Marvel Two-In-One #3 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 3, May 1974

Featuring a Gil Kane cover illustration which would actually go on to serve “as the template for Daredevil’s 1975 Slurpee” cup, as well as promising a sense-shattering shoot-out involving the Man Without Fear and a gang of well-armed Black Spectre soldiers, Steve Gerber’s narrative for Issue Three of “Marvel Two-In-One” probably ended up deeply frustrating the vast majority of its readers in May 1974. Indeed, with the bi-monthly’s repeated references to the storylines of other “Marvel Comics”, such as “Shanna, The She-Devil” and “Ka-Zar”, as well as the book’s unfinished plot disagreeably continuing straight into the next edition of “Daredevil”, it must have been difficult for this nineteen-page periodical’s audience not to see this publication as anything other than a blatant advertisement for some of editor Roy Thomas’ other titles.

To make matters worse, even the half-realised insight into “Daredevil’s ongoing battle with Nekra and the Mandrill” which this comic does depict isn’t arguably all that satisfying, courtesy of the Missouri-born author’s insistence to predominantly focus the opening third of “Inside Black Spectre!” on Reed Richards’ experiments upon the child-like Wundarr in order to design the super-powered alien a brand new costume. True, this sequence does lead to an enjoyable acrobatic display from Matt Murdock’s alter-ego, but it’s then rather trivialised by depicting the blind crime-fighter having to ask the Fantastic Four for his baton back like he was some hapless child who had inadvertently kicked their ball over into someone’s back garden; "Listen… I need your help. I, eh, left my billy club up on your roof, and…”

Adding to this book’s choppiness is an utterly whacky theatre date Murdock ‘enjoys’ with Foggy Nelson’s mysterious sister Candace. Featuring an actor dressed as Captain America who is then brutally gunned down by a suicidal Adolf Hitler lookalike, this farcical fuss seems to have been solely manufactured as a contrivance to have Matt chase after the Black Widow’s “bizarre aircraft” across New York’s skyline, and makes as much sense as Daredevil subsequently attempting to drop-kick Ben Grimm into submission so as to steal the Fantasticar from the top of the Baxter Building.

Resultantly, perhaps this comic’s one saving grace are Sal Buscema’s layouts, which together with Joe Sinnott’s inking, incredibly manage to bring many of the aforementioned oddities to dynamic life. The heroic duo’s fisticuffs against Nekra and her goon squad appear especially well-pencilled, with an enraged Ben Grimm tossing around his would-be attackers like they were skittles, and completely ignoring the best efforts of Natasha Romanova to bring the Thing down with her famous Widow’s Sting.

Writer: Steve Gerber, Artist: Sal Buscema, and Inker: Joe Sinnott

Marvel Two-In-One #2 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 2, March 1974

Considering that many readers of Steve Gerber’s narrative for Issue Two of “Marvel Two-In-One” most likely bought the comic based upon its cover illustration’s very specific claim to feature a story with “Namor and Ben Grimm -- side by side in battle for a man’s life”, this nineteen-page periodical’s actual plot probably came as something of a disappointment to its audience in March 1974. For whilst The Thing and the Sub-Mariner do eventually “work in tandem for the nonce - - [to] defeat what seems to be a mutual foe”, the pair are portrayed as predominantly going about their separate day-to-day business until Namorita’s desire to protect the child-like minded Wundarr brings them together towards the very end of the book.

In fact, the Missouri-born writer seems infinitely more interested in penning some additional background for his co-creation from Beta Rigel, than he does pitting this publication’s lead characters against the extra-terrestrial robot assassin known as a Mortoid. And rather disconcertingly, the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Famer seems to have been scratching around for inspiration even for that, at least until he appears to have sought inspiration from Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s origin story for Superman; “Hektu was our world’s greatest astronomer until that fateful day he went mad, insisting that our planet Dakkam was doomed - - That our sun would go nova, reducing our sphere to a cinder… He built a rocketship to take himself and his family away…”

Mercifully however, none of these quibbles stop “Manhunters From The Stars” from being a darn good yarn, with Namor in particular providing plenty of amusement on account of his infuriating pomposity. Believing panic “is but proof of his guilt” and that none may harm any person “under the protection of Namor and Atlantis” no matter where within New York City they may be, the human hybrid lurches from one misunderstanding to the next, perhaps inevitably ending up trading blows with the Fantastic Four’s strongest member in Times Square.

Providing plenty of prodigiously pencilled panels, not to mention an incredible amount of Namorita’s bare flesh, is Gil Kane, whose instantly recognisable style provides Ben Grimm with some phenomenally powerful punches as he batters away against the likes of Wundarr and the Sub-Mariner. Indeed, in some ways it is a pity that Gerber didn’t allow for this comic’s two central attractions to slug it out against one another for a while longer, rather than cut their violent hostilities short by depicting the pair siding together against a common alien foe.

Writer: Steve Gerber, Penciller: Gil Kane, and Inker: Joe Sinnott

Marvel Two-In-One #31 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 31, September 1977

It is genuinely hard to reconcile the fact that Issue Thirty One of “Marvel Two-In-One” was penned by the same man who would later go on to spearhead “DC Comics” Eighties revival of “The New Teen Titans” with George Perez. For whilst Marv Wolfman’s seventeen-page long narrative occasionally proves an entertaining experience, such as when the Thing battles a couple of impressively drawn HYDRA-Foils in the Thames and makes them “go boom”, the vast majority of it contains so many ludicrous plot devices that it is little wonder the former “Marvel Comics Group” Editor-in-Chief purportedly described this ‘Spider-Woman’ story-arc as “poor” and “hideous” in “a late 1978 interview”.

To begin with “My Sweetheart.. My Killer!” features an almost schizophrenic Benjamin Grimm, whose cover illustration depicting him with five toes on one foot and four on the other is genuinely the least of the human mutate’s problems, as he desperately searches the depths of the River Thames for “the Spider-broad… ‘cause only she knows where [the abducted] Alicia is.” Grief-stricken, distraught at the prospect of “my gal” being dead, and threatening to “re-arrange yer face… [as] my Alicia’s too important ta me ta not take off the kid gloves” Bashful Benjy then incomprehensibly lets his foe go simply because the hypnotised HYDRA agent explains “the explosion must have cleared my mind”, yet made her memories as to where she took Masters “vague in my mind.”; “Awright, Lady, gimme yer hand… an’ let’s go sit down fer awhile. Mebbe, if ya rest up a bit, you’ll start rememberin’.” 

Such a total change of heart for the series’ main protagonist is as convincing as HYDRA selecting a blind sculptress to be the first of the terrorist organisation’s “invincible warriors”, especially when the Inkpot Award-winner describes the Thing as being “mad, perhaps madder than he has ever been before in his life.” Little wonder Ron Wilson subsequently pencils the rock-skinned powerhouse rather disconcertingly gnawing some metal tubing apart with his bare teeth…

Equally as poorly conceived is Wolfman’s revelation that the middle-aged heavily-moustached criminal Chauncy is in reality a Dutch “specially trained” Nazi agent who during the war buried a treasure worth “untold millions” somewhere in the House of Commons. Admittedly it’s not too hard to believe that a German spy may well return to the location of his wealth after the political institution had been rebuilt, and subsequently become confused as to precisely where he concealed his fortune. But just why would Heinrich Buerer create a map by carefully etching “the exact location of the treasure on” five pieces of “valuable merchandise” so he would decades later have to locate all of the “separated” artefacts first? 

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Pencils: Ron Wilson, and Inks: Irv Watanabe

Marvel Two-In-One #30 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 30, August 1977

Arguably little more than a vehicle to firmly establish then-publisher Stan Lee’s copyright to the name Spider-Woman, following the character’s “Marvel Spotlight” debut in February 1977, this rather inconsistent Marv Wolfman narrative is made all the more inaccessible by the Editor’s disconcertingly bizarre attempt to imbue all of his English locals with a stereotypical ‘Limey’ dialect that causes armed robbers to repeatedly refer to one another as “mate” and “lad” as they go about their nefarious business, and has London’s truncheon-armed “blinkin’ Bobbies” commenting “It’s like the ruddy Blitz all over again!” whenever an explosion occurs. Indeed the irritation caused by the American author’s obsession for his characters’ persistent (and inaccurate) verbalisation of “‘ave, ‘old and ‘ey!” is only bested throughout the seventeen-page periodical’s dialogue by his insistence on having every Policeman and Queen’s Guard yelling “bloody” profanities whenever trouble occurs.

Blade’s co-creator also seems to have tried to cram Issue Thirty of “Marvel Two-In-One” with as many coincidental contrivances as possible. The biggest being Ben Grimm just “‘appenin’” to hear a “muffled explosion” whilst nonchalantly passing Westminster Abbey “on his way back to his London hotel” and then subsequently literally bumping into the two self-same thieves responsible for the blast inside the Tower of London. Indeed The Thing’s early observation that “everywhere I go, problems!” Problems!” is a major understatement considering the numerous unlucky happenstances which befall the “ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Benjamin J.” within this magazine; “Y’Got that, Creepy?”

Quibbles as to Wolfman’s manufactured plot development and annoying clichéd colloquialisms aside, the biggest disappointment of the “Battle Atop Big Ben!” has to be the Shazam Award-winner’s ineffective use of Jessica Drew. For although the HYDRA agent features rather prominently throughout the adventure, Spider-Woman’s subjugation to the worldwide subversive organisation’s “superior hypnosis techniques” provides the colourfully-costumed “dame” with scant opportunity to display any sort of personality and instead disappointingly restricts “Web-Head’s sister” to such banal statements as “Impossible” My spider venom-blast didn’t stun you? But it could kill a raging rhinoceros” and “H-He’s stronger than they told me. I can’t destroy him… not yet. Better retreat… Return for further instructions.”

Fortunately John Buscema’s well-detailed breakdowns still helps make this Bronze Age “battle over London for the life of Alicia Masters!” a rather entertaining experience, courtesy of the Port Jefferson-born artist’s animated illustrations of the comic’s “orange monster” battling the brightly garbed, gracefully gliding anti-heroine, and the machinations of characterful criminals Chauncy and Trevor.

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Pencils: John Buscema, and Inks: Pablo Marcos

Marvel Two-In-One #29 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 29, July 1977

One of Marv Wolfman’s earliest issues as writer for “Marvel Two-In-One”, “Two Against Hydra” disappointingly demonstrates just how badly manufactured the two-time Jack Kirby Award-winner’s narratives could be during the Bronze Age of Comics. For whilst Benjamin Grimm and his girlfriend Alicia Masters vacation to London England isn't overly contrived, even if it includes them having to finish “Reed’s mission… [to] dig up Doctor Louis Kort…[and] get ‘im ta fix up Deathlok ‘fore corpse-face dies!” The Brooklyn-born author’s attempt to explain Shang Chi’s presence within this tome by co-incidentally just happening to be gloomily cogitating outside an address within which the blind sculptress screams as she unluckily slips “to the floor” and ‘felt something horrible there’ is positively preposterous.

Indeed the entire ludicrous situation was clearly penned simply to ‘force’ “Davy Carridine’s stand-in” to mistake “the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed idol o’millions” as a threatening monster and subsequently tackle The Thing in one of the most out-matched confrontations of the former MI-6 employee's career. Certainly it is increasingly incredulous to believe that the Master of Kung Fu somehow bests the super-strong rocky human mutate for a staggering fourteen panels until “Skinny” realises “you are not the enemy I thought you to be.”

Fortunately the second half of this seventeen-page periodical provides far more entertainment once the heroes discover the hidden entrance to Hydra’s experimental laboratory beneath “a small, almost disused restaurant catering the most uninspired Italian food one can imagine” located on the Victoria Embankment, and the two protagonists find themselves waist-deep in armed green-garbed goons; “You are our prisoners, fools. Prisoners of immortal Hydra!” In fact a good deal of Wolfman’s former poor scripting can quite easily be forgiven as he depicts Shang Chi at the height of his martial art powers, karate-chopping the “costumed ones… [with] no inner strength” all over the place and ensuring Doctor Kort’s retreat courtesy of “the sting of my nunchaka!”

Disconcertingly however artist Ron Wilson also seems to take the best part of this publication to warm to the son of Fu Manchu. There’s little doubt that the American illustrator can draw an incredibly expressive Thing, as his wonderful pencilling of a thoughtful-faced Grimm feeding the tame pigeons at Trafalgar Square ably demonstrates. But when it comes to the facial expressions of the wushu-styled warrior, his work for the most part appears flat, awkwardly angular and inauspiciously amateurish.

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Pencils: Ron Wilson, and Inks: Sam Grainger

Marvel Two-In-One #1 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 1, January 1974

It seems quite evident that Steve Gerber clearly had little concern as to just how contrived he needed to make the narrative for this first issue of “Marvel Two-In-One” in order to pair Benjamin Grimm and the Man-Thing up together. Why else would the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Famer have penned the Thing enduring “a day-an’-a half ride ta the Everglades” on a bus simply because “that swamp-rat” purportedly committed “plagiarism” by having a magazine ‘rip off his name” and steal his “moniker”? Indeed the founding member of the Fantastic Four’s oversensitivity to the Florida swamp creature “trying ta hog my glory” is ludicrous in the extreme and certainly doesn’t do justice to a Jack Kirby co-creation as famous for his selfless ‘heart of gold’ attitude as he is his orange rocky hide.

Equally as bizarre however has to be the Missouri-born writer’s creation of a second Molecule Man, who having vowed revenge upon Reed Richards' super-team for causing his father’s ignoble death on “a nameless world in a cosmos other than our own”, purposely exposes himself to “a shower of atomic particles” in order to be transformed into “the Monarch of the Universe!” Worryingly under-dressed in just an ornate thong, and armed with a metal wand capable of reversing an accelerated aging process that would actually see the villain “reduced to ashes” within seconds, Owen Reece’s bald-headed ‘successor’ proves a remarkably underwhelming foe for “the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed” Grimm and Ted Sallis’ alter-ego; especially when the manipulator of molecules is depicted impotently tapping his supposedly malfunctioning wand simply because “it won’t teleport me past the edge of this swamp.”

Gerber’s script for “Vengeance Of The Molecule Man!” does however still contain some noteworthy moments, such as its early nod to the lead character’s previous ‘team-ups’ alongside the Hulk and Iron Man in the final two issues of “Marvel Feature”, as well as a rare opportunity to see “the chemist who had been the Man-Thing” in action. In fact even “Flash-face” is eventually imbued with some chillingly cold-blooded gravitas as he quite horribly transforms a hapless resident of Citrusville into a duplicate of Mister Fantastic and promptly then stretches the screaming individual until his elastic body grotesquely snaps…

Arguably just as inconsistent as the storyline is Gil Kane’s disappointing artwork. It’s evident that the Shazam Award-winner was clearly capable of pencilling an impressively thick-set powerful-looking “orange-skinned buffoon”. But the American artist’s drawings of Molecule Man, Grimm and Sallis are actually all disconcertingly similar in appearance and, with the exception of the Yancy Streeter, seem astoundingly sinewy.

Writer: Steve Gerber, Penciller: Gil Kane, and Inker: Joe Sinnott

Marvel Two-In-One #43 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 43, September 1978

In many ways “The Day The World Winds Down” is a fairly typical example of storytelling “in the mighty Marvel manner” of the Late Seventies. For not only does this seventeen-page periodical start with a lengthy montage as to the origin of the issue’s super-villain, Victorius, “a humble researcher toiling to recreate the Super-soldier serum that made… Captain America”. But its narrative then predominantly consists of little more than the title’s main protagonists battling it out with their opponents, before the adventure is actually resolved more through the use of the heroes’ brains than brawn.

Indeed in something of a role reversal it is actually Captain America who somewhat bizarrely reverts to simply duking it out with the “reborn” Victor Conrad. Whilst it’s left to Ben Grimm, now ‘just’ a normal being once again, that gets to reason with Jude, the Entropic Man and convince him that the arguably benign monster’s “coming was ill-timed” as Mankind doesn’t want to give up its existence yet; “I know life ain’t a picnic -- But it’s still the best game in town!” 

Despite following this well-tested formula for ‘success’ however, Ralph Macchio’s writing is disappointingly still even more contrived than usual for a “Marvel Comics” publication of this era and it genuinely feels that the New Yorker’s storyline was purely manufactured simply to have Steve Rogers engage in a fist-fight with a second-rate replica of himself. Why else, having seized control of the Cosmic Cube and already used its formidable power to “reform the remains of Yagzan” back from the dead, would Victorius then leave the device unattended, disrobe down to his ‘combat costume’ and tackle the Golden Age legend single-handedly?

Captain America also behaves entirely out of character throughout this issue, first clumsily silencing the Thing because he supposedly wants to hear the former AIM scientist’s backstory, and then later setting aside his shield due to “the First Avenger” apparently believing that “It’s time for a little lesson in unarmed combat techniques” to be given to one who wields the Cosmic Cube. Even the inclusion of the Man-Thing would appear to have been an afterthought, with the “empathic, humanoid creature” simply doing nothing within the adventure than shamble up to where Conrad left AIM’s miraculous invention and touch it. Hardly action enough to warrant top billing upon the cover of “Marvel Two-In-One”…

Fortunately such weaknesses to this tale of “Death in the Everglades” are easily forgotten courtesy of some early artwork by the Eagle Award-winning John Byrne. The British-born American illustrator’s pencilling of “Wing-Head” whilst he punches and kicks Victorius throughout the swamp is as dynamically drawn as any bibliophile could want. Though dishearteningly it would appear that printing deadlines got the better of the Englishman as some of the panels suggest a ‘friendly’ hand helped out on the final finished product.

Writer: Ralph Macchio, Artists: John Byrne and Friends, and Colorist: Phil Rachelson

Marvel Two-In-One #42 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 42, August 1978

Whilst the narrative to Issue Forty-Two of “Marvel Two-In-One” may not contain the most complicated of scenarios imaginable, comprising basically of a power-hungry scientist stealing the Cosmic Cube from the “New” Department of Energy’s Project Pegasus. It does still clearly demonstrate just how much writer Ralph Macchio loved comics. For whilst parts of the storyline are incomprehensible contrived nonsense, such as Victor Conrad somehow managing to infiltrate a “Top-Secret” facility or his magically ‘winking out’ “some thousand miles” back to the Everglades before his imminent capture, other parts, like The Thing’s action-packed fist-fight with Captain America and the touching, rather heart-rendering tenderness between “Unca Benjy” and the child-like powerhouse Wundarr, make “Entropy, Entropy” an enthralling read.

Much of this seventeen-page periodical’s appeal comes as a result of the New Yorker’s endearing characterisation of the orange-skinned “ex-test pilot”. Admittedly the American “Letterhack” begins this comic depicting the founding member of the Fantastic Four demonstrating his usual ‘punch first think later’ mentality by having the “Ever-Lovin’ Blue-eyed Thing” batter down a “six-inch titanium steel” door before trying to wallop “Wing-head” within an inch of his life. But just as soon as the misunderstanding is rectified and “Angel-ears” releases the Human mutate from “some kinda blasted force field”, Macchio takes great care in portraying Ben as an extremely compassionate, intelligent being, whose horror at the “high-handed” mistreatment of his one-time ward, is as upsetting to the reader as it is to “Wundarr’s guardian”; “C’mere kid. I know yer hurtin’ inside. Just lemme holdja a second - - It’ll go away.”

The former Executive Editor of “Marvel Comics” also manages to give “the ultimate answer to Nazi aggression” plenty of ‘screen time’ too, despite the arguable brevity of this comic. Indeed “the Super-Solider Supreme” is at his dynamic best within this book, both outfighting and outthinking an enraged Thing before tackling the sadistically evil saboteur Victorius and telling governmental workers to “stow it” when they attempt to hamper “Mister Grimm” from swiftly pursuing Wundarr’s assailant in a “silvery VTOL.”

Just as engaging as the storyline is this magazine’s illustrations, with artists Sal Buscema, Alfredo Alcala and Samuel Grainger all combining together to create some wonderfully animated panels; foremost of which has to be the double-splash of a heroic-looking “Flag-face", shield-arm outstretched, leaping towards an enraged Ben Grimm. In fact for such a sedentary story, with much of the publication’s plot simply involving the chair-bound “still quivering ever so slightly… man-child from the stars” being experimented upon, the artwork genuinely imbues Macchio’s writing with a real sense of action and tension.

Writer: Ralph Macchio, and Artists: Sal Buscema, Alfredo Alcala and Samuel Grainger

Marvel Two-In-One #5 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 5, September 1974

Despite Benjamin Grimm’s ‘team-up’ with the (original) Guardians of the Galaxy not actually taking place until two-thirds of the way through this Bronze Age comic’s narrative, Issue Five of “Marvel Two-In-One” is still absolutely packed full of wonderfully ‘over the top’ fist-fights and corny Seventies dialogue as The Thing, Captain America and “the woman he loves” Agent 13, face a seemingly endless supply of Steve Gerber’s wickedly unimaginatively named Zoms and “Earth’s new masters: The reptilian conquerors called the Brotherhood of Badoon”.

Indeed in many ways it is actually somewhat frustrating that Major Vance Astro, Charlie-27, Yondu and Martinex make an appearance in this story at all, as their ‘timely’ arrival upon an alien-infested world, also sadly ushers in a bizarrely abrupt climax to what was up until the superheroes’ brief attack against Lord Drang’s palace, a genuinely enjoyable read. Just why the Eagle Award-winner would try and encapsulate a citywide ‘revolution’ against the planet’s extraterrestrial masters within the space of just two pages is unclear. But having spent a considerable portion of the periodical depicting the “heroes of old Earth” clobberin’ the likes of Commander Ogg and his ray-rifle carrying lizardmen, it seems dissatisfyingly odd that the creator of “Howard the Duck” would then shoehorn in both the defeat of the metropolis’ green scaly “lordsire” and the departure of “three weary chrononauts” back “into the past” within the space of six small panels.

Mild disappointment at this book’s brevity aside however, Gerber’s writing proves to be remarkably entertaining, and even includes a somewhat inventive ‘recap’ for any new readers by having Captain America explain the events which lead up to “Seven Against The Empire!” via a memory probe’s vocal stimulator. The Missouri-born writer even manages to conjure up a remarkable rematch between “the orange-skinned one” and the “Monster of Badoon” by having Grimm triumphantly batter “ugly” senseless with the help of the “last survivor of Earth’s Jupiter colony.”

Sal Buscema’s artwork is equally as solid, and whilst the New Yorker predominantly relies upon the standard six-panelled sheet for the majority of his illustrations, that doesn’t stop him drawing some genuinely memorable moments, most notably that of Ben hurling a futuristic car into a horde of Zoms and Badoon, and the single splash of the planet’s resistance movement storming Drang’s fortified stronghold.

Writer: Steve Gerber, Artist: Sal Buscema and Inker: Mike Esposito

Marvel Two-In-One #4 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 4, July 1974

Sporting an incredibly dynamic and pulse-pounding cover of The Thing and ‘Sentinel of Liberty’ battling a horde of futuristic Zoms by Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott, “Doomsday 3014!” is sadly not “the most titanic team-up ever… in this, the Marvel Age of comics!” But Steve Gerber’s eighteen-page long narrative isn’t an especially bad one either. It’s simply a storyline which comes in two parts and disappointingly the first half is a rather lack-lustre low-brow affair as a particularly grim-faced “Unca Ben-Jee” takes the child-like super-powered Wundarr for an ill-conceived stroll through “Central Park Zoo on a sunny day in New York.”

Admittedly this sojourn into the domestic life of Benjamin Grimm provides plenty of humour and surreal comic book moments, such as the long-haired refugee from Dakkam innocently trying to show an escaped Lion his pretty pink balloon, or The Thing’s rocky hide being harmlessly “gnawed on” by the self-same king of the jungle. However there is little sense of peril to any of these shenanigans and even Captain America is inauspiciously utilised to accomplish nothing more than deal with a handful of “Hoods--taking advantage of the confusion… Looting the deserted concession stands!”

Fortunately the Eagle Award-winner’s writing significantly picks up pace once the mysterious Tarin is inadvertently transported back to ‘our time’ thanks to Ben accidentally activating Dr.Doom’s Time Machine; “Captured after F.F. #5 – Guess Who!” Such clunky lazy story-telling is undeniably a somewhat unsatisfactory way for Gerber to introduce a personality who would go on to become ‘President of Earth’ in the Nineties “Guardians Of The Galaxy” series. Yet the human mutate’s innocuous ‘bump’ into Victor’s time-travelling device does at least set up the motivation behind why the founding member of the Fantastic Four would accompany the “frail girl in a flashy future-suit” back to her time and “lend them Guardians a hand!”

In fact the subsequent four pages of almost non-stop action are the highlight of the magazine, and genuinely live up to the high expectations set by Kane’s aforementioned cover illustration. Possibly the red-suited blank-eyed Zoms aren’t the most impressive of villainous minions ever created by “Marvel Comics Group” during the Bronze Age of Comics, especially with their delicate looking horned headbands. But the quite ludicrously named “Monster of Badoon” proves a suitably impressive adversary for the ‘ever lovin’ blue-eyed Thing’, even if the green-skinned three-fingered behemoth does look as bad as its name sounds.

In addition this comic contains some wonderfully characterful artwork by Silvio “Sal” Buscema, an artist who is clearly capable of bestowing upon Ben Grimm’s typically stony unreadable face all manner of emotions. Indeed the inkwell Award-winner’s drawings of The Thing sending the Zoms flying with a swipe of a broken lamp-post or the super-strong hero’s battle with a giant gorilla are as energetic and ‘full of life’ as you could want a penciller to sketch.

Writer: Steve Gerber, Artist: Sal Buscema and Inker: Frank Giacoia

Marvel Two-In-One #36 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 36, February 1978

Disappointingly a rather water-logged Benjamin Grimm sums up the quality of this seventeen-page nonsensical narrative by Editor Marv Wolfman in the book’s opening panel by exclaiming “Wotta revoltin’ development this is!” For “A Stretch In Time” not only concludes the Thing’s two-part prehistoric adventure with “Skull the Slayer and his band of time-lost travellers” but also appears to show the two-time Jack Kirby Award-winner’s writing at its most unimaginative.

Indeed the Brooklyn-born writer appears to be so uninspired by his own storyline that having extensively depicted the super-heroes outrunning an especially carnivorous Tyrannosaurus Rex in order to try and reach “the plane that brought us here” in the previous issue, he abruptly has them both find “the charred ruins of the Lockheed Hercules lying in a jungle plain” and unbelievably return "to Ben Grimm’s experimental jet” with "the batteries and parts they need” within the space of a single text box. Considering the group were last seen wearily dragging themselves ashore having fallen down “a blamed waterfall” following an encounter with some ludicrously fanged sauropods, it is inconceivable that the rest of their exploration of this antediluvian world was "uneventful". At the very least they must surely have encountered more of the primordial fauna…

Instead, less than halfway through the comic, Wolfman miraculously has “the anxious five” fly their hastily repaired “super-sonic jet… up into the scarlet skies” and immediately travel back through the Bermuda Triangle to modern-day Miami. Such woeful lazy insipid writing by the co-creator of Blade is both incomprehensible and unforgivable. Doubly so when it means that the Shazam Award-winner then has to populate the rest of the magazine with a tired, poorly thought out battle sequence between the Jaguar Priest and a semi-powerless Reed Richards; as Jeff shouts “I don’t believe it…”

Fortunately such a bland apathetic adventure is at least given some life due to the remarkable pencilling of Ernie Chan. The Filipino-American artist’s illustrations, especially his dynamic portrayal of Mister Fantastic and the “lumpy orange gorilla” battling a flock of giant-sized pterosaurs above Cape Canaveral, are as wonderfully vigorous and vibrant as his blending of flying lizard with space-flight technology is historically inaccurate.

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Artist: Ernie Chan and Colorist: Michele Wolfman

Marvel Two-In-One #35 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 35, January 1978

Straight from this book’s spectacular Ernie Chan cover depicting Skull the Slayer and Ben Grimm battling a party of African warriors and a ferocious dinosaur, “Marvel Comics Group” editor Marv Wolfman seems to have been determined to deliver a no-nonsense highly enjoyable action-packed read to this title’s audience. Admittedly the Brooklyn-born writer’s story starts off with a somewhat clunky awkwardly written one-page preamble which swiftly establishes that the United States Air Force have ‘recruited’ the Thing to fly their “sleek, experimental R-37 supersonic “Bird of Prey” in order to “penetrate the Bermuda Triangle” and locate a missing jet plane. But such a considerably contrived set of kooky circumstances is easily forgivable when it means that within the space of a few panels, the former test pilot’s aircraft is trapped within the jaws of “an overgrown canary” and shockingly transported back in time to the age of prehistoric monsters, or rather “roughly one quarter of a billion years before they invented television”.

Having abrasively pulled one of the founding members of the Fantastic Four into his version of ‘Jurassic Park’, the Shazam Award-winner wastes absolutely no time in preparing the ground for the unlikely team-up of The Thing with his very own co-creation, Jim Scully, a Vietnam veteran whose alien Scorpion power belt grants him super-strength. Indeed Wolfman’s introduction of the herculean adventurer proves to be just as much a breathless non-stop escapade as that of Aunt Petunia’s blue-eyed nephew as he wastes no time prevaricating over the fact that “Enter: Skull the Slayer And Exit: The Thing!” directly follows on from the events published in the eighth and final edition of “Skull The Slayer”. But instead prefers to bring the reader up to date as to how that cancelled comic book ended by way of some concise scribbled footnotes found within the margin.

As a result just as soon as Ben Grimm’s battered ‘oarless craft’ comes to land, the rock-like human mutate is bashing “bad guys” and together with Scully, thwarting the machinations of the power-mad Jaguar Priest. Rather impressively such pulse-pounding all-action antics then continues unabated for a further eleven pages as the phenomenally strong duo wrestle a giant pterodactyl to the ground and attempt to fend off a hungry Tyrannosaurus Rex with a few well-aimed punches. 

Uncharitably, such a propensity for preposterous predicaments does occasionally sway Nostalgic Marv’s storyline a little close to all-out farce, especially when despite being able to previously ‘lay out a carnivorous theropod with one little clobber’ The Thing ends up running for his life away from one. But so sudden a conclusion to such a titanic 'classic' confrontation would have deprived the reader of some truly glib comments by a back-peddling Benjamin; “Er, anyone got an army hidin’ in the bushes somewhere?”

As one would expect from so notable a guest artist as Ernie Chan, the pencilling within Issue Thirty Five of “Marvel Two-In-One” is wonderfully dynamic and crammed full of both energy and life. Of particular note are the amazingly animated dinosaurs the Filipino-American comic book artist conjures up, with the baleful red-eyed Tyrannosaurus proving to be especially impressive, if a little unrealistically agile. In fact it is hard to imagine Skull the Slayer’s own magazine selling as poorly as it did if the predominantly ‘Swords and sorcery’ illustrator had drawn it.

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Pencils: Ernie Chan and Colorist: Michele Wolfman

Marvel Two-In-One #27 - Marvel Comics

MARVEL TWO-IN-ONE No. 27, May 1977

Whilst writer/editor Marv Wolfman’s printed promise that this is “without a doubt the most star-filled issue of Two-In-One ever” is arguably fanciful boasting at best. There is no doubting that “Day Of The Demolisher!” still contains more than its fair share of notable characters from the Seventies Marvel Universe. Mentallo, the Fixer, Nick Fury, Impossible Man, Deathlok, Mister Fantastic, the Human Torch and Invisible Woman all play prominent parts within the Shazam Award-winner’s plot. Even if Sue Richards’ role is later somewhat undermined by her use as the wounded President Carter’s nursemaid.

Somewhat disappointingly however the inclusion of the Thing’s fellow team members does make this magazine’s narrative seem far more akin to a typical “Fantastic Four” comic book yarn, rather than a debatably ‘solo’ adventure series which concentrates upon the exploits of Benjamin Grimm; albeit such a notion would not officially see fruition by “Marvel Comics Group” until the publication of “The Thing” in 1983.

Quibbles as to this particular issue’s identity aside, Wolfman’s storyline is at its strongest when it focuses upon the anti-hero Deathlok, and the Demolisher’s mental musings over being the assassination puppet of Mentallo. ‘Trapped in a decaying corpse’ the bionic warrior’s desire of “getting’ out of this crummy living hell” is wonderfully well written and provides the reader with plenty of emotional insight into the tragic turmoil being experienced by the cyborg. Deprived of even his computerised brain’s hated inner voice as a result of Marvin Flumm’s thought manipulator, Luther Manning comes across as a very lonely wretched instrument of death and destruction.

Sadly such characterisation cannot be said for the Fixer and Mentallo. Whose one-dimensional motivation, the subjugation of the new American President via a “special micro-circuited control unit” is cause for some cringe worthy banter as, purely for the benefit of any casual bibliophile, the partners in crime clumsily inform one another of their roles in the plan to “shoot” him.

Legendary artist Jack “King” Kirby’s influence is heavily felt throughout this periodical’s seventeen pages. This isn’t just because the inaugural inductee of the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame drew the magazine’s action-packed cover. But also as a result of the tale being broken down into bite-sized chapters; something the New Yorker was famous for establishing during his lengthy run on “Fantastic Four”.

Penciller Ron Wilson is arguably from a similar stable of talent to that of the Hulk’s co-creator. But his illustration work for this issue is rather inconsistent, especially as events reach a conclusion and the Thing and Deathlok trade a series of punches with one another. Indeed the quality of the drawing is noticeably poorer the deeper into the comic a reader goes, with the artist’s insanely grinning Joker-like President Jimmy Carter being a particular low point of the book.

Writer/Editor: Marv Wolfman, Pencils: Ron Wilson and Inks: Pablo Marcos