Kirby, Jack - Marvel Comics Library: Fantastic Four. 1961-1963 (Bibliotheca Universalis)

Hoping to break out of a sales slump at Marvel in the early 1960s, veteran comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby hit on the idea of doing a super-team.Kirby, who thought super heroes were due for a revival after 15 years of being pushed aside by romance, horror, and war comics, saw it as smart business.Lee just once wanted to “do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.” The Fantastic Four forever changed their careers, their lives, and the comic book industry. Some of the most iconic moments in Marvel history are here, starting with Reed Richards, his girlfriend Sue Storm, his best friend Ben Grimm, and her little brother Johnny Storm crash landing their rocket after it has been hit by cosmic rays and discovering they have been transformed into Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch in issue No. 1. They were emotionally complex characters, who weren’t always sure whether their powers were a benefit or burden.Stories were set in New York City, not som