These first classic Stan Lee/Jack Kirby adventures of comics' First Family - the Invisible Girl, the Thing, the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic - defined the Marvel Age of Comics! Collects Fantastic Four #1-20, Annual #1.
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential? You bet!,
By
This review is from: The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 (Paperback)
Both Marvel and DC Comics have been reprinting their classic tales, making them affordable and accessible to modern collectors, but Marvel deserves an extra kudos for their exceptional "Essentials" series which reprint entire runs of 20-or-so comics from Marvel's Silver Age in a black-and-white "phone book" format (no doubt inspired by Dave Sim's massive collections of "Cerebus" comics). How innovative are these first FF comics? Picture the early 1960s, where a superhero team comic meant the rather whitebread "Justice League of America" from DC...classic stories, of course, but somewhat lacking in scope and character development. Enter Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's first Marvel Comic: the heroes don't wear costumes (not until the third issue, at least), squabble and fight (not unlike a real family) and face truly hideous and grotesque monsters of true nightmare quality. Reading these stories I'm often surprised at the sheer amount of plot and action that Lee and Kirby manage to squeeze into a couple dozen pages for each story...although this is slightly before the incredibly innovative period of Kirby's blockbuster, knock-you-out layouts, there's still, for want of a better phrase, "never a dull moment." This book, and others created by Lee and Kirby and the other great artists of early Marvel, created comics that inspired a whole new wave in the industry. This isn't the single greatest Fantastic Four period--Kirby's knock-out run beginning around FF #45 and including the mind-blowing Galactus Trilogy is yet to come--but it's an absolute must-have for anyone who professes to love comics. Finally, *very* high praise for the Essentials series in and of itself: I've always wanted to read *all* these stories, not just the few that get often reprinted in other formats (FF #1, 5), and this is simply the best way to read a couple years worth of continuity at an exceptionally affordable price. Sure, these are reprinted in black and white rather than the original color, but that's a minor problem-Kirby's art is as dynamic and innovative even without colors. The "Essentials" series is a re-publishing program that is much needed, and I hope it continues (how about a collection of Ant-Man/Wasp stories? John Byrne's run on FF? Gulacy's Master of Kung Fu?). Although DC has made enormous strides in re-presenting their classic works for a modern audience in their Archives editions and the Millennium comic books, Marvel has shown that it can and will cover all ends of the market with comic book format reprints, color graphic novel compilations, their pricier color Masterworks collections, and these accessibly-priced and aptly-named Essentials. There's only one thing Marvel could do better: add a "created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby" line to every Fantastic Four comic, giving homage and credit where credit's due to not only Stan the Man but the one and only King of Comics.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved The Essential Fantastic Four book.,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 (Paperback)
My name is Joshua Doss I am 12 years old. I loved Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's Essential Fantastic Four book. Every night I would read their book. Before I read their book I had a 3rd grade reading level and I was in the 6th gread. Now that I have read it my reading level has gone back to normal. P.S. I can't wait for volume 2# to come out.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Where It All Began,
By
This review is from: Essential Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials) (Paperback)
The most enjoyable aspect of the Essential Fantastic Four Volume I is to watch what would become the Marvel Universe begin to slowly unfold. The endless bickering (often substituting for deeper characterization) and the constant defence of Invisible Girl's rather weak abilities can get a little monotonous when all the issues are read together but Stan Lee and Jack Kirby make up for it with a great host of wonderful villains (with a very low ratio of duds), including the Silver Age introduction of the Sub-Mariner, Dr. Doom, Red Skull, the Skrulls, Puppet Master, the Thinker, Molecule Man, and Impossible Man. Also evident is the cross-polination of series with both the Hulk and the Ant-Man making memorable appearances creating a feeling of an actual, specific universe. The dazzling depths of future adventures is only just glimpsed with a Dr. Doom's story expanding into two issues and the appearance of both the Watcher and the Super-Skrull. Still, even in this somewhat embryonic stage it is easy and very exciting to see where the Fantastic Four were heading.
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