They were visionaries. Explorers. Imaginauts. They were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. And like their creations - the Fantastic Four - they continually strove to overcome the impossible and achieve the extraordinary. Now, the first three years of their landmark run on Fantastic Four - issues #1-30 and Annual #1 - are collected in one oversized volume.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Dawn of the Marvel Age,
By J Street (Houston, Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)
Stan Lee (writer) and Jack Kirby (artist and co-plotter) really brought something new to the comics scene- fresh characters that behaved more realistically than their crusading predecessors.
What is most interesting about this collection is the reprinting of the fan's original letters to the magazine at the time of its publishing. It is thrilling to read the growing excitement over the Fantastic Four's character depth, which was unusual at the time- Mr. Fantastic feeling guilt for subjecting the others to cosmic rays, Ben Grimm's bitterness at becoming the grotesque Thing. These character qualities struck a chord with an audience that was hungry for heroes that were more like us- with doubts and flaws that all of us must rise above. Recall that this predates 60's Beatles era counter culture, making Lee and Kirby way ahead of their time. While it's true that the writing and art became more sophisticated as the magazine evolved beyond this collection, the Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 1 shows us the Dawn of the Marvel Age, and the initial reaction from the fans when it hit big. This edition also includes a nice cover by artist Alex Ross, who has a real talent for painting the classic heroes in a photo- realistic manner.
17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A True Comic Book Masterpiece,
By
This review is from: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)
These are stories that created the foundation for the Marvel Universe, and much of modern comics in general. This is the foundation for both the style of writing and art of superhero comics for over forty years now. Not only that, they're just good superhero stories.
Of course, if you're considering buying this, you probably already know that. Not many people are going to plunk down $70 for this collection if they're not serious fans of comics and the Fantastic Four. But if you are a serious fan, this is well worth the money. The first thirty issues of the FF, plus the first annual, on archival quality paper, oversized and hardbound. And with extras! To be fair, many of the extras are reprints of Stan Lee's introductions to the Marvel Masterworks volumes, but there's more extras than that. Perhaps most interesting to me is that the original letters pages are reprinted (though, sadly, not reprodused at the quality the rest of the books are.) Its kind of amusing to see letters from then-young fans who went on to be major names in the comics industry, like Roy Thomas and the late Mark Gruenwald. Flaws? Well, this does not represent the absolute best of the Lee-Kirby Fantastic Four. That comes in the (hopefully) second omnibus volume, when, in about a dozen issues, we get the the Black Panther, the Inhumans, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, and the classic tale of heroic sacrifice, "This Man, This Monster" from issue #51. But there are still great stories. The art, to be fair, looks a little crude by modern standards. Remember, though, that Kirby was drawing several books a month -- he just didn't have the time modern artists have. Nor did he have high-end coloring techniques. His style was what revolutionized the industry. Yes, it had its quirks (square fingernails, for instance), but Kirby revolutionized how comics are drawn. The stories, too, seem a little crude by modern standards. There's not a heck of a lot of continuity between issues -- certainly not by the modern standards of multi-issue, multi-title epics. But there's a lot here that had never been seen before -- characters who really seemed human, despite having super-powers, rather than the almost-perfect paragons of virtue that were the standards up until that time. They argued with each other. They had financial troubles. One of them didn't even want to be a superhero. This is not a volume for a casual purchase. However, any serious comics fan should acquire one.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The start of the Marvel age of comics,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Fantastic Four Omnibus, Vol. 1 (v. 1) (Hardcover)
Really what can one say about Jack Kirby and Stan Lee's Fantastic Four. Its a groundbreaking concept that you as the reader get to watch mature in 30 + issues in one book and in color. Its different than other super hero books as these members have great emotional reactions between both the evil foes and themselves. Its a Super hero comic soap opera as every issue became a cliff hanger. Jack Kirby makes this book live with his dynamic art. Stan's no slouch with stories either. Its a decent price to pay and is put together well. Many Marvel books have gutter problems, this one doesn't. Do yourself a favor and either re-live these books or start with some timeless super hero stories, its a winner !
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