Fantastic Four: The Life Fantastic TPB (Fantastic Four (Graphic Novels)) (Paperback)

~ J. Michael Straczynski (Author), Mike McKone (Author)

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Product Description

FOUR FANTASTIC TALES OF THE FF! - When a doomsday weapon manufactured by Hydra turns up in the Nevada desert, there's only one man the authorities can ask to go in and defuse it: Bruce Banner! What does all of this have to do with the FF, you ask? Well, who do you think has to deal with the fallout when it all goes terribly wrong? - It's hard to believe Reed and Sue tied the knot 40 years ago... and it certainly doesn't seem that much time has passed to Reed and Sue themselves when a special evening out gives them a chance to look over their entire life together- past, present and future! - The Invisible Woman is dead! As Reed cradles his murdered wife, lost in grief, and Ben rampages after Sue's killer, Johnny defiantly decides to do whatever it takes- no matter the cost or consequence- to see his sister alive again. What he does will change the way the Fantastic Four look at him forever. - It's a day of celebration and reflection in Latveria, but deep within the confines of the Latverain Embassy to America, Victor Von Doom and Reed Richards engage in a subtle battle of wits, with all of Manhattan as the playing field. What are the stakes? And can Mister Fantastic triumph when all the moves have been made in advance? Collects Fantastic Four #533-535; Wedding Special; My Dinner with Dr. Doom; and Death in the Family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 152 pages
• Publisher: Marvel Comics (October 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785118969
• ISBN-13: 978-0785118961
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #525,319 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Four Weddings and a Funeral?, February 4, 2007

By	Nathan Blumenfeld "mastadge" (Wilmington, DE United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This collection, THE LIFE FANTASTIC, contains four stories of the Fantastic Four. It opens with issues #533-535 of the regular F4 series, written by J. Michael Straczynski with pencils by Mike McKone. Taking place after JMS's first F4 story and before the family got mixed up in Civil War, this story is yet another iteration of the old Thing vs Hulk fight. It's a decent enough story, fun and amusing and pretty good, with nice art, but -- it's Hulk vs Thing. Again. It also follows up on a couple threads from the previous JMS story and leads into the Planet Hulk story that was about to start in the Hulk book. Not bad, but not great either.

Also in this volume are two stories by Karl Kesel: "The Life Fantastic" and "A Death in the Family", pencilled by Drew Johnson and Lee Weeks respectively. The former is Sue and Reed's 40th Wedding Anniversary Special; the latter is a story that tries to be a lot more touching than it ends up being. Again, neither of these stories is bad, but neither is very good, either. Pretty mediocre.

The highlight of this collection is "My Dinner With Doom", written by Dwayne McDuffie, who's the new writer of the ongoing F4 title now that JMS has moved on, with art by Casey Jones. Not a perfect story, not great, but even though it's yet another story of Reed and Victor von Doom, it works, and works pretty well. I can't wait to see what McDuffie does with the regular book.

I'd give this book four stars for the JMS and McDuffie bits, but Kesel's stories are mediocre enough to drag it down to three. Still, if you can find it at a discount, it's a worthy addition to your F4 library.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great installment featuring the Hulk and other stories, June 22, 2007

By	N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, whose early run on Amazing Spider-Man and his MAX title Supreme Power were nothing short of excellent, made a solid attempt at putting the "fantastic" back in Fantastic Four during his brief run on the title, and The Life Fantastic is proof of that. Beginning with another Thing versus Hulk story in the first half of this TPB, seeds are planted that will come to fruition in the exile and return of the Hulk, which leads to the current World War Hulk mega-event. After that though, Karl Kesel provides two stories, including the anniversary event of the wedding of Reed and Sue, while new Fantastic Four writer Dwayne McDuffie provides a typical Reed versus Doctor Doom story in a battle of wits. The best part of The Life Fantastic is definitely the various art, which features work from Teen Titans artist Mike McKone and veteran Lee Weeks among others. All in all, The Life Fantastic is a great installment featuring the Hulk and varying looks at aspects of the FF mythos, and is definitely worth picking up for Fantastic Four fans new and old.

4.0 out of 5 stars Life is Fantastic...and So is This Collection!, June 15, 2007

By	Andrew Shaffer "www.PrintisUndead.com" (Davenport, Iowa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

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With this collection, you get four tales of the FF: Three are fantastic, and the fourth one features the Hulk vs. the Thing (yet again...), that works only in the sense that it's a prelude to "Planet Hulk."

But I digress. Let's talk about the three fantastic tales instead: The "Wedding Special" is pretty fun and touching to boot, while "Death in the Family" is a shocking sci-fi thriller. "My Dinner with Dr. Doom" is the highlight of this collection, written by new FF series writer Dwayne McDuffie.

Collects Fantastic Four #533-535; FF Wedding Special; FF My Dinner with Dr. Doom; and FF Death in the Family.