Which authors do you recommend to someone who is just starting out on Fantastic Four comics? To get a good baseline of what the team is all about, but I'm also looking for authors who really understand the characters, especially Johnny since he's my favorite. I've heard there are Johnny focused stories as well. Could you give me some guidance on where to start? And I'm sorry if you've answered this before
No worries! I'll tell you what I recommend for starters, and then what I don't recommend.
My go-to for beginners is always Mark Waid's run, which starts at Fantastic Four vol.3 #60. (You'll see this sometimes labeled as Fantastic Four (1998) instead of vol.3. It's the same thing.) It's a really good introductory run, and Waid is a solid writer with a good handle on all four members of the Fantastic Four. He does fall victim a little bit to what I view as a Johnny Problem in the beginning where I think it takes him a few issues to hit his stride with him, but he's far from the most egregious case here, and he later wrote some of my favorite Johnny moments. If I had to single out a characterization weakness in it, it's that I don't think Waid writes a particularly nuanced or thoughtful Doom, but again, not the most egregious case overall. It's a strong run that's easily accessible for new readers.
I would follow the whole run through, starting with Fantastic Four v3 #60-70, renumbering to #500-524. I hate that I have to hit you with renumbering right off the bat, but in my opinion it's the strongest beginner run. Great character voices, good handle on the team and all their dynamics, fun plot. The majority of the run is drawn by the late, great Mike Wieringo, too, who had a wonderful art style that I think worked really well with the Fantastic Four.
For Johnny in particular in Waid's run, I would read Fantastic Four #509, which takes place during Ben's temporary death and showcases Johnny's grief in particular, and Fantastic Four #519-523, where Sue and Johnny's powers are switched and Johnny is temporarily abducted as Galactus' herald. There's also a fun two issue team-up with Spider-Man in Fantastic Four v3 #12-13.
There's a lot of interesting stuff between the end of Waid's run and the beginning of Millar's (see the Runs I Don't Recommend section for more on Millar) where I think you get a good sense for the characters. So if you wanted to keep reading past Waid, you'll hit fun writers like Dwayne McDuffie and J Michael Stracyznski.
So what I recommend next depends a little on your personal tastes. I think the original Lee/Kirby run is great, but I know that some people struggle with '60s comics, and the original run of Fantastic Four has a very retro futuristic Jetsons-esque feel to it. If you enjoyed the aesthetic of First Steps, you'll probably like it, but if you've never read a run from the 60s before, it might take some adjustment.
For the Lee/Kirby run, you want Fantastic Four (1961) #1-102, although you can keep following through after that point. Pair it with Strange Tales #101-132, which is essentially a Johnny Storm solo from his high school years where every issue Johnny lands himself in some kind of peril.
(Strange Tales #107) Literally. Every issue.
Robinson's run is a relatively short, self-contained story with good voices for the entire team throughout. It's a tight run with good character focus on the team, so I would recommend it to new readers. A villain attempts to destroy the Fantastic Four from the inside out, including by orchestrating the loss of Johnny's powers. Fantastic Four v5 #1-14, #642-645.
Hickman's run is something that's going to come up a lot, and it's very, very good, although it may be a little canon heavy for your first Fantastic Four foray. Extremely strong focus on Reed at the beginning, and Hickman writes an excellent Reed, but it's home to one of the greatest Johnny stories ever written, which is Johnny's death and resurrection in the Negative Zone.
The reading order for this one is a little tricky. Start with Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-5, a miniseries I would recommend anyway. Then Fantastic Four #570-588 -> Amazing Spider-Man #657 -> #FF (2011) 1-11 -> Fantastic Four #600, FF #12. Continue reading the two series interchangeably past that point until the run concludes with Fantastic Four #611 and FF #23. FF is just the initials (it stands for Future Foundation), and you want the initial 2011 run. Yes, the Amazing Spider-Man issue is necessary.
I'm behind on North's run, like, considerably, but I've heard good things and one of its strengths as a new reader is that it's episodic, so it's many smaller stories strung together rather than one longer story like Hickman or Robinson. However, you will need a strong tolerance for a Truly Abhorrent Mustache. (I'm a hater I'm not apologizing for this. Johnny does not have the confidence or self-esteem to pull off that mustache and it's not nearly tacky enough to circle back around.) For North's run, you want Fantastic Four (2022) #1-33, and then the ongoing Fantastic Four (2025).
I would also recommend Mythos: Fantastic Four, a gorgeous oneshot that offers an alternative look at the Fantastic Four's origin, and Human Torch (2003) #1-6. Human Torch #1-6 is the first arc in Johnny's solo, involving him solving a murder mystery involving the NYFD and a fellow pyrokinetic.
Runs I don't really recommend as your first go round, but are very good in general: Claremont's run and Fraction's run. Look, I love Claremont's run and I think it has some of the strongest character work in the series. Does a single storyline in it make totally complete, coherent sense? No. Not even a little bit. It's very vibes-based storytelling. So it's good, but it's not a beginner run. Fantastic Four v3 #1-32. (Technically, Claremont came on with issue #4, but you might as well read the first three.)
I would also recommend Marvel Two-in-1 (2017), with the caveat that it takes place during the years when Fantastic Four was banished from the shelves over a film rights dispute, and so you might not want to start with it. You asked for stories with good characterization and good dynamics between the team, though, especially strong Johnny characterization, and this is very, very good. With Reed and Sue and the kids gone and presumed dead, Ben and Johnny go on a universe hopping road trip to find their missing family. The problem? Ben is lying. He believes Reed and Sue are dead, and he's trying to buy time and keep Johnny from hurting himself. The other problem? Their powers are slowly failing. Third problem? Dr. Doom's invited himself along. Twelve issues, and I will say it starts to fall apart towards the end -- it made some choices with an alternate Peter that made me so mad I wrote a 30k fanfic about it, and the last two issues don't so much resolve things as just put a nice little bow on an unexplained resolution. But the rest of it is still strong enough that I would rec it even given those reservations. Seriously such good work with Ben and Johnny.
Also, look at how good these uniforms look. I long for that jacket. (Marvel Two-in-1 #4)
Fraction's run is another mostly self-contained storyline in that the whole run is one story. I don't think there's anything wrong with it, and it has an interesting premise -- the Fantastic Four's powers are killing them. In order to buy enough time to find a cure, Reed lies to his family and takes them on a road trip. But I don't love it as much as the other runs, and it ties very heavily into FF (just the initials) v2, to the point where you can't read them separately. So, totally fine, but not a recommended starting place because there are other, stronger options. I'd read it once you're already comfortable with the team. Its FF is delightful in general. Fantastic Four v4 #1-16, FF v2 #1-16.
I think Marvel Knights 4 #1-30 is overall an enjoyable comic, but that it is very, very, very early 2000s, and the characterization is sometimes shaky. Later it delves into some canon heavier subjects, like the Fantastic Four's relationship with the Inhumans. Worth the read, but I wouldn't start with it.
Runs I Don't Recommend Starting With: Byrne, DeFalco, Millar, Fantastic Four v2, Ultimate Fantastic Four.
Byrne: Byrne's run encompasses Fantastic Four #232-295 and it's iconic. I do think it's very important. I do not recommend it straight off the bat. A lot of fandom preconceptions about Reed and Sue come out of his run, and I, personally, don't really enjoy how he wrote either of them. Byrne has a very well documented older man/younger woman thing that he will shove into everything given half the opportunity, which he does with his retcon of Reed and Sue's first meeting, and also with Ben's Uncle Jake and Aunt Petunia. Again, I think it's an important run. I just wouldn't start with it. That being said, I think he writes a really good Johnny, unfortunately. If you want to try out a tiny little dose of it, I would read Fantastic Four #285, a one shot about a lonely boy who adores Johnny and, tragically, sets himself on fire trying to emulate him. Really good, but obviously very depressing.
DeFalco: Ughhhhhh. Listen, I'm not saying don't read it, but it's like my least favorite for a reason. DeFalco's run is disjointed, emotionally inconsistent, and very 90s in a bad way. Save it for when you run out of other issues, or if you really, for some reason, want to read the Lyja storyline. Fantastic Four #356-416.
Millar: I think this run has interesting storylines, and I enjoy reading it, but I also think it's bad. I think Millar writes a bad Johnny, overly influenced by the 2005 movie's characterization, before ultimately tripping his way into some insightful characterization. What he did to Alyssa Moy, Reed's high society genius rich girl of a former situationship and Ben's almost love interest, is criminal. (Hickman is also on thin ice there but Millar paved the way for him.) Fantastic Four #554-569.
Fantastic Four v2: This is an interesting case. In the 90s, Marvel outsourced production of the Fantastic Four, and essentially "rebooted" the story in a bubble universe. It's a shallow retelling of earlier Fantastic Four stories that ends up linking back to the main universe in Fantastic Four v3. I almost always recommend skipping this, unless you want to read everything for the sake of completion. Fantastic Four v2 #1-13.
Ultimate Fantastic Four: You'll see this come up sometimes on recommended reading lists as an alternative to reading from the 60s onwards. They are lying to you. This is a bad comic in a separate continuity that cannot remember its own continuity from issue to issue. That being said I've read it five times. Ultimate Fantastic Four reinvents the Fantastic Four in the confines of the original Ultimate universe as a group of kids attached to a government think tank who are horrifically changed following an attempt to reach an alternate dimension. Like a lot of other comics in this section, I think it's worth reading, but not if you're starting out. The dynamics and relationships are very different than the main continuity, and again, it's like. It's just a total mess of a comic. It's probably best known for being the home of the Maker, an evil alternative version of Reed Richards.
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