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A review by thejenjineer
Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four, Vol. 1 by Stan Lee
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.