Classic Review: Marvel Masterworks- Fantastic Four Vol. 9

Quick Summary

Pros: All of the stories in this collection are entertaining. A few of the stories center around incredibly unique concepts, especially for the era in which these stories were published. The artwork, like always, looks great and is a wonderful complement to the story.

Cons: None of these stories really stand out from a historical standpoint. Some aspects of certain stories contain mistakes and feel dated.

Overall: This is a great example of some of the best storytelling in this era of comics. The stories collected here are all engaging tales of action that are fueled by gorgeous artwork and brilliant concepts. This makes for a volume that is fun to read all the way through and has very little holding it back. As long as readers aren’t specifically looking for historically important comics, this collection is a solid and consistent presentation of Silver-Age heroics.

Story

The stories collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 9, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, form some of the most consistently entertaining arcs in the series thus far. They place the Fantastic Four in situations that are tense and dangerous, allowing for awesome feats of heroism to play out across the pages. Many of these stories are also powered by wonderfully unique concepts that are simply a joy to behold. This collection may not feature as many “firsts” as other Marvel Masterworks entries but the quality of the stories is so high that historical importance doesn’t feel necessary. Essentially, this is a great collection of material that any fan is sure to enjoy.

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Fantastic Four Vol. 9 kicks off with an arc that features the return of the Inhumans. Readers are treated to a thrilling story about a struggle for power within the Inhuman royal family. This allows for moments of bravery and impressive displays of power from the members of the Fantastic Four and the Inhumans.

From here, the next story arc has the FF enter Doom’s kingdom of Latveria where they are treated as citizens rather than prisoners. This allows readers to see the chilling hold Doom has over the citizens of his country, which is bizarre and unique all at the same time. I, personally, enjoyed just seeing the construction of such a strange society but was also pleased to see that the story playing out in this location has plenty of action and thrills.

Then, the volume’s penultimate arc has the Fantastic Four fight the Mole Man in a house of his own creation. This arc stood out the least but was still pretty entertaining all the way through.

Finally, Fantastic Four Vol. 9 closes with an amazingly unique story about a planet of Skrulls who enjoyed stories about the 1930s so much that they decided to base their entire society around this era in American history. The concept of this arc combines gang wars with colosseum battles in a way that is right up the Fantastic Four’s alley. Plus, the Thing’s attempt to escape this world and the rest of the FF’s attempt to rescue him are both fun and exciting exploits.

The only problems with Fantastic Four Vol. 9 creep in through a variety of small mistakes and annoyances. For example, The Thing’s appearance in Fantastic Four #89 directly contradicts his role at the conclusion of the previous issue and Johnny’s inability to “Flame On” in a vacuum seems to be absent when the Fantastic Four goes into space. In addition, Sue continues to get the short end of the stick when it comes to compelling storytelling. Her appearance here is improved from the previous collection but still falls into a variety of sexist pitfalls. Luckily, most of these problems are easy to overlook and do not completely tarnish the quality of an otherwise great collection.

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Art

The quality of the artwork in Fantastic Four Vol. 9 ends up being just as high as one would expect. Jack Kirby’s penchant for captivatingly complex imagery can be seen throughout these Fantastic Four adventures. Specifically, this volume really tests Kirby’s ability to create unique and appealing backdrops upon which the stories play out. This collection takes the Fantastic Four into the impressive kingdom of the Inhumans, the surprisingly quaint kingdom of Latveria, and into an incredibly unique world in outer space. Each of these locations are rendered with a level of visual charm that helps bring the stories to life. All in all, this collection continues to showcase how talented Kirby was.

Continuity

Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 9 continues the story from Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 8 (Review).

The story here continues in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 10 (Review).

This volume also makes references to other comic books, detailed below:

• The Inhumans last appeared in Incredible Hulk Annual #1, collected in Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk Vol. 4.
• The Fantastic Four mention their first encounter with the Scrulls. This happened in Fantastic Four #2, collected in Marvel Masterworks: Fantastic Four Vol. 1 (Review).