After the widely publicized death of Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four #587 and the planned cancellation of the series in issue #588, it’s easy to wonder what Marvel has planned for what remains of their first family. All that is known is that a new series, simply titled FF, has been announced for March to take Fantastic Four’s place.
Today, Marvel released a story on their website announcing exactly what readers can expect for this new series. FF #1 will be an over-sized issue written by Jonathan Hickman with pencils and cover by Steve Epting. This new direction will feature Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman and The Thing joining with Spider-Man and “top-secret members to form an unstoppable force: The Future Foundation.” The new costume designs were done by Marko Djurdjevic and a special variant cover by Daniel Acuna will be available as well.
Marvel’s website described the book by saying, “Their mission is simple: Save the Marvel Universe from its greatest threats and prevent future dangers from arising. But even with knowledge of what’s to come and one of the most powerful teams ever assembled, just what villainous force could stand in their way?”
“FF will alter the very fabric of the Marvel Universe,” explained Tom Brevoort, Senior Vice President of Publishing and editor of FF #1. “Jonathan and Steve have crafted a unique, powerful new series that’s going to surprise a lot of fans with its combination of mind-blowing ideas and visuals.”
Brevoort’s quote in the above image is difficult to read, but it says, “The point of these new costumes is to really hammer home that everything is fresh and new in the series again – and that it feels like a black-and-white world, following Johnny’s death. Marko Djurdjevic took my suggestion of “white outfits” and ran with it. The hexagonal emblems were all him.”
Marvel is saying that FF #1 is a perfect jumping on point for new readers who aren’t necessarily familiar with Fantastic Four. Whether the promotional stunt that was the “death” of Johnny Storm coupled with this new direction will bring new life to the series remains to be seen. FF #1 is scheduled for release on March 23, 2011.
Ian Candish
Ian@ComicImpact.com