Random books my son picks - Number 3
Good day and welcome to our third installment of Random Books my son picks. Today we are going to review the October 1983 issue of the ever lovin' Thing. (Thing v1 #4.)
Before we get started, I feel that I need to point out that the Thing is one of my favourite Marvel characters, especially the way he and the Torch crack wise with each other. He is one of the reasons that Fantastic Four is on my favourites list. And this hasn't changed, no matter who has written him.
So shall we?
The story is called "I, Monster" Writer: John Byrne Pencils: Ron Wilson, Inker :Harry Barta, Letterer: Rick Parker, Colours: Bob Sharen, Editor: Ann Nocenti
The splash page pictures an old woman working her vegetable garden in a southern U.S. locale. The heat is mentioned in many places. The old woman (we find out later that her name is Sarah Washington) looks up, and sees a mob of people heading towards her home. Running inside the pitiful rural shack, she goes in to check on her son, who is hidden in a Boo Radley sort of way. Her son has heard the mob, and you can see from the drawings that the son is misshapen. The mob collects at the house and Sarah goes out to confront it. The mob is here for her son, who they think is a monster that has brought misfortune to the town (is there ever a medium that doesn't portray southerners as redneck idiots?). Sarah orders the mob to leave but they get ugly. Cue a burst of energy as ...TA..DA...Lockjaw suddenly appears, bringing the Thing with him
The crowd freaks out at the sudden appearance of more "monsters" and a battle then ensues (this is a Marvel superhero comic, after all), and Ben and Lockjaw manage to keep the mob busy long enough for the sheriff to arrive. After he fires in the air, the mob disperses. It is at this point the sheriff notices our two heroes.
Cue an interlude to a castle in the Adirondack region of New York State. After a pages worth of panels building up to a room with a table, we see little piles of clay. Suddenly the little piles of clay move and eventually form a human-like shape. (This is all we see from this angle in this issue...more in later issues which we do not cover here.)
Back to (I choose to think of it as Louisiana, but nothing indicates it) the generic southern setting, where Ben is talking with Sarah and the sheriff. Ben explains who Lockjaw is and how Lockjaw's powers work, explaining why they were able to show up when they did. We also learn that the boy's name is Lucas Washington, who makes everyone around him feel...good. Ben decides he needs to check in with his team in New York, so the sheriff offers him his phone back st the station. They leave, having Lockjaw stand guard in case of the return of the mob. While travelling, the sheriff explains to Ben how the town blames Lucas' birth for the town's misfortune, as they suffered heavily from the recession of the early 1980s. Ben makes his call.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lockjaw appears in front of them. He has been shot as the mob has returned to the house. The Sheriff and the Thing hurry back in the car, but are too late to stop the violence that has begun again. Rocks are thrown, bullets are fired, and eventually, Sarah gets hit by a rock, which kills her instantly. The sight of the dead woman is enough to stop the mob in its tracks. Lucas sees what has happened to his mother and comes out. The mob stands aghast. Lucas stares at the crowd, which feels its hate and violence drain away, leaving only with feelings of love. The mob leaves as a group
The book ends with a small funeral for Sarah, attended by Lucas, Ben, Lockjaw and the Sheriff. The text describes how Lockjaw is able to detect that there is a way to help Lucas. Wordlessly, Lucas agrees, and Lockjaw takes him to the Moon, forever. The Thing ends by making the sheriff understand that there are no monsters in the Inhumans' home in Attilan.
Writing: Wow. John Byrne does not disappoint. He is truly suited to this medium, whether it is his storytelling, his art, or in many cases, both. When he decides to retire, the loss will be felt across the whole community. As for this specific issue, the brilliance of the writing truly comes through, because there is enough detail to keep the story flowing, without being overwhelmed by it. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 as I enjoyed rereading this one again.
Art: The art in this book is very solid. It is not overwhelming, and the mobs are drawn in a way that we can see the variety of people inside them without being bombarded with details that distract from the story. The inking is great, without large blobs of black, but shading when needed, and the colours are fantastic for a 1980s newsprint book. I give 4 out of 5.
Before I go any further, I am not familiar with Ron's work outside of the stunning visuals he did for this series and for Marvel Two-in-One. If anyone knows of more of his work, please drop a line in the comments as I would like to check it out.
Overall: This book is one of the better ones in my collection, based on my recent rereading for this review. (I think I'll have Littlecaveman pick out books for me just to reread on a regular basis.) I recommend the Thing series overall (has it been collected in one place?) because I think that it is one of the best periods for the character in general. This is definitely one of my favourites, because I also think Lockjaw is pretty cool (and the only redeeming quality of the Inhumans TV series.) I feel biased, but I give it a 4.5 overall.
I am asking around for a topic for my next spotlight on a character. If you want to suggest one, please note I will not do the following as there are many people who have done bios and articles: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto or Mister Fantastic. In fact, the more obscure, the better.
Ottawa News and Notes - I have started contacting comic stores and about half have told me there plans for Free Comic Day., This will be posted by Wednesday so you can make plans( if you choose to use me as your guide.)
POP Culture Canada is hosting s Comiccon in Brockville on Sunday, May 20, 2018 (https://www.facebook.com/events/207810696426419/). It's a one day show on the long weekend, so you should have the Monday to go over your purchases.
Until next time, keep em reading, boys (and girls)
Before we get started, I feel that I need to point out that the Thing is one of my favourite Marvel characters, especially the way he and the Torch crack wise with each other. He is one of the reasons that Fantastic Four is on my favourites list. And this hasn't changed, no matter who has written him.
So shall we?
The story is called "I, Monster" Writer: John Byrne Pencils: Ron Wilson, Inker :Harry Barta, Letterer: Rick Parker, Colours: Bob Sharen, Editor: Ann Nocenti
The splash page pictures an old woman working her vegetable garden in a southern U.S. locale. The heat is mentioned in many places. The old woman (we find out later that her name is Sarah Washington) looks up, and sees a mob of people heading towards her home. Running inside the pitiful rural shack, she goes in to check on her son, who is hidden in a Boo Radley sort of way. Her son has heard the mob, and you can see from the drawings that the son is misshapen. The mob collects at the house and Sarah goes out to confront it. The mob is here for her son, who they think is a monster that has brought misfortune to the town (is there ever a medium that doesn't portray southerners as redneck idiots?). Sarah orders the mob to leave but they get ugly. Cue a burst of energy as ...TA..DA...Lockjaw suddenly appears, bringing the Thing with him
The crowd freaks out at the sudden appearance of more "monsters" and a battle then ensues (this is a Marvel superhero comic, after all), and Ben and Lockjaw manage to keep the mob busy long enough for the sheriff to arrive. After he fires in the air, the mob disperses. It is at this point the sheriff notices our two heroes.
Cue an interlude to a castle in the Adirondack region of New York State. After a pages worth of panels building up to a room with a table, we see little piles of clay. Suddenly the little piles of clay move and eventually form a human-like shape. (This is all we see from this angle in this issue...more in later issues which we do not cover here.)
Back to (I choose to think of it as Louisiana, but nothing indicates it) the generic southern setting, where Ben is talking with Sarah and the sheriff. Ben explains who Lockjaw is and how Lockjaw's powers work, explaining why they were able to show up when they did. We also learn that the boy's name is Lucas Washington, who makes everyone around him feel...good. Ben decides he needs to check in with his team in New York, so the sheriff offers him his phone back st the station. They leave, having Lockjaw stand guard in case of the return of the mob. While travelling, the sheriff explains to Ben how the town blames Lucas' birth for the town's misfortune, as they suffered heavily from the recession of the early 1980s. Ben makes his call.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Lockjaw appears in front of them. He has been shot as the mob has returned to the house. The Sheriff and the Thing hurry back in the car, but are too late to stop the violence that has begun again. Rocks are thrown, bullets are fired, and eventually, Sarah gets hit by a rock, which kills her instantly. The sight of the dead woman is enough to stop the mob in its tracks. Lucas sees what has happened to his mother and comes out. The mob stands aghast. Lucas stares at the crowd, which feels its hate and violence drain away, leaving only with feelings of love. The mob leaves as a group
The book ends with a small funeral for Sarah, attended by Lucas, Ben, Lockjaw and the Sheriff. The text describes how Lockjaw is able to detect that there is a way to help Lucas. Wordlessly, Lucas agrees, and Lockjaw takes him to the Moon, forever. The Thing ends by making the sheriff understand that there are no monsters in the Inhumans' home in Attilan.
Writing: Wow. John Byrne does not disappoint. He is truly suited to this medium, whether it is his storytelling, his art, or in many cases, both. When he decides to retire, the loss will be felt across the whole community. As for this specific issue, the brilliance of the writing truly comes through, because there is enough detail to keep the story flowing, without being overwhelmed by it. I give this a 4.5 out of 5 as I enjoyed rereading this one again.
Art: The art in this book is very solid. It is not overwhelming, and the mobs are drawn in a way that we can see the variety of people inside them without being bombarded with details that distract from the story. The inking is great, without large blobs of black, but shading when needed, and the colours are fantastic for a 1980s newsprint book. I give 4 out of 5.
Before I go any further, I am not familiar with Ron's work outside of the stunning visuals he did for this series and for Marvel Two-in-One. If anyone knows of more of his work, please drop a line in the comments as I would like to check it out.
Overall: This book is one of the better ones in my collection, based on my recent rereading for this review. (I think I'll have Littlecaveman pick out books for me just to reread on a regular basis.) I recommend the Thing series overall (has it been collected in one place?) because I think that it is one of the best periods for the character in general. This is definitely one of my favourites, because I also think Lockjaw is pretty cool (and the only redeeming quality of the Inhumans TV series.) I feel biased, but I give it a 4.5 overall.
I am asking around for a topic for my next spotlight on a character. If you want to suggest one, please note I will not do the following as there are many people who have done bios and articles: Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Iron Man, Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto or Mister Fantastic. In fact, the more obscure, the better.
Ottawa News and Notes - I have started contacting comic stores and about half have told me there plans for Free Comic Day., This will be posted by Wednesday so you can make plans( if you choose to use me as your guide.)
POP Culture Canada is hosting s Comiccon in Brockville on Sunday, May 20, 2018 (https://www.facebook.com/events/207810696426419/). It's a one day show on the long weekend, so you should have the Monday to go over your purchases.
Until next time, keep em reading, boys (and girls)
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