Marvel recently announced MARVELS SNAPSHOT, a new series from MARVELS co-creator Kurt Busiek putting together a host of creative teams to tell new tales showcasing Marvel’s greatest heroes!
Following March’s initial issue of MARVEL’S SNAPSHOT: SUB-MARINER, a golden age tale told by Alan Brennert with art by Jerry Ordway featuring the company’s first mutant, Prince Namor, the adventure will continue later that month with MARVELS SNAPSHOT: FANTASTIC FOUR!
This second installment of the series will take readers to takes us to the Silver Age, turning the spotlight on Marvel’s First Family, The Fantastic Four. In this case, a story centered on The Human Torch by comic book creators Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer. The duo, known for books like Beasts of Burden, writing credits on animated series like Space Ghost: Coast to Coast and Superman: The Animated Series, feel right at home writing a story that they deem a classic tale deep-rooted in the Marvel mythos!
“I’m still blushing that Kurt chose Sarah Dyer and I to tell one of the MARVELS SNAPSHOT stories, especially this one, because the Fantastic Four was my favorite super hero team book as a kid, and MARVELS did a great job of showing how the larger-than-life Marvel characters affect the average person on the street,” says Dorkin. “We’re trying to do right by both series, packing the story with as much heart, wonder and fun as we can for both older and newer fans to enjoy.”
FANTASTIC FOUR: MARVELS SNAPSHOT reunites Dorkin and Dyer with artist Benjamin Dewey who brings this tale to life with the acclaimed art he’s known for from books like The Autumnland and Beasts of Burden.
“Teaming up with Kurt, Evan, and Sarah is delightful, challenging and a real education in the deep-cuts lore of characters I thought I knew! I’ll do my best to bring the same spark of joy and enthusiasm to the art that has clearly gone into the writing process,” says Dewey. “Ultimately we want to offer a story that gives fans a different angle on a beloved comics universe that they might not get from any other project.”
Curated by industry legend Busiek, this extraordinary series is sure to be a modern classic. Here’s what Busiek himself had to say about the passion project:
“I was thrilled to get the chance to do MARVELS SNAPSHOTS — to get a look at the Marvel Universe through a variety of eyes, from people who know the super heroes personally to people inspired by them, scared by them…even one who eventually joins them.”
“In MARVELS SNAPSHOT, we range through time, getting a look at the Marvel Universe from the very early days (as in Alan Brennert and Jerry Ordway’s Sub-Mariner story), through the dawning days of the Marvel Age, up through events of the 1970s, 80s, all the way up to today. And I went out looking for a wide variety of creators to do a wide variety of perspectives. I wanted lots of different approaches, and I was delighted that so many creators I admire were willing to join in, from longtime pros to relative newcomers, and from Marvel mainstays to those who’ve done very little with Marvel before.”
“In the second MARVELS SNAPSHOT, I asked Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer to write about the Human Torch’s ten-year high-school reunion as seen through the eyes of his ex-girlfriend Dorrie Evans, because they’ve done such warm, human, affecting work on material from Superman: The Animated Series to the awesome Beasts of Burden to Evan’s pop-culture-obsessed Eltingville Club stories, and I knew they’d embrace the crazy minutiae of comics history but bring that sense of heart and emotion to it. And I couldn’t get anyone better to draw it than Benjamin Dewey, bringing his impeccable craftsmanship and rich sense of character to the story.“
And this is just the start — we’ve got plenty more to come!”
This eight-part series is scheduled to be released twice per month over the course of four months. They will all feature painted covers by legendary artist, Alex Ross ▪
FANTASTIC FOUR: MARVELS SNAPSHOT #1
Written by EVAN DORKIN & SARAH DYER with KURT BUSIEK
Art by BENJAMIN DEWEY
Cover by ALEX ROSS
Variant Cover by BENJAMIN DEWEY