Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 5

There is a certain cachet among fans somewhat older than I being able to say that their first issue of Fantastic Four was #1.

I have always been... pleased that my first issue was #126.

It is also the issue which leads off Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 5, which also includes my second FF, #149. When I was a kid, I was much more likely to buy Marvel's Greatest Comics (which reprinted Lee/Kirby FF), just as I was more likely to buy Marvel Tales (which reprinted the Lee/Romita Spider-Man) than I was the main title. Between FF #126 and #149, however, I bought Giant-Size Super-Stars #1, and I proceeeded to buy Giant-Size Fantastic Four #2-6, also included in this volume. (Although #5-6 are reprints, the covers are included.) I also bought the FF Marvel Treasury Edition (#2, original material also included). Although I did not buy the bulk of the isssues included in this omnibus (as backissues) until I was in college, this omnibus is in many ways "MY" Fantastic Four.

Maybe Richard was there for Fantastic Four #1, but not my brother or me. He bought issue #14 ("The Sub-Mariner Strikes!") and didn't buy another until #20 (or traded or lost the others) and had most (but not all) through issue #51. Those are the ones I read before and during elementary school. The first issue I bought with my own money was #67 ("The Power of ... Him!") and, of course, not only did I continue to buy religiously, but bought back issues as far back as I could. I still don't have Fantastic Four #1 (or the next 10 or 12 issues) and never will.

It took me years to get the first part of that Beehive story, but my greatest joy was getting the back issues from the "in between" of my brother's collection and my own. They had never been reprinted, and were mysterious! Yes, I got the Black Panther's debut. And learned that Dr. Doom had once stolen the Silver Surfer's power. And, oh yeah, there as a guy named "Blastaar"! If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'!

I read the first 20 or so issues -- the ones I was missing -- in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics, which later became Marvel's Greatest Comics. I think I had dropped the title by then, because I stopped buying the reprints when they caught up with my actual collection. My earliest Collectors' Item Classics (and Marvel Tales) aren't in great shape: The covers, front and back, have fallen off most of them. I still have those covers ... just not attached! And I didn't replace them because, eh, they were reprints. I never thought reprints would be worth a dime.

If we're swapping notes about FF memories, those are some of mine.

Replies

Philip Portelli November 20, 2024 at 8:35pm

I didn't start reading Fantastic Four until "late" in my comic book reading days, some two years after I started in December 1972.

But the first ones I read were, believe it or not, all around the same time!

Fantastic Four #153 (D'74) Mahkizmo, of all people!

Marvel Treasury Edition #2 (N'74), burned into my memory!

Marvel's Greatest Comics #54 (Ja'75), the Mad Thinker's Killer Android!

I got a few FF and MGC in between but didn't start getting FF semi-regularly until #166 (Ja'76) guest-starring the ever Incredible Hulk!
Captain Comics November 20, 2024 at 11:39pm

Maybe Richard was there for Fantastic Four #1, but not my brother or me. He bought issue #14 ("The Sub-Mariner Strikes!") and didn't buy another until #20 (or traded or lost the others) and had most (but not all) through issue #51. Those are the ones I read before and during elementary school. The first issue I bought with my own money was #67 ("The Power of ... Him!") and, of course, not only did I continue to buy religiously, but bought back issues as far back as I could. I still don't have Fantastic Four #1 (or the next 10 or 12 issues) and never will.

It took me years to get the first part of that Beehive story, but my greatest joy was getting the back issues from the "in between" of my brother's collection and my own. They had never been reprinted, and were mysterious! Yes, I got the Black Panther's debut. And learned that Dr. Doom had once stolen the Silver Surfer's power. And, oh yeah, there as a guy named "Blastaar"! If I'm lyin' I'm dyin'!

I read the first 20 or so issues -- the ones I was missing -- in Marvel Collectors' Item Classics, which later became Marvel's Greatest Comics. I think I had dropped the title by then, because I stopped buying the reprints when they caught up with my actual collection. My earliest Collectors' Item Classics (and Marvel Tales) aren't in great shape: The covers, front and back, have fallen off most of them. I still have those covers ... just not attached! And I didn't replace them because, eh, they were reprints. I never thought reprints would be worth a dime.

If we're swapping notes about FF memories, those are some of mine.

This reply was deleted.