Fantastic Four Epic Collection: The Possession of Franklin Richards 12; 1980-1981

Fantastic milestones for Marvel's First Family as comics master John Byrne makes his Fantastic Four debut!

Fantastic Four has always been the home for Marvel’s biggest ideas and mostcreative concepts. It’s a tradition of rapid-fire creativity established by Stan Leeand Jack Kirby — and Doug Moench and Bill Sienkiewicz carry the torch (no punintended) forward in this Epic Collection. Giant monsters will invade New York.A possessed Franklin Richards threatens all reality with his immeasurable power.The FF join Captain Marvel in a cosmic war with the Skrulls. Doctor Doom retakesLatveria. A lost race of technologically advanced Vikings, powered by a blind god’stears, need the FF’s aid. A trip to the great outdoors ain’t no picnic when alien brainparasites attack! John Byrne makes his writer/artist debut, and so much more! AndH.E.R.B.I.E.? You better watch out for H.E.R.B.I.E.!

COLLECTING: FANTASTIC FOUR #215-231 & ANNUAL #14-16

In addition to runs on Fantastic Four and Thor, original Moon Knight scribe Doug Moench specialized in writing features outside the Marvel mainstream — including Adventure into Fear’s Morbius, Frankenstein, Inhumans, Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle, Master of Kung Fu, Werewolf by Night and Astonishing Tales’ Deathlok. Proving his eclectic abilities, he also wrote the full run of Godzilla, most of Shogun Warriors and stories for virtually every Marvel black-and-white magazine of the 1970s. He expanded on his Star-Lord and Weirdworld sagas in multiple anthology titles. At DC, he wrote memorable runs on Batman, Detective Comics and Legends of the Dark Knight — along with numerous Batman one-shots, cross-company crossovers and Elseworlds sagas. He further contributed such short-lived but unique series as Electric Warrior, Lords of the Ultra-Realm, Slash Maraud, Wanderers and Xenobrood.

John Byrne has worked continuously in the comics industry as both writer and artist since 1975. After he initially collaborated with writer Chris Claremont on Iron Fist, Byrne and Claremont moved on to X-Men for a run still regarded as one of the title’s finest. Byrne contributed an equally famed stint on Fantastic Four, earning comparisons to the original Lee/Kirby issues for his imaginative plotlines and dynamic artwork. He also spun Alpha Flight into its own title. In 1986, he revamped DC’s flagship hero, Superman, reimagining the Man of Steel in a historic project heralded by a Time magazine cover. His remarkable contribution to the Marvel Universe extends to memorable associations with virtually every major hero, including celebrated runs on Captain America, Iron Man, Sensational She-Hulk, Namor the Sub-Mariner and Thing. In the 21st century, Byrne’s considerable body of work includes IDW’s Star Trek and Angel.

Bill Sienkiewicz has had a major impact on the comic-book field with his innovative blend of collage, illustration techniques and storytelling. His influential work has garnered industry-wide acclaim and earned him nearly every major comic-book illustration award in the United States and abroad. His credits include a groundbreaking collaboration with Chris Claremont on New Mutants; Elektra: Assassin, for which he received the prestigious Yellow Kid Award; the Marvel Graphic Novel Daredevil: Love and War; and the critically acclaimed Stray Toasters, which he wrote and illustrated. In addition to his work in the comic-book industry, Sienkiewicz has added his talents to TV and movie projects, including the film Unforgiven and the animated series Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?, for which he received two Emmy nominations. Sienkiewicz was also selected to produce the artwork for the critically acclaimed painted biography Voodoo Child: The Illustrated Legend of Jimi Hendrix, published by Viking Press. He divides his time between comic books and classic illustration, with his work continuing to inspire a new generation of innovative artists.