NEWS WATCH: Alex Ross Debuts his First Graphic Novel with Fantastic Four: Full Circle

By Mike Eakins

on December 13, 2021

Alex Ross, the legendary and fan-favorite creator, will be debuting his first original graphic novel, Fantastic Four: Full Circle, in August 2022 according to an exclusive report by Comicbook.com.

Fantastic Four: Full Circle will be the first graphic novel that Marvel has licensed to another publisher in more than 40 years and marks the launch of MarvelArts, a new graphic novel collaboration between Marvel Comics and Abrams ComicArts. The graphic novel will feature a large format, differentiating it from the standard graphic novel size so that Ross’ artwork can be showcased, while mirroring the 1980s Marvel Graphic Novel format. Along with the solicitation (see below) the Fantastic Four’s origin story will also be retold in a full-color painted foldout poster. Ross will work with longtime editor Charles Kochman, editorial director of Abrams ComicArts, who will share editor duties with executive editor Tom Breevort, Marvel VP of Publishing.

Along with the announcement, Ross said about the project:

“This is the Fantastic Four story I have been wanting to tell for years, and visually it is one of the greatest artistic experiments I have attempted. I’m excited to share this work with everyone, as it unites the two great publishing forces of Marvel and Abrams ComicArts in a bold new collaboration.”

Charles Kochman of Abrams ComicArts added:

“Alex and I have been working together for close to 30 years, when I was an editor at DC Comics and hired him to paint his very first book cover back in 1993, before Marvels was published. In Fantastic Four: Full Circle, Alex revisits a classic Stan Lee-Jack Kirby comic from the 1960s and introduces the storyline for a new generation of readers.”

FANTASTIC FOUR: FULL CIRCLE

It’s a rainy night in Manhattan, and not a creature is stirring except for . . . Ben Grimm. When an intruder suddenly appears inside the Baxter Building, the Fantastic Four—Mister Fantastic (Reed Richards), The Invisible Woman (Susan Storm Richards), the Human Torch (Johnny Storm), and The Thing (Ben Grimm)—find themselves surrounded by a swarm of invading parasites. These carrion creatures composed of Negative Energy come to Earth using a human host as a delivery system. But for what purpose? And who is behind this untimely invasion?

The Fantastic Four have no choice but to journey into the Negative Zone, an alien universe composed entirely of anti-matter, risking not just their own lives but the fate of the cosmos!