Marvel Various

Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman Omnibus Vol. 2 pays off the architecture of Hickman’s family-and-future saga, with the Future Foundation, the Council of Reeds and the Richards family all pushed toward consequences that feel cosmic and intimate at once. It is big-idea Marvel rooted in a very human household. For a Fantastic Four shelf, the appeal is the family engine: exploration, ego, affection and scientific danger all matter because the team is a household before it is a brand.

The third Fantastic Four omnibus covers the final period of the Lee/Kirby collaboration — the run toward Kirby's departure to DC, featuring the introduction of the Him/Warlock concept, Crystal's full integration into the team after Sue Storm's pregnancy, and the complete Kree/Skrull setup that Thomas would develop in Avengers. These late Kirby issues show a creator pushing against the creative constraints of the Marvel system before leaving for DC and the New Gods concept that would be his ultimate artistic statement.