Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Name is Doom

Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Name is Doom by Stan Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Name is Doom collects Fantastic Four #68-87, Annual #6, and Not Brand Echh #6-7.

I'm a Fantastic Four guy from way back and I stumbled upon a gift card a couple weeks ago so I figured I'd take the plunge into this collection of the Fantastic Four during their heyday.

The classic team of Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott, and Stan Lee are heading toward the end of their monumental run in this volume. In this collection, they go up against the Wizard, Galactus, Annihilus, the Mad Thinker, Maximus the Mad, Doctor Doom, and the thing that could tear the team asunder, Sue Richards' pregnancy. Guest stars include Daredevil, Spider-Man, Thor, The Inhumans, and the Silver Surfer.

I have to think Kirby was already looking for greener pastures at this point. Annihilus is the only new character introduced and the rest of the villains are the old standards. Still, there is some groovy shit going on, like the Silver Surfer going to the Microverse, Crystal joining the team, and the psychedelic site seeing sojourn into the Negative Zone to grab Annihilus' cosmic rod. Ahem.

The art is Kirby in his prime, although there are fewer panels per page toward the end of the volume than we normally get. He wasn't phoning it in but he wasn't going 100 miles per hour either. Part of the greener pastures thing I mentioned earlier. Stan Lee's dialogue alternates between great and grating, always with a hint of cheese. I love it but some of it is terrible.

Back to the art, Kirby was still experimenting despite being disillusioned with how much credit he was getting. There were some Kirby collages and this volume has some striking covers.




While the Fantastic Four would soon lose the services of The King, Fantastic Four Epic Collection Vol. 5: The Name is Doom is a good look at the Fantastic Four when they were still at the top of the Marvel food chain. Four out of five stars.


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