Fantastic Four Epic Collection, Vol. 13: Back to the Basics

Fantastic Four Epic Collection

by John Byrne, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

John Byrne's timeless run as writer/artist starts here! The Fantastic Four are going back to the The debut of John Byrne in his celebrated run as FF writer/artist begins in this Epic Collection! Byrne's deft creative balance - renewing the characters' core, revitalizing old foes and introducing new concepts - gave the FF a bold vitality, restoring them to the lofty heights of the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby era. The Invisible Girl's powers go through a dramatic evolution, Galactus gets a surprising new herald and the FF join their most hated rival, Doctor Doom, in a fight for Latveria! Restored from a trove of original Byrne art, and including cool bonus items like Fred Hembeck's riotous FF Roast and Byrne's excursion into the world of WHAT IF?

Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #232-248, FANTASTIC FOUR ROAST (1982) #1 and material from WHAT IF? (1977) #36.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

496 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.

Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.

Reviews

[Gary Sassaman]

Finally, the Epic Collection series gets to the Fantastic Four run by John Byrne. This volume collects FF issues 232 through 248, plus Byrne’s What If FF story from issue 36 of that title, and Fred Hembeck’s Fantastic Four Roast 1. While the Byrne FF has been available in two cumbersome and pricey Omnibus editions, I much prefer the smaller Epic Collections (even though buying the entire run will probably equal or surpass the price of the two Omnibus versions … and other than Marvel corporate greed, why are the Epic books now $54.99 for a a less than 500-page book, when the DC Finest line is fifteen bucks cheaper for the same format with more pages—usually close to or above 600 pages?). I haven’t read this run since it first came out in the 1980s, and Byrne is at the absolute top of his Marvel game here, with the first 17 issues of his close to five-year run in this first volume. One thing I’ve forgotten over the year: Man, he sure is WORDY! These are dense issues that take some time to read, which is—for the most part—a good thing, because he is a good writer. This is also one of the few series that looks great even though he inked his own pencils. (His other series look okay for the most part, but like a lot of pencillers, Byrne’s work always prospers with a good inker, like Terry Austin or Tom Palmer.) The FF gang is all here, including stories with Doctor Doom, the Puppet Master, the Inhumans, Galactus, and a surprising new herald for the star-spanning, planet-ending character who is one of Kirby and Lee’s best creations. Byrne’s FF run is one of the few that come up to the high bar set by that duo, and I’m really happy to be re-reading it in this format.

[Joseph Sciancalepore]

Was glad to finally get around to reading at least part of John Byrne’s run on the Fantastic Four, considered by many to be the best run on the comic, and I can see why. Great writing and artwork by Byrne throughout and some great stories.

Highlights include character showcases for the Human Torch (in issue 233, the only issue in this collection I’d previously read), and the Invisible Girl (in issue 245). There were also some great multi-issue storylines focusing on Doctor Doom, Frankie Raye, and Galactus. Also significant is issue 235, featuring Ego the Living Planet, which obviously influenced 2017’s “Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.”

Some of the more disappointing bits in this collection include the Inhumans story in issue 240, which felt rushed and could have used another issue to improve its pacing, along with the Black Panther guest-starring issue 241, which had a very sudden and anti-climatic ending.

There’s an also a storyline that spans a few issues where the Thing is transformed to a form that more closely resembles how Jack Kirby drew him in the earliest FF issues. While it was nice to see Byrne get to draw this earlier form, the storyline doesn’t really go anywhere (despite some attempts at using it to create some drama around Ben’s relationship with Alicia), the Thing is quickly transformed back to his normal form, and it’s not really mentioned again.

Overall, a really good collection of FF stories.

[Gustavo666]

I thought most of the stories would be boring, given the era and my familiarity with modern comics, but I was pleasantly surprised by characters with very distinct and memorable personalities, and by original stories with interesting solutions that go beyond brute force (the heroes don't simply have more "power" than the villain—they defeat them strategically). What really marks this era is that the "show, don't tell" rule doesn't exist here, as the characters describe all their actions in a somewhat tiresome way. There are many text bubbles, even though the art is clear enough (it seems like the author thinks the reader is too stupid to understand the drawings). The story with the Puppet Master is one of the highlights. I also thought that I couldn't expect the kind of relevant continuity in story progression that's characteristic of the industry today, but I was wrong. There are some stories meant to be read independently, as a pastime, but in the end they are all tied up. It's a good run to get to know the Fantastic Four and its characters, and it's historically very interesting.

[Shawn Gallagher]

I can't give this enough stars. it's just the best

[Jamie]

This was a strong four-star collection until it got to the Hembeck Roast which pushed it over the top for me. Good 80s style fun.

[Isaac Woodman]

My favorite issues in all of the F4 is in this collection. A must-read.