Hoping to break Marvel’s sales slump in the mid-1960s, comic book experts Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up with the idea of a superhero team. Kirby, who felt that superheroes were ripe for revival after being neglected for 15 years by romance, horror, and war comics, saw it as a smart business move. Lee simply wanted to “create the kind of story he would enjoy reading.” The Fantastic Four forever changed their careers, their lives, and the comics industry. Some of the most iconic moments in Marvel's history are contained here, starting with Reed Richards, his girlfriend Sue Storm, his best friend Ben Grimm, and her younger brother Johnny Storm crashing their rocket after being hit by cosmic rays and discovering that they have transformed into Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch in issue No. 1. They were emotionally complex characters, who were not always sure if their powers were a blessing or a burden. The stories were set in New York, not in a fictional landscape, and Marvel heroes often crossed over into other publications. The art was dynamic, and the writing was conversational and captivating. Lee and Kirby were like the Lennon and McCartney of the comics world. Where one’s skill ended, and the other’s began was not always clear, but together one and one equaled three. Collected here in an XXL volume are the first 20 issues reproduced from the finest original comics, opened and photographed in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Alongside the comics is an extensive essay by acclaimed Marvel writer Mark Waid, a foreword by former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, as well as original art, photographs, and other rarities. Welcome true believers to the age of Marvel comics.