Years of genius preserved beautifully, December 5, 2007

I got this at quite a discount from an alternate dealer because the variant cover is just not that impressive. Not sure why Marvel would use a variant cover that had a smaller reproduction of the artwork, but then their management is not known for always making good decisions. However, as bad as the variant cover looks, the print quality is on the better side for the Masterworks series. You have to be careful with the Masterwork series, because not all of them have been well printed, but this one is fine. The stories are some of the best of the Kirby-Lee FF, with some great co-starring roles for the Inhumans, a story that takes place in the Negative Zone, and the first appearance of Him (later to be known as Warlock). Some of Jack Kirby's best covers are reproduced full sized in this book, along with unused covers in pencil, and some pencil pages. Kirby's plotting at this time is at an incredible high, with Stan's usual penchant for awful tongue-in-cheek humor and overwritten...

This Marvel Masterworks title contains some of the greatest issues of the Fantastic Four and demonstrates amply the brilliance of the achievements of Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. These were the years when the FF fully blossomed into one of the great achievements of comic book history. By the way, it has just been reprinted (November 2007) and is now available so WHY IS IT NOT OFFERED FOR SALE BY AMAZON?