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Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four #14
Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four, Vol. 14
FANTASTIC FOUR stands tall as one of the most famous super-hero series of all time - and it certainly didn't get there by resting on its laurels. How better can that be proven than by another MARVEL MASTERWORKS collection? First, Dr. Doom pushes the FF to the limit! Then, Human Torch and Medusa adventure in the Himalayas! Reed and Sue's relationship is strained when Sue joins Namor in an invasion of New York - and just to keep things tense, the Frightful Four pile on, too! Then, Ultron crashes Crystal and Quicksilver's wedding! Finally, it's a Thing vs. Hulk battle royale and a tense time-traveling tale - masterworks, one and all! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #142-150, GIANT-SIZE SUPER-STARS #1, GIANT-SIZE FANTASTIC FOUR #2 and AVENGERS (1963) #127.
- GenresComicsMarvelComic Book
256 pages, Hardcover
First published November 28, 2012
11 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
About the author
Gerry Conway
2,092 books89 followersGerard Francis Conway (Gerard F. Conway) wass an American writer of comic books and television shows. He was known for co-creating the Marvel Comics' vigilante the Punisher and scripting the death of the character Gwen Stacy during his long run on The Amazing Spider-Man. At DC Comics, he was known for co-creating the superhero Firestorm and others, and for writing the Justice League of America for eight years. Conway wrote the first major, modern-day intercompany crossover, Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man.
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
On April 27, 2026, Marvel Comics announced on its website and social media accounts that Conway had died at the age of 73.
News of Conway's death from Wikipedia
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 29, 2020
Well, this was a big step down in quality from the last volume. Big John Buscema leaves the book, replaced by Rich Buckler who, at this point in his career, was trying desperately to be Jack Kirby. Sadly, King Kirby he ain’t.
Story-wise, this volume starts out well, but goes downhill towards the end, particularly in the almost entirely nonsensical Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2 and the somewhat dire two part Avengers/FF crossover story that closes out this volume, featuring the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver. In the Avengers half of the crossover somebody clearly forgot to tell artist Sal Buscema that Franklin Richards was supposed to be in a coma, as the kid is all bright eyed and bushy tailed and even waves at one point. It kinda undermines his big dramatic awakening from his coma in the following issue, to be honest! It also makes no sense at all that Reed and Sue would even bring their comatose child to a wedding in the first place. Madness, I tell ya; madness...
I’m giving this one 3 stars but that’s a little generous, if I’m honest. Here’s hoping they get their act together in the next volume...
Story-wise, this volume starts out well, but goes downhill towards the end, particularly in the almost entirely nonsensical Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2 and the somewhat dire two part Avengers/FF crossover story that closes out this volume, featuring the wedding of Crystal and Quicksilver. In the Avengers half of the crossover somebody clearly forgot to tell artist Sal Buscema that Franklin Richards was supposed to be in a coma, as the kid is all bright eyed and bushy tailed and even waves at one point. It kinda undermines his big dramatic awakening from his coma in the following issue, to be honest! It also makes no sense at all that Reed and Sue would even bring their comatose child to a wedding in the first place. Madness, I tell ya; madness...
I’m giving this one 3 stars but that’s a little generous, if I’m honest. Here’s hoping they get their act together in the next volume...
February 9, 2016
The Marvel Masterworks volumes are fantastic reprints of the early years of Marvel comics. A fantastic resource to allow these hard to find issues to be read by everyone. Very recommended to everyone and Highly recommended to any comic fan.
May 11, 2020
I agree
In his introduction, Gerry Conway says he believes Rich Buckled did a great job reviving the style of Fantastic Four artwork, with a strong influence from Jack Kirby. I have to agree that it had that zip and drama, and I agree that Buckled did it brilliantly.
I have to add, though, that the work of Joe Sinnott made the art shine - as it always did, especially with the FF. He is not given enough credit for his part in the classic run of the series in more than half the first hundred issues, including the first appearances of the Inhumans, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, the Black Panther, and many others.
However, this collection also features the work of other FF artists, including John Buscema and Chic Stone, as well as some issues drawn by Ross Andru.
The book begins with the near breakup of the team, after Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, has to put his son in a coma when Franklin's powers go wild. Sue Richards, aka The Invisible Woman, leaves with the child, later filing for divorce. The group re -forms by the end of the collection, though.
The annuals stand pretty much on their own.
In his introduction, Gerry Conway says he believes Rich Buckled did a great job reviving the style of Fantastic Four artwork, with a strong influence from Jack Kirby. I have to agree that it had that zip and drama, and I agree that Buckled did it brilliantly.
I have to add, though, that the work of Joe Sinnott made the art shine - as it always did, especially with the FF. He is not given enough credit for his part in the classic run of the series in more than half the first hundred issues, including the first appearances of the Inhumans, Galactus, the Silver Surfer, the Black Panther, and many others.
However, this collection also features the work of other FF artists, including John Buscema and Chic Stone, as well as some issues drawn by Ross Andru.
The book begins with the near breakup of the team, after Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, has to put his son in a coma when Franklin's powers go wild. Sue Richards, aka The Invisible Woman, leaves with the child, later filing for divorce. The group re -forms by the end of the collection, though.
The annuals stand pretty much on their own.
September 2, 2023
Madre mía, no me había dado cuenta de la bola que se me había hecho esta lectura... pues a lo tonto se me había quedado descolgada y olvidada durante más de dos años... En fin... Cosas de la vida. No mucho que decir sobre este volumen en concreto, que avanza hacia el 150 de la colección, siendo el clímax un crossover con los Vengadores donde se produce la boda de Crystal y Mercurio y el ataque por parte de Ultrón 7 para intentar derrotar a los Cuatro Fantásticos, los Vengadores y los Inhumanos de un solo movimiento. Y antes de esto... pues historias más bien blanditas, no demasiado brillantes, en las que se continúa explorando el "divorcio" de Reed y Sue, y Medusa continúa siendo el cuarto miembro de los 4F. Y nada del otro jueves. Viajes en el tiempo, Doctor Muerte, algunos villanos rándom un poco genéricos, un nuevo ataque de los Cuatro Temibles (que son tres realmente en este caso), etc, etc, etc. En fin, una etapa de momento muy pasable la de Gerry Conway y Rick Veitch, que creo que va a seguir con este ritmo hasta dentro de varias decenas de números, cuando ya llegue Byrne...
Espero llevarme alguna sorpresa por el camino.
Espero llevarme alguna sorpresa por el camino.
February 24, 2019
The worst comics of this series yet. I understand the writing style of this time period, but even the plotting is bad. And this interminable Reed/Sue breakup makes no sense, with both of them acting completely out of character and its resolution is stupendously dumb. I'm just so disappointed in this and I hope it gets better.
June 8, 2022
As a kid I never was much of a Fantastic Four fan. Thanks to Marvel Unlimited I've read substantially more FF stories. I've even come to appreciate the Lee/Kirby era quite a bit. But, since then it has been all pretty average stuff.
June 27, 2024
Good collection. Gerry Conway was a great writer. Every good as Roy Thomas. Decent artwork and beautiful inking by Joe Sinnott. I was hoping that Crystal would have broken up with Quicksilver and went back to Johnny Storm. Too bad Johnny.
October 24, 2023
Godzilla bless the 1970s. Bronze Age comics are so much fun, case in point the first issue collected in this book, #142. The drama within the team has caused them to splinter. The Thing journeys to Europe because his girlfriend, the blind Alicia Masters, is approached out of the blue by some mysterious doctor with the promise of an experimental surgery to restore her sight. It results in the Thing fighting Darkoth The Death Demon, one of those silly faux-demonic 1970s monsters that I love so. Of course the doctor in Europe is none other than Doctor Doom. It ends up bringing the team back together in time to fight another monster, the Seeker. None of this makes the slightest bit of sense, but I'll be darned if it's not the most fun that I've had in ages.
Another monster, Ternak of a race of snowmen in the Himalayas, occupies most of the team for #145 and 146. 147-149 deals with the Sub-Mariner and Medusa working to reconcile Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl's marriage. In the middle of this arc the team mops up the Frightful Four, which is cool because the last time they tangled (Vol. 13) they made the FF look like a bunch of pikers. #150 is part two of a crossover with Avengers #127 featuring the return of Ultron. I have always been a sucker for Ultron, as he was everywhere in 1984 and 1985. I am pumped about seeing him on the big screen this spring in the second Avengers movie.
There are also two of Marvel's short-lived specials, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, which features another Thing vs. Hulk showdown, and the retitled Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2, which upped the page count from 48 to 64 page and a price increase of .35 to .50. Inflation was a thing in the '70s. Comics went from .15 in 1970 to .40 by the end of the decade. Compare it to the 2000s, where comics went from $1.99 to $2.99 by decade's end. Of course this decade will tell a different tale, as $3.99 seems to be giving way to $4.99.
Medusa of the Inhumans is an unofficial member of the team during this era, which adds a different flavor to the proceedings since the team is not used to working with her. The Invisible Girl will of course resume her role in the team, but that will happen in the next volume. These comics are a lot of fun. Plenty of action, plenty of story and character development in each issue, solid writing and artwork...what's not to love?
Another monster, Ternak of a race of snowmen in the Himalayas, occupies most of the team for #145 and 146. 147-149 deals with the Sub-Mariner and Medusa working to reconcile Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Girl's marriage. In the middle of this arc the team mops up the Frightful Four, which is cool because the last time they tangled (Vol. 13) they made the FF look like a bunch of pikers. #150 is part two of a crossover with Avengers #127 featuring the return of Ultron. I have always been a sucker for Ultron, as he was everywhere in 1984 and 1985. I am pumped about seeing him on the big screen this spring in the second Avengers movie.
There are also two of Marvel's short-lived specials, Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, which features another Thing vs. Hulk showdown, and the retitled Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2, which upped the page count from 48 to 64 page and a price increase of .35 to .50. Inflation was a thing in the '70s. Comics went from .15 in 1970 to .40 by the end of the decade. Compare it to the 2000s, where comics went from $1.99 to $2.99 by decade's end. Of course this decade will tell a different tale, as $3.99 seems to be giving way to $4.99.
Medusa of the Inhumans is an unofficial member of the team during this era, which adds a different flavor to the proceedings since the team is not used to working with her. The Invisible Girl will of course resume her role in the team, but that will happen in the next volume. These comics are a lot of fun. Plenty of action, plenty of story and character development in each issue, solid writing and artwork...what's not to love?
June 30, 2016
This is probably the worst Fantastic Four collection so far. Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler bring a certain bare competence to most of this (hence the 2 stars) but there are only a few glimpses of Conway's sense of humor. And there's also a complete lack of any wacked-out 70s comic book madness.
The first arc (142-144) is an incredibly pedestrian Dr. Doom story. Really, the only fun part is the Reed/Medusa affair that one can choose to infer from the art. Issues 145 & 146 have Ross Andru as a fill-in artist. His style is more cartoonish than Buckler and he also has more dynamic actions and more diverse panel work. He's not the best fit for the book, but it's a nice change of pace. The story, on the other hand, is a real dog. It's a lame Marvel Team-Up story starring Johnny & Medusa that is stretched into two issues. Abominable snow men? More like abominable story telling.
The third arc (147-149) sees Buckler return to art and has the team battling Namor then battling the Frightful Four and then Namor again. Only it all turned out to be a trick by Namor, Medusa and Triton to reunite Reed & Sue, which is very out of character for everyone involved. It has a few nice Namor action panels, but overall it's pretty weak (especially the Frightful Four issue).
The Avengers 127 & FF 150 two-parter features the lead-up to Pietro & Crystal's wedding and also Franklin Richards inexplicably defeating Ultron. It has a few nice moments but is very anti-climactic.
Giant-Size Super Stars 1 & Giant-Size Fantastic Four 2 are Giant-Size bores. Super Stars 1 is a boring Hulk vs. Thing fight with some very bad art from Buckler (I imagine it was rushed) and a terrible mind-switch gimmick from Conway. G-S FF 2 is written by Conway with art by Jon Buscema and is marginally better. Still it's a nonsensical time-travel story and very derivative of previous stories.
The first arc (142-144) is an incredibly pedestrian Dr. Doom story. Really, the only fun part is the Reed/Medusa affair that one can choose to infer from the art. Issues 145 & 146 have Ross Andru as a fill-in artist. His style is more cartoonish than Buckler and he also has more dynamic actions and more diverse panel work. He's not the best fit for the book, but it's a nice change of pace. The story, on the other hand, is a real dog. It's a lame Marvel Team-Up story starring Johnny & Medusa that is stretched into two issues. Abominable snow men? More like abominable story telling.
The third arc (147-149) sees Buckler return to art and has the team battling Namor then battling the Frightful Four and then Namor again. Only it all turned out to be a trick by Namor, Medusa and Triton to reunite Reed & Sue, which is very out of character for everyone involved. It has a few nice Namor action panels, but overall it's pretty weak (especially the Frightful Four issue).
The Avengers 127 & FF 150 two-parter features the lead-up to Pietro & Crystal's wedding and also Franklin Richards inexplicably defeating Ultron. It has a few nice moments but is very anti-climactic.
Giant-Size Super Stars 1 & Giant-Size Fantastic Four 2 are Giant-Size bores. Super Stars 1 is a boring Hulk vs. Thing fight with some very bad art from Buckler (I imagine it was rushed) and a terrible mind-switch gimmick from Conway. G-S FF 2 is written by Conway with art by Jon Buscema and is marginally better. Still it's a nonsensical time-travel story and very derivative of previous stories.
November 24, 2012
Happy. Happy. Joy. Joy.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews