Customer Reviews

Fantastic Four Visionaries - George Perez, Vol. 1

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I will not lie, this is not the greatest stories or georges best work on the art side, this book was put out because the new fantastic four movie was coming out and they hoped to put out some stories with big names on it, well george perez one of the greatest artists ever had a short run on the title so they highlighted his work.

now on the art side it's good standard perez, it's not bad or even close, it's just not some of his greatest work that we would see on titles like the JLA, superman, avengers and others, I bring this up because a collection with his name on it will bring in people to see his art alone, and it's not worth it just for that.

but it is worth getting for the story if you have been looking for another good F4 trade, the stories are good stories, not highlights of the f4, it's not the byrne era, some great turning point or epic world bending story, but they are good strong stories that are fun to read, so if you, like me, were looking for another f4 trade after reading all the byrne and waid and stan lee f4 books, then get this, but dont make it your first F4, don't pass up mark waids run that is all traded, or the cheap essential books with the stan lee era.

so remember, weak does not equal bad when compared to the many stories in it's history, but it does not for me equal top of my shopping list ether.

Once again, Marvel Comics releases a "Visionaries" book covering work by an artist. No offense to George Perez - he's a great artist with some legendary work to his name, but FANTASTIC FOUR VISIONARIES: GEORGE PEREZ VOLUME 1 contains some of his early work for Marvel, and I'm guessing that his art was not the sole reason that folks bought the comics herein when they were first released. In fact, I'd even bet that many comic readers didn't even know George had worked on the FF until this trade paperback came out. Collecting FF # 164-167, 170, 176-178, and 184-186 from 1974 - 76, it's an uneven selection in the fact that it only collects the issues that Perez pencilled (and irregularly, at that), resulting in incomplete storylines and references to stories that are not included. Honestly, writers Roy Thomas and Len Wein deserve the credit here. They do a great job in continuing with the Lee/Kirby flair for the amazing and the dramatic, as well as the self-deprecating humor. These factors and more make the absence of certain stories all the more obvious and awkward. The complete sequence of stories would make an excellent Essentials edition, but certainly not a collection under George Perez' name. If he's such a visionary, and if Marvel refuses to collect the stories he didn't illustrate, then I have a proposal for Marvel, to be used on future Visionaries titles that focus on an artist: delete all the text and dialogue, replacing it with gibberish, or even no words at all, letting us stare in awe at the art and not get bogged down with pithy elements such as story. Then we'll see how well it sells. Please understand, I'm not bashing Perez - I love the man and his work, but it's absurd to claim him as the visionary when there are so many other people responsible for the quality of these stories. So cut it out, Marvel! Give credit where credit is due, and give us some complete storylines!!!

Anyway, I'll get off of my soapbox and address the facts: herein you will witness the FF confronting the Crusader (formerly Marvel Boy), the Frightful Four (sort of), the Brute (aka Reed Richards of an alternate Earth), the Incredible Hulk, the Eliminator, and Salem's Seven, to name a few, plus appearances from Agatha Harkness, the Impossible Man, Thundra, Tigra, the Marvel Bullpen, Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and *shriek!* Ronald Reagan! Yes, this book is packed full of fun - just be warned that you might be scratching your head when reading the obligatory expository dialogue at the beginning of each issue, 'cause some of the stories referenced aren't included! I guess it's a testament to the skills of the writers that they are able to fill in the holes well enough that you should be able to figure it out. In closing, I'd prefer to give this book 2.5 stars, but that's unfortunately not the way it works.

I am scratching my head over this book. There is really nothing visionary about George Perez's work here. Perez really had not developed his distinctive style yet. It is cool to read these 70's FF stories but I would prefer to read all the issues in chronological order without missing an issue or two. Also, the only covers that are included are for issues 184-186. To me it was sort of like reading cover-less comics which I do not enjoy. So, bottom line here is, if you can find it cheap (<10 dollars) it isn't such a bad deal. If you do not mind waiting eventually the Masterwork program will reprint all of this material without the gaps that this compilation has.

This collection is a mixed bag of non-consecutive issues 164-167, 170, 176-178, and 184-186 of the original series in the 1970s. Since there are missing issues it's a bit disjointed, but the point is to showcase the Perez artwork. It's not his best work, and often doesn't really look like Perez style that's so distinctive. The stories are nearly fun, sometimes silly, but mostly will appeal for nostagia value. For hardcore Perez fans only. Veering toward disappointing but nearly OK.