Marvel's June solicitations came out today, and there's not much there that's caught my fancy. Except this beast:
"FANTASTIC FOUR OMNIBUS VOL. 2 HC. Written by STAN LEE, Penciled by JACK KIRBY, Cover by JACK KIRBY. Variant Painted Cover by LADRÖNN.
With all that Stan Lee and Jack Kirby accomplished in their first 30 issues of FANTASTIC FOUR, who would have thought they were just warming up? Well, True Believers, now it's time to jump into the fire because the second 30 are where they really start to turn up the heat! Their achievements reflect the boundless energy of two creators at the top of their game with each issue, character and creation building upon and exceeding the scope of the last.
It's a list of accomplishments unparalleled in the history of comics: the origin of Dr. Doom; the Frightful Four; the Wedding of Reed Richards and Sue Storm; the Inhumans; the first appearance of the Silver Surfer; the Galactus Saga; the debut of the world's first black super hero, the Black Panther; the cosmic clash between the FF, the Surfer and Dr. Doom; and, of course, “This Man, This Monster!” - the story widely regarded as the greatest FF tale of all! Collecting the greatest stories from the World's Greatest Comics Magazine in one, massive collector's edition that has been painstakingly restored and recolored from the sharpest material in the Marvel Archives. With critical essays on the Lee/Kirby collaboration and bonus features a-plenty, this book is nothing short of a cornerstone to the Marvel Universe! Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR #31-60 and ANNUAL #2-4."
Yup: Marvel have found a way to make me buy this stuff all over again. Still, it's cheaper (and reproduced at a larger size) than buying the three Masterworks editions that cover this material.