Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus, Vol. 1

Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus

by John Byrne

It’s the world’s greatest comic magazine — again! Not since the days of Lee and Kirby had a creator so perfectly captured the intense mood, cosmic style and classic adventure of Marvel’s First Family — as legendary writer/artist John Byrne launched Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny into fantastic realms of imagination and wonder! From the corners of the globe to the vastness of space to the depths of the Negative Zone, the FF face off against foes old and new, including Dr. Doom, Galactus and Annihilus! Plus: The FF aid the Inhumans, bid farewell to the Baxter Building and celebrate their 20th anniversary in style, as Byrne reminds us all that there’s a family at the heart of this team!

COLLECTING: Marvel Team-Up (1972) 61-62; Marvel Two-in-One (1974) 50; Fantastic Four (1961) 209-218, 220-221, 232-260; Fantastic Four Annual (1963) 17; Avengers (1963) 233; Thing (1983) 2

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes, Fiction

1096 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

John Lindley Byrne is a British-born Canadian-American author and artist of comic books. Since the mid-1970s, Byrne has worked on nearly every major American superhero.

Byrne's better-known work has been on Marvel Comics' X-Men and Fantastic Four and the 1986 relaunch of DC Comics’ Superman franchise. Coming into the comics profession exclusively as a penciler, Byrne began co-plotting the X-Men comics during his tenure on them, and launched his writing career in earnest with Fantastic Four (where he also started inking his own pencils). During the 1990s he produced a number of creator-owned works, including Next Men and Danger Unlimited. He also wrote the first issues of Mike Mignola's Hellboy series and produced a number of Star Trek comics for IDW Publishing.

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Byrne was largely responsible for making the Fantastic Four a must read title during the 1980's. This huge omnibus is the beginning of his run.

The first story in the omnibus is a two parter from Marvel Team-Up featuring Spiderman, the Human Torch, and Ms. Marvel taking on the Super Skrull, Byrne's first stab at drawing members of the Fantastic Four. From there, we get a tale from Marvel Two-In-One where the Thing takes a potential cure back in time to give to his past self, Byrne's first stab at writing and drawing the Fantastic Four.

Once the preliminaries are out of the way, we start with Byrne's run as the artist on Fantastic Four with Bill Mantlo and Marv Wolfman doing the writing. It's a cosmic epic co-starring Nova, the Champions of Xandar, and others battling the Sphinx and the Skrulls. You know the manure is hitting the windmill when the FF go to Galactus for help. The storyline with the Xandarians isn't bad I'm chomping at the bit to get to the run with Byrne as the artist AND writer.

It's not until the %25 mark that Byrne's epic run begins. Before that happens, Terrax was introduced, Blastaar made an appearance, and HERBIE betrayed the Fantastic Four. One interesting sidebar from this time period, at one point John Byrne was penciling both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men every month, then left the Fantastic Four to do Captain America for a few issues because two team books a month was too much.

Once Byrne takes the writing reigns, the book picks up a notch. I'm not going to say it's still not an 80's comic but it's noticeably better. Byrne makes Diablo a credible threat to the Fantastic Four in his first outing pulling double duty.

From there, the series takes a cosmic turn. Byrne introduces the Frankie Raye version of Nova, who will later become Galactus' herald, puts the gang up against Ego, the Living Planet, and sees them helping Galactus against Terrax. Old standbys Dr. Doom and the Inhumans are used but their stories are fairly fresh. The FF go up against The Gladiator of The Shi'ar and return to the Negative Zone.

A lot of other things happen as well. This is a big damn book at over 1000 pages and it's not even Byrne's full run. By the end, the Thing is still a member and hasn't yet been replaced by She-Hulk.

The way I look it, John Byrne brought his A game to the Fantastic Four and his run was as epic as Lee and Kirby's in scope. If you're a fan of the Fantastic Four or John Byrne, this is a must read.

How long do I have to wait until the next volume is released?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Eight years after I initially reviewed this volume, I chewed my way through it again. I have many thoughts, some conflicting.

Byrne's back to basics approach to the Fantastic Four brought Marvel's first family back to prominence. The Skrulls seemed like a viable threat, Annihilus was a world-beater, and Byrne even got some serious mileage out of Terrax. Terror in a Tiny Town and Legacy are among my favorite Fantastic Four stories. The battle with Gladiator is high up on my list as well.

Galactus is given more depth by Byrne than a lot of his previous scribes. I think it was illogical for everyone to rally to save Galactus' life after he was defeated but business is business, as they say. While I think Byrne leaned on Galactus a little too much in this part of his run, the world-eater never looked better to me.

Doctor Doom was used sparingly by Byrne at this point, far from Lee and Kirby trotting him out every three or so issues back in the day. Like Galactus, Byrne showed Doom's complexity. Another thing I liked was that Byrne took some deep dives into the Fantastic Four's past, like Doctor Doom's mind-swapping power and the Skrull cows from issue #3.

Byrne's back to basics approach, while initially a great idea, was also the book's weakness in the long run. The book reads like a cover of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's greatest hits at some points. While Byrne injected some new ideas into the old concepts, he didn't really create anything new, in my opinion. I think the reason his run is so well received is that he modernized a lot of old Fantastic Four concepts, making them easier to read and better stories in general. His dialogue is still '80s comics dialogue, though.

I digested this omnibus a lot more slowly than the list time I took it on and I think I appreciated it a lot more. Byrne was on his A game in this volume and it shows. Unlike a lot of monthly comics for the time period, there weren't many filler stories. The Fantastic Four went from one world-threatening story to the next, as it should be.

Marvel is the house that the Fantastic Four built and John Byrne's run was a big reminder why. Four out of five stars.

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It takes a special kind of moron to decide that the only way he’s ever going to figure out whether he likes the Fantastic Four (or not) is to read 1,000+ pages of it.

Fortunately, I’m happy to report that though it took several hundred pages, John Byrne managed to win this moron over.

I’ve always had an ambivalent relationship with Marvel’s first family, enjoying the book occasionally (most notably during the Waid/Weiringo run, though that was mostly because I’d have read anything Ringo drew, including The Adventures of Toast Man, which I imagine would be a book about a guy who really enjoys making toast all day, but only sometimes buttering it), but mostly reacting with tepid indifference to the FF, whether in their own book or when they jumped into one of Marvel’s endless string of crossovers. I’ve never found the characters particularly interesting, though it is, of course, occasionally fun to watch The Thing pummel something, and I do enjoy reading about super smart characters, so Reed Richards has some appeal. Still, the characters never seemed to grow or change, and all of their adventures felt a little repetitive.

But, Byrne’s work on X-Men with Chris Claremont (specifically the Dark Phoenix Saga) introduced me to comics, and he remains one of the all-time greats, an artist whose clean style and storytelling chops even made Alpha Flight (sort of) compelling, so I figured if I worked my way through Byrne’s run writing and drawing the book and still didn’t like it, I could definitively put the Fantastic Four in the same category as banana-flavored candy and tighty-whities—that is, things I don’t like and that just don’t suit the contours of my voluptuous backside, respectively.

(Oh, like you’ve never tried on a comic book before—get over it, prude.)

Though things get off to an uneven start—Byrne jumps into the middle of an ongoing story arc written by someone else—and there’s a considerable breaking-in period where Byrne is clearly trying to figure out how to do something new and different with these cats, he eventually hits his stride, penning now-classic stories featuring Galactus, Dr. Doom, and the Skrulls, stories that exhibit the same characteristic mix of world-breaking space opera and down-to-earth soap opera that made his X-Men run with Claremont so spectacular.

That’s not to say this is one of the most perfect runs in comics, mind you—Byrne has his limitations as a writer (he seems to want to challenge Claremont to see who can squeeze the largest number of words onto a page, for example—“Come for the art, stay for the endless exposition!”), and until he gets things figured out, the stories are largely forgettable. Still, reading the entirety of his run is a rewarding experience, and it helps give some insight into why this particular title caught fire when Stan and Jack originally launched it.

It does feel a little dated, though not in a bad way—in particular, the way the heroes respond when Galactus, who previously, you know, tried to eat their planet, takes a turn for death’s door after helping the heroes defeat his wayward former herald Terrax the Terrible. Though The Thing raises a logical protest, the other heroes unanimously agree that they need to help Galactus, displaying incredible empathy in understanding that Galactus is more a force of nature than anything else and that his world-eating actions need to be understood in that context. They band together to help him gain some much-needed life-sustaining energy, and then Frankie Raye (aka Nova) selflessly (okay, sort of selfishly, because she wanted to) volunteers to be his new herald and help him find life-sustaining worlds devoid of massive populations of intelligent life.

If someone wrote that story now, 1) the heroes would have a lengthy debate about what to do, full of snarky quips; 2) the heroes would split into two diametrically opposed factions without even trying to work toward a compromise; 3) they’d spend a 12-issue maxi-series (which easily could have been condensed into a much tighter 6-issue story) fighting each other over which side was right, a battle that would include the death of a minor character to show that “the stakes were real” and result in a significant change to the status quo for a major character; 4) the story would generate the same absurdly partisan response amongst fans, who would constantly troll each other online before a small and obnoxious segment broke off and began accusing everyone of being SJWs for no reason other than to stir the pot; and 5) the story would conclude with a continuity reset that completely dropped the Galactus plot point while simultaneously recasting him as a person of color in a move driven by the best of intentions, but ultimately executed poorly because he is still being written by, and as, a straight white dude.

Whereas Byrne, of course, resolved the matter in the course of a few pages, and with nary a tweet fired off in faux righteous indignation.

Well worth a read, and darned if it doesn’t look lovely on a shelf.

[Sean Curley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mammoth collection of John Byrne's early work on Marvel's Fantastic Four title begins with a few hundred pages' worth of stories that Byrne merely illustrated, with the stories penned instead by, among others, Marv Wolfman and Bill Mantlo -- generally talented writers who nevertheless don't really deliver much of interest. The contrast with Byrne's later work is instructive, highlighting the new energy that he brought to the title when given the reins himself.

For all that, were one tempted to compare this with Byrne's early epochal collaboration with Chris Claremont on Uncanny X-Men, there's a fairly obvious difference: the level of creativity on display here doesn't come close to UXM. To read the Claremont/Byrne run, or early Claremont, period, is to see the X-Men's universe taking shape as innumerable new characters are introduced. Byrne here is mainly playing with the same toybox that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby set up in the 1960s: so you've got your Doctor Doom stories, your Puppet Master, your Annihilus, your Inhumans, Galactus, etc. The occasional new villains brought in here are, by and large, unmemorable.

All that said, Byrne does some very strong work with some of the characters here, with the biggest beneficiary by far being Susan Richards (not yet ditching the "Invisible Girl" codename; that would have to wait for later in Byrne's run). Here, again, the contrast with the early Wolfman/Mantlo issues is instructive: Sue is, by and large, useless. Byrne greatly expands the creative usage of her force field powers, and in general gives her a more prominent role in the team's adventures. Doctor Doom, the Four's most storied antagonist, is given a fairly significant presence here; Byrne, in keeping with general trends in the 1980s comics writing field, begins to present him more as a 'necessary evil' for his country.

[James DeSantis · Rating 2 out of 5]

DNF - Yeah, Fantastic Four already a tougher sell for me. Add in the fact this is from early 80's and this does very little for me =/

[Gianfranco Mancini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alcune storie contenute nel volume sono entrate nell'Olimpo del fumetto. Gran bel classico.

[Tesutamento · Rating 5 out of 5]

İlk kez bir omnibus okudum ve bu seriyle omnibus hastalığına kapıldığım için çok mutluyum. Marvel'ın ilk ailesi 1961'de Stan Lee ve Jack Kirby ikilisinin yaratımıyla harika bir yayın dönemi geçirse de daha sonra ikilinin bıraktığı koltuklara gelen Gerry Conway, Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman gibi isimler seriyi parlak günlerinden uzaklara götürmüş ve seri popülaritesini yitirmişti. Seriye önce çizer kadrosundan katılan John Bryne daha sonra yazar koltuğuna oturunca işler epey değişiyor. Bunu bu kitapta görmek mümkün.

Kitapta John Byrne sayılarının ilk yarısı toplanmışken hepsinde yazar rolünü üstlenmiyor. Mark Wolfman tarafından yazılan bir hikayeyle açılan kitapta Byrne çizer rolünde karşımıza çıkıyor. Epey sıkıcı bir hikaye olduğunu belirtmeliyim ki o birkaç bölümlük hikayeyi okurken "O kadar övgü alan omnibus bu mu?" diye düşünmeden edemedim. Neyse ki berbat hikaye serisi bitince zaten çizer olan Byrne yazar koltuğuna da oturuyor ve seri bir anda değişiyor.

Byrne ilk iş olarak Susan'a yeni bir saç kesimi veriyor. Artık ortadan ikiye ayrılmış saçtan kurtuluyoruz. Tabi bu yeni kesim aslında Byrne'ün seriye getireceği yeni havanın habercisi. Byrne bu yeni havayı getirirken de aslında seriye bir öze dönüş çağı başlatıyor. Yeniden sıcak bir aile olduklarını hissettiriyor. Klasikleşmiş Dr. Doom, Galactus, Diablo, Puppet Master gibi tehditlere de yeni bir soluk getirip seriyi eski günlerinde başarılı yapan formülü yeniden icat ediyor. Bu konuya dair gördüğüm tek eleştiri Byrne'ün bu öze dönüş hamlesiyle seriye sıfırdan eklemeler yapmadığı yönündeydi. Eleştiriye hak versem de günün sonunda eldeki işin başarılı olduğu da bir gerçek. Hem düşününce seriye Terrax the Tamer ve Nova gibi uzun soluklu yeni karakterler de ekleniyor. Ayrıca Ben'in dilinden düşürmediği Aunt Petunia'yı da ilk kez bu seride görüyoruz. Bunun anlamı çok büyük.

Bu kitap elime geçtikten bir gün sonra Felix Koleksiyon tarafından Türkçe baskısının yapılacağını öğrenmem epey tuhaf bir rastlantı olmuştu. Yine de orijinal dilinde okumanın tadı her zaman başka oluyor. Hele ki ekibin en popüler karakteri The Thing sürekli Brooklyn ağzıyla konuşan bir karakterken çevirisinde aynı tadı bulmak mümkün olmayacaktır.

John Bryne serisi Fantastic Four'a giriş için olabilecek en iyi noktalardan biri. Yakın zamanda ülkemizde de yerli baskısı yapılacakken FF okumayı düşünen herkes bir bakmalı derim.

[Will Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

While written in the 80s, the "old" feel of the comics aren't a slog to get through. The stories are fun or vast and it always maintains the idea that they are a family. It really makes you care about each character on the FF. If you want to see them go against Skrulls, Doom, Terrax, and some other fun bad guys, pick this up!

[Isaac · Rating 4 out of 5]

a 4.5 if i could, rounded down bc i feel MEAN >:(

Hey, solid run of books! a bit more uneven towards the start, but once byrne starts consistently writing and penciling he hits a stride that is, if nothing else, constantly interesting. I'm going to start with some gushing, what i love about the book because i definitely do have some criticisms and i don't like leading with negativity (current feelings (>:( ) notwithstanding).

the main thing i love about this book is john byrne's total commitment to philosophical exploration and complex ideas. the fantastic four are as much emissaries and diplomats to distant worlds as they are super heroes. with the primary exception being doctor doom, byrne's fantastic four are not particularly concerned with typical super villains. they instead deal with alien entities, rogue artificial intelligences, unknowable godlike beings, and extraplanetary politics. they are always in way over their heads, and they always succeed regardless.

of particular note here is the negative zone arc. it is equally a tale of science fiction spectacle and an interrogation of humanity's preconceived notions when it comes to foreign culture. the four position themselves as humble explorers and champions of freedom and equality, leaving the strange worlds of the negative zone more just and equitable than how they found them. it is not until they uncover and unknowingly kill a living city (the monumental fantastic four #252) that they realize how flawed and ultimately colonialist their mission is. that issue goes on to stick in the mind of the reader, casting a shadow over the rest of this arc, and influencing the actions of the characters. all this comes as, in the background, annihilus attacks new york and endangers franklin and alicia, at this point the most vulnerable of the team. this too, reflects the hubris of our heroes, as they galavant across the anti-matter dimension simply trusting against logic that their home will remain safe. the reader, knowing this, grows ever more tense as the four continue their vague mission of exploration in the negative zone, unaware of the calamity occurring in their absence.

this kind of heady, cerebral material is what makes this book really shine. its best moments are when it is dealing with aliens so different from us and yet so similar, or with gods and god-likes whose view is so expanded that earth is hardly an afterthought. combined with byrne's keen eye for interesting visuals and rich colors/inks makes for a generally delightful read.

now for the bad.

i don't like the way he writes about sue! or women in general! why is she referred to as "graceful", "beautiful", "lithe", or "distaff" every time she is referred to? why can this guy simply not stop making the women's looks the primary focus of their characters, while the men's appearance goes totally unremarked upon. in a vacuum it wouldn't be any worse than any other aged comic book (unfortunate, but i can only expect so much i guess) except for his... OTHER... fascination.

THE AGE GAPS
john, come on. the retcon to the story of how reed and sue met is maybe the most egregious and talked about missteps of this otherwise very good run. in byrne's new retelling of events, sue was a child when she had a crush on reed... who was a college student in his 20s. ouch. this paints their relationship in a much more... idk predatory? light. it's just one of those things you have to act like isn't there, but it is still there! it was written and printed and, for a time, unambiguously canon.

but it isn't just these two. byrne also saw it fit to make ben grimm's much talked about but never before seen aunt petunia of similar age to the yancy streeter himself. see, aunt petunia married ben's biological uncle; a much, much older man. this was fully unnecessary and to my knowledge never brought up again. this pattern continues as well, often when a male character brings up his wife, the spouse in question is later revealed to be a much younger woman. poorly disguised fetishes are nothing new to comic books at this point, but come on man.

there's also the occasional issue that bites off more than it can chew or is otherwise just not much exciting. the run is not perfect, but i think there is a lot more good than bad. it's definitely of its time, but in the best of issues it feels much more modern than a lot of its contemporary books. there is a clear reason, even only halfway through, that this has gone on to be so influential. just please john, i read these at work can you lay off the horny-on-main?

[Retriitikko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fantastic (four). John Byrne is an astounding writer and artist, and he almost rewrites the Fantastic Four's history. New characters are introduced, old characters are reinvented and the whole comic holds the reader's interest through the whole run. I haven't read Stan Lee's and Jack Kirby's version of Fantastic Four, but I can imagine that Byrne got very close to their run in the terms of quality, storytelling and art.
Byrne begins his run with doing random issues here and there, but when his own writing and drawing combo kicks in, the quality immediately rises. At the start, there are many of his own, completely new characters, who are only featured in one-issue stories. One of the Byrne's own creations however, Terrax the Tamer, returns later in the omnibus to cause trouble to the Fantastic Four.
Near the end of the book Byrne uses many of the old foes, like Doctor Doom, Annihilus and Skrulls. The few cons this book holds in include the fact that many of the stories follow the same path: Mr. Fantastic notices a weird energy source somewhere, the Four quickly goes there, there is something odd in the place and soon they are kicking and punching aliens. My favorite storyline in the book was very different from the others, as it had Doctor Doom regaining the leadership of Latveria from Zorba, who had turned into a mad dictator since Fantastic Four helped him to become the new leader of Latveria in Fantastic Four issue 200. Sadly, issue 200 is written by Marv Wolfman and drawn by Jack Kirby, so it is not included in John Byrne omnibus.
I still recommend the book. I do suggest buying both volumes at once, though, since the first one ends in a pretty major cliffhanger.

[Michael Emond · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this run when I was in my teens. And this omnibus gave me a chance to relive it PLUS some earlier Byrne FF stories I never got to see before. It is actually those extras I was looking forward to and those extras that moved me down a star in this review. Yikes...Byrne might have done the art for those earlier stories but whomever did the inks overwhelmed Byrne's amazing art and you can't tell one of the greatest comic book artists ever penciled those pages. The stories were also horrendous. So we get to the run where Byrne did the story, pencils AND inks and it is magical. The art is at a period when Byrne was on his game and putting a lot of effort into his work (it went downhill on his Superman run). You can quibble with the stories and how they aren't epic or groundbreaking compared to some later writers (Moore, Miller, Ellis, Morrison) but what we get is simple and fun story telling at its best. Episodic stories that also have a bit of an arc (Frankie Raye going from girlfriend to Herald of Galactus for example). We get nice characters of all four members and especially a nice development of Invisible Woman. They are a bit thinner in terms of drama than I remember but with the size of the comics of the time Byrne did a great job in a limited format. This omnibus is a must have for any lovers of comic history.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first half of absolutely one of the best superhero comics runs in history. Byrne pits the fabulous FF against the myriad machinations of Doctor Doom, the interplanetary threat of Ego, the elemental minions of Diablo, the infinite weirdness of the Negative Zone, and (perhaps most terrifying of all) a fearsome feminist talk show host. Plus much more. Also included is some earlier material Byrne had a hand in before he went "full-time." My only quibble is that more of the Thing's solo series, which Byrne wrote but for the most part did not draw, was not included. There were some great stories in its first year or so.

[Zachary King · Rating 4 out of 5]

After Lee/Kirby, John Byrne probably had the most fun with the Fantastic Four. I've been a big fan of Byrne's stuff ever since Superman & Batman: Generations, An Imaginary Tale, and reading all his FF work (digitally) was a real treat. Even after his run ended, I kept reading because he made the FF feel like a family, and I genuinely cared about all of them. His run can be a little uneven and overly quirky for some readers, but I had a heck of a time with it. Having She-Hulk join the team was inspired!

[Brian Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of Byrne's pitch perfect work on FF. I forgot how much he shifted hard from the prior creative teams to single issue stories for the beginning of his run and only opened up to longer ones later, and also how seldom he created new villains. Yes, there are some new ones in here but they are all one issue threats or complications rather than real entries into the rogues gallery, while he mined a lot out of the classic villains. Reminds you of just how good the FF rogues gallery (well, threat index) really is.

[Robert Noll · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.75 stars. It is difficult, nearly impossible, to write a review for an omnibus containing 47 separate issues of the funnybook. The characters have some good (and not so good) adventures, and John Byrne is a great writer. However, the layouts could have used some more background attention and the entire book reminded me of how bad four color comics were visually. The Fantastic Four also could have used some more internal strife and malcontent.

[Randy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost 1100 pages later I have finished this great omnibus! I wish modern day comics were like this.... Full of dialogue and detail. I went into this book knowing very little about the Fantastic Four, but I now I've come to love them! Very excited to read the second massive book by John Bryne. Highly recommend to anyone wanting to follow a great story and get to know the fantastic four!

[Cody Wilson]

After artist Jack Kirby left Fantastic Four – Marvel’s flagship book – in 1970, the title was more or less in freefall for a decade. Many of Marvel’s most prominent writers from this era – from Roy Thomas to Gerry Conway and Len Wein – sought to replicate the magic of Kirby’s work, leaning into specific aspects of the title like the family’s melodrama or sprawling sci-fi plotlines while losing sight of the overall blend of components that made the book work. This omnibus contains the final storyline of writer Marv Wolfman’s run on FF, a messy, borderline incoherent attempt at a Kirby-style, multi-part epic. Artist John Byrne’s pencils make this story readable (even with inker Joe Sinnott’s overbearing inks), but these issues are far from the title’s best. When Byrne leaves the title with FF #221 (likely in frustration), he has little reason to return, given his concurrent success on Uncanny X-Men with Claremont.

However, less than a year later and famous from X-Men, Byrne comes back to FF not only as penciler but also as writer and inker. With nearly single-handed control over its artistic direction, Byrne achieves the impossible and makes FF interesting to read again. Crucially, Byrne succeeds not by departing from his predecessors�� approach, but instead by outdoing his peers in recapturing Kirby’s vision for FF. To start, Byrne keeps the scale small, favoring short, low-stakes stories that mirror the often-overlooked first 30 issues of Kirby and Stan Lee’s FF rather than the ambitious multi-parters that draw most fan attention. These quick, one-off stories give Byrne the opportunity to develop his authorial voice. Reflecting the style of his former collaborator Chris Claremont, Byrne’s scripting is too verbose at first. However, he quickly finds his groove and reorients the writing to better complement his strong sense of visual storytelling.

Perhaps Byrne’s defining insight, largely misunderstood by his predecessors, is that the FF work best as scientific explorers rather than as traditional superheroes. The team inhabits this role by investigating scientific mysteries, which often culminates in a clever twist or insight – for instance, realizing that an alien is inebriated by Earth’s oxygen or that Ego the Living Planet’s gravitational distortions are causing environmental chaos. As Byrne builds confidence, he starts to weave increasingly intricate subplots into ambitious, sprawling epics. Even so, the understanding that the FF are explorers first and foremost underpins these more complex stories, whether they involve Galactus paying another visit to Earth or a tumultuous trip to the Negative Zone.

Despite his reverence for Kirby, Byrne is far from regressive in his storytelling. He excels at finding new twists on familiar characters while remaining true to their backgrounds. In this omnibus, Galactus gains a conscience about consuming inhabited planets and the FF face the dilemma of whether to revive him in his weakened, shrunken form. Byrne also injects moral ambiguity into Doctor Doom by setting his paternalistic monarchy against the violent autocracy that fills the power vacuum that the FF created when they toppled him.

Regarding the team itself, Byrne smartly turns subtext into text for the Thing. He reveals that Ben’s subconscious fear that Alicia won’t love him as a normal man keeps Reed from curing his condition, which allows the character to move on from the same old “I wish I could be a regular guy” plotlines. Johnny’s melodramatic shenanigans in these stories harken back to romance comics from the 1950s. The main area in which Byrne improves on Kirby is the updated portrayal of Sue, who was frequently a damsel in distress in the FF’s early adventures but more than holds her own here. Altogether, Byne has a strong handle on the FF team dynamic, leaving readers asking why his predecessors ever struggled with these characters.

Of course, these stories benefit from Byrne’s incredible art. Unlike others seeking to recapture 60s FF, Byrne doesn’t attempt a cheap pastiche of Kirby but instead works in his own style. He marries a solid grasp on the basics of superhero comics with persistent experimentation in page design and narrative technique, fitting for a series about scientific explorers. One full issue in this collection is presented in landscape rather than portrait orientation. This omnibus captures Byrne at the peak of his abilities, especially when he starts inking himself. As with his scripting, it takes Byrne a bit to hit his stride with inks, but once he does, his linework is confident and effective, though occasionally heavier than I might prefer. Even when the story itself is relatively thin, like with a predictable slugfest involving the Skrulls and Gladiator in FF #250, Byrne’s art is more than worth the entrance fee.

My only reservation in recommending this omnibus is that it includes a number of FF issues that Byrne pencils but doesn’t script. In this way, it reminds me of the omnibus collecting writer/artist Frank Miller’s Daredevil, in which readers must slog through the early issues that Miller draws but Roger McKenzie writes. In both cases, the stellar comics that follow more than justify the choppy lead-in.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

A landmark run of comics from the 80s, packaged in a deluxe, oversized tome.

Through the 80s and 90s, the conventional wisdom was that the FF had suffered a long run of mediocrity since Jack Kirby left the title with issue 102 in 1970 until John Byrne took the reins as writer and artist with issue 232 in 1981. I've slogged through this entire run and can say that's absolutely true. These aren't stunning, revolutionary comics, but after the unevenness of 70s Marvel, Byrne's competently done above-average superheroics feel like coming home, the epitome of the rock-solid Marvel line under Jim Shooter's watch in that time. Contemporary comics like Frank Miller's Daredevil (1979-1983) and Walt Simonson's Thor (1983-1987) may have been better books, all-time classics that everyone, superhero fan or not, should read, but Byrne's quiet consistency on the book for five years is a worthy achievement in itself.

This volume collects the first two years of that run. A fourth of the book is given up to work he'd done with the characters as an artist before firmly taking creative hold of the title; most of that portion is part of the lackluster period preceding his taking the writing reins, the later half of an endless Marv Wolfman story. While this does hurt the quality of this volume overall (it'd be four stars without it), it gives a great insight into how amazing Byrne's solo work looks in contrast. With the passing of the decades, and with the wild swings in Byrne's work and attitude during that time, the critical standing of these comics has faded. It's still worth taking a look with fresh eyes if you're a super hero fan. If you aren't fully immersed in the milieu, these stories won't bowl you over, but they’re a fun read. While Byrne’s reputation has faded, there was a reason he was considered the premiere comics writer and artist in the 80s (immediately after this run, DC Comics would recruit him to re-think Superman from the ground up; the resulting version has stood the test of time to this day). With its dynamic, clear storytelling and steps at innovations (for its time), this run of issues truly merits this deluxe edition.

[Eastham Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Impressive that someone can write and do all the art in one comic. For me, with the exception of Claremont's X-Men run, a good place to start for most Marvel and DC, is the 1980's. The characters became more complex, heroes and villains were not so much black and white, writing was greatly improving and the format of six cells to a page was getting tossed.

Byrne's run on FF took the team through the early to mid 80's. A bit wordy at times and a constant reminder in each issue of each characters abilities and back stories can be a bit monotonous and sometimes make it a chore to get through (this is the longest it's taken me to read an omnibus; needed several breaks, but I still enjoyed it), but it's really just a staple of the time. The best stories in this omnibus IMO is when the FF enter the negative zone for several issues. Because the negative zone is mostly undiscovered territory, Byrne is able to (for the most part) write as creative as he likes and this is where the omnibus shines.

Surprising to me, was the constant sexual suggestions and urges of Susan Storm who feels she needs to constantly "remind Reed of his husbandly duties." Scenes of Sue Storm naked in Bed with Reed, walking the Baxter Building in loose robes and sometimes clad in nothing more than a sheet is interesting enough for a mid thirties male trying to reread comics from his youth, but the surprise had me wondering, "Why didn't my mother proof some of these comics before I read them?" Sex in comics today is nothing new, but for the early 80's it seems off to me. Still, it does help explain how Sue becomes pregnant with their second child, which is part of this Omnibus.

The Omnibus format is what you can expect; decent binding, thick paper and good sizing (however, given the format of 80's comics, the images do not go to the edge of paper.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Diablos!, ¡los tres skrulls que convertiste en vacas!

40 números de los 4 Fantásticos, pero de la mano de Byrne, autor importantísimo en la historia de los comics, donde el tipo hace lo que se le da la gana, y que bien que así sea.

LO BUENO: John Byrne es una maquina, hace lo que quiere y se agradece, que los 4 fantásticos recorran el Universo, que enfrenten y derroten a Galactus ( impensable en el momento, normalizado el dia de hoy), una historia de terror en un pueblo con leche extraterrestre, la pelea contra Anihilus donde lo derrotan de manera terrible, sin un maldito golpe , y ese numero en el mundo Skrull...un numero hermoso y terrible que el día de hoy intentarían hacerlo en al menos 06 números con 03 dibujantes distintos y con ramificaciones y numeros especiales...no, el tipo en algo mas de 25 paginas hace de todo, y su arte...tu lo ves cuando el hace todo , dibuja los escombros y la tecnología como si fuera el único heredero de Kirby, su Mole es masiva y poderosa, como ese dibujo cuando va dentro del taxi , su Latveria detallada hasta las ventanas , y entiendes que lo hayan laido Liefeld, Jim Lee, Larsen, McFarlane y dijeran:- ¡Que bueno es este tipo, yo puedo hacer lo mismo!, y les ves lo que hacían y lo inetntarón, su arte tiene mucho de lo que hacia Byrne pero ninguno lo alcanzo. Agradezco que no hayan puesto color infográfico.

LO MALO: El tipo venia de trabajar con Roger Stern y Claremont, asi que traía sus vicios de contar y contar en palabras muchas veces lo que estábamos viendo, y no maestro, déjanos disfrutar tu dibujo , y como hay historias epicas, tambien hay historias que cuesta leer.

[Jason Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a comic book fan, it doesn't get much better in terms of art or imagination than this overstuffed volume of modern day Fantastic Four classics.

John Byrne takes the complexity seen in his famed run as penciller on the X-Men and adapts it to the old fashioned sense of humor and imagination of the Fantastic Four, and the stories are very satisfying and complex (for the mainstream comics form), and also a joy to look at in vibrant color.

The early stuff, John pencilling "Marvel Team-Up" and "Two-In-One" is very good for the form, if a little bit generic. The art is amazing.

The weakest part is J. Byrne pencilling Fantastic Four for Marv Wolfman. Wolfman's writing here seems too dependent on space cliche, not the strength of character that would come later. Art's still good.


It's hard to summarize the following long term run of Johnny B. writing and pencilling the FF here, because you get so many issues in this book. What a value. But in any case it's a mix of fun action, humor, complex plots that kind of sneak up, humanizing a comic book family, and some really dynamic character designs and action lines and stuff.

John Byrne speaks for himself in my regard because of work like this, if you want to see Ben "Thing" Grimm give cheesy one liners in spiffy artwork form, and read some good stories too, give this a try and see what I mean.

5/5

[Matthew Ledrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #61: 5 stars
MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) #62: 4 stars
MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE #50: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #215: 3 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #216: 3 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #217: 3 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #218: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #220: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #221: 3 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #232: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #233: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #234: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #235: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #236: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #237: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #238: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #239: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #240: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #241: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #242: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #243: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #244: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #245: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #246: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #247: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #248: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #249: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #250: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #251: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #252: 4 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #253: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #254: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #255: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #256: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #257: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #258: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #259: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #260: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #261: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) #262: 5 stars
FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) ANNUAL #17: 5 stars
PETER PARKER, THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN (1976) #42; 5 stars
AVENGERS (1963) #233: 5 stars
THING (1983) #2: 5 stars
and ALPHA FLIGHT (1983) #4. 5 stars

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading these 1000 pages omniboo is quite an achievement. Sure comics are quick to read but wrestling these 15lbs monsters is another thing altogether. I have a few omniboo but they mostly just sit on the shelf whilst I read the shorter books. But anyhoo, on to the content! Love John Byrne. Loved him since the 70's when his art first showed up at Marvel and years before he ever touched the X-men. I do recall him starting this FF series but I've never had the chance to read this full run of his as it came along as I was finding other things to read in high school. It's a really good and fun take on the FF.

[Mark Stratton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, rollicking good time of an omnibus. Byrne gets at the core of what makes the FF tick; family. His grasp of the history, and a love of the Lee/Kirby run permeates this run of funny books. Great stuff.

[Rumi Bossche · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Fantastic artwork all over, but not all stories are great. A great piece of this omnibus are drawn stories by Byrne but told by others. It does pick up when Byrne takes over, doing both the art and the writing.

[Bruno Poço · Rating 3 out of 5]

-começa com crossover do tocha humana e o homem aranha (M2in1 61) e junta se a miss Marvel (62) contra super skrull (de claremont)
-um Marvel 2 in 1 aqui sim escrito e desenhado byrne (50) coisa do presente vs coisa do passado
- depois segue com uma história a meio de marv wolfman (209-216) o QF procura a ajuda de Galactus contra o esfinge
-durante temos a criação de terrax
-aparecimento de blaastar , um humano super evoluído, uma traição dentro do QF
-bill mantlo (216-218)
-no 220 byrne pega na batuta
-Diablo , o cabeça de martelo , o planeta ego, mestre das marionetas, dr destino , inumanos , os vingadores, o gladiador, surfista prateado
- desenhos estelares mas muito texto , mesmo muito

[Jared Gomez · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. Starts off slow but once Byrne takes over with everything the stories really start to pop. #250 was by far the best issue of the book and set the tone for the remainder of the first volume. Excited to read volume 2 and the Thing's solo run.

[Steven Davich · Rating 5 out of 5]

1065 pages of Byrne's Fantastic Four run is a beautiful, unparalleled thing.

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

So. Bloody. Great.
Loved this. Hard to top this era.

[John]

Byrne run starts 232. FF Masterwork vol 21 in Hoopla

[Big Hoss · Rating 4 out of 5]

fantastic