Fantastic Four #1 Preview and Spoilers

[Arsenal]

What I care most about is that this issue piques the interest of new readers. Those who haven't read a FF book before or the new Two-in-One.

Issue 2 needs to be great seeing as for many people it will be the real test of whether they will continue with the book.

For somebody whose only real exposure to the FF was the terrible early 2000s movies and the ultimate FF run, it did.

[Crimz]

I can’t see how it will. It’s a play to the gallery. It reads as a letter to long term fans and in that it succeeds gloriously and perhaps sometimes overstates the point. No point trying to grab people in issue two. It may be too late.

I'm not so sure, only new readers can really say and in the end it's based on personal tastes. Those that were unsure about the issue will likely try issue 2 before deciding whether to drop it or not, like with most entertainment you usually try the first couple of episodes, issues etc. before you decide whether it's for you.

So it's never too late to grab people and there is a point in making issue 2 an especially great one (other than the fact that stories should be good).

[kilderkin]

Two reasons.

We have an entire book covering much the same material in Two in One which instead of easing us into the new F4 story has ended up diluting the impact of this issue.

A large number of people will be picking this issue up to decide if they want to read F4 and this is not selling the story to them but instead teasing the next issue.

Neither of these are trivial issues. The number of two or three panel pages, the extended focus on the singing flashback and the totally wasted nine pages concentrating on Doom when that could have been delayed for a few issues - all serve to dilute and delay the story and potentially kill the F4 before it gets going.

Those of us that buy F4 books just because they are there will not be concerned, but this issue needed to begin on a bang IMO and instead it almost enunciated a b.

I agree

All of this is on point imo

[Hulkout42]

I bet 70/30 odds we ain't getting Ben/Alicia being hitched. I just can't trust Marvel when it comes to marriage, sure people will say they finally married Rogue and Gambit but i didn't invest in that, i was looking at Kitty and Colossus and got flipped the bird.

Hell i got more hope that Spencer may reunite MJ and Peter as girlfriend/boyfriend then seeing Slott let the lovable blue eyed Ben Grimm finally get the girl he deserves. I can't give my full support no matter how much i want to see Ben be happy.

[kilderkin]

I bet 70/30 odds we ain't getting Ben/Alicia being hitched. I just can't trust Marvel when it comes to marriage, sure people will say they finally married Rogue and Gambit but i didn't invest in that, i was looking at Kitty and Colossus and got flipped the bird.

Hell i got more hope that Spencer may reunite MJ and Peter as girlfriend/boyfriend then seeing Slott let the lovable blue eyed Ben Grimm finally get the girl he deserves. I can't give my full support no matter how much i want to see Ben be happy.

Yeah marvel and dc have both burnt that bridge for me

It might happen, but I no longer trust the publishers enough to invest in it emotionally, it won't draw me in to but the book if the other aspects are lacking

That's not dan Slott's fault I would add

[Prof. Warren]

I can’t see how it will. It’s a play to the gallery. It reads as a letter to long term fans and in that it succeeds gloriously and perhaps sometimes overstates the point. No point trying to grab people in issue two. It may be too late.

Haha, "no point in trying to grab people in issue two?"

If the level of interest in the FF is so weak that it's going to tank one issue into the relaunch unless that one issue is the most slam-bang issue ever in the history of comics, then it was never meant to succeed.

That said, the FF will be just fine. I think it's safe to say people will be sticking around.

[CaptCleghorn]

First, I would have preferred a reunion in this issue. Sorry, even if it's just appearing in the same last panel, this book deserved that event. I know it wiill happen and I can deal with it, but WTF?

The fanboy in me is now curious about any attempts Johnny may have made towards a singing career. I don't remember any, but wouldn't bet on it.

And before anyone says anything bad about the Impy story, that is the appearance of Willie Lumpkin. Disrespect him at your peril

[JKtheMac]

Haha, "no point in trying to grab people in issue two?"

If the level of interest in the FF is so weak that it's going to tank one issue into the relaunch unless that one issue is the most slam-bang issue ever in the history of comics, then it was never meant to succeed.

That said, the FF will be just fine. I think it's safe to say people will be sticking around.

Well, personally I am not convinced F4 is a particularly big property as a comic. It has certain pitfalls that writers continually fail to avoid. The number of direct market readers that will give anything a try past issue one is already low. Personally I very rarely go to issue two on a book that doesn’t grab me. I am also the kind of person that will put down a novel after three or four chapters. Life is too short, and there is so much more interesting stuff out there.

To play devil’s advocate to my own point, it is possible that many direct market readers and Wednesday digital readers that have an interest in this book will be as impressed with this issue as you and I are. As already stated I loved the main story and enjoyed the backup and therefore am already committed to continue.

Potentially, the largest audience for this outside the direct market is trade paperback, and in that format they have five or six issues to impress. We can bet that all of those issues have been written and paced over the available space and that Slott and the editors are pleased with the results. We seem to be in an era of diminishing returns on floppy anyway, and all publishing is wrestling with that.

[Username taken]

Well, the title debuted at the top of comixology's charts, which is actually pretty unusual these days for Marvel titles.

Suffice to say, there's certainly interest in the title. A lot more than before, it's just for Slott and co to maintain the momentum now.

[Username taken]

Well, the title debuted at the top of comixology's charts, which is actually pretty unusual these days for Marvel titles.

Suffice to say, there's certainly interest in the title. A lot more than before, it's just for Slott and co to maintain the momentum now.

[JKtheMac]

Well, the title debuted at the top of comixology's charts, which is actually pretty unusual these days for Marvel titles.

Suffice to say, there's certainly interest in the title. A lot more than before, it's just for Slott and co to maintain the momentum now.

The real problem here is none of us know what that means. For example when people use a digital code does that reflect in a chart position? Because the time frame algorithm is unknown does a high profile release that everyone wants to rush and read without spoilers get undue prominence in these charts early on? Do people make purchasing decisions based on chart placement? The chart position is even more meaningless than Diamond figures which I am sure will show a high level of sales for this issue.

[Prof. Warren]

Well, personally I am not convinced F4 is a particularly big property as a comic. It has certain pitfalls that writers continually fail to avoid. The number of direct market readers that will give anything a try past issue one is already low. Personally I very rarely go to issue two on a book that doesn’t grab me. I am also the kind of person that will put down a novel after three or four chapters. Life is too short, and there is so much more interesting stuff out there.

To play devil’s advocate to my own point, it is possible that many direct market readers and Wednesday digital readers that have an interest in this book will be as impressed with this issue as you and I are. As already stated I loved the main story and enjoyed the backup and therefore am already committed to continue.

I agree that the FF is a tricky property.

But this book - that fans used to take for granted - has been withheld for so long that there's a yearning for it.

I think the appetite for it's return is not going to fade too quickly. Sure, I expect a point will come around again eventually where fans start to assume the book won't get cancelled and doesn't need their support as much but we're not there yet.

Had this issue been a bad issue, then I'd say there might be cause for concern but it was actually a very good, arguably even great, issue.

The quality of this issue, and the promise that that quality will continue through this run, is enough to - at the very least - get most readers back for #2, I'd say.

[DoodleMaster]

I agree that the passing of a few years has fans wanting it back and wanting it to be good.

I'm always ready to see Alicia and Ben together, although Alicia's role seems destined to be Ben's personal cheerleader instead of a fully fleshed out person with her own needs. I haven't read Slott too much but I hope he deepens their relationship and moves it forward.

FF #1 appears to take place after the Marvel Two-In-One run based on Ben's comment "all over the multiverse". However that ended, Ben came back still convinced Reed and Sue were dead and Johnny still thinks they're alive somewhere. I would have thought Johnny's "oh so they're really dead?" angst would have happened in Marvel Two-In-One and not here. Not that he had to feel that way too long lol.

I love Pichelli's art but either the inking or the coloring rendered it blocky and unfinished for me. I think Sara needs some time to sharpen her look for Ben - it's all over the place here.

It was so great to see Reed and Sue again and I'll hold off questions around how Reed and company can restart a multiverse but not be able to easily contact Earth. But I DO want those answers and I would love more insight into what they've been doing since Secret Wars.

Sorry Dan, but the whole untold tales and Johnny singing fell completely flat for me. Seemed like an attempt at channeling Morrison to me (take that as good or bad) but didn't deliver.

Loving seeing Wyatt back - please keep him around!

I understand the lightheartedness and family dynamic of the FF and I want to see that. But that should come in small doses. What I'm really looking forward to is the exploration angle and interaction with the rest of the MCU.

Doom's story could have written 40 years ago and could have been left out here. After all Doom's character growth (or attempt at it) over the last couple of years, I do not want to see it swept under the rug with "Doom bad now". Please show him as more complex as got-ugly and now bitter again.

All in all, I'll be back for issue #2.

[DoodleMaster]

I agree that the passing of a few years has fans wanting it back and wanting it to be good.

I'm always ready to see Alicia and Ben together, although Alicia's role seems destined to be Ben's personal cheerleader instead of a fully fleshed out person with her own needs. I haven't read Slott too much but I hope he deepens their relationship and moves it forward.

FF #1 appears to take place after the Marvel Two-In-One run based on Ben's comment "all over the multiverse". However that ended, Ben came back still convinced Reed and Sue were dead and Johnny still thinks they're alive somewhere. I would have thought Johnny's "oh so they're really dead?" angst would have happened in Marvel Two-In-One and not here. Not that he had to feel that way too long lol.

I love Pichelli's art but either the inking or the coloring rendered it blocky and unfinished for me. I think Sara needs some time to sharpen her look for Ben - it's all over the place here.

It was so great to see Reed and Sue again and I'll hold off questions around how Reed and company can restart a multiverse but not be able to easily contact Earth. But I DO want those answers and I would love more insight into what they've been doing since Secret Wars.

Sorry Dan, but the whole untold tales and Johnny singing fell completely flat for me. Seemed like an attempt at channeling Morrison to me (take that as good or bad) but didn't deliver.

Loving seeing Wyatt back - please keep him around!

I understand the lightheartedness and family dynamic of the FF and I want to see that. But that should come in small doses. What I'm really looking forward to is the exploration angle and interaction with the rest of the MCU.

Doom's story could have written 40 years ago and could have been left out here. After all Doom's character growth (or attempt at it) over the last couple of years, I do not want to see it swept under the rug with "Doom bad now". Please show him as more complex as got-ugly and now bitter again.

All in all, I'll be back for issue #2.

[Drakeon]

Haha, "no point in trying to grab people in issue two?"

If the level of interest in the FF is so weak that it's going to tank one issue into the relaunch unless that one issue is the most slam-bang issue ever in the history of comics, then it was never meant to succeed.

That said, the FF will be just fine. I think it's safe to say people will be sticking around.

I wont be. A $6 book that has hyped itself as the long awaited return of the FF did not have Reed and Sue actually return. This was just another issue of Two In One. Either start big or dont start at all. The book failed to bring me in. And from what I hear from stores fans are demanding refunds like they did for Batman #50.

Series will probably still do well but I will spend my money on books that dont waste my time like the excellent JL Dark, which was a Fantastic debut issue.