Fantastic Four Fanfare

by Alan Davis, Mark Waid, Sara Pichelli (Illustrator)

All-star creators celebrate Marvel's First Family! Acclaimed writers and artists, many of them FANTASTIC FOUR legends, unite to tell stories worthy of Fanfare! From the escalating prank war between the Human Torch and the Thing to Johnny Storm's star-making turn on reality television! Friday the 13th spells trouble for the cosmic quartet when Reed Richards receives messages from himself in the future - and meet two of Doctor Doom's underlings responsible for their master's killer robot, the Seeker! Discover how Ben Grimm escaped Yancy Street! See the Thing and the Sandman reunite - but will it be as friends or foes? And revisit Ben's wrestling days! The Torch is declared the most attractive being in the known universe! The Invisible Woman clashes with the Mole Man! And the First Family braves a sinister carnival!

Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR FANFARE (2025) #1-4.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Paperback

Published February 3, 2026

About the author

Alan Davis is an English writer and artist of comic books, known for his work on titles such as Captain Britain, The Uncanny X-Men, ClanDestine, Excalibur, JLA: The Nail and JLA: Another Nail and others.

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

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.3 stars

[Jannes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this collection of short stories was super good and perfect for anyone who loves the fantastic four, the stories, the art, there was something for everyone, it’s amazing. I enjoyed this spectacular book a lot, I would even go so far as to say it was … fantastic!


——— SPOILER ALERT FROM THIS POINT ON ———


These were my notes while reading:

- I love that Johnny wrote multiple long books on prank ideas for Ben xD
- The Johnny and Ben Prank story was pretty fun
- Man that flame on in the methane filled cave was pure aura farming, love it
- The Life’s a gas story was super fun too, 2/2 good streak!
- Mole Man is a social media menace xD
- I love that spidey and she-hulk just joined in
- „Can we find the woman who can make this mole man … a whole man?“ is too funny
- Love isle was pretty funny too and a good read 3/3
- Bro didn’t know sue was such a horror fan xD
- The little twist at the end was fun
- Dinner and a movie was still good, but not quite as fun as the others, still 4/4 though
- I wasn’t so sure about future uncertain in the beginning and I thought I wouldn’t like it, also the artstyle didn’t appeal to me at all, but then suddenly the artstyle changed and it got way more interesting so I still count it as a 5/5
- Man I love the classic suit on Reed in hide and seeker, looks awesome
- Hide and seeker was really fun too and that classic style looks amazing definitely 6/6
- I love how Ben is recognized to be more than just the clobberin time guy and actually the best pilot in the universe
- I really like fight or flight for flashing out Ben for what he is and his relationship to Reed 7/7
- I love that Ben and Flint are besties, a match made in heaven xD
- Sandman captain america is giving Spanish mode buzz lightyear vibes
- Very fun read the another round short story, I like the friendship between the two of them 8/8
- Universal appeal was a fun little story too, I wasn’t a big fan of the middle part but the ending was pure gold, probably 9/9
- „Ain’t no grave“ was amazing, it looked incredible the story is super good, especially the comparison to phantom of the opera. And all that in just a short little story of a few pages, incredible! 100000% the 10/10 in both ways
- Sue is so menacing holy, love that! It’s cool to see her as focus on the last two stories
- One night was alright, it was fun but nothing too crazy 11/11 though
- Daniel Warren Johnson, my GOAT
- I love Ben, the way he instantly clicked with the crowd is awesome! Also those fight moves, god damn
- Man I dislike namor in every comic I read, also in marvel rivals xD
- „Clobberin Time“ was super goated though, definitely 12/12 a perfect score for these short stories
- Overall all some were better than others, but all were at the very least good and really well portrayed the individual members of the Fantastic four
- This comic just shows the reason I fell in love with the fantastic four in the first place and is a must read for every FF fan, there’s something for everyone here
- My favorite stories were (in no particular order): „Ain’t no Grave“ and „Clobberin Time“
- „Hide and Seeker“ is an honorable mention, I especially liked the classic look and feel of this story

[Matthew Kresal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies are always a curious beast. An often eclectic mix of authors (and artists), it lead to just as mixed results of variations on themes and ideas. In the case of Fantastic Four Fanfare, a dozen writers and even more artists and colorists taking on and celebrating the legacy of Marvel’s First Family. Originally published as four issues, Fanfare is collected into a highly enjoyable single volume.

Enjoyable in no small part because it captures so much of what has made them endure for more than sixty years. There are stories that capture the retro feel of days gone by both in the writing and especially in artwork, such as Hide and Seeker!. Others feel up to date and more modern in their sensibilities. In some cases (such as Jonathan Hickman’s Dinner and a Movie) you get a sense that the writer just wanted to have a bit of fun with a team that clearly know and love. Reading Fanfare then is a lot like taking in the weather where you live: wait long enough and you’re going to get something different in front of you.

Perhaps inevitably given the format, it’s the more character driven pieces that are the best efforts. John Tyler Christopher’s Future Uncertain is a wonderful piece for Reed, with the artwork reflecting his changing state of mind. Dan Slott and Marcos Martin’s Fight or Flight offers a portrait of Ben Grimm’s life through important moments in his life, exploring how the troubled boy from Yancy Street became the Thing. Sue Storm comes front and center in a story from J. Michael Straczynski featuring the Mole Man that offers in a few pages a compelling portrait of the her as the team’s heart and soul. Of the four, Johnny Storm is perhaps lacking a strong character story but a pair of stories (one featuring him on a reality TV show and another where he’s named the universe’s most attractive being) are fun but comparatively light fare. All of these are worth picking up Fanfare to read in their own right.

Running the width and breadth of styles and themes, Fanfare is very much a celebration of the Fantastic Four. Not always to all tastes, but how could anything trying to encapsulate something that’s lasted sixty plus years be everything to every reader? At its best moments, whether you’re a fan of Marvel’s First Family past or present, or simply looking to enjoy some standalone tales, it’s well worth picking up.

[Alex Sarll]

Given the vogue for three-colour anthologies lately, we should probably be grateful this wasn't Fantastic Four: Blue, Red & Orange, but otherwise the format is similar: four issues, three stories each, a mix of big names and newer creators. Beyond the inevitable patchiness of any anthology, its big weakness is sequencing; why kick off with two consecutive stories about Johnny pranking Ben, or have the concluding issue feature similarly back-to-back offerings about Sue being the really formidable member of the team? As for the absolutely baffling closing tale, well, I suppose at least it wasn't a cloying mope, which for Daniel Warren Johnson is progress. Still, despite the odd arrangement of the components, there's some really fun stuff here, especially the gorgeous Dan Slott/Marcos Martin flashback to Ben's early years, and the endearingly daft Zdarsky/Allreds contribution in which Johnny is barely surprised to find himself nominated the galaxy's sexiest man. Even when the stories hop planets and planes, they tend to stay smaller scale, which you might say was inevitable given the page count, but under current writer Ryan North the main FF book has repeatedly shown how big you can go in a small space. Understandably, he doesn't do double duty here, though otherwise there's a place for basically anyone who's done a fondly remembered FF and still has an in at Marvel – and also for JMS, who is of course the one exception to what I said about scale, attempting a grand retcon and rationalisation of the Mole Man which...well, at least it doesn't mention totems.

[Greg L Goldstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anthologies like this are always a bit of a mixed bag — an eclectic mix of writers, artists, styles, and ideas, which usually means the results are a little mixed, too.

Fantastic Four Fanfare mostly lands on the fun side of that equation. Originally published as four separate issues, it features a dozen writers and even more artists (and colorists) taking their shot at Marvel’s First Family, with stories that celebrate the FF’s history, tone, and legendary mythology.

Collected in one volume, it’s an enjoyable --- if a bit lightweight ---package, uneven in the way anthologies almost always are, but with enough charm, variety, and affection for the source material to make it worth the trip.

[Kash · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag but overall fun. You get to see many takes, timelines and different styles.

The ones with Johnny and/or Ben were usually the funniest (Johnny in Love Island and their adventure as hottest man in the galaxy especially). Slott and Martin's story was a highlight. The villains, especially Mole man and Sandman, got their own space too.

I wish the stories had given Sue, and surprisingly, Reed, more to do. The one she got for herself was underwhelming but the art was pretty. As for Reed, he had an interesting story that would have benefited from having just a coupleore pages.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

the Slott issue was really good outside of that i wasn't a fan of the stories.

[Andres Pasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un número por integrante de la familia

[Ross · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marvel needed another anthology TPB?

It's a mix of modern and classic short stories with the FF as the focus. Featuring such classics as Sue's bell haircut and Johnny's pornstache.

[Doom70 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun collection of Fantastic Four stories.

[Zach · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first 2 issues were a lot of fun, but it felt like we lost more and more interest in the later two issues

[Brannigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun series of short stories compiled together from a lot of big and small name writers and artists.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of shorts, and overall a live letter

[Beckyyy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I would totally watch a full season of love island with Johnny Storm