As seen in Secret Wars #9, that is all she wrote for the Fantastic Four. No, they didn’t technically die, and some of the characters will be appearing in other Marvel series, but the FF as we know them – the world’s greatest comic magazine – is done for.
Now Marvel’s Tom Brevoort has commented on Fantastic Four getting shelved as he tells CBR it’s because no one (fans and creators?) cares for them:
That said, and this is another conversation we’ve had in retreats and elsewhere, and I think we’ve even talked about it if not in these “Secret Wars” chats, then in other recent chats about previous event books. “Fantastic Four” has been one of those books that, for a number of years, has been effectively taken for granted. It’s been considered stodgy, or old school, or some people see it as a thing that’s there and people are comfortable because it’s there, but they’re not particularly passionate about it.
So we’re not going to have that book for a while. We didn’t have a Thor book for a while. We did “Avengers Disassembled” and Thor went away. For a couple of years, there was absolutely no Thor book, and when Thor came back, it was a huge book. It continues to be a huge book to this day. I think that absence was part of what made people cherish its return, and then it was just having great talent to execute that return. If the same sort of thing happens with Fantastic Four that would not be the worst thing in the world.
We’re guessing Brevoort is getting his opinion based on sales as Fantastic Four hasn’t been a “big” seller (maybe around 30k-ish). If that’s the case, does that mean Marvel plans on shelving: Doctor Strange, Ant-Man, Ms. Marvel, Captain Marvel, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Daredevil, Hulk, X-Men, Iron Fist, Captain America, Iron Man, various Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy-related titles, She-Hulk, Inhumans, Winter Soldier, Ultimates, Venom, Hawkeye, Howard The Duck, ad infinitum…?
Because all those listed above sell about the same or less than Fantastic Four.
And regarding Thor, it’s a “huge” book?
Thor sells around 30K as well — when the title is not getting relaunched a gazillion times with a million variants.
Nice, try, Tom. Give our regards to Perlmutter.
