365 Days of Defiance, Day 323: Ben Has Not Yet Begun to Fight

Wow, I can't believe I haven't done this one yet.









Panels from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone; colors by George Roussos; letters by Jim Novak

Today in Comics History: Ben Grimm accidentally invents TiVo

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #100 (June 1983), script by John Byrne, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Frank Giacoia and Kevin Dzuban, colors by George Roussos, letters by Joe Rosen

Separated at Birth: Get Well Soon

Left: Marvel Two-in-One (1974 series) #96 (February 1983); layouts by Ed Hannigan, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Frank Giacoia
Right: Silver Surfer (2016 series) #4 (July 2016); pencils and inks by Michael Allred, colors by Laura Allred
(Click picture to Man-Size-Kleenex-size)

A Month of... Pancakes! Day 13: Ben Grimm Wants Pancakes, Part 3

Okay, let's try this thing one more time. Third time lucky to get Ben Grimm some pancakes? Old Blue Eyes is even making them himself, comics!



Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #69 (November 1980); script by Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Gene Day, colors by George Roussos, letters by John Costanza
I object to the portrayal of Ben Grimm using pre-boxed pancake mix! He oughta have a great made-from-scratch recipe that Aunt Petunia taught him! Anyway, thanks Suzie, fer savin' the pancakes. IT'S SLOBBERIN' TIME!

Today in Comics History: Another slow news day in the Marvel Universe

Page from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone; colors by George Roussos; letters by Jim Novak

366 Days with J. Jonah Jameson, Day 40: So much smoking going on in this comic it gave me emphysema

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #40 (June 1978), plot by Roger Slifer, script by Tom DeFalco, breakdowns by Ron Wilson, finishes by Pablo Marcos, colors by Phil Rachelson, letters by Annette Kawecki

Today in Comics History: Thing ditches FF, decides to get a little bit of that sweet, sweet MCU money

Splash page from Marvel Two-in-One #97 (March 1983), script by Dave Michelinie, pencils by Ron Wilson, inks by Jon D'Agostino, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Rick Parker

Countdown to Halloween: Jack Kirby's Monsters! Night Ten: I've paid my dues / Time after time / I've done my sentence / But committed no crime

Cover of Strange Tales #98 (July 1962), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Steve Ditko, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Artie Simek
The Champion came down to Earth
He was lookin' for some guys to hit


Splash page of "No Human Can Beat Me!" from Strange Tales #98 (July 1962), plot by Stan Lee (?), script by Larry Lieber (?), pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Paul Reinman, colors by Stan Goldberg, letters by Ray Holloway (?)
He challenged humanity so hard
Our heads from our bodies split


He beat us all at wrasslin'
Tossin' every guy outta the ring


He knocked a baseball outta Yankee Stadium
To Long Island with just one swing


He challenged the greatest weight-lifter
By picking up his stand


He golfed eighteen straight holes in one
And not one ball into sand


He climbed the mightiest mountains
In just one leap and hop


He beat us all at every game
From checkers to Gnip Gnop


But then a guy named Johnny
Made the Champion start losin'


He said 'Don't come back, you son of a bitch
Earth's the best there is at snoozin'.



If you're, like me, a fan of the Ever-Lovin' Blue Eyed Thing, this tales probably reminds you of one of the great comics of the eighties, Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7, in which Cosmic Elder the Champion of the Universe challenges all of Earth mightiest heroes to a boxing match:


Page from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and/or Chic Stone; colors by George Roussos, letters by Jim Novak
But it's only Mister Grimm who can go the distance in the ring, round after round.


The Thing brings into four-color life that famous saying by Winston Churchill:


"Never, never, never give up."


Alongside with Superman vs. Muhammad Ali, it's one of the greatest comic book boxing stories of all time.


And it ends in a draw.


So, remember, in the words of Mister Charles Daniels: Johnny said, "Devil, just come on back if you ever wanna try again, I done told you once, you son of a bitch, I'm the best that's ever been."

Teniversary Countdown #2: The Thing and Black Widow cosplay John Steed and Emma Peel

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #10 (July 1975), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Bob Brown, inks and colors by Klaus Janson, letters by John Costanza
No, not that Avengers. This Avengers:

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 55: Reed Richards' Portable Energy-Detector

Tonight at 13th Dimension you can find a guide, with specially-written mini-biographies, of each of the contributors to 13D: The 13thD Super Team: Who We Are and How We Came to Be! I would like to point out that it include my person pal John DiBello. Aside from that claim that "he writes most of the stuff" here at Comics Oughta Be Fun! (heresy!) it's a pretty accurate depiction. He does want to shake Ben Grimm's hand and thank him for the events of Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7, one of the greatest superhero comic books of all time. How great is it? So great that the Thing is acclaimed as the ultimate fighter in the universe, the warrior who will not give up.

Also, because of Reed Richards' Thing-Finderer...I mean, his Portable Energy-Detector.


Panels from Marvel Two-in-One Annual #7 (1982); script by Tom DeFalco; pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Bob Camp, Mike Esposito, Frank Giacoia, Dan Green, Armando Gil, and Chic Stone; colors by George Roussos; letters by Jim Novak
Clearly an evolutionary and technological advance on Reed's Heat-Image Tracer, it picks up and analyzes not heat, but alien residue. So, like, stray hairs that fell off the Watcher's head (wait, perhaps a bad example), fabric shreds where Dominus stepped accidentally on his really dramatic albeit waaaaay-too-long cape, or the Silver Surfer's belly-button lint. Instantly Reed discovers that the alien being who kidnapped Ben Grimm has cosmic energy and power greater than Galactus and stranger than anything our puny Earth minds can conceive. So, Cosmic Paris Hilton, then.

Later, of course, Sue pointed out that they could just click on Ben's laptop to "Show My StarkPhone," which zeroed directly in on the Thing, allowing the Fantastic Four to rush directly to his side at the bar of the Yancy Street Grill. It was Monday night: 25¢ buffalo wings and buck-a-drafts, and Mavericks vs. Knicks on the big screen. Sometimes Ben just can't escape his "pals," not even for just one ferschluggin' night. Whatta revoltin' development.

365 Days of KirbyTech, Day 25: The Psycho-Man's Murder Machine

There are certain devices we use constantly in our everyday lives whose purpose is completely detectable by their names. A vegetable peeler peels vegetables. A tire pressure gauge gauges tire pressure. A Batmobile mobiles bats. It's all pretty simple, and occasionally a piece of KirbyTech falls under the same criteria: it is, pretty much, what it says on the tin. You don't have to read the user reviews on Amazon for the Ultimate Nullifier to get an idea of what it does. (Nullifies, ultimately.) Such is the case with that device whose name defines its purpose: The Murder Machine.


Panels from Fantastic Four (1961 series) #76 (July 1968), co-plot and script by Stan Lee, co-plot and pencils by Jack Kirby, inks by Joe Sinnott, letters by Artie Simek

Crazy little Thing called love

Panel from Marvel Two-in-One #92 (October 1982), script by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Ron Wilson, colors by Don Warfield, letters by Joe Rosen

Superheroes Meet Ordinary Joes, Day 3: Don't leave Cairo without it

Page from Marvel Two-in-One #92 (October 1982), script by Tom DeFalco, pencils by Ron Wilson, colors by Don Warfield, letters by Joe Rosen

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 310

Panel from Marvel Two-in-One #51 (May 1979), script by Peter B. Gillis, pencils by Frank Miller, inks by Bob McLeod, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by Tom Orzechowski

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 302

Marvel Two-in-One #75 (May 1981), script by Tom DeFalco, breakdowns by Alan Kupperberg, finishes and inks by Chic Stone, colors by George Roussos, letters by Jean Simek

Same Story, Different Cover: Rock Group

L: Marvel Two-in-One #50 (April 1979), art by George Perez and Joe Sinnott
R: Adventures of the Thing #1 (April 1992), reprinting MTIO #50, art by Sam Kieth

(Click picture to Grimm-size)

365 Days with Hank McCoy, Day 207

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #75 (May 1981), script by Tom DeFalco, breakdowns by Alan Kupperberg, finishes and inks by Chic Stone, colors by George Roussos, letters by Michael Higgins

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 363

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #14 (March 1976), script by Bill Mantlo, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by John Tartaglione, colors by Janice Cohen, letters by Karen Mantlo

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 362

Panels from Marvel Two-in-One #10 (July 1975), script by Chris Claremont, pencils by Bob Brown, inks and colors by Klaus Janson, letters by John Costanza

365 Days with Ben Grimm, Day 358

Panel from Marvel Two-in-One #8 (March 1975), script by Steve Gerber, pencils by Sal Buscema, inks by Mike Esposito, colors by George Roussos, letters by Charlotte Jetter

What the Sam Scratch is goin' on here? It's one of the great Marvel Universe Christmas stories, and it's pretty much just what it looks like. And yes, that's Ghost Rider. For the full story, why not check in on Chris(tmas) Sims at the Invincible Super-Blog as he takes you through the glory and the wonder that is Marvel Team-Up #8? As Chris says "I've always had the feeling that the story of the birth of Christ would be better if it had a super-powered orange rock monster and a flame-headed demon from the depths of Hell itself, but now I know for sure. And it is."

And so say all of us.