Customer Reviews

Amazing Fantasy Omnibus (v. 1)

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"Many are the wonders of the vast universe. But none so fantastic as... TIM BOO BA!" This bold statement scripted by Marvel's founding father - Stan "the Man" Lee, foretells the terrible reign of the cruel reptilian dictator, who is finally bested by ....well, that would be telling, and unfair to the reader because most of this story's charm, like many others contained in this volume, derides from Twilight Zone "inspired" surprise ending. Some much so, Lee stated in an interview with Will Murray regarding his Amazing Fantasy scripts, "I used to get letters from readers `Hey, I just saw Twilight Zone, and they used one of your stories from issue so-and-so.'"

Amazing Fantasy THE TERROR of TIM BOO BA Omnibus vol.1 beautifully reprints in their entirety: Amazing Adventures #1-6, Amazing Adult Fantasy #7-14 and Amazing Fantasy #15 -- that's 416 pages (scripted and executed by Marvel's A-list talent: Lee, Ditko, and Kirby) brimming with evil alien invaders, rampaging giant monsters, and the creation of Marvel's greatest and most influential superhero -- Spider-man! This collection is a must have for vintage monster comic book fans who have enjoyed Dick Briefer's The Monster of Frankenstein, Monster Masterworks and Zombie Factory.

This is a nice historical collection, gathering the full run of Marvel Comics' tumultuous and short-lived "Amazing Fantasy" title. It was one of the last "monster" books Marvel published before the revival of their superhero franchise, and indeed, the last issue featured the birth of Spider-Man, who is arguably the most famous of all Marvel characters. The individual original issues are hard to find and terribly expensive, so this hardbound omnibus is a real blessing for fans who just want to read the old stuff, and not pay a gazillion dollars or have to worry about preserving the fragile old artifacts.

The scripts were mostly by (or credited to) Stan Lee, and illustrators Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko were his main collaborators. A couple of leftovers from the 1950s genre books were also on board, notably Paul Reinman, but the real sizzle is with Ditko and Kirby, who were developing a truly new, explosively expressive style that burst away from the stale, cramped design work of the Atlas era.

The stories, generally speaking, are pretty flat and formulaic: the six-pages-and-a-zinger-ending format did not, in all honesty, leave a lot of room for brilliance. Nonetheless, something was bubbling up under the surface of the moribund genre... There were plenty of hints of things to come: professors named Storm, rocky-skinned monsters, a skinny kid with big, round glasses who discovers he has superpowers, and of course, the proto-Dr. Strange, Dr. Droom, one of the few recurrent characters of the era. In one of the most fascinating later stories, the Ditko-penned teenage hero looks a LOT like Peter Parker, but what's even more amazing is the script, about how the boy is a mutant, and how he must hide his powers due to the prejudice of normal humans -- the entire "X-Men" mythology was laid out in '62: it really should be anthologized along with the early X-books from now on.

The book really hit its stride in the last half-dozen issues, when Steve Ditko basically took over and was given full reign on the creative end. The book developed a strong signature style, and Ditko came into his own. Some of the best surprises come with the famous Spidey issue: the one-page editorial about how they planned to change the look and format of the book (and, boy, did they! they canceled it and started up "The Amazing Spider-Man" instead) and also the fact that the book *still* had back-up features full of aliens and things that go bump in the night.

This is a fascinating look back at the history of Marvel Comics. Probably best appreciated for the dynamic, colorful artwork (which looks fabulous in the glossy archival format) but also good, goofy fun in its own right. Face Forward, True Believers! (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue)

This is another outstanding addition to Marvel's Omnibus series, which has the added bonus of being somewhat shorter so that it's not so hard to hold the book! The art restoration and reproduction is first rate, and the coloring is excellent. And if you're a Steve Ditko fan (and would you be reading this review if you weren't?), then you'll be absolutely delighted to see "Sturdy Steve's" art and story-telling presented so beautifully. Yes, many of the stories are silly, but when Lee and Ditko were at their best, they were masters of these short "Twilight Zone" type tales. Kudos to Marvel for bringing us this fine volume.

My guess is that everyone who buys this book or is interested in buying it, grew up during the "Golden Age'' of comics, circa the 1960s and 1970s. If so, then you're like me and you'd view this collection of comics with a completely biased eye and you'd give it 5 stars as I have (and as have the 9 other reviewers before me). But if I am totally honest and try to read the stories contained therein in a wholly unbiased fashion, I would have to tell you that while the artwork by Kirby, Ayers and mainly Ditko is a joy to behold, many stories are quite frankly, weak. All were written by Stan Lee and in many cases u can tell they were obviously rushed out to meet looming deadlines. It's also obvious that one person wrote them all because although the monsters or aliens might change appearance or names, the underlying storylines are all too similar. Ditto for the supposed surprise endings, which after a while, become predictable. But hey, as I said at the start, none of this should detract from your purchase decision. I honestly don't think people are going to buy this book to discover cutting edge, 21st-century comic book fare - you could get that from hundreds of other titles - you buy this book because these were the pioneers for countless genres to follow. You buy it because this was how it all started.

This tome is absolutely perfect! The writing by Stan Lee and the art by Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby are prime indicators that the Marvel Age Of Comics is about to begin! The production on this MASSIVE collection is top notch! The oversize format showcases Ditko's brilliant yet subtle illustrations, while Kirby's bombastic and kinetic storytelling explodes off of every page! The rich, vibrant colors originally used in these tales get a whole new life in this format! Every page is the comic book equivalent of watching a 52" plasma HDTV! Stan Lee's tales of the unknown, suspense, twists and valuable lessons learned do author O. Henry proud. You can almost see Stan gaining steam as a storyteller on this series!
Bottom line...Amazing Adult Fantasy Omnibus was worth every penny I spent on it.
'Nuff Said!

After the 50s and the rise of the pulp novel a vacuum was created. Enter Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Writing, drawing and creating stories that ultimately ended up producing Spiderman and (although indirectly) the Incredible Hulk.

These stories are the comic equivalent of the 60s and 70s TV series Stranger Than Fiction and the Twilight Zone.

I like the Omnibus volumes because I am lazy and don't want to go to all of the work to collect the vast number of collectible all available in this book. And at the end of the day, this book is in pristine condition and I am not missing one rare edition or volume.

I can strongly recommend this Omnibus volume to anyone with similar geeky tastes.

If you like early Marvel Kirby or Ditko, you'll love this collection of monster/fantasy/weird comic stories. Stan Lee was throwing out imaginative stories right and left. See the early germs of ideas which eventually resulted in the Marvel Age of Super Hero dominance. Full color, deluxe package of the collected series, culminating with the introduction of Spider-Man! Offered at a great discount price by Amazon.com! For any serious student of Marvel history that missed these gems the first time around.

Like Ditko? Like Kirby? Like crazy monsters in twilight zone style stories? Well, even if you dont, buy this amazing collection of Amazing Adult Fantasy if only for the art. The Kirby and Ditko work of the pre marvel hero days is definately worth the money. Just having the entire collection of the series in one volume is great by itself. But add the incredible Ditko and Kirby art along with some fun stories by Stan Lee and youve got something special worth the price. Is it Ditko and Kirbys best? No. But these two masters of the art of visual storytelling, whether at their peak or not is still better than most of the derivitive artistic styles seen today. It captures the fun of comic books, which are what comics are supposed to be. The Ditko tales are something special and if you're a fan of his work, or of Kirbys for that matter, then pick up this amazing collection. Its worth the price.

This hardcover book reprints all 15 issues of Amazing Adventures/Amazing Adult Fantasy/Amazing Fantasy.

The first six issues were Amazing Adventures, which was a fairly typical early 1960s Marvel fantasy comic book. It featured a Jack Kirby cover story about a giant monster, back up "weird" stories by Steve Ditko, and a Dr. Droom story by Kirby. Dr. Droom was technically the first Marvel superhero of the Silver Age. He was kind of a precursor to Dr. Strange, but he never caught on. His name was later changed to Dr. Druid, which is a much better name.

With issue number 7, the title was changed to Amazing Adult Fantasy. Steve Ditko started drawing all the artwork and the giant monsters disappeared (for the most part). Stan Lee wrote the scripts for five short stories per issue, which were Twilight Zone like tales with twist endings. These are excellent comic books that were among the best of the time period.

With issue number 15, the title was shortened to Amazing Fantasy. A superhero called Spider-Man was given the lead feature in the comic, in an attempt to help boost sales of the magazine, which had been low. Unfortunately, the comic book was canceled immediately after that issue and Spider-Man was never heard from again.

A visual feast for fans of King Kirby and Sturdy Steve Ditko. Never in my wildest dreams (or forty years of collecting comics) would I have thought this material would be collected and reprinted.