Marvel’s Fantastic Four Releases Never Before Seen Content

Marvel will take fans back to the very beginning of Marvel’s first family and reveal never-before-seen content in Alex Ross’ Fantastic Four: Full Circle. An oversized, deluxe expanded edition ofthe award-winning graphic novel will arrive in October with commentary and unpublished preparatory material by the acclaimed artist.

Per Marvel, the upcoming edition of Fantastic Four: Full Circle will come with 288 additional pages of awe-inspiring bonus material from Ross. For context, the original graphic novel had 64 pages. Ross guides readers through his process and vision for making the Fantastic Four book, showcasing early visual concepts through final art. For the first time, the artist gives readers a peek behind the curtain, revealing his proposal, thumbnails, sketches, inks, color guides, models, and never-before-seen preliminary artwork, alongside all-new commentary.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle includes a reprint of the classic 1961 Marvel comic Fantastic Four #51 from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, which inspired the graphic novel. It also collects the subsequent run of covers from 2023, which Ross created for Marvel Comics, featuring the Fantastic Four in costumes designed for Full Circle.

Released in 2022, Ross’ Fantastic Four: Full Circle graphic novel had Marvel’s First Family back in the Negative Zone. Published by Abrams ComicArts, the graphic novel’s story description reads, “A quiet New York evening turns to chaos when an invader appears in the Baxter Building. The mystery of his arrival – and the subsequent swarm of invading parasites he leaves in his wake – leads the FF back into the Negative Zone… where, unbeknownst to them, the fate of the cosmos hangs in the balance.”

In an interview with CBR shortly after the book’s release, Ross revealed how he put his spin on the Fantastic Four tale inspired by Lee and Kirby. “I know that when I bring my photo-based form of dynamic realism to a subject it may allow people to see the characters in a new light,” he said.

Ross continued, “My hope is always to convince people that the original designs and looks were fine as they were and just need the care given to embellish them accurately. I’m someone who grew up on Kirby’s work directly, so I am always referring to his source when I put forth my interpretation. There is so much of Kirby’s style that can make the transition to our era now.”

Fantastic Four: Full Circle oversized, deluxe expanded edition will arrive in comic book shops on October 1, 2024.

Source: Marvel