Retro Comic Recap: Marvel Two-In-One #73

Good afternoon, peeps,

I'm winding down the weekend with a recap of the seventy-third issue of Marvel Two-In-One. The cover depicted the Thing and Quasar battling dinosaurs. The tale was titled "Pipeline Through Infinity." The issue had a cover date of March 1981. 

The story started with Ben Grimm and Project Pegasus security chief Quasar (Wendell Vaughn) floating together through a space between worlds. The duo had been hot on the trail of people who had infiltrated the project some time ago. The heroes had finally caught up with their quarry when they were blasted by a ray (looking similar to the Nth projector from a few issues back) and were soon in a world where dinosaurs were the dominant workforce.

Large structures were being built with the creatures' help. Before Ben or Wendell could investigate further, they were under attack by a trio of manned fliers. The friends were separated during the conflict. Vaughn was thrown clear of the area, while Grimm was captured by one of the attacking craft. 

Quasar passed out and was soon found by several natives. They put him on a stretcher and brought him to their chief. When Wendell awoke, he talked with the leader, who assured him that they were on the same side. The men who'd arrived recently were with an oil company from Earth. The chief then showed Quasar his dinosaur army, who were soon put to the test by another attacking ship. He and his legions put up a strong defense. Vaughn observed and agreed to join the chief's cause. 

Meanwhile, Ben found himself sitting before Roxxon Oil executive Bennett Pittman. He was responsible for the construction in this alternate world. His team was there to build machinery to drill for oil and construct pipelines to transport it back to Earth. He tried to persuade the Thing to join him, but the founding member of the Fantastic Four wasn't about to side with evil. 

While Grimm was trying to break free from his bonds, the opposing forces, assisted by Quasar, struck at the base. Wendell and Ben eventually reunited during the fracas, but unfortunately, Pittman and his Nth projector escaped. The heroes were saddened by this, thinking that device would have been their only way to get back home. 

After the natives' triumph, they learned that might not necessarily be the case. Upon examining the machinery that was used to send oil back, they realized that it might send them back home as well. They followed the oil and returned to Earth, finding Pittman and his men not far away. They rounded up the villains, and even though it might prove difficult to prove the connection after the Nth projector was destroyed, at least the Thing and Quasar could rest easy knowing they'd protected the populace of another Earth and helped to prevent further damage to their own planet, at least for a while, anyway.  

I'm not a big fan of Ron Wilson's artwork. He can draw people well, but the creatures and machines he illustrates often look a bit rough, in my opinion. Chic Stone's inks don't provide much difference in the original pencil art. Sometimes it seems like Wilson tries to emulate Jack Kirby, which isn't always a good thing. The story by Ralph Macchio was okay, but it still left more questions about Roxxon and didn't really prevent them from continuing their greedy plans. 

That's all I have for you today. Tomorrow, I'll discuss the seventy-fourth issue of Marvel Two-In-One. This special holiday issue (remember that at the time, comic book cover dates were usually about 2-3 months before they were released at stores or on newsstands) has Ben and his friends up against things that weren't always as they seemed. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.