Review: The Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 2

My fondest childhood memories are those of my Grandpa and comics. Every fortnight my Grandpa would take me to the local book store in my home town where I would spend 5 mins quickly going through the comic pile and then another 20 - 30 mins deciding which comic book to buy! I usually bought a lot of DC titles like New Teen Titans, Outsiders, Legion of Super Heroes, Batman etc. as they were the only ones available in my home town. For some weird reason Marvel titles were not sold on a regular basis. But when they were, I'd pounce on them like a wild cat! The X-Men! Avengers! Tomb of Dracula! Defenders! These were some of the comics I'd snatch up if I ever saw them. Strangely the one title that eluded me was The Fantastic Four. Then one day I chanced on John Byrne's Fantastic Four # 265. The title introduced She Hulk as The Thing's replacement on the team and ended on a cliff hanger with the Invisible Girl bursting with radiation! The suspense was unbelievable and I was hooked but unfortunately I never found the next issue or Byrne's FF run again.

Fantastic Four 265

About two year's ago I chanced to notice the The Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 1 listed on Amazon. Oh boy did I drool at that listing however I quickly noticed that the Omnibus stopped short at FF # 262. This meant that I'd still not know the outcome of # 265 and no She Hulk FF issues. I decided to pass up Vol. 1 and wait for 'Vol. 2' to be released which was kind of a gamble because I wasn't sure if there was a Vol. 2 in the pipeline from Marvel. Anyways I kept a vigilant watch on makemineamarvelomnibus.com, marvel.com and Amazon for any proposed listings of Vol.2. Finally, last year saw the release of Vol. 2 and I decided to get it as my 'belated' (my birthday is in November and the Omnibus was released in December) present. When it finally arrived via Australia Post you can't imagine my excitement as I tore open the thick Amazon packaging and bubble wrap. The Omnibus was everything that I dreamed off and maybe some more! At 1224 pages thick it can be used as a weapon (if ever needed) and last an average comic fanboy days poring over Byrne's stories, detailed artwork, eye popping color schemes and tons of additional artwork.

     

FF Omnibus by John Byrne Vol. 2 Front Cover

FF Omnibus by John Byrne Vol. 2 Back Cover

FF Omnibus by John Byrne Vol. 2

And what stories do you get in this collection? Well for starters you get the The Trial of Reed Richards storyline with jaw dropping art, then She Hulk joins the team in place of The Thing, the Mephisto arc, the whole introduction of Invisible Woman storyline, Jean Grey (X-Men) returns from the land of the dead phoenixes and oh yes plenty of Dr. Doom (or is it someone else?). The covers and interior art is spectacular and constantly reminds you why Byrne is considered top of his class.  Byrne seems to have introduced She Hulk to the cast so that he could shake up the core family dynamics and also draw Shulkie in amazing poses. The colouring has not been redone (a blessing if you ask me, just look at the coloring of the dust jacket vs. the original coloring) and seems to stand the test of time pretty well. However towards the end the stories kinda peter out and the artwork seems hurried (?) signalling the end of Byrne's long tenure on the book. In all it's a worthy investment to witness Byrne's definitive take on these characters and also if you're a fanboy that never got the chance to witness the character development and unfolding of these stories.