Startling Stories: Fantastic Four - Unstable Molecules #3

The third chapter of Marvel's mature-readers reimagining of the Fantastic Four, subtitled "The True Story of Comics' Greatest Foursome," arrives with a quietly unsettling cover by Craig Thompson — a young man's wide-eyed face rendered in shadow and purple hues, surrounded by swirling orange flames that engulf the background. The strip of smaller vignettes along the bottom hints at the issue's range of characters and moods, reinforcing that Unstable Molecules is doing something genuinely different with the FF's world. With James Sturm, Guy Davis, and Robert Sikoryak among the creative team, this 2003 series remains a thoughtful, literary corner of Marvel's publishing history.