Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks) [Paperback]

Stan Lee (Author), Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2009 | Grade Level: P and up

Celebrate Marvel's 70th anniversary by experiencing the tales of the world's most-famous super heroes from the very beginning! The Marvel Masterworks have brought readers deluxe hardcover collections of Marvel's classics from the Golden Age, Atlas Era, and the mighty Marvel Age, and now you can join in the Masterworks excitement with Marvel's new, monthly Marvel Masterworks trade paperbacks. While testing an experimental spacecraft Reed Richards, Ben Grimm, and Sue and Johnny Storm were exposed to a bombardment of mysterious cosmic rays. Upon their return to Earth, they found that they had gained wondrous abilities, the likes of which had never been seen before. That voyage was the first of many extraordinary adventures for these friends, who became known to the world as: Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, The Human Torch, and The Invisible Girl - The Fantastic Four! Collects Fantastic Four #11-20 and Annual #1.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (July 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785137122
• ISBN-13: 978-0785137122
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.5 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,404 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. Nevertheless: Having begun his career with wartime Timely Comics and staying the course throughout the Atlas era, Stan the Man made comic-book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in story writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry's greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men and more -- forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After an almost literal lifetime of writing and editing, Lee entered new entertainment fields and earned Marvel one opportunity after another. He remains one of Marvel's best-known public representatives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not happy with reproduction, September 18, 2009

By 

miles@riverside (Indio, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fantastic Four, Vol. 2 (Marvel Masterworks) (Paperback)

Something about the graphics reproduction in this volume bothered me. It looks as if the graphics have been stretched to a larger page size -- though I'm not completely sure that's the cause. What happens is, all the lines look fuzzy or jagged, particularly the lettering. If you look at the "E"s in the lettering, you'll see the artifacts I'm talking about. The net effect is to make the printing and graphics fuzzy, and it annoyed me enough that I couldn't finish the book.

I have an older hardcover of Fantastic Four Vol 1, and both the line work and lettering look quite solid to me in that volume. Curiously, one of the pages reproduced toward the end of Annual #1 in this paperback edition looks exactly right, so it was possible to avoid the odd stretching effects. But somehow every page except that one (in this volume) seems to suffer from the the stretched or distorted reproduction.

To clarify, since the Amazon reviews sometimes get jumbled around, this review is for the _Paperback_ edition of Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four 2 TPB, the edition published in 2009.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Issues 11-20 and Annual 2 of Marvel's First Family, December 21, 2004

By 

the4thpip (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Have to correct the other review here: This is the second volume and as such contains issues 11-20 and Annual 2.

These are the stories you will find:

1. F4 vs. the Impossible Man

2. F4 vs. the Hulk

3. F4 vs. the Red Ghost

4. The Sub-Mariner Strikes!

5. The F4 Battle the Mad Thinker and His Awesome Android

6. F4 and the Ant-Man battle Dr. Doom

7. F4 battle Dr. Doom

8. F4 battle the Super-Skrull

9. At the Mercy of Rama-Tut

10. The Molecule Man!

And the annual story included also features Dr. Doom as the villain.

These are wonderful stories that introduced a lot of long-lasting characters for the first time. It's not the artistic climax of the series, though. Kirby's artwork does not shine as much with Dick Ayers or Chic Stone as inkers, and Joe Sinnot is still a couple of Masterworks away.

Still, it's a lot of fun to read these. If you can't afford the rather hefty price tag and still want to know what happens, look for the reprint collections called Essential Fantastic Four which only cost a fraction. Those are in black and white and on cheap paper, but at least you won't feel the need to wear silk gloves everytime you read them like with this Masterworks treasure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Mine Fantastic, February 20, 2006

By 

Arthur Tulee - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Securely contained in a flat mailer and shrinkwrapped, this hardcover volume arrived perfect and ready to be enjoyed. Oh, and the content is excellent, a genuine Cold War artifact.