Time for me to talk about the eighteenth issue of the Thing. The cover showed Ben Grimm fussing over an infant, as Tarianna tried to warn him about a pair of intruders riding winged creatures who were flying toward them. The eighth installment of the Rocky Grimm, Space Ranger series was titled "Family Man." The issue had a publication date of December 1984.
The story started, just like all the others in this storyline, on the patchwork planet known as Battleworld. Grimm was lost in thought after being forced to fight Tarianna, thanks to his mystery opponent making him believe that he was battling one of his minions. He also thought about life back on Earth before Tarianna turned to him to offer her hand.
They ventured on before finding an elderly woman struggling to keep a young boy safe from a pair of green-skinned aliens astride winged creatures who were about to attack. The heroes eventually prepared, and the villains retreated.
The woman was thankful for their assistance, and barely had time to instruct them to deliver the child to the far-off city of Muab before passing on. The child was now affectionately known as Junior (or Juneyar, as Tabitha would proclaim). The journey would be long, and they had to find a way to cross the strange world safely.
Grimm rounded up several unicorn-looking creatures after spotting them in a field. The beasts began a stampede, which stopped after one of them gazed into the boy's eyes. They settled down, and two of them carried the trio of adventurers toward Muab.
Ben's nemesis was observing their progress from afar. He wasn't about to let them proceed peacefully. The boy began exploring and almost fell from a tree that had served as a bridge until Ben grabbed him. Later that evening, Grimm was visited by a vision of his foe, who was ready to claim the child as his own.
Moments later, a tree that Ben and Tarianna had rested against came to life. It sprouted arms and grabbed for the boy's protectors. Only Ben's strength as the Thing allowed them to prevail. Meanwhile, the raiders who had stolen the dowry from the girl named Llrrlllnnllyrrl were still searching for that item among their many treasures. Thus far, they were still unsuccessful. They had just presented to her what they thought was the purloined item when an image of a beautiful woman stood before them. She asked if they had seen a caravan that included a young child. They were unaware of such travelers, which saddened the woman before she disappeared from sight. The small aliens assumed that such a question posed concern for the lady and possible difficult days ahead.
Ben, Tarianna, and Junior finally reached Muab, which looked similar to the fabled land of Oz. Before they could enter, a swarm of flying foes, who looked almost identical to the Negative Zone inhabitant Annihilus, filled the skies. The Thing fought off as many of them as he could before they flew away.
More green-skinned opponents then flew into view. Ben avoided them long enough to reach the jade gates of the city. He knocked on the doors angrily, right before they vanished. The lady we saw earlier greeted him and led the Earthling up to a balcony.
Once there, she opened her cloak slightly. The woman known as Muab forbade the invaders from entering her land. The face of Ben's foe appeared once more. He swore revenge on Grimm, noting that he had already taken Tarianna from him again.
A celebration was held for "Juneyar" afterward. Grimm didn't feel much like celebrating. He left the boy in Mara's capable hands before setting off to find Tarianna and hopefully retaliate against her captor.
I guess this issue was sort of the 1980's family sitcom of the saga. The story definitely had some of the core elements that many half-hour network shows at the time had. There was enough humor to provide some breaks during the more serious parts of its content. I'm still trying to figure out how they had safety pins for the boy's diaper on an alien world.
I'll be back later today to recap the nineteenth issue of the Thing. Ben's search for Tarianna takes him into territory that's right out of some of the classic monster movies of the past. Until then, have a great day and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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