There’s never been an era so full of stories that we can’t make room for more. The Thing #1 takes us back to a more classic era of the Fantastic Four, with a focus on everyone’s favorite ever-lovin’ blued eyed, cosmically empowered rock monster. Ben Grimm’s life is falling apart – but his personal problems pale before a mysterious eldritch creature who has its eyes on the Thing – and the Thing might just be about to find out what it’s like to be truly cursed. Written by Walter Mosley, drawn by Tom Reilly, colored by Jordie Bellaire, and lettered by Joe Sabino.
So here’s the thing.
I probably shouldn’t be writing this. I’ve had to cut back drastically on the number of comics I’ve been writing about for reasons of both sanity and health, so picking up another #1? Inadvisable at best. And yet.
To say I loved this comic would tell you very little about it, especially to those who know me – I love a lot of comics. I read comics with an open heart, the love comes easy. To say it’s relatable would tell you a little bit more, but still not much – everyone knows Ben Grimm is one of Marvel’s more relatable heroes. Sad, lonely insecurity wrapped around a heart of gold, convinced the universe is against him. We’re all a little Grimm – life grinds us down but at the center of it all is love, faith and rock-headed stubbornness. A true hero of the people.
What you need to know about this comic is how – and I mean no pun here, I’m saving them all for Thing jokes – marvellously it is crafted. It’s not easy to make a full meal out of a single comic, and by gum, I want to talk about just how well it all works.
It’s a Strange Thing…
Given that this is an advance review, I’m not going to talk a lot about the story itself. Suffice it to say that this first issue is a great showcase of who the Thing is, and where he’s at in his life, and it’s a pretty low point. There’s also something terrifying moving through the streets of his city, with a purpose that remains unexplained. Ben finds himself on the brink of something new – perhaps something wonderful – but in the mad, weird and wonderful world he lives in, nothing is ever that simple. Oh god I’m already worried I’ve spoiled something. Let’s move on from the story then – let’s talk about the beautiful ways it’s told.
You go into a Thing comic expecting a few things, which this comic nails. Rough-edged charm, a little silliness, some Fantastic Four references and cameos, a fair bit of Ben Grimm being down in the dumps about being the Thing, and artists doing absolute magic in terms of giving a buncha orange rocks a striking degree of humanity…and you also expect the strange.
Strangeness just works with the Thing. It’s the everyman status. Despite being a large and rocky monster and a member of a celebrity superteam, Ben Grimm is one of the most grounded characters of the Marvel Universe. He’s the voice of the man on the (Yancy) street, and through his grumpy, fish-out-of-water eyes, the wondrous and the weird retain the sense of awe they’re owed. The mark of a good Thing story is how well it can balance the weirdness with how much your heart goes out to a man trying to grasp his humanity in a world that seems to be constantly attempting to deny it to him. This book does fantastically on both fronts, and the balance between them is beautifully held. Neither aspect overpowers the other, and towards the end of the first issue, they come together as one, leaving you with a renewed love for the character and a sense of unease and even fright in terms of the more mysterious, sinister events going on.
A Thing of Beauty, a Joy Forever
There’s a lot that I admire about this comic, but I think the thing I admire most is how well paced it is. This team knows exactly what it wants you to feel, how much space to give a moment before moving on to the next one, and how to blend it all together in a surreal but tight narrative. Despite the fact that this is just one, incomplete chapter of a larger story, despite the issue still holding a lot of its cards close to the chest, you come away feeling narratively satisfied. Having 30 pages to work with instead of the regular 22 certainly helps, but this comic displays an impressive mastery of using its limited space to maximum effect.
Take the first page, which, without going too much into spoilers, reveals our main antagonist – or at least, the story’s instigating threat. It is a silent, full page splash, our villain just floating in the air. There’s a special admiration I have for an artist who can draw a cold wind – how well they can evoke it on a still and silent page, and Tom Reilly and Jordie Bellaire absolutely nail it. I lingered on that page for quite a while before moving on to the rest of the comic – the art is hard to look away from. Treat yourself while reading this comic; read it slow. Let your eyes linger. Let Bellaire’s sink in. There’s a variety in color choice in every panel that brings the art to life, mixed with a soft vibrancy that your eyes can get lost in, and if your eyes are going to get lost in any art, Reilly’s work is a great place to be lost in.
Reily’s art does a great job of evoking the classic era of the Fantastic Four this story is set in without actually feeling old-fashioned. The lettering helps a lot to this end: Joe Sabino brings a charm and liveliness to things, particularly with the sound effects. There is also a wealth of detail in the comic’s panels that are all filled with clear choices as to just what the art’s meant to stir up in you. The sheer forcefulness of a punch. The tatters of the edge a ghostly cloak floating through a cluttered Brooklyn street. A double-page reveal that is going to haunt me for quite some time to come — but there’s also the cheeriness of a sunny day, or the silliness of one of Ben Grimm’s outfits that contrasts the absolute fright that’s come before.
I like Reilly’s take on Grimm a lot. There’s the silliness, yes, but there’s a lot of humanity in both facial expressiveness and body language. I don’t know how, but this is somehow both one of the more Muppety takes on the Thing’s face but also the most human. But there’s also the way he stands – the way he folds his arms, the way his shoulders hunch and face scowls when he’s determined, the way he folds his arms while staring down. When he’s in control, he’s got the bearing of a strong man holding his pain, his rage, and his insecurities deep in his chest, because this is Ben in his earlier years who believed that that’s Just What Men Do. When he’s not in control, it shows – his Muppet mouth opens wide, his body flails, and for a stoic man he can be surprisingly all over the place. There’s so much storytelling going into the body language itself, the Thing you love is on full display here.
There’s a Thing You Oughta Know
Speaking of which, Walter Mosley takes his time this issue presenting both new readers and returning readers alike just what his vision of the Thing is – what his strengths are, what his failings are, especially at this time in his life, and what he chooses to focus on in the midst of a very overwhelming world.
Old School Ben Grimm was a real glass half empty kinda guy. Something in him held onto hope, kept searching for a better way to live his life, but in the meantime the bad in his life was always more visible than the good – and he was always so vocal about how miserable he was about it. The blue eyes of Ben Grimm saw his life as a curse, and the universe as a place that just kept kicking him while he was down.
Though it can feel like the events are just happening to Ben rather than them being the result of his choice, this still feels like Ben’s story. Everything that happens, no matter how random, seems like it’s setting up questions about not just who Ben is, but what his purpose in life is, and how he navigates a lonely heart alongside the insecurities he holds that pushes his loved ones away. You’re left with a lot of questions by the end of the first issue, and all of them are very compelling narrative hooks. I can’t think of a better way to start a miniseries off.
I’ve rarely come away as satisfied from a single issue as I have with this comic. Rarely has it been this much of a joy returning to it, to individual panels, going back and forth through the book to get a better sense of it as I do when writing a review. The Thing is a character who has always brought me joy, and I’m happy to say that this comic has as well.
Before you pick up The Thing: #1, be sure to read our exclusive ComicsXF interview with Walter Mosley.
