Nostalgic devotion has led me to buy each volume of Marvel's What If? Classic collection, though reading them has - occasionally - been a bit of a slog. There have been some real gems along the way though, from the original What If Spider-Man Joined The Fantastic Four? (one of the first Marvel stories - "imaginary" or otherwise - I ever remember reading, from a UK reprint) to What If The Original Marvel Bullpen Became The Fantastic Four (enjoyable for its self-referential kitsch value). The misses were more frequent than the hits in the book's early days though, but What If? proves one of those rare examples of a high concept pitch that gets better as time goes by. Recent volumes have included an FF What If? written and drawn by John Byrne and a couple of alternate universe Daredevils by Frank Miller. But I've been looking forward to the final book more than any other as it features my all time favourite, What If Spider-Man's Uncle Ben Had Lived?, from issue #46.

Read the full review ( )