Customer Reviews

Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 5

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four, Volume 5" is the highpoint in the history of the title that has proclaimed itself to be "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine" for the simple reason that once you face down "God," which is basically what the F.F. does when it tackles Galactus, it is all down hill from there. Volume 6 is very good and represents the point where Jack Kirby's artwork was at its peak, but this volume, which collects issues #41-50 plus Annual #3 where Reed Richards and Sue Storm get married, is still just that much better.

The first three issues continue the on-going battle with the Frightful Four, showing the emphasis writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby had on multi-part story lines rather than rotating villains each month: #41 "The Brutal Betrayal of Ben Grimm" has the Thing, still reeling being transformed back into a monster, becoming the pawn of the Frightful Four in their ongoing battle against the F.F.; #42 "To Save You, Why Must I Kill You?" continues the story with a fight between the Thing and Mr. Fantastic; #43 "Lo! There Shall be an Ending" ends the epic battle between the good buys and the bad guys; we then interrupt our regularly scheduled comic for Annual #3, "Bedlam at the Baxter Builder," as Reed and Sue's wedding day arrives and so do all of the superheroes in the Marvel Universe and Doctor Doom along with a host of super villains. At least Sue does not wear her costume to the ceremony (although Reed does), and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents keep stan and Jack from crashing the reception. If Doctor Doom did not show up for the wedding this would have been the first of these volumes not to have a battle between the F.F. and the Lord of Latvaria.

The honey moon starts another storyline involving the Inhumans: #44 "The Gentleman's Name is Gorgon" starts off with Madam Medusa fleeing from Gorgon and asking the F.F. for help; #45 "Among Us Hide...the Inhumans" introduces us to Triton and Karnak; #46 "Those Who Would Destroy Us" has Black Bolt finally showing up and moping the floor with the Thing; and #47 "Beware the Hidden Land" concludes the battle on the Inhumans' home turf. However, this is just the prologue to what is to come: #48 "The Coming of Galactus" has the F.F. returning home to find the Watcher violating his oath not to get involved by trying to find a way of hiding Earth from the Silver Surfer who arrives and promptly summons Galactus; #49 "If This Be Doomsday" finds the F.F. scrambling to come up with some way of defeating Galactus, who is planning on eating the planet, while Alicia Masters, Ben Grimm's blind sculptress girlfriend befriends the Silver Surfer and convinces him to battle Galactus; and #50 "The Startling Saga of the Silver Surfer" finds the herald turning on his master and the Watcher helping the Human Torch find a device that will get Galactus to leave the Earth alone. However, not before the Silver Surfer is exiled to the planet he chose to defend. This allows Johnny Storm to go to college and meet his new roommate, Wyatt Wingfoot.

If you take the wedding issue out of the equation then you have three story lines taking up the ten issues of "The Fantastic Four" included here, which is why these issues stand out more than your ordinary superhero fights a different villain every month comic book. The other thing that makes these stories stand out is that the villains get equal time throughout, exemplified by the Silver Surfer playing a key role in stopping Galactus from snacking on planet Earth. Of course the Inhumans turn out to be merely a misunderstood meta-race rather than mortal enemies, so that prevents the proceedings from deteriorating to the standard battle between good and evil. Meanwhile, Ben Grimm continues to suffer with the curse of being the Thing, Johnny finally heads off to college, and Reed and Sue try to build a happy home in the Baxter Building. You can date the point in time when this really was the world's greatest comic book magazine to a couple of issues before this point, when the Frightful Four stripped the F.F. of their powers and Daredevil helped them against Doctor Doom, but if you want to see them at their best, Volume 5 is the one that has those classic stories reprinted in color.

This Masterworks is been redone with a remastered look so it will be released later this year I hear. Anyone willing to pay the greedy guys selling it for 4 times its worth, feel free to and then buy the better printed version later for $49.95 or lower. See what this sloppy printed version gets you then. It's certainly well written and one of Lee's best compilations. But they ruined Jacks artwork and thats why its a ripoff. Buyer beware !!!!

I was terribly disappointed with the printing of this book. Jack Kirby's wonderful art was spoiled by bad scanning. I suggest you don't by this book without seeing it.

Brings back fond memories of my childhood. It was great to be able to read/see the Lee/Kirby collabaration at it's finest, once again! I was in my full blown rapture with Marvel after ditching DC comics back then and can remember my friends and I being in awe of the story telling. Great stuff!

Lee and Kirby reach the peak of their FF run and will stay there for a while. This volume has the Galactus trilogy and Kirby's introduction of the Silver Surfer. However they did it, Lee and Kirby created a new type of comic book. This, along with Ditko's Spiderman trilogy and Romita's Green Goblin finale, is the best of that era.

This review is not about the contents of the Marvel Masterworks Volume 25 featuring reprints of the Fantastic Four issues # 41-50, rather about how DIFFICULT it was to finally locate a copy.

I am not trying to sell a copy, rather I was trying to BUY a copy.

I began collecting Marvel Masterworks as a way to preserve my comic book collection so that I would not have to read the older books themselves, and Marvel Masterworks reprinted the comic books I had and offered an excellent way to read the stories from of my collection from when I was a child.
I had no trouble finding the Marvel Masterworks volumes that reprinted all the other Fantastic Four issues up to issue # 100, however missing from my collection was the Marvel Masterworks volume that reprinted the issues # 41-50. I looked on various sites and on-line auctions and curiously, there were no Marvel Masterworks Volume 25 offered what-so-ever. I than began calling and emailing comic book dealers across the nation to try and locate the book to no avail. Dealers tried to locate a copy for me, and one said that he had one, and I was delighted, only to find out that he did not. One dealer said that Volume 25 was only printed once, because no one cared about the reprints in Marvel Masterworks. All the other dealers either answered me back that they did not have a copy in stock, or did not answer at all. One site listed the book, however, when you went to purchase it, it said "Sold Out" with no other copies coming in.
I was able to only find copies here on Amazon, and those copies were USED no less. When you look at the prices for this volume, you begin to understand that this volume must have been short printed, or one that collectors do not want to part. I believe that it was intentionally short printed. Probably with only ONE PRINTING of this volume, thus the reason for the high prices as the other volumes had second and third printings. That will be one thing that I will be looking at when I receive my copy, what printing it is, as this is not a "Variant" with a different cover, or a low announced print run. No print run has been reported from what my searches have found as of yet. And the only copies from all the comic dealers, on-lines searches, auctions, and stores, were found here.
Regardless, if you are a collector of Marvel Masterworks, specifically of the Fantastic Four, and want to make a complete run of the series, this volume will cost you a pretty penny, as it is selling 5X more than the other volumes in the Fantastic Four set.
If you are a collector and need this volume, prepare for a shock when it comes to pricing. I too was shocked, however, wanting to have a complete run, paid the high prices for my copy. I just ordered it today, and am anxiously awaiting it's arrival. When I receive it, I will review the book and the issues within.
I just wanted to report that I spent a lot of time searching for a lesser priced copy by every means possible. Amazon was the only means that I could find this book.
Apparently, this is a somewhat rare volume. I paid handsomely for my copy. In the future, if anyone wants a complete run of the Marvel Masterworks Fantastic Four series, this is the one that will be hardest to find.

IF you can...