artist: Leonard Kirk
This is it. Marvel and/or Disney has thrown a hissy fit because Fantastic Four remains a 20th Century Fox film property and thus not part of the Avengers franchise (as Spider-Man has now become), and so the series has been cancelled, put on indefinite hiatus. Goodbye, see you later, nice knowing you, First Family.
How does it end? James Robinson followed a Jonathan Hickman run that sought to push the team to new creative heights. Mostly he reboots it right back to its classic dimensions, and basically winks to the reader and says there are some constants, and the Fantastic Four are one of them no matter how it looks at the moment. I mean, Marvel would be pretty stupid to keep it gone, right?
Karl Kesel gets to write a Johnny Storm solo, Louise Simonson a Sue Storm entry, Tom DeFalco gives the Thing his moment, while Jeff Parker rounds these shorts out with Reed Richards.
Mark Paniccia, identified as senior editor at Marvel, writes a farewell notice. Various creators write odes to their favorite covers and by extension, their favorite stories. "Willie's Mailbag" (referencing an old timey supporting character), which may or may not have been an ongoing letters column in the series and/or the history of Fantastic Four (my reading history with the World's Greatest Comic Magazine has been sporadic; I read somewhat steadily during Civil War, and I popped in once or twice during Hickman's run), but here it represents a chance for the fans to say goodbye.
And that's it. Goodbye. See you again!
It does seem ridiculous to cancel a title after over 50 years just because a competitor has the movie rights. Marvel can say what they want but the timing is pretty suspicious.
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