Happy Thursday, folks,
Today's article is a bit out of the ordinary. I'll be covering the seventh issue of the Thing. The cover showed Ben Grimm being jumped on from behind by a mystery opponent during Marvel's assistant editor's month. The first story was called "Two-Fisted Feet!" The issue had a cover date of January 1984.
Ben had arrived at the hospital again to visit his girlfriend, Alicia Masters, who was still recovering from her injuries at the hands of the Negative Zone native known as Annihilus (in the Fantastic Four's title). As Grimm talked with Masters, he started to doubt if his place was with that team anymore. He left a short while later to sort things out in his head.
Grimm had toyed with the idea of settling down with Alicia and leaving the hero biz, especially now that their longtime rival, Doctor Doom, was supposedly dead. However, the day would still call upon the Thing's unique abilities.
As Ben rounded a corner, he saw a police barrier, and soon met a Katzenjammer Kid look-alike who called himself Goody Two Shoes. He kicked the hero into a wall before walking away with the money he'd just stolen from the bank. Grimm chased his foe all the way to the top of the Empire State Building before finally defeating the newcomer. He tossed the foreigner into another wall after grabbing his shoes and annoucing his victory to all in the vicinity.
The second tale, titled "What Th'?!" chronicled Ben's visit to Marvel Comics headquarters in New York. He was most irate after reading the first story in this issue, and decided to set things right. He explained to the creative team how he easily knocked out Goody Two Shoes with a simple flick of the wrist, but the story that was printed made it seem like Ben had nearly lost the battle.
John Byrne, Ron Wilson, and Ann Nocenti tried to explain the reasons for embellishing the yarn, before Ben decided to close the doors and settle things the only way he knew how. Afterward, Ben stepped out just as Roger Stern was walking by. He had no qualms with Stern, and left after advising Roger not to enter the room if he was looking for the aforementioned trio.
Assistant Editors' Month was rather infamous in Marvel lore. There were some great unique issues published, as well as some that have mostly been forgotten. This was an amusing issue, especially the Byrne-drawn second half that played on the character's interactions with the comic book staff who have occassionally appeared in Marvel mags from time to time.
That's all for now. Tomorrow, I'll close out the week with a synopsis of the eighth issue of the Thing. Ben seeks advice from a new friend about his current situation and becomes involved in an unexpected adventure. Until then, have a great week and don't forget to be kind to one another.
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