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hobbitfreddie's review against another edition
3.0
My first Fantastic Four comic, and my second Jack Kirby. I'm gonna say this comic right off the bat is incredibly flawed but I still adored it.
The writing is really bad. I was trying to look past it and just suspend my disbelief but it was really hard too. They just pull stuff out of their asses. Okay example characters will just happen to be somewhere, in the last issue Sue exclaims that's a good thing she was visiting Alicia when another character was there. Even though a page ago she was at the Fantastic Four HQ. Or Johnny constantly pulling out new abilities, he'll just use them once and never again (at least in this book). Theres no scenes of him figuring it out he just pulls it out of nowhere. And the rest of the gang only has like one ability, ig you can argue that it's still one ability idk. He just does it sooo much.
Also the actual writing. The characters will do so much telling instead of showing, over explaining everything. There is way too much text in this comic.
I can look past all this if the actual story's good and... eh? I really like the Fantastic Four. My only exposure to them was that terrible 2015 movie, but I quickly became invested in these 4. Was it because I like family dynamics? Probably yeah. But the stories are so fast paced you don't get much development. There are attempts. Especially with Ben. But then the villain of the week will show up and that's pushed to the side. Ben and Johnny keep blowing up at the others and running away, it happens way too much in just the first few isssues. And while that does make for good conflict and flawed characters, the writing doesn't allow for much development. It's more focused on the villains and fighting. I guess I like the ideas but for the first 10 issuses it feels like it's finding its footing. Also Sue and Reed don't really do much for me. Sue is the damsel in distress most of the time, her character is just "girl". And Reed is kinda just the leader who's trying to keep the peace. Also they are supposed to be a couple but most of the issuses are Sue and the Submariner. Heck even Reed is like "wait I thought you and I were a thing". And they never really resolve that. I know that get married but I saw like no chemistry here. Holding out for the other issuses improving their relationship. Johnny and Ben are easily my favorites. Johnny is a pretty realistic teen and Ben is probably the most developed character.
I do think the conflicts are fun, they're campy and stupid and idk I just enjoyed reading them. I think my favorite was the the puppet one.
If you mainly only consume media published in the last 3 decades I think you will have a lot of trouble with this one. I've been told that this or Thor is Kirby's best work. So I'd reccomend it for Kirby's art. I'm going to try to read Kirby's whole run of this.
The writing is really bad. I was trying to look past it and just suspend my disbelief but it was really hard too. They just pull stuff out of their asses. Okay example characters will just happen to be somewhere, in the last issue Sue exclaims that's a good thing she was visiting Alicia when another character was there. Even though a page ago she was at the Fantastic Four HQ. Or Johnny constantly pulling out new abilities, he'll just use them once and never again (at least in this book). Theres no scenes of him figuring it out he just pulls it out of nowhere. And the rest of the gang only has like one ability, ig you can argue that it's still one ability idk. He just does it sooo much.
Also the actual writing. The characters will do so much telling instead of showing, over explaining everything. There is way too much text in this comic.
I can look past all this if the actual story's good and... eh? I really like the Fantastic Four. My only exposure to them was that terrible 2015 movie, but I quickly became invested in these 4. Was it because I like family dynamics? Probably yeah. But the stories are so fast paced you don't get much development. There are attempts. Especially with Ben. But then the villain of the week will show up and that's pushed to the side. Ben and Johnny keep blowing up at the others and running away, it happens way too much in just the first few isssues. And while that does make for good conflict and flawed characters, the writing doesn't allow for much development. It's more focused on the villains and fighting. I guess I like the ideas but for the first 10 issuses it feels like it's finding its footing. Also Sue and Reed don't really do much for me. Sue is the damsel in distress most of the time, her character is just "girl". And Reed is kinda just the leader who's trying to keep the peace. Also they are supposed to be a couple but most of the issuses are Sue and the Submariner. Heck even Reed is like "wait I thought you and I were a thing". And they never really resolve that. I know that get married but I saw like no chemistry here. Holding out for the other issuses improving their relationship. Johnny and Ben are easily my favorites. Johnny is a pretty realistic teen and Ben is probably the most developed character.
I do think the conflicts are fun, they're campy and stupid and idk I just enjoyed reading them. I think my favorite was the the puppet one.
If you mainly only consume media published in the last 3 decades I think you will have a lot of trouble with this one. I've been told that this or Thor is Kirby's best work. So I'd reccomend it for Kirby's art. I'm going to try to read Kirby's whole run of this.
adammuly's review against another edition
4.0
This is my first stab at any comics and my most overt action of delving into geek culture
alexrobinsonsupergenius's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting to see the roots of the Marvel Universe but the stories are a little too silly to really be enjoyed outside the context of nostalgia and cultural anthropology.
asparkofc's review against another edition
5.0
This was so fun! It went beyond my expectations of older comics and a great introduction to the Fantastic four. Like sure it’s cheesy, but it’s still very fun.
The fact that they named themselves the Fantastic four is funny. Even more so that Reed named himself Mr Fantastic. The team dynamics are great.
Loved Doom. Any time he showed up was great. He was just having a great old time during the body swapping plot.
The fact that they named themselves the Fantastic four is funny. Even more so that Reed named himself Mr Fantastic. The team dynamics are great.
Loved Doom. Any time he showed up was great. He was just having a great old time during the body swapping plot.
thejenjineer's review against another edition
5.0
Honestly, I didn't even plan on reading this book, much less liking it. I bought it for my brother, who has a weakness for the classics. But after two weeks I realised I just can't stand having a unread comic book laying around. I picked it up and started leafing through the bright, minimally coloured pages.
There are certain quirks about the style of these comics, which Wikipedia tells me are called "silver age" comics, that I've always found a bit annoying. Like how every character will tell you exactly what they are thinking and describe what's happening around them. People don't talk like that, they never have. Nothing really bad ever seems to happen, at least never to the heroes. Things will work themselves out in a few pages if you're just patient. The plots and their solutions are incredibly unbelievable (by that I mean more so than the comics I'm used to reading). But it was that last part that won me over. Yes, they're crazy, but crazy is just another of way of saying really imaginative. After the first couple of issues, I just got into the fun of reading about far-off planets and underwater cities and time travel and all that wonderful nonsense.
It was also nice from a comic history perspective. It's pretty fascinating seeing a glimpse of how comics used to look like half a century ago. Not just with the writing and art, but also the real life they reflected. Sue Storm isn't in a 1960's costume, she's in her actual clothes.
There are certain quirks about the style of these comics, which Wikipedia tells me are called "silver age" comics, that I've always found a bit annoying. Like how every character will tell you exactly what they are thinking and describe what's happening around them. People don't talk like that, they never have. Nothing really bad ever seems to happen, at least never to the heroes. Things will work themselves out in a few pages if you're just patient. The plots and their solutions are incredibly unbelievable (by that I mean more so than the comics I'm used to reading). But it was that last part that won me over. Yes, they're crazy, but crazy is just another of way of saying really imaginative. After the first couple of issues, I just got into the fun of reading about far-off planets and underwater cities and time travel and all that wonderful nonsense.
It was also nice from a comic history perspective. It's pretty fascinating seeing a glimpse of how comics used to look like half a century ago. Not just with the writing and art, but also the real life they reflected. Sue Storm isn't in a 1960's costume, she's in her actual clothes.
samanthaa_32's review against another edition
4.0
ima be honest, this was a bit of a chore to read at times. the characters were a bit annoying, only because they’re not always acting the way I know them to act from reading more modern iterations. and of course, the exposition-y 60s writing.
but nonetheless, this book has a lot of charm. you can definitely see why it was a hit back in the day. stan had a real knack for writing unique and exciting stories with one-off villains. even when villains came back, the stories felt fresh. I enjoyed this one a lot, and can’t wait to read more.
but nonetheless, this book has a lot of charm. you can definitely see why it was a hit back in the day. stan had a real knack for writing unique and exciting stories with one-off villains. even when villains came back, the stories felt fresh. I enjoyed this one a lot, and can’t wait to read more.
ploominator's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
jbleyle63's review against another edition
5.0
With Jack Kirby's birth centennial in 2017 and Stan Lee's passing in 2018, I started reading the Marvel Masterworks series mostly with an eye to skimming through them quickly just to get a taste for both during their peak collaborative years together. I've wound up going through every panel of these wonderful collections. This volume featuring the first ten issues of The Fantastic Four is really where Marvel got its start. Sure the stories are pretty campy but the imagination of Lee and Kirby still holds up today. Especially loved the meta "The Return of Doctor Doom" from issue #10 where the two creators appear as their comic creating selves. Also a plus in this volume are the introduction and afterword essays by Stan Lee where he recounts not just the creation of the Fantastic Four but also provides a historical survey of the comic book industry from its Golden Age beginnings to the Silver Age.
miamollekin's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Loved seeing there early days as a team.