Fantastic Four | |
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Group publication information | |
Publisher | Marvel Comics |
First appearance | The Fantastic Four #1 (November 1961) |
Created by |
Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
In-story information | |
Base(s) |
|
Member(s) | |
Roster | |
See: List of Fantastic Four members | |
Fantastic Four | |
The Fantastic Four #1 (Nov. 1961). Cover art by Jack Kirby (penciller) and unconfirmed inker. | |
Series publication information | |
Schedule | Monthly |
Format | Ongoing series |
Genre | |
Publication date |
(vol. 1) November 1961 – September 1996 (vol. 2) November 1996 – November 1997 (vol. 3) January 1998 – August 2003 (vol. 1 cont.) September 2003 – April 2011 (FF) May – December 2011 (vol. 1 cont. #2) January – December 2012 (vol. 4) January 2013 – March 2014 |
Number of issues |
(vol. 1): 416 and 27 Annuals (vol. 2): 13 (vol. 3): 70 (vol. 1 cont.): 89 (FF): 11 (vol. 1 cont. #2): 13 (#600-611 plus #605.1) (vol. 4): 17 (#1-16 plus #5AU) (vol. 5): 18 and 1 Annual |
Creative team | |
Writer(s) |
List
|
Penciller(s) |
List
|
Inker(s) |
List
|
Creator(s) |
Stan Lee (writer) Jack Kirby (artist) |
Collected editions | |
Essential Fantastic Four: Volume 1 | ISBN |
The Fantastic Four is a fictional superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The group debuted in The Fantastic Four #1 (cover dated Nov. 1961), which helped to usher in a new level of realism in the medium. The Fantastic Four was the first superhero team created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, who developed a collaborative approach to creating comics with this title that they would use from then on.
The four individuals traditionally associated with the Fantastic Four, who gained superpowers after exposure to cosmic rays during a scientific mission to outer space, are Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), a scientific genius and the leader of the group, who can stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; the Invisible Woman (Susan "Sue" Storm), who eventually married Reed, who can render herself invisible and later project powerful invisible force fields; the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), Sue's younger brother, who can generate flames, surround himself with them and fly; and the monstrous Thing (Ben Grimm), their grumpy but benevolent friend, a former college football star and Reed's college roommate as well as a good pilot, who possesses tremendous superhuman strength, durability, and endurance due to the nature of his stone-like flesh.
As the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics, it formed a cornerstone of the company's 1960s rise from a small division of a publishing company to a pop culture conglomerate. The title would go on to showcase the talents of comics creators such as Roy Thomas, John Buscema, George Pérez, John Byrne, Steve Englehart, Walt Simonson, and Tom DeFalco, and is one of several Marvel titles originating in the Silver Age of Comic Books that was continuously published through 2015.