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Title: The Essential Fantastic Four (Volume 3) by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby ISBN: 0-7851-0782-7 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: August, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (12 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Lee/Kirby build a legend
Comment: This book has better plotted stories than the 1st "Essential FF". However, the idea of the group fighting/breaking up recurs too many times as a plotline. Other than that, we get several excellent Dr. Doom stories-his origin and the "Battle of the Baxter Building" are classics. The Baxter Building story has a poignant moment when Reed Richards must decide whether to turn Ben Grimm back into the Thing (possibly forever). The Hate Monger, in his 1st appearance is a very provacative character for the era. The stories featuring Dr Storm and Gideon are pure melodrama best read only by completists. Plus we get 5 crossovers with other characters (4 in a row at one point)-Most of them carried by the misunderstanding that leads the FF to battle other heroes. However the Daredevil crossover is a classic. These stories function as filler before the next volume which should feature the premiere appearances of Galactus, Silver Surfer, the Black Panther and the Inhumans.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Glory Days of the FF vs. Galactus and the Silver Surfer
Comment: Volume 3 of "The Essential Fantastic Four" is the one we have been waiting for because with issues #41-63 and Annuals #3 & $ of "The Fantastic Four" we are talking the period where this truly was "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!" This is also where the FF have their greatest battle, against the threat of Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, and Annual #3 presents the wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. Those stories alone would make this particular collection required reading but during this period Stan Lee and Jack Kirby also created the Inhumans and the Black Panther, substantially adding to the Marvel pantheon. But the clincher is that having come up with the ultimate FF story (everything is anticlimactic after you essentially stop a god from devouring your planet) there is another classic multi-part story as Doctor Doom steals the Surfers cosmic powers. Actually, I like those stories a bit more (check out the classic cover for issue #60), but then it is hard for Lee to go wrong with any sort of Silver Surfer story at this point in history.
Also, from an artistic standpoint I think Jack Kirby clearly reached his heights as an artist during this period, but a large measure of credit also goes to inker Joe Sinnot, who replaced Vince Colletta. Just compare the drawings of the Thing in the first story to those in the last in this volume and the improvement is obvious. If you go back to the first volume of "Fantastic Four" repeats the difference is even more striking. Kirby was also experimenting with zip tones, using photographs, working in a lot more in terms of backgrounds for his panels, and indulging in splash pages in the middle of stories. When you think of how long Kirby had been drawing comic books at that point in his career, the fact that his artwork could suddenly improve so dramatically is astounding. In terms of artwork and stories, this is as good as the "Fantastic Four" ever got in its celebrated history. When I think of the FF, the stories in this volume are the ones I remember best.
Rating: 5
Summary: Companion piece for this great graphic novel
Comment: As great as this graphic novel was by itself, I know of one helluva great companion piece in the form of a book entitled "The Adventures of Darkeye: Cyber Hunter" whose odd manner of having log-entries over chapters seems almost like the script for a graphic novel, even though it is in the science fiction/high-tech and cyberpunk genre along with books like "Cryptonomicon", "Snow Crash", "Prey", and "Altered Carbon". Very fast-paced and visual as well as being very exciting due to its action-packed pages.
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Title: The Essential Fantastic Four Volume 1 by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby ISBN: 0785106669 Publisher: Diamond Comic Dist. Star Sys. Pub. Date: October, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Essential Avengers, Volume II by Stan Lee, Don Heck, Roy Thomas ISBN: 078510741X Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 June, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Essential Captain America by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Gil Kane, George Tuska, Dick Ayers, John Romita, Jack Sparling ISBN: 0785107401 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: 01 March, 2000 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Essential Spider-Man: Amazing Spider-Man 21-43, Amazing Spider-Man Annual 2&3 by Stan Lee, J. Michael Stracynski, John, Jr. Romita ISBN: 0785109897 Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: April, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: The Essential Silver Surfer by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, John Buscema ISBN: 078510271X Publisher: Marvel Books Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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