These are the five comics Marvel says you should read ahead of Fantastic Four

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Marvel has laid out five Fantastic Four comics that it's drawing on to inspire the new reboot film

Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 cover art excerpt
(Image credit: Marvel Comics)

The MCU Fantastic Four reboot movie is shaping up quickly with the reported casting of Julia Garner as an alt version of the Silver Surfer and the seeming confirmation of Galactus as the film's villain, and for those who are looking for a place to start with the source material Marvel Studios is drawing on, the studio is offering up a direct line on which comics you might want to read.

In a link derived from a QR code located at the official Marvel Fantastic Four website, Marvel lays out five comics that it's listing as its direct influences on the movie: Fantastic Four #1, #48, #49, and #50, and Fantastic Four: Life Story #1.

Fantastic Four #1 is obvious - it's the origin story of the FF, and it's also the comic that launched the entire Marvel Universe way back in 1961.

Fantastic Four #48-50 from 1966 are the three issues that tell the original Galactus Saga, which will likely form a good portion of the film's narrative arc, given the casting of Silver Surfer and the apparent confirmation of Galactus as the movie's villain.

2021's Fantastic Four: Life Story #1 is the newest comic on the list. Life Story is an interesting comic which tells a version of the FF's entire career that spans in real time from the '60s to the present day. The first issue, listed here, covers their time in the '60s, which has been hinted as the timeframe in which the MCU Fantastic Four movie is set.

If you're looking for an even deeper guide for how to get into Fantastic Four comics, we've got you covered.

George Marston
George Marston
Entertainment Writer

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011, and now I'm the Entertainment Writer at GamesRadar+. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)