Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

by Stan Lee (Author), Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The early adventures of Marvel's First Family continues, featuring showdowns with the Incredible Hulk, Namor, Dr. Doom and the shape-shifting Super-Skrull, who has all the combined powers of the FF! Plus Ant-Man, Spider-Man and the mysterious Watcher!

Product Details

• Hardcover: 291 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Entertainment Group (April 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785109803
• ISBN-13: 978-0785109808
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #166,689 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 2 in The Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

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

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.

1 of 1 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)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Marvel gathers momentum, July 28, 2005

By	HJ Louw "Scatterbrain" (South Africa) - See all my reviews

Classic villians make their debut in Marvel's second FF Masterworks volume, and as a longtime reader and fan of Stan and Jack's fabulous foursome I thoroughly enjoyed this volume. The FF always seemed like some crazy amalgammation of DC's Challengers of the Unknown and the Justice League to me, and since there were elements of both these titles in FF that appealed to my imagination I have almost never read a disappointing issue collected within the first six volumes of this series.

However, that having been said, the first story in this volume featuring the Impossible Man is utterly ridiculous. Even though it introduces a character that will be handled well by other writers later on in the series, it does not have any of the verve and inventiveness apparent in the nine stories that follow it. Do not let this deter you from buying this collection. It features legendary encounters between the FF and the Hulk, as well as Ant-Man and Spider-Man in later issues. Doctor Doom appears at least twice, as well as the Sub-Mariner, The Mad Thinker and The Molecule Man, not to mention the Super Skrull.

What makes this volume worthwhile is the focus on character development and humour, which certainly makes for some entertaining reading (especially when the FF quarrel amongst themselves). Far better than volume one, this Masterworks collection will not disappoint any fan of the classic Marvel age of comics.