6. A Straight Answer About The Fantastic Four
Marvel ComicsRich Johnston likes to stir up trouble. The chief rumour monger of the comics industry and editor of the superhero equivalent of a tabloid, Bleeding Cool, has recently been sharing the word on the street that Marvel are planning to cancel their Fantastic Four titles. Not just because of low sales, as you might expect - it's been years since the first family have been popular, with each new creative team able to find that sweet spot that brings readers back onboard - but as a dig at 20th Century Fox, who still own the movie rights to the characters and will be rebooting on the big screen next year. Officially, the Fantastic Four title will continue to be published until the upcoming Time Runs Out crossover event wraps up in May next year, and then will go on hiatus. And at some point it will come back. And that's all we officially know. Which leaves a lot of wiggle room for people to come up with spurious rumours and hearsay, like Johnston's insistence that the whole thing is about snubbing Fox, since Marvel don't receive a whole lot in the way of royalties from their films. So, we guess they don't want to give the film publicity through their comics...? Whilst all of this seems like pretty easy speculation to dismiss, so far the House of Ideas, well, hasn't. When approached for comment from various outlets they've given none, Marvels VPP Tom Brevoort has
dodged the question on his Tumblr, and we're no closer to getting a straight answer on the fate of the Fantastic Four. So could San Diego Comic-Con be the place for Marvel to finally set the record straight and either reassure FF fans or finally put them out of their misery?
Likelihood: Lemon Herb. That's medium for people who don't go to Nandos. And it means we're not sure, but there's as much chance of Brevoort talking about South African chicken dishes as the Fantastic Four at SDCC. Which is to say: eh, maybe 50/50. The FF aren't a huge draw for Marvel, and they haven't the biggest fan base, so if there's more important stuff to deal with? They will almost certainly fall by the wayside.