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Post by Hoosier X on May 5, 2014 15:40:18 GMT -5
I created this thread so all the Fantastic Fans can have a place to gather and discuss The World's Greatest Comic Magazine!
I bought my first issue of The Fantastic Four (#165) at the end of 1975 (or maybe the beginning of 1976) and I didn't miss an issue until around #290. I loved The Fantastic Four for years!
I accumulated a lot of back issues and a lot of issues were available in reprints, like Marvel Treasury Editions (where I first read The Galactus Trilogy) and Marvel's Greatest Comics. But it wasn't until the 1990s that I got serious about reading all the Lee/Kirby issues. I had the first 50 issues in the Marvel Masterworks collections and I eventually bought all the floppies for #51 to #116. (Those are all gone now, sold to pay for college.)
I recently realized that there's still a lot of issues between #116 and #165 that I had never read, so I got the appropriate volumes of the Essential Fantastic Four and I've been reading them over the past few weeks, and I'm really quite stunned by the overall quality of The Fantastic Four over its first 300 issues. Art by Kirby, Ayers, Roussos, Sinnott, Buscema, Andru, Perez, Buckler, Byrne, Sienkiewicz and a bunch of others. Written by Lee, Conway, Wein, Byrne and more. Reed, Sue, Ben, Johnny, Alicia, Franklin, Crystal, Medusa, Luke Cage, She-Hulk, Agatha Harkness. The Inhumans, Dr. Doom, the Sub-Mariner, the Mole Man, The Puppet-Master, The Black Panther, Galactus, The Silver Surfer, the Frightful Four, Terrax.
My favorite era is the Lee/Kirby era, and I think my favorite storyline is the one where they fight The Hulk despite the interference of those pesky Avengers in Fantastic Four #25 and #26.
But I really want to talk about the Roy Thomas/Gerry Conway era because I've only recently read most of them for the first time and it's still fresh in my mind. I was kind of surprised at how good it is because few people seem to get very excited about it, but I guess that's because it's kind of overshadowed by Lee/Kirby and Byrne. But I think it's as good as Byrne's run, and it's not too far away from challenging Lee/Kirby.
But that's just a suggested topic for conversation. This thread's for anybody who wants to talk about the Fantastic Four. And since it's not strictly an Appreciation Page, you can even say mean things about them! The Fantastic Fans can handle it! |
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Post by Miss Fantastic on May 5, 2014 15:56:42 GMT -5
*jaw drops to the floor, literally, in sheer awe* A testament to the power of my Fantastic magic and how it has come along...I figured it would have an effect, but not this immediately(!!).  I thank you most profusely for starting this, Hoosier! And I will continue to do that in the form of most certainly being bound to be this thread's more frequent contributor. Those of you who don't care for the FF...do post, but bear in mind that I'm watching.  (Did you really and honestly think I was going to resist that?)And speaking of actions and things being louder than words, here's a small sample of my Fantastic shrine. There's more where it comes from, and in a little while after I acquire another poster or two upon which I have my eyes set to complete my near three month project of reacquiring posters I lost ten years ago, as well as acquire some new ones too.    |
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Post by Ozymandias on May 5, 2014 16:00:32 GMT -5
The first comic I remember reading was a FF one. I was (appropriately) around four years old.
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Post by Hoosier X on May 5, 2014 16:05:09 GMT -5
The first comic I remember reading was a FF one. I was (appropriately) around four years old. I gaze upon your words, and tremble. |
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Post by Hoosier X on May 5, 2014 16:15:42 GMT -5
Miss Fantastic,
I see so many things I used to have. FF# 100, FF #44 (I think), the Marvel Fun Book, the big John Byrne poster with the whole cast of the FF. I'm sure I still have the Fantastic Four Index with the Steranko cover, but it's in storage.
Two very important early acquisitions to my collection were the FF Marvel Treasury Edition. Between the two of them, they had reprints of FF #4, #6, #11, #23 (still my favorite Dr. Doom appearance), #48-50, #51 and #94. I also had "Origins of Marvel Comics" and "Son of Origins" within a few months of when I started buying comics. I think I cut a coupon out of a comic to order "Son Of Origins."
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 5, 2014 16:32:27 GMT -5
Me and The Fantastic Four have some history. When I first started to notice Marvels in 1963 I thought The Fantastic Four was too grown-up for me (I was 9).So I was happy reading Giant-Man,Iron Man and Spidey.Then FF #25 came out,part 1 of the Avengers and FF vs The Hulk and nothing was going to stop me from trying it. Thats all it took.I stopped reading it around 1974. A few months before John Byrne took it over,I went back and read the whole series up to that point and have continued through earlier this year. I have not bought the new volume yet-I'll wait and see.
But yes-The Fantastic Four is one of the key comic titles in my life. And that is one fantastic shrine you got Miss F
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Post by Hoosier X on May 5, 2014 16:52:02 GMT -5
Me and The Fantastic Four have some history. When I first started to notice Marvels in 1963 I thought The Fantastic Four was too grown-up for me (I was 9).So I was happy reading Giant-Man,Iron Man and Spidey.Then FF #25 came out,part 1 of the Avengers and FF vs The Hulk and nothing was going to stop me from trying it. Thats all it took.I stopped reading it around 1974. A few months before John Byrne took it over,I went back and read the whole series up to that point and have continued through earlier this year. I have not bought the new volume yet-I'll wait and see. But yes-The Fantastic Four is one of the key comic titles in my life. And that is one fantastic shrine you got Miss F So you were reading it during the period I was talking about. (Roughly #115 to #164.) What did you think of Thundra? I love the way she's so solicitous of the male characters because she considers men to be the weaker sex. I'd never thought too much about Thundra one way or another, but now that I've read her earliest comics, I love her!
Especially that insane issue by Ramona Fradon! As much as I love Buscema, it would have been nice to see a few more Fradon issues, just for a little variety.
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
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Post by Crimebuster on May 5, 2014 16:58:21 GMT -5
My first issue of FF was #280 and I ended up finally quitting around #311 or so, much later than I should have thrown in the towel. I like the FF as a team and as characters, but... I dunno. I've never really been able to get into them. I've read issues from all sorts of different creators, up through 1996 or so, and while some of them are good or even great, it's just not my thing I guess.
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Post by Ish Kabbible on May 5, 2014 17:00:16 GMT -5
I liked Thundra.This was the time period when Women's Lib was a hot button topic and characters like Thundra and Valkyrie sprang up. I'm sure Sue Storm began to assert herself around then as well
I remember reading Ramona Fradon was very uncomfortable with the FF issue and standard super heroes in general. Metamorpho and Aquaman was fine with her because they were more fantasy-like in her mind.She would not have wanted to stay on the FF.In fact thats why she drifted away from the industry, for lack of non-super heroes available to her
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Post by Icctrombone on May 5, 2014 18:01:03 GMT -5
My first issue of FF was #280 and I ended up finally quitting around #311 or so, much later than I should have thrown in the towel. I like the FF as a team and as characters, but... I dunno. I've never really been able to get into them. I've read issues from all sorts of different creators, up through 1996 or so, and while some of them are good or even great, it's just not my thing I guess. Scott, you're killing me. Starting at 280 is like going to a disco in 1989. By that time, many of the great stories were told. I started around 112 and read the older issues in the Marvel Greatest Comics reprint book. |
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Post by Icctrombone on May 5, 2014 18:02:29 GMT -5
Or maybe it's like starting to read The Avengers starting with the "Crossing " and figuring the book isn't that good.
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Crimebuster
CCF Podcast Guru
Making comics!
Posts: 3,915
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Post by Crimebuster on May 5, 2014 18:32:43 GMT -5
Well, what can I say, #280 was the issue that was out on the stands when I started buying comics. Blame Marvel, not me!
I have read many, many earlier stories, but even the good ones just don't seem to connect with me on an emotional level. I can admire and enjoy the stories, but it doesn't get me involved with the characters. I think that ship sailed with my early experiences on the book.
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2014 19:43:27 GMT -5
The Fantastic Four are the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, we all know that. But they were also an important part of my career as a comic fan, a few times. My older brothers got me started reading comics with Batman and Superman. They bought DC, so I read DC. Then one day, I found a comic in the back seat of my new brother-in-law's car. Of course, I read it. But it was so weird. The characters argued w/each other and didn't all make up by the end of the story; hell, the book ended w/one character leaving the team. The artwork seemed crude, and one character looked more like a monster than a super-hero. It was confusing, and exciting, and I loved it! ![]()  But then it was back to my brothers' DCs, and when I started buying my own comics I stuck w/the characters I knew best. Until one day when I decided to take a chance of a couple of new titles. Spider-Man fighting Doc Ock was cool, but I fell in love w/the FF again when they fought the Hulk (w/the Avengers shoving their way into it) for 2 whole issues.  ![]() Ever since, the FF have always been there. Whether I'm buying the title or not, I'm always aware of it, picking up an issue here and there. These characters matter to me, thru the highs and the lows (and there have been some real lows). |
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Post by Miss Fantastic on May 5, 2014 21:51:17 GMT -5
Miss Fantastic, I see so many things I used to have. FF# 100, FF #44 (I think), the Marvel Fun Book, the big John Byrne poster with the whole cast of the FF. I'm sure I still have the Fantastic Four Index with the Steranko cover, but it's in storage. Two very important early acquisitions to my collection were the FF Marvel Treasury Edition. Between the two of them, they had reprints of FF #4, #6, #11, #23 (still my favorite Dr. Doom appearance), #48-50, #51 and #94. I also had "Origins of Marvel Comics" and "Son of Origins" within a few months of when I started buying comics. I think I cut a coupon out of a comic to order "Son Of Origins." Ooooh...you were off by ten with the 'FF #44'...I'm presuming (nearly always a dangerous thing to do) that you mean the FF #34 alias "A House Divided!". That is currently the oldest non-reprint FF issue I own, and I got it last summer at an antique mall in Mount Airy, NC for only $15, which I thought was a steal with its being in a remarkably clean and crease-less shape. My other two oldest non-reprint owned issues are Annual #3 (won in a 40th Anniversary contest back in 2001) and #100. And if it hadn't been for (very stupidly) selling my Lee/Kirby issues during a hiatus I took for awhile, my other oldest issue behind #34 and Annual #3 would have been #51 alias "This Man, This Monster!"...only one of THE issues near everyone, even a few FF 'haters' in my readings/encounters through the years, hail as one of the greatest comic stories ever published. BTW, I was quite lucky to get the Byrne poster just this past March. That sucker's always been difficult to find in all twenty years of my 'Fantasticism', but I finally nabbed it. Love, LOVE Byrne's FF cast photo, which first appeared in the very highly recommended FF Chronicles one-shot (and with the FF in the medium blue and black uniforms instead of the dark blue and white seen on the poster). And that is one fantastic shrine you got Miss F Muchas gracias, Ish!  As I stated earlier, there's more where that comes from...I'm in the process in filling in the last gaps, so to speak. Just another two-three weeks, and everything will be display ready. As a matter of fact, tonight, I'm getting the last 24 x 36 posters (two of them from the past decade and the other from 1994, the latter of which I'd never seen until my constant Amazon and eBay browsing over the last several weeks) of my three month 'poster-mania', all of them not having been previously owned by me. I got the last of my previous owned posters (all very unfortunately lost to being ripped/ruined during a take down for a move from NC to VA in 2005) when I finally re-landed the old Wizard mini-poster of Alan Davis' FF waving to Paris to complete my mini-posters. The Fantastic Four are the cornerstone of the Marvel Universe, we all know that. But they were also an important part of my career as a comic fan, a few times. My older brothers got me started reading comics with Batman and Superman. They bought DC, so I read DC. Then one day, I found a comic in the back seat of my new brother-in-law's car. Of course, I read it. But it was so weird. The characters argued w/each other and didn't all make up by the end of the story; hell, the book ended w/one character leaving the team. The artwork seemed crude, and one character looked more like a monster than a super-hero. It was confusing, and exciting, and I loved it! But then it was back to my brothers' DCs, and when I started buying my own comics I stuck w/the characters I knew best. Until one day when I decided to take a chance of a couple of new titles. Spider-Man fighting Doc Ock was cool, but I fell in love w/the FF again when they fought the Hulk (w/the Avengers shoving their way into it) for 2 whole issues. ![]() Ever since, the FF have always been there. Whether I'm buying the title or not, I'm always aware of it, picking up an issue here and there. These characters matter to me, thru the highs and the lows (and there have been some real lows). I have to say that I love, love, LOVE reading these stories about how all of you were drawn into the FF and their world...I'd share mine now if the dishes weren't calling. But that's what another post is for. And oh yes, regarding the bold...as I said in another thread earlier today, I may personally put the FF on a pedestal above any and all other characters and titles, but I'm not and never have been crazy enough to cite every single one of their issues and appearances as "OMG!!!! THIS IS AWESOME!!!! PURE LEGEND!!! MUST READ!!!!"*. As a matter of fact, it's all I can do to not weep at how much more challenging my goal of being a FF regular series completist has become between the sheer lunacy of the variant issue trend and Millar and Fraction's DOUBLE TURDS (Spaulding!) of so-called creative runs that are way, WAY back on my back-burner. * - And actually, if 'I' ever did type like that, even about the FF issues/appearances I do wholeheartedly like and recommend, I'd immediately be going to report identity theft. |
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Post by Action Ace on May 5, 2014 21:58:28 GMT -5
I came into Fantastic Four a bit late compared to other super hero properties. My first issue was either #176 with the Impossible Man and George Perez in August 1976 or the Treasury Edition that came out the same month with issues #4, 23, 51 and 94.  The Fantastic Four is one of my favorite Marvel properties and I have all the issues in collected form from #1 to the end of Byrne's run. I have a little over 200 issues in comic book form and my original two Treasury Editions. (the Galactus arc of the early 70s is the second one) My favorite era after Stan and Jack is Mark Waid's. |
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As I stated earlier, there's more where that comes from...I'm in the process in filling in the last gaps, so to speak. Just another two-three weeks, and everything will be display ready. As a matter of fact, tonight, I'm getting the last 24 x 36 posters (two of them from the past decade and the other from 1994, the latter of which I'd never seen until my constant Amazon and eBay browsing over the last several weeks) of my three month 'poster-mania', all of them not having been previously owned by me. I got the last of my previous owned posters (all very unfortunately lost to being ripped/ruined during a take down for a move from NC to VA in 2005) when I finally re-landed the old Wizard mini-poster of Alan Davis' FF waving to Paris to complete my mini-posters.