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  1. #1
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    Default Catch Me Up on the Fantastic 4!

    So with Marvel Two In One coming and the search for Reed and Sue.. I'm actually really interested in reading some past (but not too far past) Fantastic Four stories?

    I know Matt Fraction has an omnibus out. Is that worth it? What about everything from Marvel NOW to Secret Wars? What's good? What should I avoid?

    I've never read Fantastic Four before.. Infamous Iron Man is the closest book I've read involving any of those characters and I'm really enjoying that.

    Any help would be awesome.

  2. #2
    Extraordinary Member Jokerz79's Avatar
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    My favorite 5 runs in order

    1: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 60's.
    2: John Byrne 80's.
    3: Jonathan Hickman Last Run.
    4: Tom Defalco and Paul Ryan 90's.
    5: Mark Waid 00's.

  3. #3
    Astonishing Member mugiwara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cc008 View Post
    I know Matt Fraction has an omnibus out. Is that worth it? What about everything from Marvel NOW to Secret Wars? What's good? What should I avoid?
    .
    First, you should avoid Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction. Like most of his Marvel work, it's absolutely terrible.
    The Future Foundation series he was writing at the same time is not that bad, though.

    John Byrne and Jonathan Hickman's runs are essentials. especially Byrne's.
    I guess the Kirby/Lee run is a must read too, although personnaly I've only read the first year of it and it was a chore.
    Walt Simonson's run was also pretty good.

    If you really want to stick to the post-2000s runs, then again Hickman is by far the best. McDuffie's run and Robinson's run are alright too.

    If you want to try some solo series, I'd recommand The Thing by Dan Slott.
    And for the good doctor: Book of Doom by Ed Brubaker, as well as the graphic novel "Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment"
    Last edited by mugiwara; 09-14-2017 at 03:24 PM.

  4. #4
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mugiwara View Post
    First, you should avoid Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction. Like most of his Marvel work, it's absolutely terrible.
    The Future Foundation series he was writing at the same time is not that bad, though.
    LOL noted.

    John Byrne and Jonathan Hickman's runs are essentials. especially Byrne's.
    I guess the Kirby/Lee run is a must read too, although personnaly I've only read the first year of it and it was a chore.
    Walt Simonson's run was also pretty good.
    I remember Hickman wrote them for a while.. I'll definitely check his out, he's one of my favorite writers.

    If you want to try some solo series, I'd recommand The Thing by Dan Slott.
    And for the good doctor: Book of Doom by Ed Brubaker, as well as the graphic novel "Doctor Strange & Doctor Doom: Triumph and Torment"
    Anything in particular for Johnny?

  5. #5
    Astonishing Member mugiwara's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by cc008 View Post
    Anything in particular for Johnny?
    Spider Man & Human Torch by Dan Slott, I guess.
    Not my favorite Slott's comics, but it's quite fun.

  6. #6
    Wily Veteran cc008's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mugiwara View Post
    Spider Man & Human Torch by Dan Slott, I guess.
    Not my favorite Slott's comics, but it's quite fun.
    Thanks!

  7. #7
    Astonishing Member Oberon's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jokerz79 View Post
    My favorite 5 runs in order

    1: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 60's.
    2: John Byrne 80's.
    3: Jonathan Hickman Last Run.
    4: Tom Defalco and Paul Ryan 90's.
    5: Mark Waid 00's.
    These are about my favorites too. New to FF reader - Do not be afraid or hesitant about reading the older stuff! Therein lies much of what became the Marvel Universe.

  8. #8
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    Fantastic Four is one of those titles where you really can't avoid the early run. Not all Silver Age Marvel runs are definitive, but pretty much every Fantastic Four comic since 1970 is a riff on Lee/Kirby.

    You don't really need to start from the beginning though. Maybe read the first issue to get the origin, but after that you can skip the "early instalment weirdness" and start a few years later, like in 1965-66, when the comic started to introduce a lot of the concepts that would be part of it in every other run: the Inhumans, the Black Panther, Galactus, Silver Surfer, etc.

  9. #9
    Master of Magnetism Magneto's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jokerz79 View Post
    My favorite 5 runs in order

    1: Stan Lee and Jack Kirby 60's.
    2: John Byrne 80's.
    3: Jonathan Hickman Last Run.
    4: Tom Defalco and Paul Ryan 90's.
    5: Mark Waid 00's.
    Yep, that's all you need TBH !

  10. #10
    Extraordinary Member Mike_Murdock's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by mugiwara View Post
    First, you should avoid Fantastic Four by Matt Fraction. Like most of his Marvel work, it's absolutely terrible.
    That's a bold statement about Hawkeye and Iron Fist.

    Anyway, I'd probably read Hickman for recent stuff. For old stuff, the classic Lee/Kirby and the John Byrne stuff are the most obvious choices. Or, listen to the Baxter Building episodes to cover everything.
    Matt Murdock's cooler twin brother

    I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!
    Thomas More - A Man for All Seasons

    Interested in reading Daredevil? Not sure what to read next? Why not check out the Daredevil Book Club for some ideas?

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