Marvel Essential Fantastic Four Vol.3

I finished reading Marvel Essential Fantastic Four Vol.3 a month ago, and thought it would be appropriate to stop and say a word or two about it since you-know-who was just killed off (laughs). I love how pissed everyone is getting: "I'm not buying these big comic companies' cheap sensationalism! They just bring them back to life later!"  Yeah well... so what? Do you think they care if you know they are pullin' stunts to (laughs) make money off ya?? They are a business, and like any other business they want to make more money. And they will.

Like most people, as soon as I heard I figured it would be Johnny- he's the hot-headed kid, and I think some people were (laughs) glad! Johnny is a whiny crier in this volume I just read- when he falls in love (at first sight) with Crystal of the Inhuman clan, he obsesses over her to the point of comedy. Equally annoyingly teenage complaining, moodiness continues throughout each chapter. It was pretty realistic (laughs)!  It's okay Johnny, we were all annoying teenagers at one time, and like yourself most of us had our really admirable qualities as well, yours being loyalty and heroism. 

I want to tell you up front the Marvel Essentials series have no color- just black & white. While some find this a real letdown, I was reading for the story mostly, though I'm a big fan of Jack Kirby's artwork, and his use of line weight and negative space take on a really admirable quality when stripped of color. His style is immediately recognizable to me, and I think it's swell. While it's easy to forget the importance of their craft, inkers Joe Sinnott and Vince Coletta did a clean job, contributing a lot to Kirby's work.

Vol. 3 is an eventful ride That's worth a look: a battle with Black Panther turns into a team-up against Klaw, The Inhumans are forced to accept aid from The Fantastic Four in order to escape the tyranny of Black Bolt's evil brother Maximus as well as the Seeker. DragonMan, Blastaar, The Beyonder, Sandman, Dr. Doom all make an appearance, along with a host of other baddies.  Reed & Sue Storm get married in front of an All-Star Marvel cast- The X-Men, The Avengers, Daredevil, & Spiderman sweep in to save the nuptials from sabotage by Doom. And the event present within the pages of this hefty adventure, the main reason I hunted it down- the first appearance of Silver Surfer and his conflict with Galactus, resulting in the Sentinel of the Spaceways' exile on Earth.

Thanks again Jason V. for inspiring me to talk about comics, both comics from my youth as well as what I'm reading now. Thanks to Saranga over at New Readers... start Here! for all the advice on what to read so I (laughs) understand what I just read! You wouldn't believe the piles of comics/graphic novels I have ordered in the past week- this is going to be expensive, educational, and FUN!

*Pictured above: 14" Galactus by ToyBiz (1997), 10" Human Torch by ToyBiz (2000), Mini Marvel Heroes & Villians Silver Surfer.