I read the little FF digest sized reprint of the early issues when I was around 6 or so. This was my earliest exposure to comics. Zip ahead 30+ years later and I am finally getting around to reading this historic Lee/Kirby run with the ESSENTIAL black&white trades. Wow! What have I been missing. I always knew it was good, the real reason I didn't get into it for so long was because, I knew how obsessive I would be in starting to collect some of these issues. Within a few months of starting the run, and I am just now about to read the famous issue #48.
I have already gotten around 16 issues of the originals including some keys and favorites (1, 5, 8, 13, 16, 17, 48, 49, 50, 51). To keep the costs within reason, I am only collecting VG-VF, and avoiding NM so I don't feel guilty handling and reading these, especially the first 20 or so issues.
Glad to finally be an F.F. fan!!!! Now I understand why these books are significant and special.