In 2022, there were two unusual issues of the Fantastic Four. They were at the end of Dan Slott’s run on the series. It was during A.X.E.: Judgment Day, the crossover event set in the Krakoan Age, with a clash between the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Eternals. Slott’s run ended with Fantastic Four 46.
At first glance, I thought it was merely two issues to make a few bucks off the event. And, at the time, I found it an odd tag-on to the end of the series, with the last two issues written by David Pepose. Back then, I wasn’t very familiar with his work, but I do remember how those two issues stood out to me.
Yes, they sort of felt like fill-in issues. But they were also, in my opinion, a template of what makes the Fantastic Four… well, fantastic! I recently had David on the podcast to talk about Space Ghost and his other projects. And he did have a few things to say about those Fantastic Four issues.
“When Dan Slott was wrapping up his run on Fantastic Four, and I believe, unless I’m misremembering it, they wanted to buy Ryan North a little bit more lead time. Before his issues dropped, I think I recall correctly that the Judgment Day event was also tied in. I know certain events, like Blood Hunt, have their spinoff series, but I believe that Judgment Day was also trying to tie in those issues in their respective series.
So, just like Spider-Man had a Judgment Day issue, and the Avengers had a Judgment Day issue. And so, for Fantastic Four, we had a two-part episode to do that. And, yeah, I thought it was a fun exercise, not only in writing characters that I was nervous about. When I’d told my wife only a few weeks prior that the only characters I don’t think I’d have any ideas for would be the Fantastic Four.
“I think they wound up being some of my favorite characters to write at Marvel. I think that because their personalities are so distinct and the family bond is so human, it is a unique aspect of their relationship.
Yeah. I think it was an incredible honor to be the intermission act between Dan, who’s a writer I respect, who I love, and who I’ve learned a lot from over the years. And Ryan North, whose approach to Fantastic Four informed my approach to Space Ghost.”
But there’s even more! While digging around, I found another interview where David addresses those two issues explicitly. Pepose nailed every character and brought out the most fantastic aspects of each, showing me that they will always be Marvel’s First Family.
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