News Archive

Here in the News Archive, older news items concerning the Fantastic Four can be found. Stock information on Marvel Entertainment Group can be seen at the right courtesy of Yahoo.

For archived news, use the search options below. Note that not specifying a start date will default the search to only the past 75 days.

July 6, 2007

* We just realized that we haven't yet posted any box office totals from Rise of the Silver Surfer. As of July 2, the movie has grossed $116,121,001 in the United States and another $82,500,523 throughout the rest of the world for a total thus far of $198,621,524. In the nearly three weeks the movie has been open, it already ranks eighth in movies released this year.

June 29, 2007

* This comes in from Movies.com...

Fantastic Four, Spider-Man 3, Transformers -- it wouldn't feel like summer without a spate of big blockbusters to satiate the millions of graphic novel enthusiasts (and even the ones who won't admit to still reading comic books!).

Movies.com has put together the ultimate guide for cinephile/comic fans, to go live on the site Friday, June 29. Check it out early at http://movies.go.com/comics/. The feature will include an exclusive interview with the godfather of it all, Stan Lee! Stan offers sage advice, how he felt about Bryan Singer translating his X-Men series onto the silver screen, and his chat with the new Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr.

* Cartoon Network has announced their lineup of new Fantastic Four cartoons for July. (All episodes will air at 9:30 pm EST.)
o "ANNIHILATION" on Saturday, July 14
The Fantastic Four fall into a trap and are taken to the Negative Zone, where they're attacked by Annihulus and his warriors. But all is not as it seems - something in the Zone is affecting the Four's powers. Things go from bad to worse when Doctor Doom arrives, apparently in league with Annihilus! But Doom isn't one to share power, and he takes Annihilus' energy source back to Earth with him. But even if the Four can escape Annihilus, how can they defeat Doom, who now has the power to destroy the world?
o "DE-MOLE-ITION" on Saturday, July 21
The deviant monster Giganto bursts up from the underground, putting a quick stop to the Fantastic Four's day off. Now it's up to them to stop the monster from destroying the city. But the FF quickly realize that the giant monster has a specific target... the Baxter Building! The mystery of the monster's appearance will lead the FF deeper into Subterranea than they've ever gone, and right into a trap. The Mole Man sent Giganto to attack the FF, but has a grander scheme in the works. Because the only thing better than having Giganto destroy the FF is to control an army of Gigantos.
o "REVENGE OF THE SKRULLS" on Saturday, July 28
Susan forces the rest of the team to take part in "Fantastic Fifth for a Day," an attempt to drum up a little good PR for the team. But the contest is interrupted by the return of the Skrulls. The FF aren't exactly worried by the awkward shape shifting aliensŠ that is, until they reveal the Super Skrull! The team realizes they're in trouble, especially when they learn the Super Skrull, who already possesses all of the FF's powers, has teamed up with Ronan the Accuser! The FF's only hope might lie in the hands of the "Fantastic Fifth..." a nerdy teenager named Rupert.
o "STRINGS" on Saturday, August 4
The Fantastic Four are evicted from the Baxter Building! The sinister Puppet Master has managed to turn the entire city against the FF from inside his prison cell, and it's up to them to clear their good names. What's more, they must stop Puppet Master from completing his ultimate goal -- to control the mind of every person on the planet!
* Recently, writer Mike Carey spoke with Comic Book Resources about his work on Ultimate Fantastic Four...

I don't think they are entirely mature. I think they're sort of very much learning as they go. Reed in particular is a conundrum because obviously, intellectually he's a giant in the world. Yet, he still is a teenager. He's still making it up as he goes along. He's young. He's passionate. He makes mistakes. Some of those mistakes are very significant and he has to live with the consequences...

I think in the case of Johnny and Ben, even in the regular FF, they've often been shown to be more impulsive, unpredictable, and emotional but with the regular FF they have Reed and to some extent Sue to pull them back in again don't they? The Ultimate FF isn't Reed's team in the way that 616 FF very much is. They're all more on equal footing...

I see Ultimate FF as an extended love poem to Stan [Lee] and Jack [Kirby]. I grew up reading those early FF issues. They shaped my mind and imagination to a large extent. What I love about writing Ultimate FF is that you can go back to those stories and mine them for their incredible wealth of character and invention that are there and introduce them to a new generation...

Obviously we've seen a Surfer or a number of Surfers in Warren Ellis's Ultimate Galactus Trilogy. This is the first time we've seen this Surfer though, Norrin Rad. We do make a nod in passing to those other Surfers, and give a tentative explanation for how they came to be, but Norrin Rad is different and unique. We know nothing about his agenda, his allegiances, his motivation, or what's brought him to Earth beyond the accident of Reed's fishing expedition...

Our Psycho-Man is cut from the same cloth as the original. So we're talking about yet another megalomaniacal character in a way, but in this case it really is a character that has been the king of an entire world and has ruled over billions of people. He's somebody who's an intellect on par with Reed and arguably even greater. He has psionic powers; he's capable of manipulating emotions. He also has a wealth of incredible technologies at his beck and call. What he does to his planet's inhabitants pretty much has to be seen to be believed. It's something pretty out of the ordinary...

Zenn-La is the Psycho-Man's planet in this story. It's not a tyrannical world. It's a paradise. It's a paradise with a snake in it but the people who live on the world are perfectly, blissfully happy...

Issue #50 is where the Cosmic Cube will hit big time. Things will be resolved. It's going to be a big story and a big issue...

Some profound changes are going to come to the Reed-Sue relationship; some profound and quite traumatic changes. Reed is going to go through some pretty dark moments. The tension between him and his father is coming to the fore again as a plot element and we'll be returning to that theme. We'll also be putting Ben through some uncomfortable emotional moments.

June 22, 2007

* The Pulse had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Stan Lee himself and they got around to talking about his upcoming "Last Fantastic Four" story...

Actually, I was mostly motivated by the fact that they asked me. It's great to be asked! But of course it was a kick to write a story that would sort-of bookend the beginning and the end of the good ol' FF...

I mean, how do you do a story that will seem to end a popular series without getting the fans up in arms? To me, one of the greatest "pros" is tackling a story which seems almost tackle-proof. That's what makes writing so much fun...

I knew it wasn't really the final story and I'm sure the fans knew it, too. It was just an exercise in "What If?" and what could be more fun than that...

John [Romita] Jr. is the most worthy heir to the legend of his dad that you could ever find. Unfortunately for me, he came on the scene after I had pretty much stopped writing series for Marvel and we never had a chance to work together. But now I can always say I've worked with TWO of the finest artists in all of comicdom...

Perhaps I'm prejudiced, but I think our far-out foursome are pretty perfect as they are. I might decide to introduce some additional new characters, but I'd really be reluctant to tamper with Reed's fantastic little foursome themselves...

* And, of course, solicitations for September...
o FANTASTIC FIVE #5 (of 5)
Written by TOM DEFALCO
Penciled by RON LIM
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
With the Earth already conquered and his teammates dying, Reed Richards faces his final battle with Doctor Doom--and only one will survive!
o FANTASTIC FOUR #550
Written by DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Penciled by PAUL PELLETIER
Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
Reed and Sue team up with the New FF in a desperate gambit to find the source of the disease wracking the fabric of spacetime itself. Only one being can follow such an ineffable trail but a resentful Silver Surfer is in no mood to help King T'Challa. Plus Dr. Strange, The Watcher, and the awesome destiny of Gravity!
o FANTASTIC FOUR AND POWER PACK #3
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Pencils and Cover by GURIHIRU
DR. DOOM has captured FRANKLIN RICHARDS and brought him back to Latveria to use the boy as a pawn in his latest fiendish plot against the FF - but he's accidentally captured POWER PACK along with Frank! Alex, Julie, Jack and Katie have to fight their way through Castle Doom to rescue their friend and defeat their most formidable foe yet ... but ... could that be exactly what Doom wants?
o FRANKLIN RICHARDS: MONSTER MASH
Written by MARC SUMERAK & CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
Cover and Art by CHRIS ELIOPOULOS
Things get frightful this Fall as Franklin Richards returns to explore the deepest, darkest corners of his father's lab. Join Franklin and H.E.R.B.I.E. as they unleash all kinds of monstrous adventure! It's five brand new tales that will be so much fun it's downright scary!
o MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #28
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by CORY HAMSCHER
Cover by PAUL SMITH
The populace of Earth hates and fears the stranded SILVER SURFER. But he falls in with a TV self-help guru who encourages him to win the planet over to his side -- by solving all the world's problems! Wielding the Power Cosmic, the Silver Surfer single-handedly wipes out famine, poverty and war, becoming the most popular super hero ever -- as well as the greatest threat to Earth's continued existence! Why does the Fantastic Four have to stop the Surfer from…saving the world?
o NEW AVENGERS #34
Written by BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS
Pencils & Cover by LEINIL FRANCIS YU
WOLVERINE VERSUS THE HOOD!! LUKE CAGE VERSUS JESSICA JONES!! What?? The New Avengers try to learn to live and love each other now that they know they cannot trust each other. And baby Cage's name is revealed!!
o SILENT WAR TPB
Written by DAVID HINE
Penciled by FRAZER IRVING
Cover by JOHN WATSON
SON OF M told how Quicksilver stole the precious Terrigen Mists from the Inhumans and how Black Bolt retaliated by declaring war on humanity. Now that war is about to break loose as Gorgon leads a terrorist attack on New York. Old friends become deadly enemies when the Fantastic Four are forced to defend their city against the Inhumans. Collecting SILENT WAR #1-6
o ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #46
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils & Cover by PASQUAL FERRY
SILVER SURFER
The F.F. are forced into an uneasy alliance with the alien known as the Silver Surfer to combat the Psycho-Man, who has six billion fanatical followers…all kidnapped from their home planet-Earth. Despite their power, how can even the Fantastic Four rescue a populace from itself? The answer will shock you. Part 5 (of 5)
o UNCANNY X-MEN #490
Written by ED BRUBAKER
Pencils & Cover by SALVADOR LARROCA
"EXTREMISTS"
Why are the Morlocks terrorizing innocent people? What is their endgame? That's what Storm and the X-Men are trying to find out. All the while, Professor X and Nightcrawler are on the trail of Magneto! Part 4 (of 5)

June 15, 2007

* The Los Angeles Times is reporting that 20th Century Fox already has begun developing a Fantastic Four spin-off movie starring the Silver Surfer -- with former writer of the FF comic, J. Michael Straczynski, providing the screenplay. The column claims that the Surfer feature would be considerably darker in tone that the Fantastic Four films.

June 8, 2007

* Comics Continuum spoke briefly with director Tim Story about the upcoming Fantastic Four film...

Of course one of the biggest things that I heard and knew about was the fact that they wanted Ben Grimm's brow bigger and bigger. We had it rather large at some point and found that the biggest problem I ran into was that you couldn't light his eyes...

Any time I lit a set, his eyes would be in shadow, and (Michael) Chiklis, who was so amazing at being this character, the last thing we wanted to do was hide his eyes from everybody. so we actually had to scale back the brow from what we were originally thinking we were gonna go...

They [the fans] just wanted action, action, action, which was the main point that I got from most. And I think we deliver on that 100 percent...

In the early parts of, through pre-production and the early parts of filming, I continued to read things on the web and just anything that I can use and kinda bring to the screen, I would,

June 1, 2007

* Comics Continuum reported earlier this week that the Fantastic Four is returning to Cartoon Network at 9:30 on Saturdays this June with new episodes, including appearances by Sub-Mariner, Impossible Man, Puppet Master and Doctor Doom. The episodes scheduled so far are:
o "IMPERIUS REX," on Saturday, June 9:
Susan and Johnny witness the arrival of Namor, the Sub-Mariner, who bans humankind from using the oceans of the world. Susan takes Johnny (who hates the water with a passion) under the sea, hoping to reason with Namor. Instead, the siblings become prisoners of Namor in the fabled city of Atlantis. Reed and Ben fight their way through a swath of undersea monsters to come to their rescue, but Namor proves to be a formidable foe. And even worse, impressed by Susan's eloquent pleas for peace, he decides to keep her in Atlantis as an ambassador.
o "PUPPET MASTER," on Saturday, June 16:
When a cosmic-ray saturated piece of the Fantastic Four's space station falls to earth on the Jersey Shore, the clay of eccentric local sculptor Phillip Masters, becomes energized with the power to control the minds and actions of others. The sculptor becomes The Puppet Master and uses miniature clay versions of the Fantastic Four to control the real heroes. Puppet Master captures award-winning New York artists, including his own step-daughter, Alicia, in an attempt to take over his "rightful place" in the art world.
o "IMPOSSIBLE," on Saturday, June 23:
Reed summons one of his deep space probes back to the Baxter Building for repairs, only to find that someone has hitched a ride on it back to Earth: the Impossible Man! The small, impish alien seems harmless enough, but the Fantastic Four soon realize that this creature, who can turn into anything, has turned into a big problem for them! Now they have to figure out how to get the Impossible Man off the planet before he goes from "annoying" to "dangerous!"
o "BAIT AND SWITCH," on Saturday, June 30:
While Reed conducts an experiment designed to cure Ben Grimm, there's an energy disruption which causes the experiment to go haywire! Now the Fantastic Four's powers have switched, but they don't have time to get used to them before they have to save the city. Because the energy disruption that caused the accident was the work of Doctor Doom, and now the FF, new powers and all, have to stop Doom before he destroys the city with his scheme.
* Marvel Entertainment has appointed Alan Fine to the newly created position of Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Marvel Characters, Inc. which owns and licenses Marvel's intellectual property library. As Chief Marketing Officer for Marvel Characters, Fine will be responsible for directing and coordinating Marvel's efforts to support and strengthen its brands.

Fine, who joined Marvel in 1996, will retain his current title of Chief Executive Officer of Marvel's publishing and toy divisions. Fine's new position reflects Marvel's renewed emphasis on further developing its brand name and marketing its vast library of characters across current and emerging platforms.

Fine has served as Chief Executive Officer of Marvel's toy and publishing divisions since 1998 and 2004, respectively.
* Writer Tom DeFalco spoke with The Pulse recently about his upcoming Fantastic Five...

The Fantastic Five is just the next generation of the Fantastic Four. When the team was first introduced wa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-y back in What If #105 (which also introduced Spider-Girl to the world), it consisted of John Storm--The Human Torch, Lyja Storm--Ms. Fantastic, Franklin Richards--Psi-Lord, Ben Grimm--the Thing and Big Brain--a robot controlled by Reed Richards. We also had Torus Storm, Johnny and Lyja's son. Sue Richards and the real Reed have since returned to the team. Doctor Doom's former ward Kristoff (who now calls himself Doom) also hangs out at F5 headquarters and so does Ben's kids--Alyce and Jacob! I guess, if you want to get technical, we should really call the book Fantastic Ten...

However, I need to make something absolutely clear to all your readers. They don't have to know ANYTHING about the MC2 Universe (Marvel Comics 2nd Universe) to enjoy the new F5 Limited Series. Ron Lim and I will give them all the information they will need in order to enjoy this particular series. While it may be helpful if they have read a Fantastic Four comic in the course of their lives, even that really isn't necessary. This will be a Hoo-Ha adventure in the classic Marvel style and it's bursting with action and angst in the Merry Marvel manner...

When I was recently asked to do this F5 limited series, I immediately called Paul [Ryan], but he's just too busy drawing the Phantom comic strip, which still appears in fine newspapers across the entire world. The next guy I called was Ron Lim, because he did a simply amazing job of our recent Avengers Next series...

This is the first real appearance of Doctor Doom in the MC2 Universe. We find out where he's been all these years and why he's aching for revenge. He has a plan to conquer the world and--maybe the entire universe--and he's also going to finally settle up with Reed Richards...

The joy of the MC2 comics is all in our attitude. We produce the kind of comics that remind the older fans why they first fell in love with comics and we provide a chance for new readers to fall in love the first time. Our comics are stuffed with incidents, conflicts and just plain visual fun…and every individual issue is totally accessible for a new reader!

* Getting to some news surrounding the film, Gold's Gym has begun a Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer promotion. You can enter for a chance to win a five-day, four-night trip to one of four destinations. You can come back and enter every day, so you have multiple chances to win! Full details are on their web site.

May 25, 2007

* As a promotion for this summer's Rise of the Silver Surfer, Fox Studios has teamed up with the Franklin Mint to produce 40,000 Silver Surfer quarters....

Those who find the Silver Surfer coin can go to the movie website (http://www.riseofthesilversurfer.com/) and register to win a Four-day trip for Four to the World Premiere of Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer in London. The grand prize winner will be announced on June 1st.

The first Four people to go online to report Silver Surfer coin findings will receive a special private screening of Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer for their friends and family in their hometown the night before the film's nationwide release (June 14th).

Every person who finds a Silver Surfer coin will be eligible to visit the movie's website on a daily basis to flip the virtual coin for a chance to win Fantastic instant prizes.

* Writer Fred Van Lente spoke with The Pulse recently about his work on the upcoming Fantastic Four and Power Pack...

I was a big fan of the original series so the teaming of the FF with Power Pack seemed very natural to me, since Franklin Richards was one of the mainstays of the first team. So I came up with an idea whereby Jack Power becomes Frank's protector at school, a la "My Bodyguard." I know Frank is Katie Power's age, but I figured he's so smart, being a Son of a Genius and all, he'd get bumped up to Jack's grade.

I was also excited to use Dr. Doom, one of my top three favorite Marvel characters. In essence, Doom's latest and exceptionally evil (even by his standards) plan to destroy Reed Richards requires Franklin in order to pull it off, and Power Pack gets sucked in because of their relationship with Frank...

I was able to relate to Franklin in that fish-out-of-water kind of way. He gets dumped into a higher grade after being home-tutored by robots and computers in the Baxter Building. He's immediately a magnet for the other kids, some of whom suck up to him because his parents are world-famous superheroes, and some of whom want to kick his ass on the playground for the same reason...

The pacing is pretty relentless, and, yes, there's a pretty stunning cliffhanger at the end of each issue -- although the biggie is at the end of #3...

I love Power Pack in the sense that it's fun to see the Marvel Universe, and superheroing in general, through a kid's eyes, and I enjoy finding the humor in that. The FF are my favorite Marvel heroes, and I get my Fantastic fix over on Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four, where I'm the regular writer-- however, there's no Franklin in MAFF, so that was fun to explore that aspect of the mythos in the Pack mini.

* Another writer, Don Payne, spoke earlier with Comic Book Resources about Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer...

They knew they wanted to use Silver Surfer. They knew they wanted to use Dr. Doom. And they had some ideas about where they wanted the characters to be at this moment in their lives and in their career, so I just took that and went with it. There are little surprises in there that I don't want to spoil that they had a couple of ideas for. Where are the characters now? Well, Reed and Sue are engaged, going to be married; Ben is at a pretty good place right now because of his relationship with Alicia, he's more confident in his own skin; and Johnny's Johnny -- he's got his own issues in this that we don't want to spoil or get into, but he's pretty consistent...

Well, you always have to go back to the comics, that's the source material, certainly because we're doing the Silver Surfer story we're pulling from #48-50, right? And we're also doing 57-60, I believe it's a Dr. Doom/Silver Surfer story, and we're also using moments from "Ultimate Extinction" as well, a couple of things, and some new stuff that I've thrown in...

Well, it's always a challenge to come on board a franchise that's up and running, especially one that's so important to me personally and so important to so many people out there. You want to get it right. You want to make it fun. You want to be true to the comic, but be able to please a general audience as well and make it entertaining for them. When you write a spec, before you sell it, it's a little universe you created and you're playing God and you can do whatever you want and you can get it exactly the way you want it, at some point. Eventually you have to turn it over, it becomes this collaborative process, but at some point you get to play God and make things exactly the way you want it. But with a franchise film like this, especially one based on pre-existing characters, you can never do that. It's got a history and there are a lot of people involved, there's the studio, there's Marvel, the Producers, Tim Story, the director and you're trying to reconcile people's visions and your own and make it coherent, first of all, and entertaining and fun for everyone...

There were certain things I wanted to do. It's easy to be a Monday morning quarterback and see what went right, what went wrong. I think what I wanted to do in this was make Reed more of a leader. I thought as leader of the Fantastic Four Ioan did a great job, but I thought the character could be a little tougher, a little more assertive, especially when dealing with such strong personalities. So, that's the first thing I wanted to do. What else? I wanted to make Dr. Doom more evil, like he is in the comics, push him away from the corrupt billionaire and turn him into somebody more threatening and more intimidating...

I think it was a real challenge writing the first film because everyone was trying to find their footing, ya know. I think it would have been a challenge for any writer in that situation. It would have been easier to make Doom the level of evil that everyone knows and loves had he not been a billionaire in the first one, but we're getting there...

I just saw a documentary online, on YouTube where Jack Kirby refers to the Silver Surfer as a fallen angel and I think that's a good analogy. I think he's one of the most complicated characters in comic book history, maybe the most complicated. He's done this amazing selfless act by saving his own planet and giving up the woman he loves to save her life and yet he's become a part of this horrible genocide on a cosmic scale and there's a moral ambiguity there. He's a noble character who has this zen-like detachment from his actions and ultimately starts to become human again, although he's not human.

* Speaking of the movie, there was a press conference on Tuesday in which the cast answered a number of questions. Here are some snippets...

McMahon: He's just a little more evil because he's coming back for revenge, I think. And then we have the new suit, which is pretty kind of extraordinary. I just wore it for the first time last week. It looks amazing. I can't tell you too much about it, but it's very evil. But at the same time, it's not that evil. I always pictured this movie as kind of a kids movie, so you don't want to be that evil that the little kiddies can't be watching it.

Gruffudd: Finally, Reed Richards has taken center stage. He's come more to the forefront. He's much more comfortable with his role as the leader and as sort of the father figure of the family. And I'm delighted about that. It's a lot more interesting character to play, compared to the first one, where he was a little more nerdy or darkish. This time, I'm stepping up to the plate and I'm becoming the leader.

Chiklis: ... the hero suit itself isn't much improved, meaning when I'm dressed in the Fantastic Four garb. That you really can't fake because he's bare-chested. That one I'm only in, fortunately, about 25 percent of the movie. In the rest of the movie ... and it's quite really cute, I think, when you see him in the tuxedo for instance. So when I'm dressed in wardrobe, we've been able to use a much more lightweight material that breathes. It just creates the appearance of bulk without the intense discomfort. It's able to come off and on very, very quickly. So this has been a markedly more comfortable experience -- and much more healthful, frankly.

Gruffudd: There's certainly a lot more green-screen this time round. To be perfectly honest, the preparation for that sort of process is to get yourself a lot of DVDs and a lot of PlayStation games, because you're going to spend a lot of time in your trailer. That's just the nature of green-screen because it's so precise and it's such an art in that sense, it takes so long for them to set it up just for one particular shot. And you come onto the set and you're quite literally working for two or three takes, which took about maybe 10 minutes. And they set it up for the last hour-and-a-half.

Chiklis: But I have to say, like last week, I got to work with a 10-foot tall, 1,650-pound Kodiak bear. And that's one of the reasons why I love this business. Because that's something you don't get to do in life, to stand in front of a predator, six feet away like that. In spite of whatever discomfort I've had to go through, it's been quite exhilarating and thrilling sometime. And getting in the Fantasticar... they made a huge bucket seat for me. I fit in there fine. They've accommodated me in whatever ways they've been able to to make it livable. It's been fine.

* And, last but not least, we've got FF-related solicitations for August...
o BLACK PANTHER #30
Written by REGINALD HUDLIN
Penciled by FRANCIS PORTELA
Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM
"GOOD EATIN" Part 3
After taking a wrong turn on the dimensional super highway, the New Fantastic Four have just become the daily special in the Zombie Universe! Seated at table one: Zombie Galacti! At table two: Zombie Skrulls! And at table three: a Zombie Monster from the Negative Zone! Well the Black Panther, Storm, the Human Torch and the Thing better come up with a perfect escape plan…or are they destined to be zombified.
o FANTASTIC FIVE #3 & 4 (of 5)
Written by TOM DEFALCO
Penciled by RON LIM
Cover by CLAYTON HENRY
Though his metal implants have been destroyed, a severely wounded but still fighting mad Ben Grimm must take on the cosmically-powered Dr. Doom, who reveals unexpected super-allies in his quest to destroy the Fantastic Five and conquer the entire world!
o FANTASTIC FOUR #549
Written by DWAYNE MCDUFFIE
Penciled by PAUL PELLETIER
Cover by MICHAEL TURNER
The Frightful Four have made a tragic miscalculation in their plans for revenge, as Reed and Sue have now returned to the FF—and that makes the odds six to four…
o FANTASTIC FOUR AND POWER PACK #2 (of 4)
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Pencils and Cover by GURIHIRU
Stop! Read this! Have you seen these missing children? JACK POWER, brown hair, brown eyes, can expand his density into a cloudy mass or shrink down to a fraction of his size, also answers to "MASS MASTER." He is probably with FRANKLIN RICHARDS, blond hair, blue eyes, wearing a t-shirt with a "4" on it, also answers to "SON OF A GENIUS." They've run away from home together to make careers as solo heroes, and Power Pack has to track them down before KRAVEN THE HUNTER does!
o THE LAST FANTASTIC FOUR STORY
Written by STAN LEE
Pencils and Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Legendary writer and Fantastic Four co-creator Stan Lee unites with artist John Romita Jr. to tell his final story of the team that started the Marvel age!
o MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #27
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by CORY HAMSCHER
Cover by PAUL SMITH
And you thought meeting your girlfriend's parents was uncomfortable... The Human Torch invites his new heartthrob Crystal's family over to the Baxter Building for dinner with his family without realizing they're Black Bolt, Medusa, Gorgon, Triton, Karnak and Lockjaw ... The Inhumans! When agents of Maximus The Mad show up to capture them, you can be sure knowing which fork to use will be the least of the FF's problems...
o MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR VOL. 6 MONSTERS AND MYSTERIES DIGEST
Written by FRED VAN LENTE
Penciled by CLAY MANN
Cover by CARLO PAGULAYAN
All adventure, all action, for all ages! Join Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch and the Thing for a wild ride of all-new, unforgettable exploits. Featuring the Mole Man, the Skrulls, Rama-Tut and the Sub-Mariner! Collecting MARVEL ADVENTURES FANTASTIC FOUR #21-24.
o ULTIMATE FANTASTIC FOUR #45
Written by MIKE CAREY
Pencils and Cover by PASQUAL FERRY
"THE SILVER SURFER" Part 4 of 5
The F.F. and The Silver Surfer shrink to sub-atomic size to battle the dreaded Psycho-Man-who has taken all of Earth's population hostage. But can the fabulous foursome rely on the Surfer to guard their backs when the secrets Norrin Radd keeps hidden in his silvery breast have only begun to come out? There's more to the Ultimate Surfer than you could ever imagine!

May 18, 2007

* Ray Wall, creator of some internet-popular FF songs, has alerted us to this recent interview about his work.

May 11, 2007

* Not really news, per se, but writer/artist Walt Simonson recently commented on the release two weeks ago of Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walt Simonson. He noted that it was "some of the best repro I've gotten in a reprint book" and that it includes one "goofy" item that he was going to leave readers to discover.
* Comics Continuum has obtained a first look at the unique Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer paint scheme that driver Elliott Sadler will sport at the Coca-Cola 600, a NASCAR Nextel event on May 27 with the movie's cast expected to be in attendance. The paint scheme features the Silver Surfer on the hood and the Fantastic Four logo will adorn both rear quarter panels.
* Rise of the Silver Surfer will make its world premiere in London on Tuesday, June 12.
* Mid-Ohio-Con has announced the following...

On Saturday and Sunday November 24 & 25, Mid-Ohio-Con returns to Battelle Hall in the Greater Columbus Convention Center. One of America's favorite comic book and pop culture celebrations, Mid-Ohio-Con will be making some major announcements over the next few months regarding special celebrity guests and special offers for attendees.

Leading things off, an announcement of "galactic" proportions. As fans eagerly await next month's motion picture debut of The Fantastic Four: Rise of The Silver Surfer, Mid-Ohio-Con is proud to announce that one of the stars of the movie will be appearing as our special guest. Doug Jones, who portrays The Silver Surfer, will be appearing in person during both days of Mid-Ohio-Con. In addition to his starring role in the Fantastic Four movie, Mr. Jones recently starred as Pan in the highly acclaimed motion picture Pan's Labyrinth. Other fan favorite roles include Abe Sapien in the Hellboy movie and animated series as well as portraying the lead "Gentelman" in the episode HUSH, on Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.

Other confirmed guests include Gene Colan, Michael Golden, and Steve Rude.

May 4, 2007

* This weekend is Free Comic Book Day and TwoMorrows has joined in the act by providing PDF copies of many of their fine magazines on their website for Saturday and Sunday only. Fantastic Four fans, in particular, might be interested in getting a copy of Jack Kirby Collector #47, which features several articles about the foursome. Stop by TwoMorrows' web site this weekend to download your copies!
* According to information provided to Comics Continuum by Comedy Central, the network is declaring May 28 as "Fantastic Monday." The Memorial Day programming will be highlighted by footage from the upcoming Rise of the Silver Surfer movie, hosted by the cast members.
* Author Nick Lyons contacted us to note that his new book, Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia, includes some questions about the Fantastic Four film. The official book description reads...

Science fiction fans of every degree will soon have a new way to test their knowledge with the new release from Ladder Press, Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia.

A fun filled game book for science fiction lovers, Attack of the Sci-Fi Trivia will challenge huge fans of the genre and entertain more casual Sci-Fi lovers. Comprised of three different types of trivia, the book will be a perfect "party" game as questions will have people guessing, acting as their favorite characters and drawing Sci-Fi's biggest superstars. From Star Wars to Battlestar Galactica, Captain Kirk to Buck Rogers, the book will have something for everyone who loves sci-fi.

April 27, 2007

* We're actually going to start off with a little Spidey news this week to help promote the movie debuting on May 4...
o Meet Spider-Man at Kmart on May 5th
Bring your camera to get a photo taken with the web-slinging hero and get your Spider-Man 3 poster autographed.
Time: 10am - Noon and 2 - 4pm @ Select Kmart Stores
o A Spider-Man Trivia contest will take place at Kmart on May 4th from 5pm - 10pm. The winner will receive a $10 gift card. Free Spider-Man stickers for all who enter the contest.
o Buy $9.99 or more of Hasbro toys or games PLUS one can of Pringles PLUS one box of select General Mills products and get a FREE Kmart Exclusive Spider-Man 3 poster.
o For more information, check out http://kmartspiderman3.fanaction.net/?L3369
* As far as the Fantastic Four movie goes, they've recently launched a Rise of the Silver Surfer MySpace page with lots of new images.