I purchased the DVD containing every issue of Fantastic Four up to last December the other day because it sounded like one of the coolest products ever and I want to see more of them made (especially Hulk but I’ll take Thor, Daredevil, and Captain America). However, having over 500 issues of a comic book series before me does pose a problem: what to read.
I’ve got all of the essential volumes so I’ve read the majority of the Lee/Kirby run, and I have the bulk of the Byrne run and a fair chunk of the Simonson issues. Obviously those three are the top of my priority list, but even if I skip the issues I’ve read (and I probably won’t) there’s still an awful lot. So where should I look to? Okay, I could read it in order but quite frankly that could eat up my time forever. I’ll probably still be slowly working my way through this ten years from now.
So anyone want to point me to some highlights (other than the original Galactus arc)?
I was never a big collector of FF, but my personal favorite was their encounter with Mephisto during Byrne’s run. Lots of people hate Byrne, but once in a while, he did some great stuff.
For my money, the best issues were the ones Kirby and Lee did from about #30 to #100. Before #30 they were still getting their stride, and both the stories and the art are pretty primitive. Afterwards the writing has that wonderful mock-grandeur, with mind-blowing concepts, and Kirby’s artwork goes from the weird-stretchy type of his Monsters on the Loose days to the Cosmic Majesty that marked his best FF and Thor work. Not long after #100, first Kirby and then Le stopped doing the FF.
Best choices (not in order):
1.) Far and away, the Galactus issues 47-50
2.) The Introduction of the Inhumans
3.) The Beehive/Him
4.) Doctor Doom Steals the Silver Surfer’s powers
5.) The FF in Latveria (The FF does “The Prisoner”)
6.) The Thing as a Gladiator for The Skrulls (The FF does “A Piece of the Action”)
7.) The origin of Doctor Doom (FF Annual #2)
8.) The FF vs. the Original Human torch (FF Annual #4)
9.) The FF vs. Psycho-Man (FF Annual #5)
10,) The FF vs, Annhilus for the first time (Annual #6)
It’s in Previews. Fifty bucks, IIRC. There’s a Spider-Man one that’s on CD’s (and many of them), but there’s a DVD one coming out soon with is better quality and contains some additional stuff.
I payed 39.99 at talesofwonder.com which was the cheapest I could find it for on the net. The FF one came out a few weeks ago, a CD set for Spider-man is already out (11 CD’s but a DVD re-release is planned which will include the annuals which were missing in the original) and X-men will follow in October.
One of the really cool things that I’ve heard about these releases is that they’re not just the stories; it’s the whole book. The letter columns, the house ads (and the regular ads, but the house ads for the other things Marvel was doing at the same time is something I’m curious about), the Bullpen page. The Essential series are great and I don’t plan on stopping buying them, especially the odd obscure ones, but this is something I’m really looking forward to digging into.
Can someone 'splain me how this works? Do you stick the DVD in your computer and print out the comics? Do you view them on your computer, and spend lots of time scrolling up, down, and sideways?
It’s a DVD-ROM so you can’t watch it on TV (at least, I’ve never seen a DVD player that can do this).
If it’s like the MAD Magazine CD-ROM set, there will be some scrolling in all directions. You should also be able to go directly to whichever issue you want.
My favorite arc during Byrne’s run was the Trial of Reed Richards, probably including the issue earlier than that wherein he saves Galactus’ life. Byrne’s run is pretty strong throughout, though it doesn’t get as good as the Lee/Kirby run.
And I’m going to have to get my hands on this DVD…
