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Fantastic Four Epic Collection
Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 11: Four No More
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #192-214 and Annual (1963) #12-13.
FANTASTIC FOUR celebrates its 200th issue of innovation and excitement! The Fantastic Four have split up! You might worry that we'll have to come up with a new title for this book - but no, the evil machinations of Doctor Doom will reunite the Marvel's First Family for an FF #200 extravaganza! Who is Doom's son? How does he have the FF's powers? The answers are revealed in a fight to the finish in Latveria! The FF also confront the Skrulls, but they'll have to do it as their older selves after an aging weapon advances them to death's door. The talents of Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema and John Byrne keep the story feisty, the art spry and the adventure fantastic. How could it not be when the world devourer Galactus enters the fray with a new herald?
FANTASTIC FOUR celebrates its 200th issue of innovation and excitement! The Fantastic Four have split up! You might worry that we'll have to come up with a new title for this book - but no, the evil machinations of Doctor Doom will reunite the Marvel's First Family for an FF #200 extravaganza! Who is Doom's son? How does he have the FF's powers? The answers are revealed in a fight to the finish in Latveria! The FF also confront the Skrulls, but they'll have to do it as their older selves after an aging weapon advances them to death's door. The talents of Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard, Sal Buscema and John Byrne keep the story feisty, the art spry and the adventure fantastic. How could it not be when the world devourer Galactus enters the fray with a new herald?
520 pages, Paperback
Published March 4, 2025
5 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
About the author
Marv Wolfman
2,304 books304 followersMarvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 15, 2025
I enjoyed FF #200 and the lead up quite a bit. Not so much Wolfman resolving Nova plot threads in Fantastic Four.
November 18, 2025
Fantastic Four #192-195 ~ This volume opens up on one of Marvel’s first family’s darkest times as the team has already disbanded. These issues feature a series of solo adventures to illustrate what each team member is doing in the aftermath of the team break-up. Villains appearing include Texas Twister, Diablo, Darkoth the Death Demon, and the first appearance of the Retrievers of Atlantis; guest-stars appearing are Wyatt Wingfoot, Namor the Sub-Mariner, Alicia Masters, Franklin Richards, Agatha Harkness, the Impossible Man, and the first appearance of Rebecca Rainbow. These stories offer appearances by each of the former teammates, but the focus is on Human Torch in #192, Ben Grimm is #193-4, and the Invisible Girl (it’s always weird using her old superhero name) in #195. Results vary, but in general I wasn’t really a fan of these one-shots. While I enjoyed the art and the writing is fine, the whole team break-up narrative was never a favorite of mine. (3/5)
Fantastic Four #196-200 ~ This 5-part arc starts off with a new appearance by The Invincible Man as he defeats the Human Torch, the Thing and the Invisible Girl. The big gimmick is that the previous Invincible Man was Sue and Johnny’s father, this time it’s supposed to be a devastating shock that it’s Reed, but this followed up on a reprinted story a few months previous that offered the events from Strange Tales that featured Reed as the Man in the Mystery Mask (the framing sequence for the reprint had Nick Fury wearing the Mystery Mask), so the surprise here didn’t feel very surprising at the time. But it does kick-off the events that will ultimately bring the team back together. We also get the revelation of who is the mastermind behind this big arc, and no one is surprised that it’s Doctor Doom. The second issue features the return of the Red Ghost and Reed getting his powers back. Then there’s the invasion of Latveria by Mr Fantastic to rescue his teammates and an escalation of the conflict with Doctor Doom. But there’s also Doom’s progeny, his clone, and his devious plan to enslave the world and place as ruler over the planet. Yep, Doctor Doom never thinks small. (3/5)
Fantastic Four #201-203 ~ A trio of one-off stories that are thematically linked. Nothing particularly special in these. (2/5)
Fantastic Four Annual #12 ~ Because of the tight continuity that covers the title since the previous annual, this one can only take place about a year later it was published. Here we have the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans battling The Sphinx (from the pages of Nova) with fate of everyone on earth in the balance. Not a great story from Wolfman, and the art from Hall and Pollard (an odd combination at beast) does not really add anything. (2/5)
Fantastic Four Annual #13 ~ While this is a nice story about the changing threat of the Mole Man (he’s almost an ally by the end of this annual), it has major continuity issues. It basically needs to occur during the events of Fantastic Four #201. This is just another example of how difficult the massive, multi-year-long storyline that ran for years from #166 to #203 was, having created so many continuity issues. And for the frustrations this adds to the confusion, it does not have that good a story or execution to make it something special. (2/5)
Fantastic Four #204-206 ~ These issues kick-off another big epic multi-issue story arc. Although thankfully not as long as the monster that ran from #166-200. This story will take the team deep into the Skrull Empire and wrap up the events of the series Nova (check out Nova #25 for some events that merge right into this storyline). (3/5)
Fantastic Four #207 ~ An unexpected threat appears as the Human Torch and Spider-Man team-up to defeat the menace of the Monocle. (3/5)
Fantastic Four #208-214 ~ This is the wrap of for the storyline begun in #204, it’s good, it’s fun. But the most important aspect here is the arrival of John Byrne as artist. His tenure as the full storyteller is still a couple years away, but these early issues of his work on the title, beginning with #209, are still excellent. (4/5)
Fantastic Four #196-200 ~ This 5-part arc starts off with a new appearance by The Invincible Man as he defeats the Human Torch, the Thing and the Invisible Girl. The big gimmick is that the previous Invincible Man was Sue and Johnny’s father, this time it’s supposed to be a devastating shock that it’s Reed, but this followed up on a reprinted story a few months previous that offered the events from Strange Tales that featured Reed as the Man in the Mystery Mask (the framing sequence for the reprint had Nick Fury wearing the Mystery Mask), so the surprise here didn’t feel very surprising at the time. But it does kick-off the events that will ultimately bring the team back together. We also get the revelation of who is the mastermind behind this big arc, and no one is surprised that it’s Doctor Doom. The second issue features the return of the Red Ghost and Reed getting his powers back. Then there’s the invasion of Latveria by Mr Fantastic to rescue his teammates and an escalation of the conflict with Doctor Doom. But there’s also Doom’s progeny, his clone, and his devious plan to enslave the world and place as ruler over the planet. Yep, Doctor Doom never thinks small. (3/5)
Fantastic Four #201-203 ~ A trio of one-off stories that are thematically linked. Nothing particularly special in these. (2/5)
Fantastic Four Annual #12 ~ Because of the tight continuity that covers the title since the previous annual, this one can only take place about a year later it was published. Here we have the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans battling The Sphinx (from the pages of Nova) with fate of everyone on earth in the balance. Not a great story from Wolfman, and the art from Hall and Pollard (an odd combination at beast) does not really add anything. (2/5)
Fantastic Four Annual #13 ~ While this is a nice story about the changing threat of the Mole Man (he’s almost an ally by the end of this annual), it has major continuity issues. It basically needs to occur during the events of Fantastic Four #201. This is just another example of how difficult the massive, multi-year-long storyline that ran for years from #166 to #203 was, having created so many continuity issues. And for the frustrations this adds to the confusion, it does not have that good a story or execution to make it something special. (2/5)
Fantastic Four #204-206 ~ These issues kick-off another big epic multi-issue story arc. Although thankfully not as long as the monster that ran from #166-200. This story will take the team deep into the Skrull Empire and wrap up the events of the series Nova (check out Nova #25 for some events that merge right into this storyline). (3/5)
Fantastic Four #207 ~ An unexpected threat appears as the Human Torch and Spider-Man team-up to defeat the menace of the Monocle. (3/5)
Fantastic Four #208-214 ~ This is the wrap of for the storyline begun in #204, it’s good, it’s fun. But the most important aspect here is the arrival of John Byrne as artist. His tenure as the full storyteller is still a couple years away, but these early issues of his work on the title, beginning with #209, are still excellent. (4/5)
July 22, 2025
Issues #192-200 of the Fantastic Four feature the team as disbanded, and although there is a lot going on, as scattered members of the foursome have their own adventures, the thread running through these comics culminates in an epic confrontation between Mister Fantastic and the team's greatest foe, Doctor Doom. If there is a spotlight on anybody by the time #s 197-200 roll around, it's on Reed Richards, but everyone plays their part.
Issues #201-203 operate as a sort of respite from long storylines, and it's fair to say the three stories featured don't have the clout of the two epic story arcs that form the bulk of this Collection. (Though, Quasimodo's fate, left hanging, did jump to Marv Wolfman's other series, Nova, where we learn he has encountered the Sphinx with some important consequences; but we don't see that in this collection - we just see the Sphinx before and after his encounter with Quasimodo. Luckily, this doesn't take away a really important piece of the storyline running through Fantastic Four #s 204-214).
There are also two Fantastic Four Annuals crammed into this Collection - Annual #s 12, and 13 - and strangely, they are grouped together. Annual #12 brings the Sphinx into the Fantastic Four's continuity, and he will be important for issues #206-213. In fact, the Sphinx was created as a major villain for Nova...and Marv Wolfman, to the best of my knowledge, had planned a crossover storyline between Nova and the Fantastic Four. We see it start up with Fantastic Four #204...but unfortunately, the Nova series got cancelled - meaning that the last issues of Nova, #s 23-25, set the groundwork for the crossover, and happen basically as Fantastic Four #s 204-206 were coming out too...but with no more Nova series, the Fantastic Four series had to handle the bulk of the storyline that had got planned for two series. Needless to say, Marv Wolfman couldn't let Nova and his team, the New Champions, suddenly hog a lot of time in the Fantastic Four comics...so, yes, people who rate this Epic Collection lower than I do, may be reacting to a Nova storyline that attaches to a more fleshed-out Fantastic Four story arc, and then suddenly disappears. Nova's story involves him finally getting to Xandar, the planet where his powers originated, just in time to see it battered and losing a war with the Skrulls. I feel that we see enough of this war - and some turning points in it - to satisfy (although we don't know what has happened to Nova and his crew until, of all comics, Rom #24).
Personally, I would call this sloppy plotting - even if it was unavoidable - except that Wolfman never really mishandles it. He had previously moved the Sphinx over from the Nova series - with FF Annual # 12 - and I feel the Sphinx effortlessly becomes a charismatic and wonderful main threat to the FF, and then all of Earth - and this villain is more than impressive enough to carry the main storyline occurring from FF #s 204-214. In fact, Wolfman delivers an amazing destiny for the Sphinx that had obviously been conceived and worked out, years back, in Nova #6. (Wolfman is a master of the long game, in plotting - not always to his benefit, when a series gets abruptly cancelled...or he is suddenly not writing a series before things he set up have been resolved). The Sphinx starts out as an immortal, seeking some sort of cosmic secret, but also afraid of some fate that has been foretold by a character called Sayge; he dreads his own future. This all comes to fruition as the Sphinx seems destined to battle Galactus - with the fate of Earth in the balance, and Mister Fantastic working some secret, risky plot of his own to make everything end well. Most of the time, it doesn't seem like any of it will end well; Earth seems doomed, no matter who wins the Sphinx/Galactus smackdown.
Due to the events of issue # 206, three of the Fantastic Four are aging rapidly from then on, and have about three days to live. The Human Torch has been spared this looming death and if there is a spotlight on one member for #s 204-214, it is on Johnny Storm, as he watches his family accelerating towards death by old age while he becomes the only vibrant, healthy member of the team...who may be the only one left to deal with at least two all-powerful villains, who want to eat or destroy the Earth respectively...and the only one left to maybe find a way to save his family as it whithers away.
I loved the art by John Byrne and Keith Pollard. I enjoyed the connections to not only the Nova series but also the Amazing Spider-Man series - which Wolfman, Pollard, and Byrne were also shaping at around the same time. It is weird that the key scene where Peter Parker gets a new job after being fired from the Bugle occurs in an issue of FF here, and not in his own series, but okay. As for how weird HERBIE the robot is acting, from #s 209-214 - exceeding his programming and generally behaving strangely - well, that doesn't get explained until FF # 217, which is not featured in this collection. (I had actually figured out what was wrong with HERBIE...and was quite proud of myself for doing so; it just suddenly hit me...plus, by that time I knew how Marv Wolfman's devious and brilliant mind works. Very clever...you thought I forgot, didn't you, Marv!).
This Epic Collection pairs well with the Spidey one that just came out before it, called Nine Lives Has The Black Cat. Wolfman and Pollard and Byrne, oh my! (Plus many talented others.) I also think these are great FF comics to tune into before the upcoming film - Galactus and HERBIE 'n all, just sayin'. On top of all that...if you miss seeing the planet Xandar since the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, well, here's all that Nova/Xandar (admittedly Skrull-smashed) iconography in all its original splendour!
I absolutely love issues: 206 (the Skrulls are wonderful here), 208, 211, 213-14.
Issues #201-203 operate as a sort of respite from long storylines, and it's fair to say the three stories featured don't have the clout of the two epic story arcs that form the bulk of this Collection. (Though, Quasimodo's fate, left hanging, did jump to Marv Wolfman's other series, Nova, where we learn he has encountered the Sphinx with some important consequences; but we don't see that in this collection - we just see the Sphinx before and after his encounter with Quasimodo. Luckily, this doesn't take away a really important piece of the storyline running through Fantastic Four #s 204-214).
There are also two Fantastic Four Annuals crammed into this Collection - Annual #s 12, and 13 - and strangely, they are grouped together. Annual #12 brings the Sphinx into the Fantastic Four's continuity, and he will be important for issues #206-213. In fact, the Sphinx was created as a major villain for Nova...and Marv Wolfman, to the best of my knowledge, had planned a crossover storyline between Nova and the Fantastic Four. We see it start up with Fantastic Four #204...but unfortunately, the Nova series got cancelled - meaning that the last issues of Nova, #s 23-25, set the groundwork for the crossover, and happen basically as Fantastic Four #s 204-206 were coming out too...but with no more Nova series, the Fantastic Four series had to handle the bulk of the storyline that had got planned for two series. Needless to say, Marv Wolfman couldn't let Nova and his team, the New Champions, suddenly hog a lot of time in the Fantastic Four comics...so, yes, people who rate this Epic Collection lower than I do, may be reacting to a Nova storyline that attaches to a more fleshed-out Fantastic Four story arc, and then suddenly disappears. Nova's story involves him finally getting to Xandar, the planet where his powers originated, just in time to see it battered and losing a war with the Skrulls. I feel that we see enough of this war - and some turning points in it - to satisfy (although we don't know what has happened to Nova and his crew until, of all comics, Rom #24).
Personally, I would call this sloppy plotting - even if it was unavoidable - except that Wolfman never really mishandles it. He had previously moved the Sphinx over from the Nova series - with FF Annual # 12 - and I feel the Sphinx effortlessly becomes a charismatic and wonderful main threat to the FF, and then all of Earth - and this villain is more than impressive enough to carry the main storyline occurring from FF #s 204-214. In fact, Wolfman delivers an amazing destiny for the Sphinx that had obviously been conceived and worked out, years back, in Nova #6. (Wolfman is a master of the long game, in plotting - not always to his benefit, when a series gets abruptly cancelled...or he is suddenly not writing a series before things he set up have been resolved). The Sphinx starts out as an immortal, seeking some sort of cosmic secret, but also afraid of some fate that has been foretold by a character called Sayge; he dreads his own future. This all comes to fruition as the Sphinx seems destined to battle Galactus - with the fate of Earth in the balance, and Mister Fantastic working some secret, risky plot of his own to make everything end well. Most of the time, it doesn't seem like any of it will end well; Earth seems doomed, no matter who wins the Sphinx/Galactus smackdown.
Due to the events of issue # 206, three of the Fantastic Four are aging rapidly from then on, and have about three days to live. The Human Torch has been spared this looming death and if there is a spotlight on one member for #s 204-214, it is on Johnny Storm, as he watches his family accelerating towards death by old age while he becomes the only vibrant, healthy member of the team...who may be the only one left to deal with at least two all-powerful villains, who want to eat or destroy the Earth respectively...and the only one left to maybe find a way to save his family as it whithers away.
I loved the art by John Byrne and Keith Pollard. I enjoyed the connections to not only the Nova series but also the Amazing Spider-Man series - which Wolfman, Pollard, and Byrne were also shaping at around the same time. It is weird that the key scene where Peter Parker gets a new job after being fired from the Bugle occurs in an issue of FF here, and not in his own series, but okay. As for how weird HERBIE the robot is acting, from #s 209-214 - exceeding his programming and generally behaving strangely - well, that doesn't get explained until FF # 217, which is not featured in this collection. (I had actually figured out what was wrong with HERBIE...and was quite proud of myself for doing so; it just suddenly hit me...plus, by that time I knew how Marv Wolfman's devious and brilliant mind works. Very clever...you thought I forgot, didn't you, Marv!).
This Epic Collection pairs well with the Spidey one that just came out before it, called Nine Lives Has The Black Cat. Wolfman and Pollard and Byrne, oh my! (Plus many talented others.) I also think these are great FF comics to tune into before the upcoming film - Galactus and HERBIE 'n all, just sayin'. On top of all that...if you miss seeing the planet Xandar since the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, well, here's all that Nova/Xandar (admittedly Skrull-smashed) iconography in all its original splendour!
I absolutely love issues: 206 (the Skrulls are wonderful here), 208, 211, 213-14.
August 2, 2025
Classic Fantastic Four stories. Plays a lot of familiar tropes (Dr. Doom, Skrulls, Galactus). Not much new although they introduce Herbie the robot. Nostalgic fun.
April 9, 2025
Getting into the era of FF which is just past the issues I read as a child, although some of them (notably Reed Richards releasing Galactus from his oath not to attack Earth) were referenced in issues I did read when I was young. Not the greatest period in FF history but I am glad to finally catch up on it.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews