Reddit reviews Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1
We found 23 Reddit comments about Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Reddit reviews Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1We found 23 Reddit comments about Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Forget about continuity, universes, timelines, etc; it's all very confusing, even to creators/fans. The best way to jump in is to just start reading.
How much time do you have for comics? The answer determines how expansive recommendations are. Regardless, don’t try to read everything. First appearances & early origins are not always good starting points—older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences. Remember, there are so many other great characters/stories/publishers to explore (and not all comics are about superheroes).
Think about your favorite stories from other media. What you might like to read in a comic? Are you more interested in good storytelling or becoming a Marvel knowledge nerd?
Creative teams change often and characters get re-worked e.g. I never cared for Hawkeye until Matt Fraction’s run. Focus on well-received and relatively self-contained stories. Pick an interesting character/team and seek their “greatest hits”. You may encounter the occasional unexplained reference/character/event—just ride along (Wiki if necessary).
Marvel Unlimited / Comixology for digital. instocktrades for physical (US). ISBNS for price aggregate.
Modern Marvel characters/teams:
Title | Writer | Note
---|---|---
Alias (Jessica Jones) | Bendis
Ultimates 1 & 2 (Avengers) | Mark Millar | Ultimate
Avengers / New Avengers | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 2
Captain America | Ed Brubaker
Captain Marvel | Kelly Sue DeConnick
Daredevil (1979) | Frank Miller | Daredevil 1
Daredevil | Bendis | Daredevil 2
Doctor Strange: The Oath | Brian K. Vaughn
Fantastic Four / FF | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 1
Hawkeye | Matt Fraction
Immortal Iron Fist | Brubaker & Fraction
Inhumans | Paul Jenkins
Iron Man: Extremis | Warren Ellis | Iron Man 1
Invincible Iron Man | Matt Fraction | Iron Man 2
Marvels (Marvel History) | Kurt Busiek
Moon Knight | Warren Ellis
Ms. Marvel | G. Willow Wilson
Planet Hulk | Greg Pack | Hulk 1
Punisher Max | Garth Ennis
Thor | Jason Aaron
Ultimate Spider-man | Bendis | Ultimate
Vision | Tom King
New X-Men | Grant Morrison | X-Men 1
Astonishing X-Men | Joss Whedon | X-Men 2
Uncanny X-Force | Rick Remender | X-Men 6
Events/crossovers can be fun and/or tedious. They are most appreciated by readers well-versed in relevant continuity. Generally, the best non-event comics integrate these seamlessly or avoid them entirely (notwithstanding editorial/executive mandates). Regardless, you may want to familiarize with major plot points.
Modern Marvel events/crossovers:
Title | Writer | Note
---|---|---
Avengers Disassembled | Bendis |
Secret War | Bendis |
House of M | Bendis | X-Men 2.5
Annihilation | Abnett, Lanning, Giffen | Cosmic
Civil War | Mark Millar |
World War Hulk | Greg Pak | Hulk 2
Annihilation: Conquest | Abnett, Lanning, Giffen | Cosmic
Messiah Complex | Brubaker, Kyle, Yost, et al. | X-Men 3
Secret Invasion | Bendis | Dark Reign
War of Kings | Abnett, Lanning, et al. | Cosmic
Messiah War | Kyle, Yost, Swierczynski | X-Men 4
Dark Avengers / Utopia | Bendis, Fraction, et al. | Dark Reign
Siege | Bendis | Dark Reign
Realm of Kings | Abnett, Lanning, Reed | Cosmic
Second Coming | Kyle, Yost, Fraction, et al. | X-Men 5
Fear Itself | Matt Fraction |
Schism | Jason Aaron, Kieron Gillen | X-Men 7
Avengers vs. X-Men | Bendis, Brubaker, et al. | X-Men 8
Infinity | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 2.5
Secret Wars | Jonathan Hickman | Hickman 3
Discover your preferences and let them inform your next comic selection. Do you like older/newer comics? Weird concepts? Super-smart meta-analysis and social commentary? Family-friendly content? Hyper-violence? Male/female protagonists? Humor? Horror? Have you noticed that a specific artist, writer, and/or creative team consistently produces content you like? Follow these instincts.
Suggestions to improve the list are welcome.
Here's the Amazon link to the first trade of Hickman's run. You'll appreciate everything more if you start from the beginning.
http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Four-Jonathan-Hickman-Vol/dp/0785136886/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1322496953&sr=1-1-catcorr
For Marvel Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite stories/characters from TV, movies, games, books, etc. Do you seek quality storytelling or encyclopedic Marvel knowledge? Plan to collect? What time/resources are available i.e. how many comics could/should be read before burning out?
Don’t try to read everything—there’s too much. Forget about “catching up”, continuity, universes, and timelines; it's all very confusing, even to creators/fans. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so first appearances/early origins may not be the best starting points. Creative teams change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told (e.g. I never cared for Hawkeye until Matt Fractions’ run).
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their “greatest hits”. Don’t get stuck “preparing”, just start reading. Focus on well-received, relatively self-contained, and complete stories. You may encounter the occasional unexplained reference/character/event—just ride along (Wiki if necessary). Remember, there are so many other great characters and publishers to explore, and not all comics are about superheroes.
Where to buy (US):
Modern Marvel characters/teams:
/r/Marvel sidebar for more info.
Events/crossovers can be fun and/or tedious. They are most appreciated by readers well-versed in relevant continuity. Generally, the best non-event comics integrate these seamlessly or avoid them entirely (notwithstanding editorial/executive mandates). Regardless, you may want to familiarize with major plot points.
Modern Marvel events/crossovers:
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Do you like: old/new comics? Specific genres? Literary/natural narratives? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? Social/political commentary? Family-friendly/explicit content? Optimism/pessimism? Have you noticed that a specific artist/writer consistently makes comics you like? Follow these instincts.
Suggestions to improve this guide are welcome.
This would be a great place to start. Very recent, great retelling of the origin.
I'll just list the first volume of each series, as they're similarly titled and easy to find on Amazon/wherever if you're looking. (Except Hickman...)
Stan Lee / Jack Kirby: Started it all, still the best. There's the Masterworks paperbacks (about 10 issues a trade) and the omnibus.
John Byrne: The next great run. Again, there're the Visionaries trades and the omnibus.
Walt Simonson: Just trades, as far as I can tell. They also seem to be out of print. (Not a particularly high-priority run, though, so don't worry about it.)
Mark Waid / Mike Wieringo: One of the top runs, easily. Right up there with Lee/Kirby and Hickman.
Jonathan Hickman: Recently ended, but already hailed as a landmark. The reading order is a little convoluted because there were two titles at one point. I'll list everything here. (Note: It's all been neatly ordered for the omnibus, so that's the easiest.) Hickman's run starts with a mini-series that tied into the ongoing Marvel status quo at the time, Dark Reign. Norman Osborn, formerly Spider-Man's nemesis the Green Goblin, is given control of the nation's security, starting a SHIELD replacement called HAMMER. While a tie-in, it does set up a major conceit of Hickman's run and I'd recommend reading it. Hickman starts on the book proper with #570 and continues until its cancellation at #588. The book is restarted as FF with a new #1. After #11 of that series, Fantastic Four is brought back with #600, while FF continues its own numbering. This is where things get tricky. Now that there are two titles written by the same guy about mostly the same characters, the reading order is a little wonky. The trades don't even attempt to address this, but I've provided Hickman's recommended order (which was used for the omnibus.)
You can read straight up to F4 588, then FF 1 through 11, then: F4 600, FF 12, F4 601, FF 13, F4 602, FF 14, F4 603, FF 15, F4 604, FF 16, F4 605, F4 605.1, F4 606, FF 17-18, F4 607-608, FF 19-21, F4 609-610, FF 22, F4 611, FF 23.\
Now, to step away from runs on the FF books proper, here's some mini-series and spin-offs worth reading:
A very long list that I believe is full of gems:
Preacher, Volume 1 by Ennis
Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Gaiman
Invincible: Family Matters by Kirkman
Southern Bastards
Kingdom Come
Marvels
Watchmen
Saga
Mind MGMT
Daredevil: The Man Without Fear
Batman: The Long Halloween
Pride of Baghdad
All Star Superman
The Walking Dead: Days Gone Bye
Thor: God of Thunder
Annihilation (read it digitally on Marvel Unlimited, finding it in print is costly)
Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Volume 1 (by far, my favorite take on the characters. Hickman writes them to perfection.)
Spider-Man: Kraven's Last Hunt
Hickman's Fantastic Four run from 2009 basically starts with this trade. There are 5 volumes of Fantastic Four and 3 of FF in his run (it started out as just Fantastic Four, changed it's name to FF partway through, and then split into two titles about ten issues later). That's a lot of comics to read through, but it's very well regarded by a lot of people. Sort of a sprawling epic of a story, which while it got somewhat dense and confusing in the middle, culminated with the best freakin' huge-ass comic book fight put to page in the last ten years (in my humble opinion)
Otherwise, FF is only on issue 8 and it's a very different book compared to Hickman's stuff before. The first three issues (along with the first 3 issues of Fraction's parallel run on Fantastic Four) are available in this trade.
I'm not a fan of She-Hulk or Ant-Man or the Inhumans in general, but I still love the title. It's delightfully wacky.
His entire run! It's 570-611 I believe.
Starts with this trade : http://www.amazon.com/dp/0785136886
Though the omnibus is coming out
Not every character is for everyone. I'm pretty sure there's just DC characters you can't get into either. I hear so much clamor for Ms. Marvel and it's just one book that I could not give a crap about.
Try Fantastic Four by Johnathan Hickman, it's incredibly fun and heartwarming. Marvel has plenty great writers with great stories, not everything is mutant angst or Captain America having to rally everybody together... again. If you're enjoying Action Comics or Batman/Superman, the writer Greg Pak is starting up a Storm series coming out this week that I'm getting hyped for.
In my opinion, Joss Whedon's run on Astonishing X-Men had two or three moments like that. It was a really good run.
Jonathan Hickman is really good at epic moments in his series. His work on Fantastic Four, Secret Warriors, and Avengers/New Avengers has more than their share.
The comics that inspired the Guardians movie also have some great moments. I'd particularly recommend the Annihilation event series. It's so good. Unfortunately, that series is kind of out of print at the moment, and the popularity of the movie has made second-hand copies pretty expensive. You should check out Marvel Unlimited, Marvel's digital subscription service. $10/month or $70/year for access to thousands of comics you can read on a PC or tablet. It's pretty great. Here's a reading guide for Annihilation and the stuff that comes after it: http://i.imgur.com/N7OXfyI.jpg
https://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/08/28/a-new-name-withheld-for-the-comics-industry/
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/reviews/0785136886/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_show_all_btm?ie=UTF8
And then sadly I read YouTube comments. I have talked to actual comic book store guys and not relied on the internet and they all liked it.
Mostly that it is slow and takes a while to build.
Introduction to Comics
How to Get Into Comic Books (13:40) | Patrick Willems
Consider your intent/commitment. Think about your favorite shows, movies, books, etc. Reading primarily for enjoyment or encyclopedic knowledge? Collecting? Have the time/resources to read 50 or 500 comics per character?
Don’t try to read everything at once. There’s too much. Forget about catching up, continuity, universes, etc. for now. Older comics can be an acquired taste for modern audiences, so they aren’t necessarily ideal starting points. Writers change often, characters get re-worked, and origins are re-told. Remember, there are many great characters, creators, publishers, etc. to explore.
Pick an interesting character/team and seek their most popular/acclaimed stories. Focus on self-contained, complete stories in one corner of the universe. There will be unexplained references/characters, just persevere or Wiki. Don’t let the tangled web of shared-universe comics overwhelm you. Think of it like solving a jigsaw puzzle one small piece at a time until you finally see the big picture.
Discover your preferences and let them guide you. Don’t get stuck preparing/over-analyzing, just start reading. Do you like/dislike old/new comics? Specific writers/genres? Cartoony/realistic art? Familiar/weird concepts? References/self-contained? All-ages/mature content? Follow these instincts. Didn’t understand a reference? Maybe read that next.
Acquire/Buy comics:
Marvel
DC
You can skip to the 2016 re-launch with DC Universe: Rebirth and then any Rebirth series #1.
Other
I'd definitely recommend reading Civil War, Millar's work really set a precedent for what the tone at Marvel was going to be like for the next few years after it was published, and if continuity is the name of your game Civil War has some of the greatest bearing.
Personally, I'm a huge Fantastic Four fan, and Hickman's run has been incredible thus far. Buy all of that, starting, of course, here.
Also Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. Greg Pak slays.
cursory amazon search found preowned copies for low prices: https://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Four-Jonathan-Hickman-Vol/dp/0785136886
if you can swing the $$$, Marvel Unlimited subscription is another way to do it.
but to answer your question, it's always reasonable to read Hickman.
his Avengers run is the best those characters have ever been; his Ultimates run was just perfect; and Infinity brought us the infinitely quotable Corvus Glaive (i still say 'a pittance, a portion' IRL at least once a week).
i'm a Hickman fan.
One of the best Fantastic Four runs ever is the one Jonathan Hickman is doing right now. It started at issue 570, and the first two volumes have already been collected in trades. I think volume 3 is due out soon. Of course, you may want to just wait a couple of years until the entire thing is done, pick it up all at once.
This one? http://www.amazon.com/dp/0785136886/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2I7KIVL5LJ5HS&coliid=I1Z1UDH3S7VIE2
Read the recent run by Jonathan Hickman.
http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Reign-Fantastic-Sean-Chen/dp/0785139087
http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Four-Jonathan-Hickman-Vol/dp/0785136886/ref=pd_sim_b_2
Try out Marvel's First Family, with Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four Vol. 1.
It's a great run that has elements of high concept sci-fi, classic superheroism, and all ages humor that works as a well developed introduction to the modern Fantastic Four.
Did you know Amazon will donate a portion of every purchase if you shop by going to smile.amazon.com instead? Over $50,000,000 has been raised for charity - all you need to do is change the URL!
Here are your smile-ified links:
Alias (Jessica Jones)
Avengers
The Ultimates 1-2 (Avengers)
New Avengers
Avengers
New Avengers
Black Panther
Captain America
Captain Marvel
Daredevil
Daredevil
Daredevil
Deadpool
Doctor Strange: The Oath
Fantastic Four / FF
Guardians of the Galaxy
Hawkeye
Immortal Iron Fist
Inhumans
Iron Man: Extremis
Invincible Iron Man
Marvels
Moon Knight
Ms. Marvel
Planet Hulk
Punisher Max
Thor
Ultimate Spider-man
Vision
New X-Men
Astonishing X-Men
Uncanny X-Force
Avengers Disassembled
Secret War
House of M
Annihilation
Civil War
World War Hulk
Annihilation: Conquest
Messiah Complex
Secret Invasion
War
Kings
Messiah War
Dark Avengers
Utopia
Siege
Realm of Kings
Second Coming
Fear Itself
Schism
Avengers vs. X-Men
Infinity
Secret Wars
---
^^i'm ^^a ^^friendly bot
Reading order
First volume
The current Iron Man run is pretty cool. Start with This TPB, the run is set to end in September or something like that. The current Fantastic Four run is hard to follow as far as numbering, but it is very, very good.
Daredevil is winning all kinds of awards for its current series. If you'd like some cool places to jump on in the next few months, Gambit #1 and Hawkeye #1 both release next month.
So that is Jonathan Hickman's Fantastic Four, Fantastic Family, Avengers, and New Avengers? I'm still having trouble navigating the short hand and editions.
Starting with this book?