Review of "Fantastic Four Visionaries: Volume 1," by George Perez

Review of

Fantastic Four Visionaries: Volume 1, by George Perez ISBN 0785117253

Five out of five stars

 The timeframe for the original publication of these stories is the middle of the seventies, a time of gaudy clothing and unusual hair on the men. Those aspects are an incidental part of the stories. This was a time when the stories were driven by the outstanding dialog of the characters. The members of the FF bicker within, internally and question their role in the group and world in general.

 Some of these stories include appearances by “The Impossible Man,” a feature that I can easily do without. He is meant to be an amusement, but with the value of looking back, he reminds the reader of Jar Jar Binks in “Star Wars Episode 1.”

 One annoying aspect of this collection is that it is not completely sequential. The episode numbers are 164, 165, 166, 167, 170, 176, 177, 178, 184, 185 and 186. Therefore, there is a loss of continuity, such collections are best when they are completely sequential. The fact that they are in full color is a strong point in favor.

 This is an entertaining look back at the members of the FF when there was action, but the story was driven more by dialog and the interactions of the characters rather than action. They love and hate each other like family, which is what they are, held together by the bond of possessing great power.