Rating: 
Summary: Bad reproduction of superb material
Review: I awaited months for this collection and I was truly desappointed by the awful job Marvel Comics did of reproducing these gems. First, the paper: who said glossy paper was better quality? It makes the colors pop out way too much. The original colors were meant for a more absorbing paper. When printed on the glossy stock they just scream. Second: the gorgeous inking by the imcomparable Joe Sinnot is totally destroyed by the abysmal reproduction. These original comics are some of the absolute best ever. They need to be preserved for history's sake. I know Marvel can do better than that...This is why this book is rated 2 stars instead of the five stars the original material deserves.
Rating: 
Summary: the fantastic just got spectacular!
Review: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby really hit their stride with the issues reprinted in this volume. You don't need to know their pasts, origins what's gone before etc. The sheer inventiveness of the characters, situations etc, really show a great love for the genre, with Lee's plotting going from strength to strength and Kirbys pencils containing the thick black lines that he made an artform of. These stories just grab you by the collar and pull you onto their non-stop merry-go-round: You will not want to get off!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful reprinting of Marvel's Fantastic Four!
Review: The latest printing (5th, just released 1/98) is a beautiful reprinting of the first ten issues of the Fanastic Four. While the introduction is in the typical Stan Lee manner (which I happen to like), ample credit is given to Jack Kirby's contributions without whom there may not have been a continuing and successful series. If you are a fan of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four, comics, the 1960's, etc., then this would make a great addition to your collection or library. Alan D. Earhart
Rating:
Summary: The Peak of the Silver Age of Comic Books
Review: The silver-age of comics hit its peak with this run of Fantastic Four. This is when Jack Kirby's artwork was at its best and Stan Lee's writing was at its best. Every issue reprinted in this volume is a classic. As far as the medium goes, this is the best of the best and there will probably never be anything in the comic medium to equal or surpass this era. So far, only Alan Moore's "Watchmen" has been close to re-creating the magic of the silver age (1956-1969). Marvel should re-issue the entire run of Marvel Masterworks...
Rating:
Summary: The Peak of the Silver Age of Comic Books
Review: The silver-age of comics hit its peak with this run of Fantastic Four. This is when Jack Kirby's artwork was at its best and Stan Lee's writing was at its best. Every issue reprinted in this volume is a classic. As far as the medium goes, this is the best of the best and there will probably never be anything in the comic medium to equal or surpass this era. So far, only Alan Moore's "Watchmen" has been close to re-creating the magic of the silver age (1956-1969). Marvel should re-issue the entire run of Marvel Masterworks...
Rating: 
Summary: The reproduction is poor
Review: The star of the show is the artwork. Kirby and Sinnott carried the FF to their peak. Lee's writing is at its best. The color is spectacular .... HOWEVER ... I would caution people AGAINST buying this book, because the reproduction is so poor, the art is often a twisted misrepresntation of the originals (an honored part of my collection I have enjoyed for years) and the text is often hard to read! Marvel should be ashamed of themselves. They ought to take more pride and honor their history. Instead, their shabby reproduction does more harm than good to the grand legacy of Lee, Kirby and Sinnott.
Rating: 
Summary: An enjoyable visit to some classic "FF" stories.
Review: The stories by Stan Lee were juvenile and pre-teen oriented, but I expected this. Kirby's artwork was simply superb! I've read rumblings about the reproduction and how its hurt the inking by Sinnott, but having never seen the originals I can only say that I was impressed even by the inking. If there is a difference between the originals and this reproduction, then I can only imagine how it must have looked. This was a fine trip down memory lane that was well worth the price. Very enjoyable to see stories that were printed about the time that I was born in 1967. Again - stories are pre-teen and juvenile (but I'm a kid at heart so "nuff said") and artwork and inking by Kirby and Sinnott that is stunning! I got off on this!
Rating:
Summary: The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
Review: These are the stories that started the "Marvel Age of Comics". Really good stuff. Lee and Kirby changed the way superheroes were presented. Before this, superheroes didn't have personal problems, or ever argue with each other. Great characters here, in entertaining stories. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
Review: These are the stories that started the "Marvel Age of Comics". Really good stuff. Lee and Kirby changed the way superheroes were presented. Before this, superheroes didn't have personal problems, or ever argue with each other. Great characters here, in entertaining stories. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
Review: These are the stories that started the "Marvel Age of Comics". Really good stuff. Lee and Kirby changed the way superheroes were presented. Before this, superheroes didn't have personal problems, or ever argue with each other. Great characters here, in entertaining stories. Highly recommended.
| 
