Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four, Vol. 19

Marvel Masterworks: The Fantastic Four #19

by Marv Wolfman (Writer), John Byrne (Penciller), Bill Mantlo

In their latest, greatest Marvel Masterworks, the Fantastic Four confront one of their oldest enemies - the Skrulls! And they'll have to do it as their older selves, after an aging weapon advances them to death's door! The talents of Marv Wolfman, Keith Pollard and John Byrne - in his FF debut - keep the story feisty, the art spry and the adventure fantastic. How could it not be when the world-devourer Galactus enters the fray with a new herald? As if that weren't enough, the cosmic Sphinx, scheming Monocle, combustible Blastaar, formidable Frightful Four and diabolical Salem's Seven keep the scope epic, the stakes absolute, and you on the edge of your seat! And H.E.R.B.I.E.? He's just keeping it real. COLLECTING: FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) 204-218, ANNUAL (1963) 14

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book

315 pages, Hardcover

First published December 26, 2017

About the author

Marvin A. "Marv" Wolfman is an award-winning American comic book writer. He is best known for lengthy runs on The Tomb of Dracula, creating Blade for Marvel Comics, and The New Teen Titans for DC Comics.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection contains FF #204-#218, Annual #14, and a bonus story with The Silver Surfer and Galactus from Epic Illustrated #1.
Easily the best storyline is the sprawling space epic from issues #204-#214 involving the Skrulls, The Sphinx, Galactus, and Terrax. 3/4 of the team are aging from a Skrull weapon and faced with dilemma after dilemma all while growing older by the second and losing strength and powers.
Solid stuff from Marv Wolfman, John Byrne, Joe Sinnott, Bill Mantlo, and others. We even get a Herbie the robot in a handful of issues for good and bad.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Only a few months ago I finally re-read the material collected in Nova Classic, Volume 3 which actually contains more proper FF issues than Nova issues. That book Collected: Nova 20-25; Fantastic Four 204-206, 208-214. That's a 10-ish overlap with this Masterwork. Though I've hung on to my copy of Nova, I'm very pleased with this new edition. It's more continuing terrific-ness of Bronze Age joy. Can't believe we're up to 19 volumes now! Think this about tied with Avengers as the deepest spread of Masterworks on a particular title. For consistency though, it's the FF that's the real winner. Yeah some of those early Avengers stories are a bit clunky. The Avengers series doesn't really jell until around the time of the Roy Thomas/John Buscema era. Think that's about 50 issues into the run. Whereas FF at that point is half-way through Kirby's record-breaking run.

Great comic booking here. Love this collection. In fact, all of these books belong on my All Time Fav list.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

To me the FF stories started in this collection began the era they were, to me, a bit dry and repetitive. It seemed a lot of old plots were reused and rehashed. The glowing bright star in this collection is the debut of John Byrne as the FF artist. He is one of my all time favorite comic artists so he definitely brightened up the FF for me. Recommended

[Jonathan Ammon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wolfman is an interesting writer and brings the FF into more cosmic and mystical tales. Keith Pollard was a name I did not recognize but he provides the most impressive art in this volume which also includes John Byrne's start as the FF artist.

[John Peel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is virtually one really, really long story, with the Fantastic Four against one of their oldest foes, the Skrulls. It also brings in a plotline from the concurrent "Nova" comic, adds in a new Champions team and introduces (and disposes of) the least popular member of the FF - Herbie the robot from the cartoon series. The trouble is that the storyline gets so convoluted that you can't remember if they settle it all. It needed to be simpler for the average reader. But, still, some lovely artwork by Johnny Byrne and others.

[Kevin Nobel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 3 out of 5]

Continúan los Cuatro Fantásticos, y la serie parece que en estos momentos se va estableciendo ya con un ritmo y unos argumentos bastante entretenidos, de manos de Marv Wolfman y con dibujos del que probablemente fuera el dibujante estrella de los 80 en sus primeras intervenciones en los 4F, John Byrne (sí, sigue estando debajo de las tintas de Joe Sinnott, pero es Byrne), con sus rostros perfectamente reconocible, su ausencia de fondos en la mayoría de las viñetas, etc. O sea, Byrne, con lo bueno y lo malo. Este tomo va a devolver a los 4F al espacio, un poco a sus raíces cósmicas, y va a recuperar al Imperio Skrull como adversario, y además, Wolfman se va a traer argumentos que había dejado pendientes en la serie de Nova, de modo que nos vamos a encontrar un enfrentamiento entre Xandar y los Skrulls, y a vamos a ver la llegada de Nova y su grupo (los llamados "Campeones") a Xandar, de modo que así pondrá fin aquí a su trama, con la Esfinge convertido en una criatura casi divina, un cambio de régimen en el Imperio Skrull, y el regreso, ni más ni menos, que del mismísimo Galactus.

Además de la saga cósmica, vamos a tener la reaparición de Blastaar o los Cuatro Temibles, o la aparición de un nuevo enemigo, el Futurista, y la verdade es que todo está bastante bien hilado y encaja en una buena historia.

[L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection takes you to a place wild, colorful and fantastic. No, I'm not talking about the Andromeda Galaxy (which it does). I'm talking about the Seventies, baby. The Fonz! Star Wars! Bell bottom trousers! Disco music! The Andromeda Galaxy is pretty tame compared to earth.

At the beginning of this book the F.F. are setting out to rescue a world being attacked by the Skrulls. But then they have to go do this. Then they have to go fight that. Then they have to go here before going there. So many side quests. Come to think of it, I don't believe the Fantastic Four ever do finish saving the planet. They simply foist the task off onto another group of superheroes.

For the rest of the book our heroes stay on earth and basically fight homegrown villains.

[Julian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flat-out fun bronze age comics. Nothing here really blew my mind, but Wolfman's writing is solid and John Byrne's pencils with Joe Sinnot inking are ... hardly like Byrne at all sometimes... really a revelation, particularly when you look at the one issue with Pablo Marcos inking. There's a not-to-be-missed Annual #14 with perhaps the first great Wolman/Perez collaboration? This feels so much like transitional comics... with the 70s giving way to the 80s, with Byrne's great run on FF in the future, with Wolfman about to depart for DC.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow starter but when it got going it aimed high. Galactus was well used here, and is the highlight of the volume, but there is some other good stuff as well.

It is probably more like a 3.5, but what the heck, I enjoyed them.

[Adam Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started slow but really picked up once Wolfman and Byrne came on. Looking forward to the next volume.