Fantastic Four: Life Story #1
| Writer | Mark Russell |
| Artist | Sean Izaakse |
| Cover Price | $4.99 |
In the tradition of SPIDER-MAN: LIFE STORY, and in celebration of the FF's 60th Anniversary, comes this series setting the lives of the fabulous foursome in real time across the years!
Amid the backdrop of the Cold War and the Space Race, a terrible accident gives the Fantastic Four great powers, a terrible secret, and entangles them in the history of their planet.
Rated T
CRITIC REVIEWS Back to Top
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10
COMICON - Olly MacNamee
May 18, 2021A new take on an old favourite as Mark Russell and Sean Isaake blends real world events with the marvellous and iconic family saga of Marvel's First Family in 'Fantastic Four: Life Stories' #1. A respectful trip down memory lane with a few new twists on a familiar story. Excelsior! Read Full Review
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10
But Why Tho? - Collier "CJ" Jennings
May 19, 2021Fantastic Four: Life Storytakes a truly "real-life" approach to the Fantastic Four, chronicling their adventures throughout the decades. I can't think of a better way to utilize the "Life Story" format, and this series also serves as a wonderful celebration of the Four's 60th anniversary. Read Full Review
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9.6
Forces Of Geek - Lenny Schwartz
May 19, 2021Mark Russell writes an amazing script as usual. I never would have thought he would be a writer on the Fantastic Four but here we are and his work here is quite excellent. Sean Isaakse is the perfect artist for this as well. He gives the team a fresh look. Read Full Review
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9.0
Black Nerd Problems - Chris Aiken
May 21, 2021We have an interesting book on our hands. I think what Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 accomplishes is providing readers with not only a streamlined summary of their greatest moments but another view of the first family's dynamic. Sean Izaakse's also does great work, as always. His art style fits well with the retro style of the time period and, though the action can be brief, there are plenty of wonderful spreads throughout the book that illustrates the wonder of the team's encounters. Read Full Review
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8.2
Comic Watch - J.A. Fludd
May 24, 2021Its gratifying to see Marvel doing things to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of its original comic book. Read this book; enjoy the different spins on history and the attractive-looking art. I expect the remaining issues will offer us some intriguing surprisesbut I still want to know about the Silver Surfer and I still want to see Dr. Doom! Read Full Review
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8.0
The Comicbook Dispatch - soycornholio
May 18, 2021Final Thoughts:I know the basics of the FF. The core basics. Issue #1 of Russells The Fantastic Four: Life Story has begun to help me understand the charm of the FF. They are Marvels First Family for a reason. Heck, they are arguably, the beginning of the cosmic side of Marvel. From what I have read so far, they have some amazing family dynamics. Russells writing along with the one-two punch of both Izaakse and Woodard is enough to snag any skeptical reader. Overall, I would recommend this issue to anyone who wants to understand the basis of the FF OR who loves the characters in general. You will not be disappointed. Read Full Review
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8.0
Geek'd Out - Jonathan Boes
May 19, 2021This issue covers a lot of ground, but there are decades left to go. And even though the plot points here feel familiarstolen spaceship, cosmic rays, guy turns into rock monsterthe characters and the setting make me eager for more. Its bound to be a fantastic journey. Read Full Review
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8.0
ComicBook.com - Chase Magnett
May 19, 2021It's a weighty task and five more decades loom large, but Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 tells a story that inspires hope even when discovering terrible truths. Read Full Review
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7.6
Comic Crusaders - M.R. Jafri
May 18, 2021As it is, this issue is a fairly familiar but well done trip through the first decade of the Fantastic Four. Read Full Review
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7.5
AIPT - Dan Spinelli
May 17, 2021A charming, if occasionally stilted, look at Marvel's First Family, "Fantastic Four: Life Story" #1 is more interesting as an introduction to a story that will span decades in the life of Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. Read Full Review
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7.0
Comics: The Gathering - Charles Martin
May 19, 2021Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 changes up the origin of Marvel's first super-team just enough to breathe fresh life into a 60-year-old story. The art is beautiful and the script poses fascinating questions -- some already answered, some still mysterious. Character work is lagging a little, but the rest of the storytelling is strong enough to make me hope that that's merely an effect of kicking this series off from Reed's point of view. Read Full Review
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6.5
Comics Bookcase - Zack Quaintance
May 19, 2021In spite of its excellent creative team, Fantastic Four - Life Story #1 leaves me wishing Id just re-read early FF comics. I also found myself wanting Russell and Isaazke to do a different Fantastic Four comic, one free of backward-facing gimmickry, played out via occasional appearances of whatever sitting president. Read Full Review
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6.5
Graphic Policy - Josh Rathbun
May 19, 2021Am I too hard? Am I too much of a fan of the Fantastic Four, unable to budge? Probably thats the case. That said, I still found some enjoyment in this and it was way better than the Ultimate version from the early 2000s. Read Full Review
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6.5
Sequential Planet - Ethan Maddux
May 20, 2021Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 has plenty to enjoy, but is not ultimately great. Given that Mark Russel is one of my favorite writers, I'm giving him a long leash and I'll be reading this series to the end no matter what, but I wasn't blown away by this first issue. Sean Izaakse's art is strong, and Mark Russel has a good voice for the characters, but I'm gonna need a bit more before I start singing the book's praises. Read Full Review
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6.0
Kabooooom - Matt Morrison
May 19, 2021All in all, while Fantastic Four fans may find Life Story to be an interesting diversion, there is little in this first chapter to hold the interest of anyone else. Russell's script doesn't make the same bold strides that Spider-Man: Life-Story did with the same setting and the artwork, while competent, is not outstanding. Read Full Review
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4.0
BGCP - Michael Lennox
May 24, 2021This is a bit of a mess, a boring mess. The decade skipping is supposed to be fun, here it just seems forced. I hated this whole thing! I'd give it a miss unless you are an FF fanatic. Read Full Review
USER REVIEWS Back to Top
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9.0
Really well executed, one of the best re-tellings of the Fantastic Four origins.
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8.0
I like that something I predicted years ago came true. But more than that, this issue recontextualizes the Fantastic Four in a way that can fit modern times. For one Sue isn't that passive like in her debut and is actually a real part of the process that leads to the Fantastic Four's development. Although I might have to wait and see where this all goes in next issue.
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8.0
I really liked this issue. I liked the spider-man life story and all of its twits so I am curious how this will play out over the decades.
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8.0
Really great start of the story. Loving the idea of these Life Story books, and Mark Russell is a fantastic choice for this. Can't wait for more.
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8.0
This origin retelling tweaks the FF's story less than I'd anticipated, changing some relationships and adding historical context but leaving the characters mostly intact. It's subtle and subdued to a surprising degree -- perhaps that's an effect of letting Reed have the PoV. I hope the other cast members get their shots as the series progresses! The art's great and the prose is decent. This isn't a must-read, but it's far from disappointing.
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8.0
not bad
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7.5
It was okay. It's an interesting take in some ways, but I wasn't a fan of how Ben became a part of this.
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7.5
This was pretty good. Seems to be ignoring the original canon, opting for a mostly wholly original story, unlike the original Spider-Man: Life Story that adapted the biggest stories of each decade for the story. Which is... Not as cool to me, but let's give it a shot.
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7.5
" I saw it just for a moment but i saw it. The death of our illusion. The death of our world. The death of everything." - REED RICHARDS
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7.5
I suppose this is enjoyable for Fantastic Four enjoyers.
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7.0
Given the provocative work Mark Russell tends to put out, I expected something with more teeth than the perfectly nice FF origin story once again retold here. It's good enough, but in this first issue, the series hasn't yet differentiated itself from the multiple remixes of these characters we've gotten in comics and movies in the past 15 years.
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6.0
A surprising dud from the usually reliable Mark Russell. He doesn't really get the FF. He makes the huge mistake of not having Ben be Reed's best friend, and the large mistake of explaining just who that guy was in "This Man, This Monster." And it's a lot of tell instead of show. Never mind that Russell's sense of humor is missing. It feels like Russell was given an outline of what to do instead of being allowed to tell his own story.
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5.5
Oof. Don't know how I feel about this one. The characters are so lifeless and the retcons are so stupid especially everything involving Ben
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5.0
I love Mark Russell's work, so I gave this a try but it's not much different from standard FF other than the historical context and the captions attempting to add more substance. If Marvel isn't going to let Mark Russell go full Mark Russell then what's the point? It's just another rehash of FF's origin.
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