Collecting Fantastic Four comic books as Graphic Novels

The definitive, chronological, and up-to-date guide and trade-reading order on collecting Fantastic Four comic books via omnibuses, hardcovers, and trade paperback graphic novels. A part of Crushing Krisis’s Crushing Comics. Last updated November 2019 with titles scheduled for release through May 2020.

There are hundreds of different collections of Fantastic Four, especially their original run from 1961 to 1996. However, there are a few specific formats of books that cover large portions of this title, and I’ll cover those first – Essentials, Epics, Masterworks, and Omnibuses.

The guide also includes solo series of Human Torch and Thing.

• Essentials: Affordable black & white sequential collections
• Marvel Masterworks: Premium-format color sequential collections
• Epic Collections: Trade paperback gapless collections released in random order
• Omnibus & Oversized Editions: Massive, collector-edition tomes with oversize pages

Then, move on to learning how to collect Fantastic Four, era by era.

• Vol. 1 #1-104 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby (1961 – 1970)
• Vol. 1 #105-219 by Lee, Goodwin, Thomas, Conway, Wein & Wolfman (1970 – 1980)
• Vol. 1 #220-295 by John Byrne (1980 – 1985)
• Vol. 1 #296-355 – Stern, Englehart, and Simonson (1986 – 1991)
• Vol. 1 #356-416 – Tom DeFalco (1991 – 1996)
• Heroes Reborn: Vol. 2 by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee, & Brett Booth (1996 – 1998)
• Vol. 3 by Chris Claremont & Salvador Larroca (1998 – 2003)
• Vol. 1 (again!) by Mark Waid & Mike Wieringo and Marvel Knights 4 (2oo3 – 2010)
• Jonathan Hickman’s Vol. 1 & F.F. (2009 – 2012)
• Marvel Now: Vol. 4 & FF, Vol. 2 by Matt Fraction (2012 – 2014)
• All-New Marvel Now: Vol. 5 by Robinson and Secret Wars by Hickman (2014 – 2015)
• All-New All-Different Marvel (2016 – present)

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Essential Fantastic Four

Marvel’s Essentials line packs tons of comics into each black and white, phone-book-sized edition with newsprint paper. If you don’t care about color and glossy paper, this is the best way to acquire your favorite classic stories quickly.

Essential Editions are not repeated below in their chronological placement, since B&W is not the original format of this series.

#1-20: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 (ISBN 078513302X)
Includes Annual 1. Previously issued as ISBN 0785118284.

#21-40: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 (ISBN 1905239025)
Includes Annual 2 and Strange Tales Annual 2

#41-63: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 3 (ISBN 0785126252)
Includes Annuals 3 and 4

#64-83: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 4 (ISBN 078511484X)
Includes Annuals 5 and 6

#84-110: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 5 (ISBN 0785121625)

#84-110: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 5 (ISBN 0785121625)

#111-137: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 6 (ISBN 0785164162)
Previously issued as ISBN 078512697X.

#138-159: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 7 (ISBN 0785130632)
Avengers #127, Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2-4, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1

#160-183: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 8 (ISBN 0785145389)
Annual 11, Marvel Two-in-One #20, Marvel Two-in-One Annual 1

#184-207: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 9 (ISBN 0785184104)
Also includes Annuals 12-13. Does not include #189, which is a reprint of Annual 4.

The Essentials line has been discontinued and will not extend past #207. Jump to that spot in the chronology.

In addition to the team’s Essentials line, Human Torch has an Essentials volume for his stories in Strange Tales (beginning after FF #7), and several volumes cover Thing’s team-up series Marvel Two-in-One (beginning after FF #139). Each title is covered in its entirety by Essentials.

Essential Human Torch: Strange Tales #101-134 and Annual #2.

Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 1: Marvel Feature #11-12, Marvel Two-In-One #1-20 & 22-25 and Annual 1, Fantastic Four Annual 11, and Marvel Team-Up #47.

Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 2: Marvel Two-in-One #26-52 and Annual 2-3

Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 3: Marvel Two-In-One #53-77 and Annual 4-5

Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 4: Marvel Two-In-One  #78-98 & 100 and Annual 6-7

Marvel Masterworks

Marvel Masterworks editions are high quality, full color reproductions of original issues. The volumes were originally released as hardcovers, with many now out of print. Some of the earlier editions were also released in paperback. If you decide to buy hardcovers, the newest editions are from 2003 and, with silver dustjackets.

Masterworks are not listed below in their chronological placement, but they are referenced if they are the only means of obtaining an issue.

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 1: #1-10
Hardcover (ISBN 0785111816) / Paperback (ISBN 0785137106) / 2015 Hardcover (ISBN 978-0785191292)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 2: #11-20 & Annual 1
Hardcover (ISBN 0785109803) / Paperback (ISBN 0785137122)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 3: #21-30
Hardcover (ISBN 0785111824) / Paperback (ISBN 0785142967)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 4: #31-40 & Annual 2
Hardcover (ISBN 0785111832) / Paperback (ISBN 0785145664)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 5: #41-50 & Annual 3
Hardcover (ISBN 0785111840) / Paperback (ISBN 0785150587)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 6: #51-60 & Annual 4
Hardcover (ISBN 0785112669) / Paperback (ISBN 0785150609)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 7: #61-71 & Annual 5
Hardcover (ISBN 0785115846) / Paperback (ISBN 0785150625)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 8: #72-81 & Annual 6
Hardcover (ISBN 078511694X) / Paperback (ISBN 0785162941)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 9: #82-93
Hardcover (ISBN 0785118462) / Paperback (ISBN 0785167609)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 10: #94-104
Hardcover (ISBN 0785120610) / Paperback (ISBN 0785188398)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 11: #105-116
Hardcover (ISBN 0785130462)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 12: #117-128
Hardcover (ISBN 0785142185)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 13: #129-141
Hardcover (ISBN 0785150404)

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 14: #142-150
Hardcover (ISBN 0785159630) – Also includes Giant-Sized Superstars and Avengers #127.

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 15: #150-163
Hardcover (ISBN 0785166254) – Also includes Giant-Size Fantastic Four #3-4 and Marvel Treasury Edition 2

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 16: #164-175
Hardcover (ISBN 0785188452) – Also includes Fantastic Four Annual #11, Marvel Two-In-One #20, Marvel Two-In-One Annual #1

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 17: #176-191

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 18: #192-203 & Annuals 12-13

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 19: #204-218 & Annual 14

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 20: #219-231 & Annual 15

Marvel Masterworks, Vol. 21: #232-240 & Annual 16, plus Fantastic Four Roast (1982) #1

Jump to this spot in the chronology.

#241-416: Not yet announced in this format.

Human Torch’s stories from Strange Tales received separate Masterworks treatment and are collected in their entirety. They begin after FF #7 and end prior to #38. Torch’s spot in the anthology title is taken over by Nick Fury starting with #135.

Marvel Masterworks: Human Torch, Vol. 1
Collects Strange Tales #101-117 and Annual 2. Hardcover (ISBN 078512070X) / Paperback (ISBN 0785187812)

Marvel Masterworks: Human Torch, Vol. 2
Collects Strange Tales #118-134. Hardcover (ISBN 0785135057)

The Thing’s team-up title, Marvel Two-in-One, has its own Masterworks line. It begins after FF #139 and ends prior to FF #250. The current lack of a second volume is at least partially attributable to Marvel’s lack of reprint rights for the Doc Savage appearance in #21 – perhaps they are working behind the scenes to secure the rights rather than print a Masterwork that is missing an issue!

Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 1
Collects Marvel Feature (1971) #11-12, Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #1-10

Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 2
Collects Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #11-20 & Annual 1, Marvel Team-up (1972) #47, and Fantastic Four Annual 11

Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 3
Collects Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #21-36

Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 4
Collects Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #37-46 & Annual 2-3 and Avengers (1963) Annual 7

#47-100: Not yet announced in this format.

Epic Collections

Marvel’s Epic Collections represent a consistent, affordable, full-color bookshelf format of issues in perfect continuity order without a single gap. The catch? Marvel is releasing them in a random order to focus on the biggest gaps first – since early issues are already well-covered by both Essentials and Masterworks.

Epic editions are also listed below in their chronological placement, as they are frequently the only coverage of a specific run.

Vol. 1: The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine: FF #1-18

Vol. 2: The Master Plan of Doctor Doom: FF #19-32 & Annual 1-2

Vol. 3: The Coming of Galactus: FF #33-51 & Annual 3

Vol. 4: The Mystery of the Black Panther: FF #52-67 & Annual 4-5, material from Not Brand Echh (1967) #1 & 5

Vol. 5: By Ben Betrayed: FF #68-?, pending full issue range

Volumes 6-16: Not yet announced, but will collect #?-295 & Annual 6-19

Vol. 17: All in the Family (ISBN 978-0785188650): FF #296-307 & Annual 20
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #296-307 & Annual 20 and Fantastic Four vs. The X-Men #1-4

Vol. 18: The More Things Change…: FF #308-320 & Annual 21
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #308-320 & Annual 21; Incredible Hulk (1968) #350; and Marvel Graphic Novel: Hulk/Thing – The Big Change

Volumes 18-19: Not yet announced, but will collect #308-333 & Annuals 21-22

Vol. 20: Into the Timestream: FF #334-346 & Annual #23
Also includes Days of Future Past material from New Mutants Annual 6, X-Factor Annual 5, and Uncanny X-Men Annual 14.

Vol. 21: The New Fantastic Four: FF #347-361, Annual 24, and material from Marvel Holiday Special #1.

Epic Volumes 22-24: Not yet announced, but will collect #347-402 & Annual 24-26

Vol. 25: Strange Days: FF #403-416
Also collects Fantastic Four: The Legend, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, and material from Tales of the Marvel Universe

While not an Epic Collection, Human Torch’s run of Strange Tales has been collected in its entirety in a similar format:

The Human Torch & The Thing: Strange Tales – The Complete Collection
Collects Strange Tales (1951) #101-134 & Annual (1962) #2

The Thing’s team-up title, Marvel Two-in-One, has its own Epic line.

Vol. 1: Cry Monster
Collects Marvel Feature (1971) #11-12, Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #1-19, and Marvel Team-up (1972) #47

Volumes 2 and on: Not yet announced, but will collect #20-100 & Annuals 1-7

Fantastic Four Omnibuses and Oversized Hardcovers

These massive tomes have larger pages and collect huge swaths of comics – between 25 and 50 issues a book. They look beautiful on a book-shelf! This is a list of omnibuses focused on Avengers material – other, non-Avengers omnibuses are also listed in this guide chronologically.

Marvel has created a new ultra-oversize 13 41/64″ x 21 1/4″ format to show off Jack Kirby’s artwork…

Kirby is…Fantastic! King-Sized Hardcover (2019 oversize hardcover)
A super-oversized collection (bigger than Omnibus!) of Fantastic Four (1961) #4, 12, 25-26, 52-53, 66-67, 84-87, & Annual 6

Fantastic Four: Behold…Galactus!
A super-oversized collection (bigger than Omnibus!) of Fantastic Four (1961) #48-50, 74-77, 120-123, and 242-244. Released in 2019 as a paperback and in 2019 as a standard hardcover.

Omnibus editions are also listed below in their chronological placement, as they are frequently the only coverage of a specific run.

By Lee & Kirby Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013) Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785185666)
Collects #1-30 & Annual 1. Note that the 2013 printing is sewn with lighter paper stock pages. There were two prior printings of this Omnibus that look identical – a 1st print with glued binding (flatter spine) and a 2nd print with sewn binding (rounder spine, Made in China, ISBN 0785118705). The 2nd print will be more durable in the long run. Reprinted in 2018.

By Lee & Kirby Omnibus, Vol. 2 (2013) Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785185674)
Collects #31-60 & Annuals 2-4 and Not Brand Echh #1. A prior printing employed glued binding (ISBN 0785124039), which is not as durable as sewn ones.

By Lee & Kirby Omnibus, Vol. 3 Oversized Hardcover
Collects #61-93, Annual (1963) 5-7, Not Brand Echh (1967) 5-7

Vol. 1 #94-214, 219, 222-231, & Annuals 8-16: Not collected in this format

By John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 1
Collects Fantastic Four #215-218, 220-221, 232-260 & Annual 17, Marvel Team-Up (1972) #61-62; Marvel Two-in-One #50; Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42; Avengers (1963) #233; Thing (1983) #2; and Alpha Flight (1983) #4. Reprinted in 2018.

By John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785185437)
Collects #261-295 & Annuals 18-19, Alpha Flight (1983) #4, Thing (1983) #10 and #19, Avengers Annual #14, and material from Secret Wars II #2, Epic Illustrated #26-34, What If? (1977) #36, What The -?! #2 and #10, Thing (1983) #7, Fantastic Four Roast and Fantastic Four Special Edition.

Vol. 1 #296-416: While some isolated issues appear in oversize format in event collections, there are no further FF-centric oversized collections of the remainder of the original run of Volume 1.

(Vol.2 / 1996) #1-12: Heroes Reborn Omnibus (2019 oversize hardcover, ISBN 978-1302918040)
Collects Heroes Reborn #1/2, Captain America (1996) #1-12, Avengers (1996) #1-12, Fantastic Four (1996) #1-12, Iron Man (1996) #1-12, and material from Incredible Hulk (1968) #450.

(Vol. 2 / 1996) #13 is not recollected because it features Wildstorm characters who Marvel does not have the license to reprint.

Vol. 3 #1-59: While some isolated issues appear in oversize format in event collections, there are no FF-centric oversized collections of this run.

By Waid & Wieringo Omnibus(2018 hardcover)
Collects Fantastic Four (1998) #60-70 & (1961) #500-524, and #500 Director’s Cut

By Waid & Wieringo, Vol. 1 Oversize Hardcover
Collects #60-70 & 500-502

By Waid & Wieringo, Vol. 2 Oversize Hardcover
Collects #503-513

By Waid & Wieringo, Vol. 3 Oversize Hardcover
Collects #514-524

Vol. 1 #525-535: Not collected in this format

Civil War: Fantastic Four
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #536-543, Black Panther (2005) #18-25, Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways (2006) #1-4,  and She-Hulk (2005) #8. Issues#536-537 are also in Thor by JMS Omnibus (they act as a prologue).

Vol. 1 #544-569: Not collected in this format

By Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1 Omnibus Oversize Hardcover (ISBN 0785165665)
Collects (in this order) Dark Reign #1-5, Dark Reign: The Cabal, Fantastic Four #570-588, and FF #1-5.

By Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2 Omnibus Oversize Hardcover
Collects Fantastic Four #600-611 and FF #6-23 in this order, as tweeted by Hickman himself! FF 6-11, F4 600 (plus all the backups), FF 12, F4 601, FF 13, F4 602, FF 14, F4 603, FF 15, F4 604, FF 16, F4 605-605.1-606, FF 17-18, F4 607-608, FF 19-21, F4 609-610, FF 22, F4 611, FF 23.

By Matt Fraction Omnibus Oversize Hardcover
Collects this entire run – Fantastic Four (2012) 1-16 & 5AU, FF (2012) 1-16; and material from Marvel Now! Point One

Vol. 5 (2014) #1-14 & Vol. 1 #642-645: Not collected in this format.

Avengers & New Avengers: I cannot possibly overstate that Jonathan Hickman’s Avenger’s is ultimately an output of his Fantastic Four and – though it only stars Reed – should be viewed as the build to the climax of his FF run: Secret Wars.

Secret Wars: See Marvel Universe Events. This is an FF story.

Before Fantastic Four

Fantastic Four: Books of Doom #1-6 (ISBN 0785117040)
Though released here, this occurs entirely prior to Doom’s debut in Fantastic Four #5.

Before the Fantastic Four (2000)
Three mini-series exploring the lives of the FF before they were irradiated! Includes Ben Grimm and Logan #1-3, Reed Richards #1-3, and The Storms #1-3. The Grimm series is collected in Wolverine: Pre-History.

Fantastic Four: Season One(2012 hardcover)
A 2012 retelling updates the origin of the Fantastic Four to the modern day (which, by virtue of Marvel’s sliding timescale, is when it occurred!). Recollected in 2019 paperback as Fantastic Four: Fantastic Origins

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #1-104 – The Silver Age (1961 – 1970)

#1-30: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013) Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785185666)
Also includes Annual 1. Note that the 2013 printing is sewn with lighter paper stock pages. There were two prior printings of this Omnibus that look identical – a 1st print with glued binding (flatter spine) and a 2nd print with sewn binding (rounder spine, Made in China, ISBN 0785118705). The 2nd print will be more durable in the long run. Reprinted in 2018.

Fantastic Four: First Family
Effectively a “hidden years” look at what the team was going through during #1.

#1-2: Collected many different places over the years, notably including #1 in Maximum Fantastic Four (a panel-by-panel reprint of the first issue) and #2 in Secret Invasion: The Infiltration and Secret Invasion: Rise Of The Skrulls (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302912468)

#1-18: Epic Collection: The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine (Epic Vol. 1)

#1-30: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 1 (2013) Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785185666)
Also includes Annual 1. Note that the 2013 printing is sewn with lighter paper stock pages. There were two prior printings of this Omnibus that look identical – a 1st print with glued binding (flatter spine) and a 2nd print with sewn binding (rounder spine, Made in China, ISBN 0785118705). The 2nd print will be more durable in the long run.

#5: Fantastic Four: The Movie (ISBN 0785118098)
Collects key issues Fantastic Four (1961) #5 & 190, Fantastic Four (1998) #60, and Fantastic Four: The Movie (2005) #1.

Human Torch’s run in Strange Tales begins here.

After #7, Human Torch begins his run in Strange Tales with #101-102. After #8, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #103

Annual 1 (2nd story) occurs after #9.

After #9 & Annual 1 (2nd story), Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #104. After #10, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #105.

#11: Marvel Visionaries: Stan Lee, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785116931)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) Annual 01, #33 & 96-98, Captain America (1968) #110, Captain America Comics (1941) #3 & 16, Daredevil (1964) #7 & 47, Fantastic Four (1961) Annual 03 & #11, Marvel Premiere (1972) #3, Silver Surfer (1968) #5, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) Super Special 1, Thor (1966) #179-181

After #11, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #106-107. Also, during the 2nd story, he appears in a flashback story in Marvel Comics Presents #160-161. After #12, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #108.

#13: Marvel 70th Anniversary Collection (ISBN 0785137432)
Collects Amazing Adult Fantasy (1961) #13, The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #50, The Avengers (1963) #93, The Avengers (1998) #4, Captain America (2005) #25, Captain America Comics (1941) #2-3, Daredevil (1964) #168, Fantastic Four (1961) #13, The Incredible Hulk (1968) #340, Journey Into Mystery (1952) #2, Marvels (1994) #0, New Avengers: Illuminati (2007) #1, Strange Tales (1951) #115, Sub-Mariner Comics (1941) #1, Tales to Astonish (1959) #13, Ultimate Spider-Man (2000) #13, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #134

#18: Secret Invasion: Rise of the Skrulls (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302912468)
Collecting a concise history of the Skrulls via Fantastic Four (1961) #2, 18, & Annual 19; Avengers (1963) #97 & Annual 14; Silver Surfer (1987) #25; Marvel: The Lost Generation #11; Captain Marvel (2007) #1-5; Ms. Marvel (2006) #25-27; material from Fantastic Four (1961) #257, Marvel Westerns: Kid Colt and The Arizona Girl, Avengers: The Initiative Annual 1, and Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust?

After #14, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #109, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #3, and ST #110, plus a flashback in Alias (2001) #22. After #15, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales #111. After #18 (and prior to Annual 1), Human Torch appears in Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #5, Strange Tales (1951) #112, and Strange Tales (1951) #Annual 2

#19-32 & Annual 1-2: Epic Collection: The Master Plan of Doctor Doom (Epic Vol. 2)
Fantastic Four (1961) #Annual 1 occurs after #18. Annual 2 occurs prior to #31.

After Annual 1, Human Torch appears in Avengers (1963) #1 and Strange Tales (1951) #113. During #19, Human Torch cameos in flashback in Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #53. This is also retconned to be a key Apocalypse appearance, so Torch’s participation is implied or off-panel in later Apocalypse flashbacks. After #19, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #114 and Avengers (1963) #1.5 (published later

After #20, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #115 and Avengers (1963) #3. After #21, Human Torch appears in flashback in Fury (1994) #1 and in Strange Tales (1951) #116. After #22: Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #117. After #23, Human Torch appears in flashback series Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (1995) #6 and in Strange Tales (1951) #119

#25-26: Hulk vs. The Marvel Universe (ISBN 0785131299)
Collects Daredevil (1964) #163, Fantastic Four #25-26, Hulk vs. Fin Fang Foom (2008) #1, The Incredible Hulk (1968) #300 & 340, Journey Into Mystery (1952) #112, Peter Parker: Spider-Man (1999) #14, Tales to Astonish (1959) #92-93

#25-26: Avengers vs. Fantastic Four (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920722)
Collects FF #25-26, 150, 255-256 & Annual #19; Avengers (1963) #127, 233, 301-303, & Annual 14; New Avengers: AAFES AKA New Avengers Guest Starring the Fantastic Four (2005) #1; and Mighty Avengers (2007) #25-26.

After #26, Human Torch appears in flashback series Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (1995) #13 and in Strange Tales (1951) #120-121

#28: Featured in various FF vs. X-Men collections, most recently X-Men vs. Avengers/Fantastic Four TPB.

After #27, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #122 and Daredevil (1964) #2. After #28, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #123 (and, simultaneously, in flashback series Marvels (1994) #2) and Spider-Man Family Vol. 2 (2007) #3. After #29, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #124.

After #30, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #125, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #Annual 1, Strange Tales (1951) #126, in flashbacks in Marvels (1994) #2 and Strange Tales Vol. 3 (1994), Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #17-18, Strange Tales (1951) #127, and Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #19.

Fantastic Four (1961) #Annual 2 (3rd story) occurs prior to #31.

#31-60: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 2 (2013) Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785185674)
Also includes Annuals 2-4 and Not Brand Echh #1. A prior printing employed  glued binding (ISBN 0785124039), which is not as durable as sewn ones.

After #31, Human Torch appears in Tales Of Suspense (1959) #56 (2nd story). After #32, Human Torch appears in Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (1995) Annual 1997. After #33, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #128 and Strange Tales (1951) #118. After #34, Human Torch appears in Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #21, Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #8 (2nd story), Untold Tales Of Spider-Man (1995) Annual 1996, Strange Tales (1951) #129, and Avengers (1963) #13. 

After #35, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #130. After #36, Human Torch appears in flashback in Spider-Man/Human Torch (2005) #1 and Marvels (1994) #2, then in Strange Tales (1951) #131. After #37, Human Torch appears in Strange Tales (1951) #132-134 and X-Men (1963) #13

#33-51 & Annual 1: Epic Collection: The Coming of Galactus (Epic Vol. 3)

Human Torch’s run in Strange Tales ends here.

#39-40: Best of the Fantastic Four Hardcover (ISBN 0785117822)
Fantastic Four (1961) #39-40, 51, 100, 116, 176, 236, & 267, Fantastic Four (1998) #56, & 60, Marvel Fanfare (1982) #15, Marvel Knights 4 (2004) #4, Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #50.

#48-50: Silver Surfer Epic Collection Vol. 1: When Calls Galactus 
Collects early Surfer stories from Fantastic Four (1961) 48-50, 55, 57-60, 72, 74-77; plus excerpts from Tales To Astonish (1959) 92-93, Fantastic Four (1961) 56, 61, Annual 5

#51: See Best Of (above)

#51: Grand Design
Collects Fantastic Four: Grand Design (2019) #1-2

#48-51: Jack Kirby Visionaries, Vol. 1 Hardcover (ISBN 0785115749)
Amazing Adventures (1961) #1, Amazing Adventures (1970) #1-2, The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #8, The Avengers (1963) #4, Captain America (1968) #200, Captain America Comics (1941) #1, The Eternals (1976) #7, Fantastic Four (1961) #48-51 & Annual 05, The Incredible Hulk (1962) #3, The Rawhide Kid (1955) #17, Red Raven Comics (1940) #1, Sgt. Fury (1963) #6, Strange Tales (1951) #94, Thor (1966) #134-136, What If? (1977) #11, Yellow Claw (1956) #3

#52-67 & Annual 4-5: Epic Collection: The Mystery of the Black Panther (Epic Vol. 4)
Collects FF #52-67 & Annual 4-5 and material from Not Brand Echh (1967) #1 & 5

#57-60: Jack Kirby Visionaries, Vol. 2 Hardcover (ISBN 0785120947)
Captain America Comics (1941) #1, Devil Dinosaur (1978) #1, Fantastic Four (1961) #57-60, Love Romances (1949) #103, Marvel Mystery Comics (1939) #23, Not Brand Echh (1967) #1, Sgt. Fury (1963) #13, Strange Tales (1951) #89 & 114, Tales of Suspense (1959) #59, Thor (1966) #154-157, Two-Gun Kid (1948) #60, Uncanny X-Men (1963) #9, Yellow Claw (1956) #4.

#57-60: In Surfer Epic, above.

#61-93: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 3 Oversized Hardcover
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) 61-93, Annual (1963) 5-7, Not Brand Echh (1967) 5-7

#65: Captain Marvel: Starforce
Collecting: Fantastic Four (1961) #65, Marvel Super-Heroes (1967) 12, Ms. Marvel (1977) #1, Captain Marvel (1968) #52, Quasar #9, Avengers (1963) #346, Captain America (1998) #8, and material from Captain America (1968) #399

#72: Not collected, except #72 in Surfer Epic, above

#73: Daredevil appearance in #73 included in MMW Daredevil Vol. 4 and Essential Daredevil Vol. 2

#74-77: In Surfer Epic, above.

#79: Stan Lee Meets (ISBN 0785122729)
The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #87, Fantastic Four (1961) #79 & 87, Marvel Premiere (1972) #3, Silver Surfer (1968) #14, and Stan Lee Meets Dr. Doom, Dr. Strange, Silver Surfer, Spider-Man & The Thing (2006) #1

#87: See Stan Lee Meets, above

#94: Pet Avengers Classic (ISBN 0785139664)
Captain America (1968) #220, The Defenders (1972) #150, Fantastic Four (1961) #94, Franklin Richards: Happy Franksgiving! (2007) #1, Journey Into Mystery (1952) #57, Ka-Zar the Savage (1981) #14-15, Marvel Comics Presents (1988) #72, Marvel Super-Heroes (1990) #8, Marvel Tales (1964) #100, The New Mutants (1983) Annual 04, The New Warriors (1990) #2, Speedball: The Masked Marvel (1988) #6, The Thing (2006) #4, X-Men Unlimited (1993) #43

#95-99: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#100: See Best of, above

Fantastic Four: The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine #1-12 (2011 oversize hardcover / 2018 paperback)

#101-104: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #105-214 – The Bronze Age (1970 – 1980)

#105-106: Marvel Visionaries: John Romita, Sr. (ISBN 0785117806)
Collects key issues of John Romita, Sr. art, including Collects Strange Tales #4; Menace #11; Young Men #24, 26; Tales to Astonish #77; Tales of Suspense #77; Daredevil #16 and 17; Amazing Spider-Man #39, #40, #42, #50, #108, #109 and #365; Fantastic Four #105 and 106; Vampire Tales #2; and Untold Tales of Spider-Man Minus 1.

#107: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#108: Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure
Reconstructs a forgotten alternate issue #103 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, some elements of which were included in #108 (also reprinted in full).

#109-110: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#111-112: Marvel Visionaries: John Buscema (ISBN 0785121617)
Collects key issues of John Buscema art,  including Avengers #41-42, 75-76, & 277, as well as Dracula Lives! (1973) #3, Fantastic Four (1961) #111-112, Marvel Spotlight (1971) #30, My Love (1949) #2, Silver Surfer (1968) #4, Strange Tales (1951) #22 & 150, Tales to Astonish (1959) #85-87, Thor (1966) #200, and Wolverine (1988) #10.

#113-115: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#116: Collected in Best of (above)

#117-118: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#119: Marvel Visionaries: Roy Thomas Hardcover (ISBN 0785120882)
Collects key issues of Roy Thomas writing, including Avengers #35, 57-58, & 100, as well as Amazing Adventures (1970) #8, Captain Marvel (1968) #19, Chamber of Darkness (1969) #4, Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme (1988) #9, Dracula Lives! (1973) #1, Fantastic Four (1961) #119 & 176, Giant-Size Invaders (1975) #1, The Incredible Hulk (1968) #147, Modeling With Millie (1963) #44, Not Brand Echh (1967) #12, The Sub-Mariner (1968) #8 & 14, Tales of Suspense (1959) #73, and Uncanny X-Men (1963) #64.

#120-132: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#133: Hulk Giant-Size (ISBN 0785134697)
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #133, Giant-Size Hulk (2006) #1, Giant-Size Incredible Hulk (2008) #1, Hulk vs. Hercules: When Titans Collide (2008) #1, Hulk: Raging Thunder (2008) #1, The Incredible Hulk (1968) Annual 07. Also available in hardcover.

#134-149: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

Marvel Two-in-One – a Thing Team-Up book – begins after #139.

#150: Marvel Weddings (ISBN0785116869)
Also appears in Essential Avengers 6.

#150: Avengers vs. Fantastic Four (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920722)
Collects FF #25-26, 150, 255-256 & Annual #19; Avengers (1963) #127, 233, 301-303, & Annual 14; New Avengers: AAFES #1; and Mighty Avengers (2007) #25-26.

#151-163: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#164-176: Fantastic Four: Crusaders and Titans (ISBN 0785184368)

#164-165: Atlas: Marvel Boy TPB (ISBN 0785147713)

#164-167: Fantastic Four Visionaries: George Perez, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785117253)
Also collects #170, 176-178,  & 184-186.

#176-178: Collected in Perez Vol. 1, above

#179-183: Not collected (except in Masterworks and Essentials, above)

#184-186: Collected in Perez Vol. 1, above

#187-188: Fantastic Four Visionaries: George Perez, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785120602)
Also collects #191-192, Annuals 14-15, Marvel Two-in-One #60, and Adventures of the Thing #3.

#189: Not collected; reprint of Annual 4

#190: Fantastic Four: The Movie (ISBN 0785118098)
Collects key issues Fantastic Four (1961) #5 & 190, Fantastic Four (1998) #60, and Fantastic Four: The Movie (2005) #1.

#191-192: Collected in Perez Vol. 2, above

#192-200: The Overthrow of Doom Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcover (ISBN 0785156054)

#201-203: Reuinited They Stand TPB (ISBN 0785162860)
Also collects Annuals 12-14.

#204-214: In Search of Galactus Marvel Premiere Classic Hardcover (ISBN 0785137343)

Essentials collections end with #207.

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #215-295 – John Byrne (1980 – 1986)

The initial portion of this run was helmed by comic all-star John Byrne on scripts and pencils, and is collected in full in two formats – oversize omnibus and standard trade paperback.

As oversized omnibus editions…

#215-218, 220-221, & 232-260: Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 1
Also collects Fantastic Four #215-218 & 220-221 and Annual 17, Marvel Team-Up (1972) #61-62; Marvel Two-in-One #50; Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man #42; Avengers (1963) #233; Thing (1983) #2; and Alpha Flight (1983) #4. Reprinted in 2018.

#261-295: Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785185437)
Also collects Annuals 18-19, Alpha Flight (1983) #4, Thing (1983) #10 and #19, Avengers Annual #14, and material from Secret Wars II #2, Epic Illustrated #26-34, What If? (1977) #36, What The -?! #2 and #10, Thing (1983) #7, Fantastic Four Roast and Fantastic Four Special Edition.

As trade paperbacks…

#215-218 & #220-221: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 0 (ISBN 0785137610)
Also collects Marvel Team-Up (1972) #61-62; Marvel Two-in-One #50. Also, see below for John Byrne Omnibus, which includes these same issues as a preface to the main issues collected.

#219 & #222-231: Not collected

#232-240: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785142703)

Masterworks editions currently end with #240

#241-250: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785114645)

#251-257: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 3 (ISBN 0785116796)
Annual 17, Avengers #233, The Thing #2

#258-267: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 4 (ISBN 0785117105)
Alpha Flight #4 and Thing #10

#268-275: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 5 (ISBN 0785118446)
Annual 18 and The Thing #19

#276-284: Fantastic Four Visionaries, John Byrne, Vol. 6 (ISBN 0785121900)
Secret Wars II (1985) #2 and The Thing (1983) #23.

#285-286: Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 7 (ISBN 0785127356)
Collects the return of Jean Grey, and a few other surrounding issues. Includes The Avengers (1963) #263 & Annual 14, Fantastic Four (1961) #285-286 & Annual 19, and X-Factor (1986) #1.

#287-295: Fantastic Four Visionaries: John Byrne, Vol. 8 (ISBN 0785127364)

Other collections of the material (and contemporaneous stories)

#218: Collected variously alongside Spectacular Spider-Man #42 – in Essential Spectacular Spider-Man Vol. 2, Fantastic Four / Spider-Man Classic, and Spider-Man/Fantastic Four mini-series in TPB and Hardcover.

#219 & #222-231: Not collected

The Thing #1-10: Thing Classic, Vol. 1 (IBSN 078515308X)
Written by Byrne. Runs alongside Visionaries Vol. 3-4.

The Thing #11-22: Thing Classic, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785159797)
Written by Byrne. Runs alongside Visionaries Vol. 5-6.

#255-256: Avengers vs. Fantastic Four (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920722)
Collects FF #25-26, 150, 255-256 & Annual #19; Avengers (1963) #127, 233, 301-303, & Annual 14; New Avengers: AAFES #1; and Mighty Avengers (2007) #25-26.

#282, 285, 288: Secret Wars II Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785131116)
The truly massive collection of the second Secret Wars Maxi-Series incidentally collects seven issues of FF! Includes Secret Wars II #1-9; New Mutants #30 & #36-37; Captain America #308; Uncanny X-Men #196 & #202-203; Iron Man #197; Fantastic Four#282, #285, #288 & #316-319; Web of Spider-Man #6; Amazing Spider-Man #268 & #273-274; Daredevil #223; Incredible Hulk #312; Avengers#260-261 & #265-266; Dazzler #40; Alpha Flight #28; Thing #30; Doctor Strange #74; Cloak & Dagger #4; Power Pack #18; Thor #363; Power Man & Iron First #121; Peter Parker, Spectacular Spider-Man #111; Defenders #152; Deadpool Team-Up #1; and Quasar #8.

#286: X-Men: Phoenix Rising Hardcover (ISBN 0785139486)
Acts as a prelude to X-Factor, collecting all of the books connected to Jean Grey’s revival – Avengers #263, Fantastic Four #286, X-Factor #1, and Classic X-Men #8 & #43. There is a paperback edition and this issue appears in other X-Factor collections.

Annual 19: Secret Invasion: Rise of the Skrulls (2018 paperback, ISBN 978-1302912468)
Collecting a concise history of the Skrulls via Fantastic Four (1961) #2, 18, & Annual 19; Avengers (1963) #97 & Annual 14; Silver Surfer (1987) #25; Marvel: The Lost Generation #11; Captain Marvel (2007) #1-5; Ms. Marvel (2006) #25-27; material from Fantastic Four (1961) #257, Marvel Westerns: Kid Colt and The Arizona Girl, Avengers: The Initiative Annual 1, and Secret Invasion: Who Do You Trust?

Annual 19: Avengers vs. Fantastic Four (2019 paperback, ISBN 978-1302920722)
Collects FF #25-26, 150, 255-256 & Annual #19; Avengers (1963) #127, 233, 301-303, & Annual 14; New Avengers: AAFES #1; and Mighty Avengers (2007) #25-26.

The Thing #23-36
Begins around Fantastic Four #284. Not collected except for #23 above in Visionaries, #24 & 33 in Captain America: Scourge of the Underworld, and #30 above in Secret Wars II Omnibus.

#289-290: Greatest Villains of the Fantastic Four
Collects Fantastic Four (1961) #100, #258-260, #289-290, and Annual 5.

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #296-355 – Stern, Englehart, and Simonson (1986 – 1991)

#296: Fantastic Four: Lost Adventures (ISBN 0785140476)
Collects #296, #543, Fantastic Four: The Lost Adventure, and The Last Fantastic Four Story. Also available in hardcover.

#296-307: Epic Collection: All in the Family (Epic Vol. 17) (978-0785188650)
Also collects Fantastic Four Annual #20 and Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men #1-4

#300: Secret Invasion: Fantastic Four (ISBN 0785132473)
Collected as background along with #357-358 to the three-issue Fantastic Four Secret Invasion mini-series.

Mephisto Vs… Hardcover (ISBN 0785138048)
A four-issue mini-series with Mephisto tricking a series of heroes into joining him in hell, starting with the members of the Fantastic Four! Also includes X-Men, Avengers, and X-Factor.

The X-Men vs. The Fantastic Four Hardcover (ISBN 0785138072)
A 1987 four-issue mini-series. Also available in paperback in combination with X-Men vs. Avengers. Also collected in Marvel Universe by Chris Claremont Omnibus Hardcover. See Uncanny X-Men for further collection options.

#308-311: Not collected

#312: X-Men: The Fall of the Mutants Omnibus (ISBN 0785108254)
Occurs on the tail-end of the Fall of the Mutants non-linear crossover, as X-Factor celebrates their victory over Apocalypse. Include New Mutants (1983) #55-61, Uncanny X-Men #220-227, X-Factor (1986) #19-26, Captain America (1968) #339, Daredevil (1964) #252, Fantastic Four (1961) #312, Incredible Hulk (1968) #340, Power Pack (1984) #35.

#313-315: Not collected

#316-319: Collected in Secret Wars II Omnibus, above.

#320: Incredible Hulk Visionaries: Peter David, Vol. 3 (ISBN 0785120955)
Collects The Incredible Hulk (1968) #349-354 and Web of Spider-Man (1985) #44.

#321: Not collected

#322-324: X-Men: Inferno Crossovers Hardcover (ISBN 0785146717)
A companion Inferno tome that collects the tie-in issues from through-out the Marvel Universe. Collects Power Pack (1984) #40 & #42-44, Avengers (1963) #298-300, Fantastic Four (1961) #322-324, Amazing Spider-Man (1962) #311-313, Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #146-148, Web of Spider-Man #47-48, Daredevil (1964) #262-263 &265, Excalibur (1988) #6-7, and Cloak & Dagger (1988) #4. The main X-Men issues of the crossover are collected in X-Men: Inferno. Re-issued in 2016 in paperback without the Power Pack, Excalibur, and Cloak & Dagger issues.

#325-333: Not collected

#334-346 & Annual #23: Epic Collection: Into the Timestream (Epic Vol. 20)
Also includes Days of Future Past material from New Mutants Annual 6, X-Factor Annual 5, and Uncanny X-Men Annual 14.

Annual 23: X-Men: Days of Future Past  Oversized Hardcover
Collects all of X-Mens “Days of Future” stories from Uncanny X-men (1981) #141-142 & Annual 14; New Mutants Annual 6; X-Factor Annual 5; Excalibur (1988) #52 & 66-67; Wolverine: Days Of Future Past #1-3; the A-Story from Fantastic Four Annual 23, and material from Hulk: Broken Worlds 2

#334-336: Acts of Vengeance Crossovers Omnibus Oversized Hardcover (ISBN 0785144889)
Collects the disconnected Acts of Vengeance storyline, which featured villains crossing over from other books. Collects Fantastic Four #334-336; Wolverine (1988) #19-20; Dr. Strange (1988) #11-13; Incredible Hulk #363; Punisher #28-29; Punisher War Journal #12-13; Marc Spector: Moon Knight #8-10; Daredevil #275-276; Power Pack #53; Alpha Flight (1983) #79-80; New Mutants #84-86; Uncanny X-Men #256-258; X-Factor #49-50;  Web of Spider-Man #64-65; and the Damage Control mini-series. A main Acts of Vengeance book collects additional issues.

#334-341: Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walt Simonson, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785127585)

#341: Bring Back the Bad Guys (ISBN 0785105913)
A volume focusing on the origins and major exploits of villains. Also available in hardcover. Includes The Amazing Spider-Man (1963) #50, The Avengers (1963) #8, Daredevil (1964) #172, Fantastic Four (1961) #341, Giant-Size Avengers (1974) #2, Iron Man (1968) #275, The Origin of Galactus (1996) #1, Tales of Suspense (1959) #50, and Uncanny X-Men (1963) #4 &#161.

#342-346: Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walt Simonson, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785131302)

#347-349: Fantastic Four: Monsters Unleashed
A 1992 TPB featuring the Spider-Man, Wolverine, Hulk, Ghost-Rider iteration of Fantastic Four

#347-349: X-Men Legends, Vol. 3: Arthur Adams (ISBN 0785110496)
Also collects the unrelated New Mutants Special Edition (1985) #1 and Uncanny X-Men (1963) Annual 09-10 & 12

#347-349, 351-354: Fantastic Four Visionaries: Walt Simonson, Vol. 3 (ISBN 0785137513)

#347-361 & Annual 24: Epic Collection: The New Fantastic Four (Epic Vol. 21)
Also collects material from Marvel Holiday Special #1.

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 #356-416 – Tom DeFalco (1991 – 1996)

#347-361 & Annual 24: Epic Collection: The New Fantastic Four (Epic Vol. 21)
Also collects material from Marvel Holiday Special #1

#356: Connects with New Warriors #16-17, but not directly enough to warrant collection in New Warriors Classic, Vol. 3.

#357-358: Collected in Secret Invasion, above (with #300)

#362-365: Not collected.

#366-370: Tie-ins to Infinity War – See Marvel Universe Events for collection information outside of Fantastic Four collections.

#371-386: Not collected

#387-392: Fantastic Four: Nobody Gets Out Alive (ISBN 0785100636)
Out-of-print 1995 TPB.

From here a new series – Fantastic Force – branches out for 18 issues. It is not collected except #8-9 in Atlantis Rising, below.

#393-400: Not collected

#401-402: Fantastic Four / Inhumans: Atlantis Rising (ISBN 978-0785185482)
Collects Namor the Sub-Mariner 60-62, Fantastic Four: Atlantis Rising 1-2, Fantastic Force (1994) 8-9, Fantastic Four (1961) 401-402, and Fantastic Four Unlimited 11. Omits Warlock & The Infinity Watch #41-42.

#403-416: Epic Collection: Strange Days (Epic Vol. 25)
Also collets Fantastic Four: The Legend, Onslaught: Marvel Universe, material from Tales of the Marvel Universe

#414-416: See Marvel Events: Onslaught

Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 by Choi, Lee, & Booth (1996 – 1998)

In 1996 Fantastic Four was shunted into a pocket universe after the climax of Onslaught, where they were written and drawn by Jim Lee, with Brandon Choi assisting on writing and Brett Booth penciling the later half of the run.

See Marvel Events: Heroes Reborn for more information.

#1-12: Heroes Reborn: Fantastic Four (ISBN 0785123369)
There are two versions of this TPB. The link above is for a 2006 reprint. The original was a late 90s printing under the “Marvel’s Finest” banner. A separate TPB collected only the first six issues. Reprinted in 2018.

#13: Not collected. Part of World War 3 crossover with other Heroes Reborn titles.

Heroes Reborn: The Return (ISBN 0785137483)
Collects Heroes Reborn: the Return #1-4 and Heroes Reborn one-shots: Doomsday, Ashema, Masters of Evil, Rebel, Remnants, Young Allies, and Doom

Fantastic Four, Vol. 3 (1998 – 2003)

This run starts out with a whopping 32 issues in the hands of famous X-Men scribe Chris Claremont and later Iron Man artist Salvador Larroca, a pair who would later go on to introduce X-Treme X-Men.

#1-15, 1/2, & Annual 1998:  Heroes Return – The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Collects Fantastic Four (1998) #1-15 & 1/2, Fantastic Four Annual 1998; and Iron Man (1998) #14 (a crossover with #15)

#16-32 & Annuals 1999-2000: Heroes Return – The Complete Collection Vol. 2

Galactus The Devourer #1-6
Fits after #23

Domination Factor: Fantastic Four #1-4: Not collected. A mini-series threaded with an Avengers mini-series of the same name. Directly follows Devourer

Doom #1-3: Doom (ISBN 0785108351)
Collects Doom (2000) #1-3, which occur after #25 and before #30, and Doom: The Emperor Returns (2002) #1-3, which occurs prior to #50.

Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest Comics Magazine (2001-2002) #1-12: Stories set in the Silver age. See Silver Age, above, for collection information.

#33-34: Not collected. A two-issue stint by John Francis Moore to resolve Larroca’s run on art.

Fantastic 4th Voyage of Sinbad: Not collected. One shot by the Claremont/Larocca that fits after #34.

#35-39: Fantastic Four: Flesh & Stone (ISBN 0785107932)

Fantastic Four: 1 2 3 4 #1-4
A Grant Morrison Marvel Knights series. Chronologically, this may be placed with early FF, as it’s a story about them receiving their powers. Available in hardcover and reprinted in 2018 with material from Marvel Knights Double Shot #2.

An out-of-continuity Gen13/Fantastic Four one-shot in 2001

#40-45: Fantastic Four: Into the Breach (ISBN 0785108653)

Doom: The Emporer Returns #1-3: Doom (ISBN 0785108351)
Collects Doom (2000) #1-3, which occur after #25 and before #30, and Doom: The Emperor Returns (2002) #1-3, which occurs prior to #50.

#46-50: Fantastic Four: The Resurrection of Galactus Hardcover (ISBN 0785144765)
Also collects Annual 2001

#51-54: Fantastic Four / Inhumans (ISBN 0785127038)
Also collects Inhumans #1-4

Thing & She-Hulk: Long Night: See Freakshow, below.

#55-59: Not collected, except #56, in Imaginauts (ISBN 0785110631).

Thing #1-4: Freakshow (ISBN 0785119116)
Also collects Thing/She-Hulk: The Long Night. Freakshow fits between #56-57; Long Night between #54-55.

#60: Fantastic Four: The Movie (ISBN 0785118098)
Collects key issues Fantastic Four (1961) #5 & 190, Fantastic Four (1998) #60, and Fantastic Four: The Movie (2005) #1.

#60-66: Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 1 (ISBN 0785156550)
Also collects Avengers #400. Previously collected as Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Imaginauts, which omitted the Avengers in favor of the non-Waid/Wieringo FF #56.

B-Sides (2002-2003) #1-3: Not collected. Mini-series co-stars the Fantastic Four and fits between #60-61.

Hulk/Thing #1-4: Hard Knocks (ISBN 0785115765)
Though published later, this fits after #66.

#67-70: Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 2 (ISBN 0785156585)
Also collects the proceeding #500-502. Previously collected as Fantastic Four, Vol. 2: Unthinkable. See above for oversize collection.

Human Torch #1-12: Human Torch by Karl Kesel & Skottie Young: The Complete Collection
Issues #1-6 previously collected in digest format.

Startling Stories: The Thing – Night Falls on Yancy Street (2003) #1-4: Not collected. need to check placement

Startling Stories: The Thing (2003) #1: Not collected. Need to check placement.

Fantastic Four: Big Town (2001) #1-4: An alternate timeline story

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 (again!) & Marvel Knights 4 (2oo3 – 2010)

#500-502: Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 2 (ISBN 0785156585)
Also collects the preceding #67-70. Previously collected as Fantastic Four, Vol. 2: Unthinkable. See above for oversize collection.

#503-513: Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 3 (ISBN 0785156577)
Previously collected as #503-508: Fantastic Four, Vol. 3: Authoritative Action and #509-513: Fantastic Four, Vol. 4: Hereafter. See above for oversize collection.

#514-524: Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo Ultimate Collection, Book 4 (ISBN 0785156615)
Previously collected as #514-519: Fantastic Four, Vol. 5: Disassembled and #520-524: Fantastic Four, Vol. 6: Rising Storm. See above for oversize collection.

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: Wolf at the Door (ISBN 0785114718)
Marvel Knights 4 #1-7 occur between #516-517. Reprinted as Fantastic Four by Aguirre-Saca & McNiven.

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four, Vol. 2: The Stuff of Nightmares (ISBN 0785114726)
Marvel Knights 4 #8-11 occur between #516-517.

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four by Aguirre-Sacasa, McNiven & Muniz: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Also collects Hulk/Thing: Hard Knocks #1-4

#525-526: Fantastic Four: The Beginning of the End (ISBN 078512554X)
Also collects #551-553

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four, Vol. 3: Divine Time (ISBN 0785116788)
Marvel Knights 4 #13-18 occur after #526.

Fantastic Four / Iron Man: Big in Japan #1-4
Occurs after MK Four #14

X-Men/Fantastic Four (2005) AKA X4 #1-5
Occurs after MK Four #14 and Big In Japan, and during Astonishing X-Men #1-3. Available in oversize hardcover.

Fantastic Four: Foes #1-6 (ISBN 0785116621)
Occurs after MK Four #18.

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four, Vol. 4: Impossible Things Happen Every Day (ISBN 078511808X)
Collects Marvel Knights 4 #19-24

House of M: The Fantastic Four have their own three-issue mini, which is collected as House of M: Fantastic Four / Iron Man. See Marvel Universe Events: House of M for more information. Occurs after MK Four #21 and before the Spider-Man series directly below.

Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four #1-4: Silver Rage
Occur after MK Four #21.

Marvel Knights Fantastic Four, Vol. 5: The Resurrection of Nicholas Scratch (ISBN 0785119590)
Collects Marvel Knights 4 #25-27 (which end prior to #527) & Four #28 (before #533), 29-30 (after #537)

#527-532: Fantastic Four by J.M. Straczynski, Vol. 1 (ISBN 0785120297)

Onslaught Reborn
Four-issue mini-series. FF only appears in #1 prior to Four #23. Available in oversize hardcover

#533-535: Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic (ISBN 0785118969)
Effectively J. M. Staczynski, Vol. 2. Also collects Wedding Special 2005, My Dinner with Dr. Doom, and A Death in the Family

Fantastic Four: Books of Doom #1-6 (ISBN 0785117040)
Though released here, this occurs entirely prior to Doom’s debut in Fantastic Four #5.

#536-537: Road to Civil War
Also collects New Avengers: Illuminati and Amazing Spider-Man #529-531. The pair of FF issues are also collected in Thor by JMS Omnibus.

Spider-Man / Human Torch #1-5 oversize hardcover
Stories in this series span the entire length of Fantastic Four but resolves in the present day just prior to Civil War around the same time as Thing #8. Also available in digest format. Recollected in The Thing & The Human Torch by Dan Slott

Thing (2006) #1-8: Idol of Millions (ISBN 0785118136)
Occurs between #537-538; ends prior to Civil War. Recollected in The Thing & The Human Torch by Dan Slott

#538-543: Fantastic Four: Civil War (ISBN 0785122273)
Later re-collected in over-sized hardcover along with #536-537, plus Civil War issues of Black Panther, She-Hulk, and Young Avengers / Runaways. See Marvel Events: Civil War for more info. Reprinted in 2016.

#544-550: Fantastic Four: The New Fantastic Four (ISBN 0785124837)
Also available in hardcover.

Annual 33: Marvel Tales (ISBN 0785140328)
Collects a 2012 Alan Davis Clandestine story running across Fantastic Four Annual 33, Daredevil Annual #1, Wolverine Annual #1 and Thor: Truth of History. Though released here, it seems to fit just after #550.

#551-553: Fantastic Four: The Beginning of the End (ISBN 078512554X)
Also collects #525-526.

Fantastic Four: Island of Death (ISBN 0785144102)
Collects Fantastic Four: ¡Isla De La Muerte! (2008) and Fantastic Four in…Ataque del M.O.D.O.K.! Reprint is presumably the English translation.

Fantastic Four: True Story
Fits prior to #554. A four-issue mini-series where the team is pulled into famous works of fiction. Appears to be in continuity.

#554-561: Fantastic Four: World’s Greatest (ISBN 0785125558)
By Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Also available in hardcover.

#562-569: Fantastic Four: The Masters of Doom (ISBN 0785129677)
By Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch. Also available in hardcover.

Fantastic Four: Secret Invasion #1-3 (ISBN 0785132473)
Also collects #300 and #357-358. Fits between #563-564

Fantastic Four: Dark Reign #1-5: Fits between #565-566. See the next section for collection information

Spider-Man & Human Torch: Bahia De Los Muertos #1: After #569

Fantastic Four: The End (2007) #1-6: A non-continuity flash forward. Collected in hardcover, paperback, and 2020 paperback

Jonathan Hickman’s Fantastic Four & FF (2009-2012)

Jonathan Hickman took over the Fantastic Four in 2009 and transformed it from Marvel also-ran to one of the most innovative and in-demand comics on the stands – even expanding the line to a second book!

The entirety of this run is collected in a pair of oversized hardcovers in perfect, Hickman-approved reading order.

By Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1 Omnibus Oversize Hardcover (ISBN 0785165665)
Collects Dark Reign #1-5, Dark Reign: The Cabal, Fantastic Four #570-588, and FF #1-5.

By Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2 Omnibus Oversize Hardcover
Collects Fantastic Four #600-611 and FF #6-23 in this order, as tweeted by Hickman himself! FF 6-11, F4 600 (plus all the backups), FF 12, F4 601, FF 13, F4 602, FF 14, F4 603, FF 15, F4 604, FF 16, F4 605-605.1-606, FF 17-18, F4 607-608, FF 19-21, F4 609-610, FF 22, F4 611, FF 23.

It was also recollected in Complete Collections starting in 2018:

By Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 1
Collects Dark Reign: Fantastic Four #1-5, Fantastic Four (1998) #570-578, and material from Dark Reign: The Cabal One-Shot

By Jonathan Hickman: The Complete Collection Vol. 2
Collects #579-588 and FF (2011) #1-5

The run was also collected in hardcovers and paperbacks as it was released.

Fantastic Four: Dark Reign #1-5 (ISBN 0785139087)
This fits between #565-566, but is re-listed here as part of Hickman’s run. This unassuming TPB lays the groundwork for many of his long-running plots! This is the only Hickman FF volume with no HC edition.

Doomwar #1-6
A self-contained Black Panther event co-starring the FF. Available in oversize hardcover. Recollected with additional Black Panther issues in 2017.

#570-574: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 1: Solve Everything (0785136886)
Also available in hardcover.

Siege: See Marvel Universe Events. The FF appear only glancingly in this event.

X-Factor #200-203: Vol. 12: The Invisible Woman Has Vanished
Available in hardcover.

One Month To Live #1-4
A story about a “regular guy” in the Marvel Universe, the FF appear prominently. Available in hardcover.

Heralds #1-5
The FF appear throughout this mini-series. Available in oversize hardcover.

Chaos War: See Marvel Universe Events. The FF appear in this event; it occurs directly prior to #575.

#575-578: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 2: Prime Elements (ISBN 0785145419)
Also available in hardcover.

#579-582: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 3: The Future Foundation (ISBN 0785147187)
Also available in hardcover (Watch out! This was short-printed, so it is very expensive.)

Annual 32: Not collected. Fits after #580, but is not penned by Hickman.

Spider-Man & Fantastic Four (2010) #1-4
Modern day action in this flashback series follows Annual 32 after #580. Also collects Peter Parker, The Spectacular Spider-Man (1976) #42 and Fantastic Four (1961) #218. Available in oversize hardcover.

#583-588: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 4: Three (ISBN 0785151435)
Also available in hardcover.

Here Fantastic Four ends its run and transforms into FF – short for Future Foundation.

#1-5: FF, Vol. 1: Tomorrow (ISBN 0785151451)
Also available in hardcover.

Spider-Man: Fear Itself (ISBN 0785157034)
Though not written by Jonathan Hickman, this captures nearly all of the FF’s involvement in Fear Itself, including a 3-issue Spider-Man mini-series where he battles the corrupted Thing and an FF one-shot. Also available in hardcover.

#6-11: FF, Vol. 2 (ISBN 0785157700)
Also available in hardcover.

Here Fantastic Four resumes at #600, while FF also continues from #12.

#600-605: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 5: Forever (ISBN 0785161538)
Also available in hardcover.

#12-17: FF, Vol. 3 (ISBN 0785163131)
This should be read at the same time as Volume 5, directly above. Also available in hardcover.

Annual 33: Marvel Tales (ISBN 0785140328)
Collects an Alan Davis Clandestine story running across Fantastic Four Annual 33, Daredevil Annual #1, Wolverine Annual #1 and Thor: Truth of History. Though released here, it seems to fit just after #550.

#605.1 & 605-611: Fantastic Four by Jonathan Hickman, Vol. 6 (ISBN 0785161554) 
Also available in hardcover. #611 is also collected in Secret Wars Prelude

#17-23: FF, Vol. 4 (ISBN 0785163158)
Also available in hardcover.

Marvel Now: Fantastic Four, Vol. 4 & FF, Vol. 2 by Matt Fraction (2012 – 2014)

Matt Fraction takes over the Fantastic franchise with totally new directions for each book that do not connect to any themes of Hickman’s run.

Fantastic Four, Vol. 4 follows the team and Franklin and Valeria Richards as they take a family trip through space and time with some dire undertones for the Richards parents. Illustrated by longtime Spider-Man artist Mark Bagley, the book has a glossy, adventuresome theme that gives it the feel of a kid-friendly comic from the 1980s.

Though their adventures in space time are intended to take just a few minutes on Earth, the team designates a substitute foursome to keep an eye on New York and the Future Foundation while they are away. The team of Scott Lang as Ant Man, She-Hulk, Medusa, and Darla Deering as Ms. Thing are as dysfunctional as possible, but they bump up against each other (and the FF kids) in productive, hilarious, and sometimes terrifying ways. With pop-art illustration from Mike Allred (of iZombie and X-Statix) and a wry, tongue-in-cheek script from Matt Fraction, this is a big-time superhero book with an indie feel.

By Matt Fraction Omnibus oversize hardcover
Collects this entire run – Fantastic Four (2012) 1-16 & 5AU, FF (2012) 1-16; and material from Marvel Now! Point One

Fantastic Four, Vol. 1: New Departure, New Arrivals (ISBN 0785166599)
Collects Fantastic Four (2012) #1-3, FF (2012) #1-2, material from Point One Vol. 2.

#4-8: FF, Vol. 1: Fantastic Faux (ISBN 0785166637)
[Ed note: This was a very entertaining, beautifully rendered collection. Highly endorsed.]

#4-8: Fantastic Four, Vol. 2: Road Trip (ISBN 0785166602)
Also collects #5AU

Age of Ultron: See Marvel Universe Events. While this series winds up not being in continuity and does not involve the FF (aside from #5AU), it’s a major enough appearance for Invisible Woman that it might be worth a read – it doesn’t change her longterm story, but it’s a significant adventure for her apart from the rest of the team.

#9-16: FF, Vol. 2: Family Freakout (ISBN 0785166645)

#9-16: Fantastic Four, Vol. 3: Doomed (ISBN 0785188835)
[Ed note: This was a complete disaster – the story is disjointed and barely makes sense from panel to panel.]

All-New Marvel Now: Fantastic Four, Vol. 5 & Secret Wars (2014 – 2015)

James Robinson and Leonard Kirk take a classic turn on Fantastic Four, emphasizing the team’s history and their humanity.

#1-5: Vol. 1: The Fall of the Fantastic Four

#6-10: Vol. 2: Original Sin

#11-14 & Annual 1: Vol. 3: Back in Blue

#642-645: Vol. 4: The End is Fourever

Time Runs Out: See Avengers & New Avengers. Reed and Sue appear prominently in this Avengers flash-forward that acts as a prelude to Secret Wars.

Secret Wars: See Marvel Universe Events. This event is fundamentally a Fantastic Four event that resolves the themes of Jonathan Hickman’s run (without incurring many references to Vol. 4 or Vol. 5).

All-New, All-Different Marvel Now & Marvel Legacy (2015 – 2018)

This period marks the first time in Marvel’s modern history they have not published an ongoing Fantastic Four volume! I won’t spoil where Reed and Sue’s story winds up, but Human Torch appears in Uncanny Inhumans and Uncanny Avengers and Thing appears in Guardians of the Galaxy before becoming a supporting cast member in Infamous Iron Man.

Then, in Marvel Legacy, Torch and Thing re-team to begin the search for their lost family.

#1-6: Marvel 2-in-One, Vol. 1: Fate of the Four  

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Vol. 5: Fantastic Three
This story likely occurs sometime between the first and second arcs of Two-in-One.

#7-12 & Annual 1: Marvel 2-in-One, Vol. 2: Next of Kin

Marvel Fresh Start: The Return of the Fantastic Four (2018 – present)

After a three-year hiatus, the Fantastic Four franchise is relaunched by Dan Slott with artist Sara Pichelli in a series that ages the Sue, Reed, and the Future Foundation kids by roughly a decade.

#1-4: Vol. 1: Fourever

#5-8: Vol. 2: Mr. & Mrs. Grimm
Also collects Fantastic Four: Wedding Special #1

#6-11: Vol. 3: The Herald of Doom
I confirmed this issue range in the indicia

Fantastic Four: Prodigal Sun
Collects a trilogy of 2019 one-shots by Peter David from Fantastic Four: Prodigal Sun, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Prodigal Sun, and Silver Surfer: Prodigal Sun. They form a self-contained story that is not required reading for this FF run.

#12-16: Vol. 4: Point of Origin

?: Vol. 5 (2020 paperback)

Fantastic Four: Grand Design (2019) #1-2: Grand Design
A retrospective of the FF’s history. Also collects #51

Fantastic Four: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1: Marvels Snapshots (2021 hardcover, 978-1302924966)
A series of flashback one-shots inspired by the classic Marvels mini-series. Collects Sub-Mariner: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Fantastic Four: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Captain America: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, X-Men: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Avengers: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Spider-Man: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Civil War: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1, Captain Marvel: Marvels Snapshots (2020) #1

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