Hey comic fans!

I am just getting into the comics of the Fantastic Four. I've always loved the cartoon back in the 90s and although I may be in the minority, I liked the films as well (minus Galactus). I really enjoyed the first issue of the relaunched Fantastic Four, but I am wondering, them being a shared universe, what makes the Fantastic Four stand out from other teams such as Avengers, X-Men, etc?

The Avengers, of course, are the mightiest heroes of the world. The X-Men are heroes, but deals with mutant situations for the most part. I've heard that the Fantastic Four are more of explorers and explore more cosmic situations, but aren't the Guardians of the Galaxy the same in such a way? What is their overall main focus as a team?

Thanks for taking the time to read this as well. I appreciate any help as I begin reading their titles. Also, any reading recommendations on past titles of this first family of heroes?

Anyone?

@pso_christen: Well you are right that the Guardians are a cosmic team but whereas they are more the Star Wars like swashbucklers the FF are more the high concept science guys. They traverse alternate dimensions, shrink down and explore the microverse, time travel to the beginning of the universe and all sorts of crazy science adventures also a big part of the book is that it isn't a team but a family composed of Sue, Reed, Ben, Johnny, Franklin, Valeria and the Future Foundations kids