The Fantastic Four: First Steps Artbook Gets a Title Update and New Slipcase Art

The Artbook Collector
Sep 9
4 min read

September 9th 2025

There has been yet another update for the upcoming book based on the Marvel Cinematic Universe debut of The Fantastic Four, but one that raises yet more questions ahead of its November 18th release. Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps - The Art of the Movie has a new title update, but also an image of the slipcase the two volumes will come inside.

As you can see above, a new promotion image has been released that was spotted on retailer websites. Unfortunately, there is no high resolution image of just the artwork, nor is there any previews for the books themselves. This has been the case for the previous releases though, with the covers revealed only when you get your hands on a copy.

The most interesting update—yet one that seems a little odd—is the the addition to the title. As seen on Amazon, its full title is now 'Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps - The Art of the Movie Deluxe Edition Slipcase'. This is of note, because if you have seen previous updates on this website about the book, one thing has always been pointed out is the price. At $150, this eclipses many deluxe editions of other artbooks, yet this is the only version of the book. Adding 'Deluxe Edition' implies there is a standard edition, but no listing currently exists.

This is misleading then, because the inclusion of the word 'Edition' brings the expectation of there being multiple versions. An optimistic outcome is that this would mean that a new listing is coming for a standard edition, although these still go for a lofty sum of $100. Currently though, without another version being available, this is nothing more than a justification for the price.

Perhaps the people at Marvel have realised that the price point is way above what other publishers sell artbooks for and pre-order sales are low, so this has been used to indicate additional value. Maybe someone at the team stumbled onto this website or social media and saw the criticism of the pricing, prompting them to update book again. Either way, the idea of a Deluxe Edition is a good one, but without a standard edition. it's just a way to imply increased value without giving it.

Above art by Ryan Meinerding

While the overall quality of the Marvel Studios artbooks has been very high since The Art of Iron Man in 2008, the reality is people need to see value for money. Reporting news and updates means being as objective as possible, so while the reporting of the price has been negative, this is based on the artbook market. With so many being released each month, including a huge amount already out there for Marvel—and specifically the MCU—this stands out as being poorly priced based on what is included. Unless more updates appear before its release, two books with 288 pages between them and 5 prints is a lot to ask fans for at $150, especially when you can pick up multiple 224-page MCU artbooks for less in total.

The second volume is a new edition for this release, which is responsible for the $50 price increase. 'Future Foundation Portfolio' was the title revealed last month and it doesn't come with concept art like 'The Art of the Movie' volume, but rather schematics for the in-universe gadgets and designs of Reed Richards. It's an interesting addition that again highlights the need for a standard edition of the book, because there are potentially people that only want to see concept art, so increasing the entry price for a book that may not have the same appeal could lose Marvel potential buyers.

It will certainly be interesting to see if any more details are given or a new listing appears, because Marvel are swinging big with this one. Fans of the movies and shows are passionate people, so will the additional volume convince them to overlook the price tag, or will this format be abandoned going forward? The $100 slipcase books aren't topping the book sales charts on sites like Amazon either, which includes Marvel Studios' Thunderbolts: The Art of the Movie that was released today, which is strange given it's the biggest franchise in cinema. Could this new release be a move in the right direction, or an indication that they need to look at other artbook publishers and their approach to pricing?

Top pages by artists Rodney Fuentebella and Thomas du Crest, bottom pages by Wesley Burt

The many Marvel Cinematic Universe artbooks can fill entire book cases with high quality artwork in wonderfully designed books. Consistency was their greatest strength, but now that they have 3 different formats being released inside of the same year, not to mention the Titan Books rereleases and more coming from Abrams Books, it's clear they are changing their approach. What you find inside of each book will seemingly continue their consistent design presentation though, so perhaps they will soon settle into another format to run with for another decade as they have done before.

Check out some of their previous releases here and watch a preview of Marvel Studios' Loki: Season Two - The Art of the Series below from The Artbook Collector YouTube channel.

A copy of the book will be joining the collection to answer some of the questions surrounding this book and how it stands up to previous entries on the long-running book series. If you are also interested in ordering Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps - The Art of the Movie ahead of its release on November 18th, you can do so here;