{"id":32733,"date":"2025-04-29T17:09:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=32733"},"modified":"2025-04-29T17:09:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T17:09:08","slug":"fantastic-four-marvel-masterworks-volume-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2025\/04\/29\/fantastic-four-marvel-masterworks-volume-18\/","title":{"rendered":"Fantastic Four Marvel Masterworks volume 18"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nBy Marv Wolfman<\/strong>, Len Wein<\/strong>, Roger Slifer<\/strong>, Keith Pollard<\/strong>, Bill Mantlo<\/strong>, George <\/strong>P\u00e9rez<\/strong>, John Buscema<\/strong>, Bob Hall<\/strong>, Sal Buscema<\/strong>, Joe Sinnott<\/strong>, Dave Hunt<\/strong>, Pablo Marcos<\/strong>, Bob Wiacek<\/strong>, Marie Severin<\/strong> & various (MARVEL)
\nISBN: 978-1-3029-0009-0 (HB\/Digital edition)<\/p>\n

This book includes Discriminatory Content<\/strong> produced in less enlightened times. <\/em><\/p>\n

As Marvel\u2019s cinematic arm tries once again to get it right with their founding concept, expect to see a selection of fabulous FF material here culled from their prodigious paginated days…<\/em><\/p>\n

For Marvel everything started with The Fantastic Four<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Monolithic modern Marvel truly began with the eccentric monsyer \u2018n\u2019 alien filled adventures of a compact superteam as much squabbling family as coolly capable costumed champions. Everything the company and brand is now stems from that quirky quartet and the inspired, inspirational, groundbreaking efforts of Stan Lee & Jack Kirby\u2026<\/p>\n

Cautiously bi-monthly and cover-dated November 1961, Fantastic Four<\/strong> #1 – by Stan, Jack, George Klein & Christopher Rule – was raw and crude even by the ailing outfit\u2019s standards; but it seethed with rough, passionate, uncontrolled excitement. Thrill-hungry kids pounced on its dynamic storytelling and caught a wave of change beginning to build in America. It and every succeeding issue changed comics a little bit more… and forever. As seen in the premier issue, maverick scientist Reed Richards<\/em>, his fianc\u00e9e Sue Storm<\/em>, their close friend Ben Grimm<\/em> and Sue\u2019s bratty teenaged brother survived an ill-starred private spaceshot after cosmic rays penetrated their ship\u2019s inadequate shielding.<\/p>\n

All four permanently mutated: Richards\u2019 body became elastic, diffident Sue became (even more) invisible, Johnny Storm<\/em> burst into living flame and tragic Ben shockingly devolved into a shambling, rocky freak. After the initial revulsion and trauma passed, they solemnly agreed to use their abilities to benefit mankind. Thus was born The Fantastic Four<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Throughout the 1960s it was indisputably the key title and most consistently groundbreaking series of Marvel\u2019s ever-unfolding web of cosmic creation: a forge for new concepts and characters. Kirby was approaching his creative peak: unleashing his vast imagination on plot after spectacular plot, and intense, incredible new characters whilst Lee scripted some of the most passionate superhero sagas ever seen. Both were on an unstoppable roll, at the height of their powers and full of the confidence only success brings, with The King particularly eager to see how far the genre and the medium could be pushed\u2026 which is rather ironic since it was the company\u2019s reticence to give the artist more creative freedom that led to Kirby\u2019s moving to National\/DC in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

Without Kirby\u2019s soaring imagination the rollercoaster of mindbending High Concepts gave way to more traditional tales of characters in conflict, with soap opera leanings and supervillain-dominated Fights \u2018n\u2019 Tights dramas. With Lee & Kirby long gone but their mark very much still stamped onto every page of the still-prestigious title, this full-colour luxury compendium collects Fantastic Four<\/strong> #192-203 and Annuals<\/strong> #12-13, spanning March 1978 to February 1979.<\/p>\n

What You Should Know<\/em>: After facing his own Counter Earth counterpart Reed Richards lost his stretching powers. With menaces like Salem\u2019s Seven<\/em>, Klaw<\/em> and Molecule Man<\/em> still coming for him and his family, weary and devoid of solutions, Richards made the only logical decision and called it a day for the team…<\/p>\n

Following Introduction \u2018The Fantastics\u2019<\/em> by then-incoming scribe Marv Wolfman, a new direction closely referencig the good ol\u2019 days begins with #192 and \u2018He Who Soweth the Wind…!\u2019<\/em> by Wolfman, George P\u00e9rez & Joe Sinnott, as Johnny heads west to revisit his childhood dream of being a race car driver and unexpectedly meets old pal Wyatt Wingfoot<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Back East, Ben and girlfriend Alicia Masters<\/em> ponder their options as Reed gets a pretty spectacular job offer from a mystery backer, even as Johnny\u2019s race career is upended when superpowered mercenary Texas Twister<\/em> attacks at the behest of a sinister but unspecified employer with a grudge to settle…<\/p>\n

The admittedly half-hearted assault fails but when Ben offers his services to NASA a pattern begins to emerge when he and Alicia are ambushed by old foe Darkoth<\/em> in \u2018Day of the Death-Demon!\u2019 <\/em>(plotted by Len Wein & Keith Pollard, scripted by Bill Mantlo, and illustrated by Pollard & Sinnott). The cyborg terror is determined to destroy an experimental solar shuttle, but doesn\u2019t really know why, and as Ben ponders the inexplicable incident, in Hollywood, Susan Storm-Richards\u2019 return to acting is inadvetantly paused when shapeshifting loon Impossible Man<\/em> pays a visit. The delay gives Sue a little time to consider just how she got such a prestigious dream-fulfilling offer completely out of the blue…<\/p>\n

Back at NASA, when Darkoth strikes again his silent patrner is exposed as scheming alchemist Diablo<\/em>, whilst in upstae New York, Reed slowly discovers his dreams of umlimited research time and facilities is nothing like he imagined…<\/p>\n

Finally, launch day comes and The Ting<\/em> pilots the Solar Shuttle into space, only to have it catastrophically crash in the desert…
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\nJoined by additional inker Dave Hunt, the creative pinch-hitters conclude the saga in \u2018Vengeance is Mine!\u2019<\/em> as Ben survives impact and searing sandstorms, tracks down his foes and delivers a crushing defeat to Diablo and Darkoth. In FF #195 Sue learns who sponsored her revived Hollywood ambitions when Prince Namor, The Sub-Mariner<\/strong> renews his amorous pursuit of her. Embittered and lonely, he has fully forsaken Atlantis and the overwhelming demands of his people and the state, but they have not done with him and despatch robotic warriors to drag him back to his eternal duties in \u2018Beware the Ravaging Retrievers!\u2019<\/em> (Wolfman, Pollard & Pablo Marcos). Like everybody else, the metal myrmidons have utterly underestimated the Invisible Girl<\/strong> and pay the price, allowing the once-&-future prince to reassess his position and make a momentous decision…<\/p>\n

As Johnny links up with Ben and Alicia, the strands of a complex scheme begin to appear and in #196 gel for self-decieving Reed Richards as \u2018Who in the World is the Invincible Man?\u2019<\/em> (Wolfman, Pollard & Marcos) depicts the enigmatic Man with the Plan secretly subjecting Reed to the mindbensding powers of the Pyscho-Man<\/em>, just as Sue rejoins Ben and Johnny in New York City before being impossibly ambushed by former FF foe The Invincible Man<\/em>.<\/p>\n

This time the man under the hood is not her father, but someone she loves even more…<\/p>\n

Reunited with Reed, the horrified heroes are confronted by their greatest, most implacable enemy (it\u2019s not a spoiler as he\u2019s right there on the cover of this book…) and the complicated plot to restore Reed\u2019s powers finally unfolds. Victor Von Doom<\/em> wants revenge but refuses to triumph over a diminished foe, but his efforts to re-expose Richards to cosmic rays is secretly hijacked by a rival madman in \u2018The Riotous Return of the Red Ghost!\u2019<\/em> (Wolfman, Pollard & Sinnott). Of course there\u2019s more at stake, as Doom seeks to legitimise his rule through a proxy son: planning to abodicate in his favour and have junior take Latveria into the UN and inevitably to the forefront of nations…<\/p>\n

Fully restored and invigorated, Mister Fantastic<\/strong> defeats the equally resurgent Red Ghost before linking up with Nick Fury<\/strong> (senior) and S.H.I.E.L.D.<\/strong>, and leading an \u2018Invasion!\u2019 <\/em>of Doom\u2019s kingdom. Beside Latverian freedom fighter and legal heir to the throne Prince Zorba Fortunov<\/em>, Richards storms into Doomstadt, defeating all in his path, foiling the secondary scheme of imbuing the \u2018The Son of Doctor Doom!\u2019 <\/em>with the powers of the (now) entire Fantastic Four and exposing the incredible secret of Victor von Doom II<\/em>…
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\nMonths of deft planning (from Wolfman, Pollard & Sinnott) culminate in an epic confrontation \u2018When Titans Clash!\u2019<\/em>, Doom and Richards indulge in their ultimate battle (thus far), with the result that the villain is destroyed and the kingdom liberated. For now…<\/p>\n

The post-Doom era opens in FF<\/strong> #201 (December 1978) as the celebrated and honored foursome return to America and take possession of empty former HQ the Baxter Building. Unfortunately so does something else, attacking the family through their own electronic installations and turning the towering \u201cdes res\u201d into \u2018Home Sweet<\/span> Deadly Home!\u2019<\/em>: a mystery solved in the next isue when it subsequently seizes control of Tony Stark\u2019s armour to attack the FF again in \u2018There\u2019s One Iron Man Too Many!\u2019<\/em> with John Buscema filling in for penciller Pollard.
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\nThe monthly mayhem pauses after #203\u2019s \u2018…And a Child Shall Slay Them!\u2019<\/em> wherein Wolfman, Pollard & Sinnott reveal the incredible powers possessed by dying cosmic ray-mutated child Willie Evans Jr.<\/em> When the foremost authority on the phenomenon is called in to consult, Dr. Reed Richards and his associates – and all of Manhattan – face savage duplicates of themselves manifested from FF fan Willie\u2019s fevered imagination…<\/p>\n

Although the regular fun stops here, two chronologically adrift King Size specials finish up the thrill-fest, beginning with Fantastic Four Annual<\/strong> #12\u2019s \u2018The End of the Inhumans… and the Fantastic Four\u2019<\/em> by Wolfman, Bob Hall, Pollard, Bob Wiacek & Marie Severin. When Johnny\u2019s former flame Crystal<\/em> – and gigantic Good Boi Lockjaw<\/em> – teleport in seeking aid in finding the abducted Inhuman Royal Family, the team battle ruthless Inhuman supremacist Thraxon the Schemer<\/em> before exposing that megalomaniac\u2019s secret master: the immortal unconquerable Sphinx<\/em>. Despite his god-like, the united force of the FF plus Blackbolt<\/strong>, Medusa<\/strong>, Gorgon<\/em>, Triton<\/em>, Crystal and ex-Avenger <\/strong>Quicksilver<\/em> proves sufficient to temporarily defeat their foe… or does it?
\n\"\"
\nA year later, Annual<\/strong> #13 offered a more intimate and human tale from Mantlo, Sal Buscema & Sinnott as \u2018Nightlife\u2019 <\/em>revealed how New York\u2019s lost underclass was systematically being disappeared from the hovels and streets they frequented. With guest appearances from Daredevil <\/strong>and witch queen Agatha Harkness<\/em>, the tale reveals a softer side to the FF\u2019s oldest enemy and a return to addressing social issues for the team.<\/p>\n

To Be Continued…<\/p>\n

With covers by P\u00e9rez, Sinnott, Frank Giacoia, Pollard, Marcos John Buscema, Steve Leiloha and Kirby, this power-packed package also includes a wealth of original art pages and sketches from Dave Cockrum, Kirby & Sinnott, Pollard, Marcos, Hunt, and enthralling house ads of the period.<\/p>\n

Although the \u201cWorld\u2019s Greatest Comics Magazine\u201d never quite returned to the stratospheric heights of the Kirby era, this collection offers an appreciative and tantalising taste-echo of those heady heights. These extremely capable efforts are probably most welcome to dedicated superhero fans and continuity freaks like me, but will still thrill and delight the generous and forgiving casual browser looking for an undemanding slice of graphic narrative excitement – especially if this time theupcoming movie delivers on its promise…
\n\u00a9 2016 Marvel Characters, Inc. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marv Wolfman, Len Wein, Roger Slifer, Keith Pollard, Bill Mantlo, George P\u00e9rez, John Buscema, Bob Hall, Sal Buscema, Joe Sinnott, Dave Hunt, Pablo Marcos, Bob Wiacek, Marie Severin & various (MARVEL) ISBN: 978-1-3029-0009-0 (HB\/Digital edition) This book includes Discriminatory Content produced in less enlightened times. As Marvel\u2019s cinematic arm tries once again to get … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Fantastic Four Marvel Masterworks volume 18”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[75,85,317,189,120,72,79,174,234,233,219,107,155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-crime-comics","category-daredevil","category-doctor-doom","category-inhumans","category-iron-man","category-marvel-masters-masterworks","category-marvel-superheroes","category-nick-fury","category-nova-graphic-novels","category-nova","category-s-h-i-e-l-d","category-science-fiction","category-sub-mariner"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4AFj-8vX","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32733"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32733\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32742,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32733\/revisions\/32742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}