Which is one of the best Fantastic Four run? I only allow to buy two Fantastic Four omnibus volumes but I can't decide to buy which one of Hickman's or Byrne's. Help me to make decide to pick one.

Impossible choice

Seriously? Is it impossible choice?

@joppy24: Both runs are fantastic and both are collected in two volume omnibus sets. You really can't go wrong with either one. Byrne's run in the early 80s pulled the FF out of a decade long slump after Kirby and Lee left after their gold standard run. His run changes the Invisible Girl to the Invisible Woman and has a ton of great and emotional moments. Hickman's run that started in 2009 is one long form story that features a lot of moving parts that he weaves together masterfully. It too has a lot of emotional moments with great moments for all the characters. Doom has a great character arc in this series as do Franklin and Val.

I don't think that you can go wrong with either collection. I only read Byrne's run once a few years ago and am currently working my way through the entire FF series and am very much looking forward to getting back to re-read his work as it was truly great. Hickman's is one that I have read a couple times over the past year and is always a treat to go through. I think it all depends on your preference of stories to read. Hickman's run is a modern epic that features great art and is basically one giant story with amazing emotional highs and lows. John Byrne's run is more character driven with more set arcs that do influence the following arcs, but not as much as Hickman's. The stories are fantastic and I really enjoy the art as well. I know some people don't love reading the older books as it's not the art that they are used to, but he is a great story teller.

I pretty much agree with all of this. Personally I would go for Hickman's run first, only because it is more accessible since it is more modern and more in line with the current reader.

Although I am more of a Byrne man myself due to his Trial of Galactus and because Hickman's run had one big drawback for my taste...Valeria Richards.

@squalleon: I do agree that Hickman's run is an excellent place to start.

I actually enjoyed Val in the run. I thought her interactions with her older self were hilarious.

I couldn't stand her from a point and on. She acting like a grown up just bugged me and the fact that the three year old child was the main masterplaner just made me furious.
But that is a personal dislike.

@squalleon: I do dislike the fact that she is only three. I think it would be better if she was at least ten or twelve. I usually pretend that she is when I am reading her to make it less obnoxious. I did love the scene when older Val slaps her.

@joppy24: Not sure if you have purchased your books yet, but Comixology is having a sale on Hickman's run on the book.

@joppy24: I'm curious which you picked?

Personally I'd go with Byrne. I just love those characters and era.

I've read both of them. I like Hickman's FF more than Byrne's FF.

I'm glad you had the opportunity to read them both. What did you like better about Hickman's run than Byrne's?

I like the part is Richards, created Universe, Dooms, Franklin and Valerie from the future and Johnny fights bugs. I think Hickman is the brilliant writer. He knows how to weave many stories turn to one big story. Hickman shows the beginning to end of his vision. Bryne is like writing for light heart, fun and adventure. There are no beginning to end story. Jump to jump. Few of his stories felt bit outdated.

@joppy24: There are alot of stories that are outdated and some of them should be.

Fair enough. They are two of my favorite runs. I think when it comes to reading the whole run as a whole, Hickman's does provide a more satisfying read as it is one long continuous story which has been his style on just about all his Marvel work. His characterizations were great and he always has some of the best concepts. There are times in his writing, and I think it is more evident in his Avengers run, where the plot hammer strikes heavy and too many things seem to happen because the plot demands it and doesn't always come off as natural. His run does have some amazing moments. Especially around Johnny staying in the Negative Zone and his big return. Doom is awesome the whole way through. I especially loved when he is first in their home and his confrontation with Ben right after Johhny died.

Byrne's run does include some of my favorite issues and arcs. Issue 258 that follows Doom around in Latveria is one of my favorite single issues and I enjoyed the whole Trial of Reed Richards arc very much. I like what he did with a lot of characters and really revitalized the book after the 70s was pretty dull. There were some decent stories preceding his run, but nothing near the heights that Lee/Kirby had before or what Byrne did after.

bump