Rating:  -
The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 4 shows that comics can be mature, poignant, and philosophical but still show the "Good Guy" (or Girl) slugging a villain right in his face. And in this latest 500-page batch of Lee/Kirby magic, that's what the first family of comicdom does best--respond to various calls to adventure by swinging fists, lobbing fireballs, slamming forcefields at everything around them, and unveiling whatever new scientific laser-cannon Reed Richards has just created. Everything about the new volume succeeds: inker Joe Sinnott, Lee's dialogue and putdowns, Kirby's designs for Psycho-Man and the Microverse; even unnamed robot villains who start out stalking the group but wind up in the junk heap. The stories in this book, and the three earlier ones, show how Lee and Kirby forever changed the comic book hero, and pop culture landscape. And now, despite Kirby retreating from Marvel, they redefined their artform again, by making Reed and Sue the first heroes to expect a child. It is true that some stories, or chapters, have familiar openings (Thing chases Torch after getting a hotfoot until Reed and Sue break it up then wind up going at it themselves) but it's one of the reasons so many readers kept picking up individual issues or later reprints. And the opening never failed to get a laugh. It always worked and, in the right hands, probably always will. And though Kirby was disgruntled (for reasons described in Tales to Astonish) he still brought Lee his best and helped keep Fantastic Four head and shoulders above most of the stuff Marvel was publishing then and now. Stan and Jack, or Jack and Stan if you prefer, may have had low points here and there, by their impossibly high standards; but even these possessed more quality, freshness, optimism, and innovation than anything that followed. Essential Fantastic Four Volume 4 is a must-own treasure trove of classic, timeless comics. The price is right, every story rocks and aspiring comic writers and artists might come to view this as a useful How-To Manual.
Rating:  -
Volume 4 of the Fantastic Four is OK but not great. Ben goes crazy because he wants to be human so that Alicia may love him. Ben becomes human but isn't certain Alicia loves him as much as when he was the Thing. Reed broods because he is unable to cure Ben completely. Galactus, in spite of his near- omnipotence, is unable to find nourishment, whereas the Silver Surfer finds it in mere minutes. Doctor Doom doesn't show up. The Inhumans, who do show, are either boring (like Black Bolt, who doesn't say a thing) or not powerful enough (particularly the rather useless Triton, who looks like he couldn't even beat Aquaman). Boring Wizard is almost able to defeat the FF, even though the and Mysterio were unable to defeat Spiderman and the Torch. And how the Mad Thinker was ever able to come within screaming distance of the FF is beyond me. The artwork redeems the lackluster stories. I specially like Kirby's portrayals of complex machinery, which at their best are even better than Steranko's. And Kirby's fighting scenes are better than anyone else's.
In the FF the apex was reached in the issues covered in volume 3 (41-63). Volume 4 is a let-down, a clear indication of the end of the Silver Age. Still, it's better than what came afterwards, and it does have a good minor villain (Psychoman).
Rating: -
I haven't seen the new FF movie, and I'm not sure I will. Instead, I'll just open up this great collection of Lee and Kirby at the peak of their creative powers. Kirby's outlandish and beautiful art is perfectly matched by Lee's great dialogue and characterization. And no inker did a better job on Kirby's pencils than Joe Sinnott.
Rating: -
This volume (which reprints FF 64-83 & Annuals 5 and 6) begins perhaps slightly past the creative peak of Fantastic Four, but that doesn't mean it doesn't contain some of the best comics stories ever done! For those with any affection at all for Stan Lee and Jack Kirby storytelling, this book is a must-have. Jack was beginning to withhold his better creations from Marvel, but it is only noticeable in hindsight. It certainly doesn't feel like he's holding back. The collection contains lots of great stories featuring the FF and their supporting cast of the Black Panther, the Inhumans, Galactus, and the Silver Surfer. Two spectacular annuals particularly stand out.
The reproduction is some of the best in the Essential series. There was one error in the production of the book, a variant cover reproduced on the last page of the book is the same as the cover printed at the beginning of the book. The cover design doesn't exactly work either, and there is too much blank space on the front cover, but it is nice to see Kirby artwork on the front cover of his own material, unlike several of the other Essentials. These are minor quibbles, and I don't imagine they'll affect tne enjoyability of the book at all.
Rating: -
While Kirby's work on the FF ends at issue 102 we can only speculate what might have been. I only wish that he was allowed to develop his own version of the Silver Surfer without Stan's influence. With the alternate "What If" universe books of the seventies what could go wrong? This volume gives you more of the Inhumans,Galactus and Silver Surfer. I'm not going to repeat what the other reviewers have said. The only advice I can give is if you love Kirby's art; purchase the first five volumes of the FF Essencials. After Kirby leaves this book, it's never the same again.
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