Books : Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2

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Rating:

- Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 2
These are great compilation books! My husband is collecting them & he loves them! They are filled with glossy color pages inside & the book is hard cover with a dust jacket. You get 10 comics per book & it is a great way to collect these rare jewels. I will continue to purchase these books for my husband in the future.

Rating:

- This book contains annual #1
Some of the above reviews state that this book contains
annual #2. That is not true, this volume has annual #1
with the Sub-Mariner.

Rating:

- Make Mine Fantastic
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.

Rating:

- Marvel gathers momentum
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.

Rating:

- Issues 11-20 and Annual 2 of Marvel's First Family
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.

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