fantastic four

Nobody’s perfect.

The movie might not be their origin...

Marvel’s first family is getting its first MCU movie.

Obviously Jack Kirby is the greatest comic book artist of all time, but most will agree he's also one of the medium's greatest writers. He wrote the way he drew: Big and loud and primal, but with a surprising amount of intricacy and nuance waiting to be discovered amid the crackling explosions. We've put together a list of the ten essential stories that you should read if you want to get more familiar with the King.

One is a kind, caring and sweet person who wants to make a difference. The other is brash and feels isolated from a world that would paint it as an outsider. Somehow, they find a common bond and fall in love, which makes both of their lives a little bit more complete. The archetypes behind the classic fairy tale "The Beauty and the Beast" are ones you can spot again and again in stories dating back centuries. We've assembled some of our favorite examples of "beauty and beast" romances in comics.

Since arriving in the mainstream Marvel Universe following Secret Wars, Old Man Logan has taken on a life of his own as a standout solo star, and his adventures beyond the original eight issues have been expanded upon in great detail. However, what a lot of people forget is that Mark Millar actually wrote a sequel to "Old Man Logan" at the same time as he was writing the original, as part of an experimental attempt to link his work-for-hire superhero comics with his own creator-owned franchises.

It's been just a few months since Amadeus Cho told nine-year-old Lunella Lafayette that she was "the smartest person in whole world" at the end of Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #12. In the time since, Lunella has been condescended to by adult scientists, helped take down the Mole Man's monsters, and teamed up with two other girl geniuses --- the new and unstoppable Wasp, and Ironheart, aka Riri Williams. Lunella's brilliance makes her one in a long line of inspiring, super-smart Black characters in comics that can be traced back decades to the Black Panther's first appearance in 1966's Fantastic Four #52, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee.

When superheroes make the transition from comics to TV animation, it's always interesting to hear what kind of theme music they get. Songs with lyrics that explain who the heroes are can be fun, but they can also go awry. Instrumental tracks can be boring if you're not careful, but if they're well-executed, they can do a great job of creating just the tone you want for your cartoon. I've put together a chronological list of nine memorable theme songs from TV superhero cartoons. Obviously I can't include them all, but I expect to see in the comments which of your favorites I've left out.

On December 9, 1965, a shining man flew down from the sky, looked around for a bit, and then doomed the Earth. Or at least he meant to at the time. This was Fantastic Four #48, by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, and of course the shining man from the sky was the Silver Surfer.

There’s a strong strain of the collector in fandom, and buying for a comics fan can be a difficult endeavor, because so much of what they want is something they already know about. But even the most famous writers, artists, and characters have obscurer works that often go overlooked. This gift guide looks at deep cuts for the superfan in your life, and we've divided into three sections; favorite artists, favorite writers, and favorite characters. If you know someone who is passionate about Darwyn Cooke, devoted to Warren Ellis, or a big-time Superman fan, we may have the perfect gift suggestion.