Fantastic Four, Vol. 4: Fortune Favors the Fantastic

Fantastic Four (2022)

by Ryan North, Carlos Gómez (artist), Ivan Fiorelli (artist)

Collects Fantastic Four (2022) #18-22.

Ryan North continues his ever-surprising FANTASTIC FOUR run! Franklin Richards has been an immortal, a god, an Omega-level mutant and more. He's created life and entire universes - and been worshipped for it. He's ended life and been cussed out with just as much sincerity. But there's something else about Franklin Richards nobody else in the universe knows about - until now! Then, things take a noirish turn, and the only one who can solve the mystery…is hard-boiled private detective Alicia Masters! Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm get part-time jobs to raise some cash! Surely these old friends can work together, side by side? But when the skies turn black with Darkforce energy and vampires swarm the Earth, the Fantastic Four join the Blood Hunt! Can the brilliant Reed Richards find a cure for vampirism before it's too late?

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published October 16, 2024

About the author

Hi, I'm Ryan! I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and since then have written several books. You can read my Wikipedia page for more, or check out my author site at RyanNorth.ca!

I'm the author of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics (that's the comic where the pictures don't change but the words do, it's better than it sounds and I've also done crazy things like turn Shakespeare into a choose-your-own-path adventure, write a comic for Marvel about a girl with all the powers of a squirrel, or mess up walking my dog so badly it made the news.

I'm working on more stuff as we speak, hopefully it's good

Reviews

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that I'd have no problem reading several issues in a row about Ben & Johnny's grocery store cashier beef is a testament to how good that particular story was.

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot stress enough how much I'm enjoying Ryan North's run. This collection sees the FF going up against invisible asteroids, vampires, and other menaces, even as Ben and Johnny compete for employee of the month at the local supermarket. Each story is done in one or two issues and stands on its own instead of things being padded for the trade.

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This run by Ryan North is picking up steam, I really enjoyed the quirky tales in this volume and also the unexpected team up of Mr. Fantastic and Alicia Masters to thwart...a global vampire takeover? (Just roll with it)


Best cashier face off since Employee of the Month

[Machiavelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wildly entertaining volume that showcases just how flexible and fun the Fantastic Four can be.

You get a bit of everything here: Franklin Richards showing off some serious power, an old-school noir detective story in black-and-white, a wild vampire tale, and Ben and Johnny hilariously battling it out to see who can be the best grocery store cashier.

It’s creative, charming, and packed with heart — exactly what you want from Marvel’s First Family.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book is, if you’ll excuse my cheesiness, absolutely fantastic. Superb stories with really good artwork.

The last two issues collected here are Blood Hunt tie-ins and are nowhere near as good. Also, they completely give away the ending of the Blood Hunt crossover ‘event’, so don’t do what I just did and read this first. Sheeesh… A warning on the frontispiece would have been nice, Marvel…

[Greta · Rating 4 out of 5]

a well written johnny and ben issue with johnny as the focus is all i needed actually

[Frédéric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan North continues to lead the FF very well. Each individual issue is a pleasure to read, with its little touches of easily digestible Physical Science 101 or its frank moments of humour - the competition for best employee of the month between Ben and Johnny is downright hilarious - and the 2 episodes linked to Blood Hunt are the best I've read outside of those by MacKay.
North also pulls off a pretty neat trick by putting Alicia firmly in the spotlight as a real character, the Fifth Fantastic, just by her personality. It may be cheesy but I like it.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best run of issues of Fantastic Four I’ve read and the best ongoing that Marvel and DC have produced in at least the last 10 years; if anyone can think of one that’s better written, I’m all ears.

Ryan North is woefully under-utilised.



If you are not on the bus, you are letting yourself and the industry down. The good books need support.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

A weird disjointed mix of individual stories...and two issues devoted to the crossover BLOOD HUNT.
Alicia seems to be at the front of things in most of these stories.

[Alex Sarll]

The Blood Hunt issues which conclude this collection do a great job of showing Reed applying his problem-solving skills to endless night and a plague of vampires, though from a shared universe perspective they irritated me a little by having him initially sceptical of the whole concept. Dude's worked with Doctor Strange how many times over the years, how did this never come up? In a superhero universe, views that would be rational and sceptical here are not a sign of a great scientific mind, but of a fringe crank (cf Doctor Thirteen: Architecture & Mortality). Still, apparently they don't even gel with Blood Hunt proper, and in isolation they're fun. Plus, Franklin's secret; Sue goes noir; and Ben and Johnny get retail jobs, and a rivalry to go with them. Despite their continued absence from New York, a classic FF run by any other metric.

[Emmett Spain · Rating 5 out of 5]

It doesn’t get much better than this. A writer who understands the characters, the tone, and the mission with absolute clarity and is able to execute on it in surprising and fulfilling ways, time after time. May this run continue forever.

[Sem · Rating 5 out of 5]

North remains an excellent fit for the series, so glad that FF is in good hands again.

[Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

this had two of my favorite stories of this run so far, WOW!!! ben and johnny’s love for each other shone so bright throughout this book, and alicia and reed’s story during blood hunt was just so fucking brilliant and beautiful. five million bravos to ryan north

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Docking points for Reed being portrayed as insisting over and over that vampires aren't real when he should already be aware that he lives in same universe as Dracula himself. Giving points back for ending the story on a closeup of Reed and Alicia synchronized swearing together. XD

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another ultimately satisfying Fantastic Four read that honestly feels like a bit of a slog to trudge through. Ryan North packs a ton of story into each issue, enough so that the page count feels doubled. Franklin reveals that he's keeping his superpowers in check - except for a single day every year (during which he saves the world). Alicia finds herself solving a crime in a noir version of the world (this one especially dragged). Johnny and Ben battle to see who can win cashier of the month (cheeky!). And, finally, a Blood Hunt tie-in that does a great job using the FF's actual abilities (namely, Reed's scientific thinking).

Quality stuff, once you've powered through it. Fast-paced, battle-heavy comic bookery, this is not.

[cc · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can’t believe I’m caught up!

Anyway, autistic Reed Richards and ADHD Johnny Storm <3 I love you

I love the way north gives each of these characters, even Alicia, their own platform and an expansion of their personalities and powers

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

У 18 номері ми дізнаємося, що раз на рік Франклін Річардс згадує про те, що у нього все ще є здібності, які роблять його всемогутнім. Згадує про них він для того, щоб перевірити чи не насувається на Землю якась катастрофа для відвернення якої потрібне його пряме втручання.  Більша частина номеру це "вот іф" сценарій створений Франклін в якому Фантастична Четвірка намагається зупинити невидимі астероїди які невпинно насуваються на нашу планету. Взагалі у номера є непоганий меседж пов'язаний з тим, що всесвіт є дуже непередбачуваним і навіть всесильний Франклін не здатен передбачити абсолютно всі результати.

19 номер є нуарною детективною історією в якій С'ю звертається з проханням знайти свого хлопця Ріда Річардса до детективки… Алісії Мастерс. І впродовж усього номеру ми спостерігаємо за її розслідуванням та зустрічаємо старих персонажів в різних амплуа притаманних такому сетинґу (Немора взагалі не впізнав би, якби не згадали, що йому подобається С'ю). З прикольного відмічу, що історія має неочікуваний науково-фантастичний поворот який пояснює, що й до чого. І як же я все-таки люблю цю серію та креативний підхід Норта до неї.

20 номер присвячений суперництву Бена та Джонні. Поки Ф4 продовжує жити на фермі тітки Петунії запальничка та камінь вирішують знайти роботу для того, щоб фінансово допомогти родині, але через свої характери починають суперечку й вирішують показати один одному хто є кращим касиром у супермаркеті. Номер вийшов неймовірно веселим і мені сподобалося як Бен заступився за Джонні коли до того пристав журналюга.

21 та 22 номери це у нас тай-іни до події "Blood Hunt". За сюжетом Рід та Алісія відвідують галерею у Нью-Йорку та опиняються під атакою вампірів, тим часом як решта родини яка залишилася в Арізоні доводиться спочатку стримувати атаку на свій дім, а пізніше піти рятувати сусідів. З прикольного можу виділити те як Норт постійно якось креативно використовує здібності Ріда впродовж усього свого рану. Ну і кінцівка з тим, що Рід дізнається хто розв'язав проблему з вампірами прикольна.

Загалом тривалка Фантастичної Четвірки продовжує тримати високу планку, усі сюжети мені дуже сподобалося. Норт вдало балансує між динамікою родини та історіями, а також продовжує приємно дивувати ідеями.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Been a while since I read some Fantastic Four, but very nice to see that Ryan North's run is still going very strong. Excellent title!
Highlights:
- The first story was very wild! Franklin Richards, with all the omnipotent power he has, only allows himself to fully access his abilities one night a year. This time, he dreams of a catastrophe that could end the world. Though he uses time travel abilities to fix it, it ends up happening and Sue and Johnny must find a way to uses their powers a new way to stop the threat.
- We get a really fun black, white and red noir detective story featuring Alicia as a blind P.I. Sue looks fantastic in a red bombshell dress!
- I'm not sure I could laugh harder than when Ben and Johnny got jobs working in a grocery store. The level of competition between them is always great.
- Now comes the FF Blood Hunt tie in. Reed and Alicia gets stuck out together in the city and he can only stretch so far. Though he tries to solve the problem, someone else does, and from reading that title, we know that Doom has risen again to power.

Overall, another great outing from Ryan North and the Fantastic Four team!
Recommend.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revista do Quarteto Fantástico já vinha se destacando na Marvel por ser uma das melhores publicações que a editora tem a oferecer atualmente. Ela também quebra com as lógicas de publicação que vem sendo aplicadas na indústria de quadrinhos de super-heróis atuais. Em vez de fazer arcos que compõem um encadernado, com a intenção de revender depois, as histórias do Quarteto de Ryan North e equipe não estão preocupadas com isso. Elas querem servir boas histórias, não se importando se elas duram uma, duas ou seis edições. Temos neste encadernado uma emulação de um mundo noir, muito bem realizada. Até mesmo o tie-in com o o evento Caçada Sangrenta foi acima da média deste tipo de história, que sempre parece pasteurizada. Aqui ficou incrível. A gente percebe que North se dedica à pesquisa científica para aplicar ela nas histórias e isso as transformam em tramas fantásticas, robustas, mesmo com vinte páginas. Este quarto encadernado do Quarteto, de Ryan North, foi o melhor de todos desta fase até aqui, na minha humilde opinião.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan North really gets what makes the Fantastic Four tick, and we readers get to reap the rewards. Just good old science fiction fun!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
That really dumb factor crept in again. North does not know how to do Reed. Ashame. Some really solid issues in this volume otherwise.

[Davy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am loving this run! The episodic nature keeps each volume feeling fresh and exciting all while getting to explore so many different fun scenarios.

[Subham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its one of the best FF runs ever and I keep saying it in every review of a volume of this run and seriously this one was another good one and its one of those runs, the more you read of it will make you love the medium of comics and this team!

I love how this one has so many great stories about invisible asteroids hitting and how Franklin steps into stop them and can't but Alicia saves the day somehow and seriously playing games saved the day and it was great and then that story with reality changed and it being like a 1940s black and white private detective trying to find missing person, in this case it was Alicia and her searching for Reed the missing scientist and seriously the way Ryan writes her is awesome, the narration to the investigation proceedings and how it ultimately ends.. its one of the best stories in this run and wow 1940s private detective in a FF book never seemed possible till now!

One of the things Ryan has done is make Alicia such an intriguing part of this run and showing her relation to everyone in the team and how crucial she is and even with what she doesn't have you see another angle through her and someone with special abilities.. well she is a special person really and there are only few writers and Ryan is one of them who can show how awesome she is and her equation with the rest of the team is amazing!

Then that story about Johnny and Ben trying to work in the shop and well the rivalry of being a cashier and what happens next was so funny lol but again it shows the bromance between Johnny and Ben and seriously that friendship is so tough to nail but whenever anyone does it, its always awesome and leads to some of the best character moments and stories! 10/10!

The final story being a Blood hunt tie in and showing this time the friendship between Reed and Alicia, an unlikely pairing and how they solve the problem and well save people and being heroic is awesome. You learn sometimes its better to take one step at a time rather than trying to solve everything at once.. its a contained tie-in lets say but its so well done and the character moments are amazing and will make you tear up seeing what Reed has to go through but its awesome and even their families being heroic.. its such a small scale feels like vs rest of the BLOOD HUNT event but it works so well and maybe my favorite tie-in of the event!

The ending leads directly into this years DOOM event and seriously Ryan is writing that and I am so excited to read it!

So, overall this has to be one of my favorite volumes. Its got stories that are big and small but its about these characters and the insane SCI-FI problems they have to face and insane adventures but most importantly its about family and how they come together in the end and save each other and the world and most importantly its just inspiring and something we need of more in this world!!

[Rick Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fortune Favors the Fantastic collects issues #18-22 of Ryan North's Fantastic Four run, with the first three issues serving as standalone adventures and the final two being tie-in issues to the Blood Hunt event. The FF still live out on the Grimm family farm in Arizona, tackling their zany, whimsical sci-fi adventures far away from the hustle and bustle of New York City. Their adventures are no less bombastic though, with the team taking on a set of Earth-bound invisible asteroids from outside our galaxy, a bizarre diversion into a film noir reality where Alicia Masters must solve a case involving a missing Reed Richards, and Ben and Johnny working a part time job as cashiers. Okay, so the last one is a little less exciting than the others.

In any case, North excels quite a bit at delivering these charming, funny and perfectly compacted short stories. Though a more centralized narrative does feel missing at times, North's imaginative plotting for each issue makes up for it enough. The format for this run enables it to weather an event like Blood Hunt well, since the diversion into another story doesn't feel out of the norm at this point. The tie-ins were weaker issues than the other ones in this volume, but compared to the typical tie-in story, these were quite good nonetheless.

The artwork remains a little less appealing to me, though still decent enough. Carlos Gomez handles the artwork for issues #18-20, while Ivan Fiorelli takes on the two Blood Hunt issues. Satisfying the needs of North's scripting, the artwork serves its purpose, particularly when depicting the FF using their unique abilities.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is pretty close to everything I want from a modern F4 collection. It's got Franklin having insane cosmic powers. It has Ben and Johnny fighting and protecting each other like brothers. It's got goofy villains that create weird pseudo-universes. It's got Reed Richards in a basement, inventing some mumbo jumbo to fix the problem. And, in the final issue, it sets up a longer-reaching narrative I can't wait to dive into. I'm living the life!

North's writing continues to do quite well. The stories are creative and feel like a fun blend of family comedy with sci-fi adventure story. The sections out West work well, and the return to New York is comforting. He writes the relationships between the main four quite well and makes science feel like an exciting area for exploration - literally and metaphorically.

The art on this one is also much improved. In fact, some of the panels in this volume are among my favorites for F4. A particular panel, of Jonny gloating in Ben's perfectly pouting face, is a standout. The artists have also done a good job of placing little details that just work, from Ben strapping a pencil to his finger so he can use a keypad, to Johnny flirting by lighting one eyebrow, to Mr. Fantastic taking off his gloves to sleep. They aren't often mentioned, and they aren't necessary, but they add enough flavor to make soaking in the art worth your while.

Big fan of this volume and had a great time reading it. Will purchase it if I get the chance. I'd recommend, as always, to my friend Tom.

[Christian · Rating 4 out of 5]

The problem with reviewing a series of trades from a run is that if the run is consistent in quality, it becomes harder to find something new about it. Yep. It's still really good.

North is great at balancing the ever increasing cast of the Four, their spouses, and their kids. He's also consistently great at writing Alicia.

This one contains 4 stories over 5 issues. The first three see the four stopping invisible asteroids, Alicia transformed into a hard-boiled detective, and Ben and Johnny get jobs as grocery store clerks. These are all really fun.

The last two issues are a tie-in to an event I haven't heard of where vampires take over the world. Reed and Alicia are at a museum when the attack takes place, while the others are at home. It quickly turns into a tense supernatural base under seige story. Most impressive is the fact that I never suspected it was an event. North did such a good job of presenting the stakes that I assumed it was just another issue. Even the conclusion where it's solved by other characters elsewhere worked because of who solved it. He might have just been lucky in that case.

The real test for North was always going to be if he could write a non-comedy series and with his FF run he constantly proves that he's more than able.

[Robby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another mixed bag. We get two great character issues. In the first, the crew is sent to a film noir reality and Detective Alicia Masters is on the case. For once in this run, the art felt appropriate and contributed to the story. (Also getting major sapphic vibes between Sue and Alicia in this issue). This is followed up by a hilarious, yet heartfelt, story all about Johnny and Ben trying to work at a local store. It is this type of small-scale character antics that North excels at.

Unfortunately, the other three issues mostly fall flat. The collection opens with yet another story about the team discovering new applications of their powers with a stinger implying these "improvements" are all leading up to something. The book closes with a two-part tie-in to the Blood Hunt event spinning out of Moon Knight. Not sure why two whole issues were needed for an event that only concerns the Four tangentially, or despite being a tie-in, all the other heroes seem totally absent from Midtown Manhattan. The whole thing just feels like something foisted on the writer by editorial.

[Mr. Stick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Right there, just now: That was the single most boring moment in my life. ...Nope, I was wrong -- it's this one."
- Johnny Storm, working a regular, boring job.

More one-off sci-fi stories:
Franklin's personal arrangement to only use his powers once a year coincides with a butt-ton of invisible meteors aimed at earth.
Alicia helps the FF in a 1930's noir reality.
Johnny and Ben are nightwatchmen at a brewery... then cashiers at a grocery store.
Reed and Alicia visit NYC and fight vampires (Blood Hunt tie-in), while the rest of the gang is still in Arizona... also fighting vampires.
I've heard it said that you should never meet your heroes. However, I surmise that Ryan North would be relatable: nervous, awkward, perhaps a bit self-deprecating, yet capable of much humor, in written form. Not unlike many of us fans of the spandex soap opera.
This was as excellent as per usual. Four stars.

[Peter Holz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, apart from the first story whose resolution I didn't understand. The second story was reminiscent of Frank Miller's Sin City, black and white with splashes of red and blue. The third story was a fun sparring match between Ben and Johnny and the final one showcased Mr Fantastic's powers in new and novel ways. The author has done an excellent job of expanding all the members of the Fantastic Four in both individual and team adventures, extending their powers in unexpected directions. These were highlighted by the wonderful art, depicting Mr Fantastic's eyes stretching out of his head and his face being pulled and twisted by vampires. Science (some of it a bit too convenient and of doubtful veracity) continued to play a large part in all the stories, which is greatly appreciated. I also really enjoyed Alicia's expanded role and active involvement in many of the adventures.