Fantastic Four Celebrates 65 Years with an Oversized Anniversary Issue and a Collection of Classic Covers

2026 is the 65th anniversary of the introduction of the Fantastic Four and Marvel is celebrating with a special oversized anniversary issue for the team.

What's Happening:

• From writer Ryan North and artist Humberto Ramos, August's Fantastic Four (Volume 8) #15 will celebrate the 65th anniversary of the debut of the team in 1961's Fantastic Four #1, the comic where Stan Lee and Jack Kirby also kicked off the start of Marvel Comics, beginning a monumental new era for the company that had previously been called both Timely and Atlas.
• To acknowledge the FF's history, time travel is involved, with Marvel describing it as a story in which "The quartet (and Johnny’s facial hair) will be pushed to their limits as they spiral across eras of their own history with no hope of returning home unless a total stranger can help them return to the present, where a deadly threat awaits them."

• Per the official longline: "It's the 65th anniversary of The Fantastic Four, and to celebrate, we've got an extra-large, extra-fantastic adventure for you starring everyone's favorite adventurers, spanning centuries of history and a universe of scientific progress! The Fantastic Four have been defeated: with their personal arrows of time reversed, they're careening into the past with no hope of salvation - unless a complete stranger can find out what they need. But even if she does, that will only get them halfway home, because there's still a threat in the present that's waiting to kill them - and that's IF they can arrive there alive! This is one issue you won't want to miss - because you'll have to wait 65 years for ANYTHING like it. PLUS: Johnny's mustache saves New York City?!"

• Coming out the same day is Fantastic Four: 65 Years of the World's Greatest Comic Covers, a collection of more than 700 Fantastic Four cover images, alongside commentary from FF creators past and present.
• Featuring a cover by Ramos, Fantastic Four #15 will be released on August 5th, as will Fantastic Four: 65 Years of the World's Greatest Comic Covers, which features a cover combining classic art by John Byrne, Jack Kirby, Mike Wieringo and Walter Simonson.

What They're Saying:

Ryan North: “Fantastic Four is a comic that matters like few others in the medium, so it's been a real honour to get to write both our 700th issue, and now this, our 65th anniversary special,” explains writer Ryan North. “For this oversized issue we tell a story that runs across time - in two directions at once - while also getting to see the true effect the Fantastic Four have had on their world, and each other.  It's got sci-fi, it's got relationships, it's got thrills and chills and fun and adventure and... wait, it says here it's also got a major turning point in Johnny's moustache?  That can't be right, can it??”

Tom Brevoort (Executive Editor): "To commemorate the Fantastic Four’s 65th year of publication, Ryan North and Humberto Ramos are taking the team back in time—both figuratively and literally! And because this is an anniversary issue, the story will also incorporate some classic moments by key FF creators of the past, including Jack Kirby, John Buscema, John Byrne and Steve Epting—all seen with a new wrinkle added. It’s the sort of mind-bending adventure that fans have come to expect from this award-winning creative team, and the sort of story that will help keep the series exciting and innovative for decades to come."