Alex Ross is writing and illustrating Fantastic Four: Full Circle for Abrams ComicsArts which is set to debut on August 2, 2022. It’s the first graphic novel that Marvel has licensed to another publisher in more than 40 years and it will launch a graphic novel collaboration between Marvel and Abrams called MarvelArts. The book will also feature letters by Ariana Maher.
“This is the Fantastic Four story I have been wanting to tell for years, and visually it is one of the greatest artistic experiments I have attempted,” says Alex Ross. “I’m excited to share this work with everyone, as it unites the two great publishing forces of Marvel and Abrams ComicArts in a bold new collaboration.”
So what’s Fantastic Four: Full Circle about?
It’s a rainy night in Manhattan, and not a creature is stirring except for . . . Ben Grimm. When an intruder suddenly appears inside the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four—Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Thing (Ben Grimm)—find themselves surrounded by a swarm of invading parasites. These carrion creatures composed of Negative Energy come to Earth using a human host as a delivery system. But for what purpose? And who is behind this untimely invasion?
The Fantastic Four have no choice but to journey into the Negative Zone, an alien universe composed entirely of anti-matter, risking not just their own lives but the fate of the cosmos!
“Alex and I have been working together for close to 30 years, when I was an editor at DC Comics and hired him to paint his very first book cover back in 1993, before Marvels was published,” says editor Charles Kochman. “In Fantastic Four: Full Circle, Alex revisits a classic Stan Lee–Jack Kirby comic from the 1960s and introduces the storyline for a new generation of readers.”
For more on this news, read the official press release below.
New York, New York – December 13, 2021 – Abrams ComicArts announces and reveals the cover of the August 2, 2022, publication of FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE (Abrams ComicArts; August 2, 2022; U.S. $24.99; Hardcover), the first graphic novel written and illustrated by renowned comic artist Alex Ross in his thirty-plus-year career.
The book’s large format breaks from the standard graphic novel size to showcase Ross’s art, mirroring the format of the Marvel Graphic Novel, a line of books from the 1980s, and includes a full-color foldout poster featuring an all-new fully painted origin of the Fantastic Four. FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE was acquired and will be edited by Ross’s longtime editor Charles Kochman, editorial director of Abrams ComicArts, alongside Marvel VP of Publishing, executive editor Tom Brevoort.
“This is the Fantastic Four story I have been wanting to tell for years, and visually it is one of the greatest artistic experiments I have attempted,” says Alex Ross. “I’m excited to share this work with everyone, as it unites the two great publishing forces of Marvel and Abrams ComicArts in a bold new collaboration.”
“Alex and I have been working together for close to 30 years, when I was an editor at DC Comics and hired him to paint his very first book cover back in 1993, before Marvels was published,” says Kochman. “In Fantastic Four: Full Circle, Alex revisits a classic Stan Lee–Jack Kirby comic from the 1960s and introduces the storyline for a new generation of readers.”
It’s a rainy night in Manhattan, and not a creature is stirring except for . . . Ben Grimm. When an intruder suddenly appears inside the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four—Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), the Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and the Thing (Ben Grimm)—find themselves surrounded by a swarm of invading parasites. These carrion creatures composed of Negative Energy come to Earth using a human host as a delivery system. But for what purpose? And who is behind this untimely invasion?
The Fantastic Four have no choice but to journey into the Negative Zone, an alien universe composed entirely of anti-matter, risking not just their own lives but the fate of the cosmos!
FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE is the first graphic novel that Marvel has licensed to another publisher in more than 40 years. The publication also will mark the launch of MarvelArts, an exciting new graphic novel collaboration between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts.
About the Author
Alex Ross studied at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, then honed his craft as a storyboard artist before entering the field of comics. In 1993, Marvels—his groundbreaking miniseries with writer Kurt Busiek—created a wider acceptance for painted comics. In 1996 he and writer Mark Waid produced the equally successful Kingdom Come for DC Comics, and followed those up with an extensive series of work including magazine and album covers, as well as a poster for the Academy Awards. Ross has also been the subject of two monographs written and designed by Chip Kidd—Mythology: The DC Comics Art of Alex Ross and Marvelocity: The Marvel Comics Art of Alex Ross. His latest book is The Alex Ross Marvel Comics Poster Book (Abrams ComicArts, Spring 2021).Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world’s most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than eight thousand characters featured in a variety of media over eighty years. Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing, publishing, games, and digital media. For more information, visit marvel.com.
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