OK, are you ready for some big brain comic weirdness? Marvel Comics is releasing a very real Fantastic Four comic by returning FF writer Matt Fraction and artist Marc Buckingham that also exists within the reality of the MCU, as announced via Deadline.
No, I don't mean the comic is set in MCU continuity, that's been done plenty of times. In this case, I'm speaking far more literally. The comic, which shares its title with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is meant to be the same comic that the Fantastic Four themselves publish through their Future Foundation in the world of the MCU - meaning real world fans will be reading the same Fantastic Four comic that the fictional people of the MCU are reading.
Here's the cover by artist Phil Noto, which recreates Jack Kirby's cover for 1961's original Fantastic Four #1:
Judging by the trailers, which have featured FF toys and shirts, merchandising seems to be an important aspect of the FF's presence in their reality (which is a separate world of the Multiverse than the main MCU reality). And the concept of there being comics about the heroes of the Marvel Universe published in their own reality is nothing new in terms of comics themselves.
In the world of Marvel Comics, there is a Marvel Comics which was founded to tell the stories of the heroes in a medium that can capture the larger-than-life nature of their adventures in a way that simple print journalism can't.
This does raise the kind of funny question of whether Matt Fraction and Marc Buckingham, who drew inspiration from the film's production designer Kasra Farahani and even visited the set of the film, also exist in the MCU as comic creators. Indeed, the Fantastic Four's original creators Jack Kirby and Stan Lee even wrote themselves into their own comics as the creators of the in-universe comics as well, so there's definitely precedent.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps the comic will be released July 2, just ahead of The Fantastic Four: First Steps the movie, which hits theaters July 25 to kick off Marvel Phase 6.
In the meantime, get up to speed with our guide to all the other upcoming superhero movies still to come from both Marvel and DC.
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