Fantastic Four by Walt Simonson
Walt Simonson · Arthur Adams
Story era 05 · The Gauntlet Years
Simonson takes the Fantastic Four through time-travel adventures and changing team roles across two connected volumes.
Setup & reading order
Optional context & path
Path: Fantastic Four. Related projects that read well in this order; the order is a suggestion, not a requirement.
Useful background and earlier stops: Fantastic Four by John Byrne.
Only required setup and earlier volumes in the same project affect the queue. Everything here is optional.
About these books · 4 sources
Publisher and reference pages describe the editions. Reviews and reader discussions offer different views of the stories.
- Goodreads — reader reviews (opens in a new tab)Readers
- Comic Book Herald (opens in a new tab)Critics and editors
- Penguin Random House (opens in a new tab)Publisher
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)Reference
The books
Fantastic Four Epic Collection: Into the Time Stream
Book 1 of 2 · The Gauntlet Years
Simonson’s high-concept FF begins after the Byrne foundation.
9781302957896Planned edition#334–346#23#6#5#14The Days of Future Present material in Fantastic Four Annual #23 and X-Men Annual #14 also appears in X-Tinction Agenda, so read that crossover once. New Mutants Annual #6, X-Factor Annual #5 and X-Men Annual #14 contribute only their connected story here, not their unrelated backups.
Edition sources
Each ISBN identifies a specific printing and cover. “Owned copy” identifies the edition on my shelf; “Planned edition” identifies the edition listed for collecting.
Fantastic Four Epic Collection: The New Fantastic Four
Book 2 of 2 · The Gauntlet Years
Simonson’s run concludes here, including the replacement-team arc.
9781302946845Planned edition#347–361#24#1The Marvel Holiday Special #1 excerpt is A Christmas Coda, in which Franklin tries to free Jacob Marley from his ghostly curse. It is a separate family tale from the Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk and Ghost Rider team-up that gives this volume its name; only this Fantastic Four story is included from the holiday anthology.
Edition sources
Each ISBN identifies a specific printing and cover. “Owned copy” identifies the edition on my shelf; “Planned edition” identifies the edition listed for collecting.
Duplication across this project
These books share full issues or parts of issues with other books in the plan. Open the lists below to see which stories repeat.
Show source issues
Fantastic Four Annual #23X-Men Annual #14Things to know
Collecting rule: Read Into the Time Stream before The New Fantastic Four.