Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic

Fantastic Four (1998) (Collected Editions) #13

by J. Michael Straczynski, Dwayne McDuffie, Karl Kesel

FOUR FANTASTIC TALES OF THE FF! - When a doomsday weapon manufactured by Hydra turns up in the Nevada desert, there's only one man the authorities can ask to go in and defuse it: Bruce Banner! What does all of this have to do with the FF, you ask? Well, who do you think has to deal with the fallout when it all goes terribly wrong? - It's hard to believe Reed and Sue tied the knot 40 years ago... and it certainly doesn't seem that much time has passed to Reed and Sue themselves when a special evening out gives them a chance to look over their entire life together- past, present and future! - The Invisible Woman is dead! As Reed cradles his murdered wife, lost in grief, and Ben rampages after Sue's killer, Johnny defiantly decides to do whatever it takes- no matter the cost or consequence- to see his sister alive again. What he does will change the way the Fantastic Four look at him forever. - It's a day of celebration and reflection in Latveria, but deep within the confines of the Latverain Embassy to America, Victor Von Doom and Reed Richards engage in a subtle battle of wits, with all of Manhattan as the playing field. What are the stakes? And can Mister Fantastic triumph when all the moves have been made in advance? Collects Fantastic Four #533-535; Wedding Special; My Dinner with Dr. Doom; and Death in the Family.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Fantasy, Action

152 pages, Paperback

First published September 20, 2006

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Istiningdyah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic Four: the Life Fantastic is a bind up of Fantastic Four #533-535, Wedding Special, Dinner with Dr. Doom, and Death in the family. I didn’t read all of those. I only read Fantastic Four #533-535. So the rating that I give is actually only for those three issues. I’ve never read Fantastic Four comic before. So yes, it’s a bit weird that I started out with these issues. I chose these particular issues because of Planet Hulk story arc. Apparently, these issues set as a prequel-ish for Planet Hulk. Planet Hulk story arc itself was recommended by a podcast. They say that it’s supposedly good. If I’m about to read it, I want to give it my all. I started from these prequel comics.
Full review here

[Jesus Saldivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading The Life Fantastic right after World War Hulk was a fun coincidence since both feature the Hulk raging from deep emotional pain over a lost love. In Fantastic Four #533–535, Hulk is suffering from the death of Jarella after another gamma explosion, and it’s hard not to see the similarities of Caiera’s death in Planet Hulk. Seeing this theme show up months earlier makes me wonder if these issues helped inspire World War Hulk or if maybe Straczynski knew about it somehow.

The highlight for me was definitely the 40th wedding anniversary special for Reed and Sue which was adorable. I only wish there was more Invisible Woman in the main stories; she’s always the one I want more of! Overall, The Life Fantastic has plenty to love but also its fair share of “meh” moments, so I’m landing at a solid 3 stars.

[B · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weird connection. The "main" story is a Hulk story that never quite seems to land. Interesting that JMS probably had his pick of books but wanted to tell a story about a character not in the book.

There's also a Dr. Doom one-off and a "wedding anniversary" one-off that are pretty schmaltzy. The Human Torch time travel story is pretty fun.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty decent little collection of Fantastic fun. Not greatness, but decent. Even the specials and annuals put in here were decent.
But the art was not so decent all the time.

[zara]

Only logged this for Fantastic Four #533-535 as part of my Planet Hulk read!

[Colm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nuclear bomb that the Hulk is attempting to defuse in the desert blows up in his face sending him on a weird post-concussion hallucinatory trip where the most haunting moments of his life play before his eyes, all the while The Thing is trying to talk him down, one haunted monster to another. I really like the angle Staczynski has been taking on Ben Grimm being haunted by his visage in these stories. Meanwhile Reed and Sue continue to battle with Child Services for the right to raise their two children in the unusual circumstances that surround the Baxter Building. It's a low-key plot line but I enjoyed it all the same. I really liked the artwork surrounding The Hulk too. The facial expressions he's given are fairly spectacular.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute stories.

[Enrique Peral · Rating 4 out of 5]

El inicio de Planet Hulk.