barrier for them to overcome."

The relaunch also introduces a significant shift with Ramos taking over the art duties. North and Ramos have been collaborating closely on this project, discussing their vision for the characters from the outset. "We were lucky enough to get to meet and have breakfast at San Diego Comic-Con a while back, before he even started work on this new series and before I even started writing them, so we got to talk about the characters and what we like about them from the word go," North said. "He is a very creative and generous collaborator, always down to punch up an idea and able to render those ideas with such excitement and verve. I think people are going to really love what he's been coming up with, and it's been a real trial these past several months sitting on top of all this great art and being unable to share it with anyone."

Ramos's speed as an artist allows North to tailor his scripts specifically for him, enhancing their collaborative efforts. "I've been lucky enough to work with a ton of great artists on *Fantastic Four*, but I'm usually so far ahead with the scripting that I don't know who the artist is going to be when I'm writing it," North noted. "It's always my preference to know the artist, because then you can write for them and create something that can be a better melding of the two of your interests, and with knowing Humberto has been on this book for so long, it's been really great to get to write specifically for him for issue after issue."

Although the new #1 issue marks a fresh start, North's run has always been designed to be accessible. He structures his stories as standalone adventures that contribute to a larger narrative, similar to *Rick and Morty*. With the relaunch, North plans to amplify the overarching narrative while maintaining the standalone nature of each issue. "Not really, but I am using it as an opportunity to lean a bit more into that larger narrative!" North explained. "I still want each issue to stand alone, and I want every issue to be a place for someone to jump on and get a fully satisfying story with every issue they pick up, but I am turning the dial a little bit more towards larger and crazier stories for that larger narrative. I'm not changing the special sauce - as Ben would say, ‘I'm just adding a couple cloves of garlic - not because it's not delicious, I just wanna add a little bit of zip.’"

When the relaunch was announced, North highlighted his intent to explore the Fantastic Four not just as a family, but as friends. This subtle distinction adds depth to their relationships. "It's maybe a subtle distinction, but I really love my friends, and wanted to tell stories about people who are in these long-running relationships that they don't have to be, but they choose to be," North elaborated. "And that's not that different from family, in the sense that, yes, you are born into a family, but you have to choose to stay there - you have to put the effort in to maintain and develop the relationships that are important to you. And if you look at the Fantastic Four, we often think of them as a family, but only two of them, Johnny and Sue, actually are family at the start. But they all choose each other, they all choose to stay with each other and become something more, and I think that's really fun and beautiful and interesting. Guess what I'm trying to say is the distance between good friends and found family maybe isn't as wide as I thought it was."

The relaunch coincides with the ongoing *One World Under Doom* crossover, which North intends to weave into the new series. The first story will focus on a Doctor Doom narrative, offering the Fantastic Four a chance to rectify Doom's actions. "One of the challenges of relaunching like this is we're trying to do a new number one that's an easy on-ramp for new readers, but also it's right in the middle of the *One World Under Doom* event, and we don't want to ignore that either," North said. "So the first story is a Doom story, giving the Fantastic Four the chance to actually fix everything that Doom has done - this involves a big, weird science fiction idea - and then we're off to the races with a whole bunch of other new, weird, big science fiction ideas."

A significant plot point from *One World Under Doom* involves Doom curing Ben Grimm of his rocky condition. However, preview art suggests Ben returns to being The Thing in the new series. North assures that this plot thread will be resolved before the relaunch, ensuring a smooth entry point for new readers. "We’ll actually get to see how it is resolved in the last moments of the previous run, so that we're not starting this new one with an unresolved plot thread!" North explained. "I do really want it to be accessible to that new and curious person who wants to know more about the Fantastic Four, so I'm trying to keep the back story they need to know to as much of a minimum as I can for this first little bit. Which might sound hard, but it's also something that I've been doing the entire run so far. The Fantastic Four have literal decades of history, but I want to make sure that nobody is lost when they pick up an issue and everyone is welcome to the party, you know?"

*Fantastic Four #1* is slated for release on July 9, just before *The Fantastic Four: First Steps* hits theaters. Below is the solicitation for *Fantastic Four #2*:

FANTASTIC FOUR #2

Written by RYAN NORTH

Art and Cover by HUMBERTO RAMOS

Sue Storm, stranded deep in the future at the end of Earth’s history, is the last thing alive on the once-vibrant world. How can she make it back to her proper time before being killed? Meanwhile, Reed Richards, stranded in Earth’s past, waits for a rescue from her that will never come...unless there’s some way their relationship – the deep and loving understanding this man and woman have for each other – can transcend time itself...

Meanwhile, in the present, Doom reveals precisely how he’s managed to stymie the Fantastic Four for so long: a secret to his invincibility that has transformed every loss into a win! And it’s one that makes Emperor Doom invincible...

On Sale 8/13

In other *Fantastic Four* news, a prequel comic is also in the works, revealing the origin of Pedro Pascal's Reed and his family, marking one of the first comics in a long time to tie directly into the MCU.