AKA: Untold Tales of the Fantastic Four. Just like Kurt Busiek’s innovation, this comic fills a gap in continuity. The whole series takes place right after Fantastic Four #100, which was when Stan and Jack ended their legendary run, and was part of the “40th Anniversary” of the team.
Is it good?
Well, it’s not bad. There’s lots of loving homage (photograph collages, lots of artists doing their best Kirby imitations, classic villains and cameos featuring other Marvel heroes from the same time period…But it’s also just not as fun as Untold Tales of Spider-Man.
There’s no reason not to read this. But also not much reason to read it, either.
The ending is cute: It’s got the Stan Lee style final panel, with the whole team together and Reed saying something “deep,” and a “next issue” blurb that refers to Fantastic Four #101.