Customer Reviews

The Thing (Essential Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 3)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is one "Essential" series that I love to see coming out. The quality of these stories were usually always consistently high, and the artwork in this volume is incredible for the most part thanks to this being John Byrne's run on the title. This volume collects the famous "Project Pegasus" storyline among other things, and gives us team-ups with heroes like Giant-Man, the Human Torch, Deathlok (sort of), and many others. I still don't understand what the draw was in teaming Ben up with Mister Fantastic or the Human Torch when they were in the Fantastic Four every month, but I guess they were running out of guest stars. At least they didn't go the way of Brave and the Bold and have the same heroes team up with the star every few months (Wildcat, Sgt. Rock, and the Metal Men teamed up with Batman almost as much as Robin did!).

As with the previous two volumes, this one is wonderfully thick and gives you your money's worth. I can't remember this series ever having a bad period in it, so I hope they take this one all the way to the final issue.

Just a caveat: as I mentioned, this includes the Project Pegasus 6-issue storyline that is available as a trade paperback and is coming out in a deluxe hardcover edition later this year. If you're just a fan of those issues and that story, you can spend a little more and get it in color. While I have no problem with the black-and-white layout of these books, I do admit there is something to be said for these classic storylines in color. It's all a matter of personal preference though. If it doesn't bother you, then this is a much better way to spend your money. You get a lot more stories this way.

A cursory glance at the cast that Ben Grimm is teamed with in this volume might lead one to think that this is an incosequential run in an inconsequential series. For instance, he's teamed with fellow Fantastic Four members Mr. Fantastic and Human Torch, which is kind of like an issue of Brave and the Bold teaming Batman with Robin. The majority of the rest have the Thing partnered with heroes so obscure that they would seem hard-pressed to qualify for even the B-list of herodom: Triton of the inhumans, Starhawk from Guardians of the Galaxy, Bill Foster as Giant-Man, Thundra, Stingray...to many comic-consumers at the time, these were a bunch of unknowns. And in a handful of stories, Grimm turns out to be teamed up with nobody whatsoever, making the monicker Two-in-One seem like a bit of false advertising.

But first glances are often misleading. In truth, the seeds of many Marvel classics are sown in these collected issues of Marvel Two-In-One, particularly if you consider yourself a fan of eighties Marvel comics. This isn't surprising given that the author of most of them is the late, great, Mark Gruenwald--easily one of the most underrated scribes in the industry. Gruenwald was a huge continuity buff, which is most evident in that he would later go on to pioneer the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe (a series which would single-handedly enlighten a generation of readers about obscure characters like the aforementioned). He would also go on to write some of the most enduring stories to appear in the pages of Avengers and Captain America. Like ripples in a pond, so many elements introduced here would reach out to make an impact upon other canons in the Marvel Universe.

There are three major story arcs in this Essentials collection. The first introduces Project Pegasus and rechristens Marvel Man as Quasar, a character Gruenwald clearly thought of as having strong A-list potential, so much so that roughly a decade later he would bestow upon Quasar the title of Protector of the Universe in his own series that ran for sixty issues. This series also saw Black Goliath make the transition to Giant-Man, and Wundarr go through a total overhaul to become the Aquarian (changing his powers from super-strength to one of the most offbeat abilities of all time). Along with Thundra, they form a quartet to battle the Nth Man, a nearly-unstoppable menace who would later go on to wreak havoc in the alternate universe of the Squadron Supreme (in Gruenwald's "Death of a Universe" graphic novel). All of that, plus alternating artwork by George Perez and John Byrne.

The second story arc takes MTIO on a turn for the cosmic. Grimm joins yet another band of eclectic characters: Moondragon, Starhawk, Her, and the High Evolutionary. Together they seek out the grave of Adam Warlock and, consequently, the missing planet where it resides. The being called "Her" goes through an even more extreme transformation than the Aquarian--she was previously a guy called Paragon. Most notable in this saga is the introduction to some of the Marvel Universe's most enigmatic and powerful entities to date, the Beyonders. That's a name that should ring a bell to anyone who was a collector during the eighties.

The third big story arc is a trilogy concerning the Serpent Crown, one the MU's major mcguffins, right up there with the Cosmic Cude and the Darkhold. This battle royal featuring Stingray, Triton, and the Scarlet Witch offers not just more George Perez pencilwork, but also the new, improved Serpent Squad, which would expand its roster to become the Serpent Sociecty in the pages of Captain America.

There's also a shorter but nonetheless significant storyline that provides the first appearances of the master villain Maelstrom and the herald of Oblivion, Deathurge (both destined to become Quasar's nemeses in his eponymous series). Black Bolt is often portrayed as one of the Marvel Universe's mightiest champions, but Maelstrom and his minions seem to be even a match for him, the Thing, Mr. Fantastic, and the other Inhumans of the royal family.

Multi-issue story arcs aside, if you are a connoisseur of giant-sized stories, there's even more great stuff to enjoy. We get two annuals, one teaming Benjy with Black Bolt against Graviton, and the other giving the ever-lovin' blue-eyed idol of millions yet another chance to butt heads with his classic "frenemy", the Hulk (and this time the Stranger's along for the ride). Still not enough? No worries! There's also the double-sized team-up with the Avengers, in a four-bagger epic battle that pits them against the two titanic tyrants of the negative zone allied for the first time--Annihilus and Blastaar.

And of course, there's no shortage of self-contained single-issue tales. Seriously, you're not likely to find a treasure trove of might Marvel miscellany like this anywhere else.

It's great that Marvel is releasing these afforable volumes of comics from previous decades...For new generations of fans and the ones that bought these stories as comics from Time Saver, 7-11 or where ever w/ baited breath...This volume reminds us why THE THING is such an enduring Comics icon & how good Comic art & story telling was back in the 70s & early 80s! The Serpent Crown & Project Pegasus storylines are here--simply the best! Byrne, Perez art...Thundra! Giant-Man! So much more..Having lost my originals in Hurricane Katrina, this is a real inexpensive joy.

Everything about this book just seems to work. The art is really good and instead of just having team ups with random characters there are some good story lines. I actually like Two In One more then Marvel Team Up.