Usa marvel masterworks fantastic four vol 01 hc

That's what I imagine a kid in 1961 would say finding the first Marvel comic on his spinner rack

Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales and Amazing Adult Fantasy were giving readers regular doses of giant monsters

When Martin Goodman came to Stan Lee with the Justice League of America sales figures and told him to create a knock-off, it's pretty clear they didn't want to go too far off-brand from what was already working

So we get a giant monster taking up nearly the entire cover and four heroes in corners of the page

Big deal...nothing new!The super-powers the heroes showcase are also nothing new

The Thing's grotesque and mighty form echoes the monsters Timely had been churning out for decades, and the Frankenstein reference is certainly apparent for all to see

Also owing to literary horror is the Invisible Girl

Invisibility had been a staple of horror and science fiction since H.G

Wells' original novel

The Human Torch? Marvel (as Atlas) already had one! And Mr

Fantastic's visual flair owed more to Jack Cole's “Plastic Man” than the handsome scientists of countless b-movies

Nothing new!