Letters from The Thing #35, May 1986
Grimm Tidings
Dear Thingies,
THING #29 was fantastic! I don't if it's "Ripper" Ryan's inks or what,
but the Thing has never looked better. (By the way, regarding the
Question of the Month - tell Paul not to worry, his inking style is
distinctly different from Bob Layton's.) The entire "look" of page 10
reminded me of an old EC comics and the effect was a huge success. The
close-up of Ben on page 19 portrayed more emotion than I thought was
possible with his rocky face.
As for the writing - as usual, it was superb! "Killer" Carlin scripts
Ben's dialogue perfectly. The phone-in T.V. show was extremely funny
(in a tragic sort of way). I'm certainly glad to see Ben finally
getting the public recognition he deserves. But from the last panel on
page 6 on, we know there's going to be trouble.
Well, as you can probably tell, I loved the nicknames in the credits
and, for that matter, I like the idea of the logo on the cover being
smashed by Ben's hurtling body. It just goes to show - with a little
imagination, you can spice up anything!
Eric Maltin
San Francisco, CA
We certainly try, Eric! Although this
is the second-to-last issue of Ben's own magazine, we're determined to
see that the Thing's last fling is as spicy as possible. If you thought the debut of
the new Ms. Marvel was hot, wait till you see what we do next issue for
an encore.
Dear Mark and Howard,
Great cover! Even without the cover blurb, everyone would've known
exactly who Ben was going up against in THING #30. It was good for Ben
to finally get this "Beyonder thing" out of his system. (It also gave
you a great opportunity to do an extensive re-cap of SECRET WARS I and
its after-effects in THING #12 through #23.) I never realized it
before, The One From Beyond is
responsible for a lot of Ben's problems. I still can't believe the
Thing actually tried to kill
the Beyonder, but I guess in the heat of the battle it was - even
heroes can get carried away by their emotions.
The art, as usual, was masterful. Dennis Janke did a fine job on the
inks, and Paul Ryan already. I didn't particularly like the "flexo"
printing on this issue but there doesn't seem to be anything we can do
about that.
Mike Carlin wrote the comic exchange between the Beyonder and the
Bartender early in the book excellently. (But, we already knew comedy
was Mike's forte.)
I leave you with one question, folks - Why didn't The One From Beyond
create his own beer when he wanted it?
Amanda Goldbeck
Fresh Meadows, NY
"Beyonder Beer," Amanda? Hmmm, we
guess The One From Beyond just happened to like Helneken, when he
couldn't get Iron City Beer, that is. Everyone knows that someone
else's cooking alwayds tastes better than you own, so it follows with
"brewing" beer. Doesn't it?
Mark,
THING #31 gave me the clue - Ben is made out of dinosaur scales (or
whatever it is they're made of). The cosmic rays just regressed him a
few millennia on the evolutionary scale...sort of.
Larry Oliver
Yakima, WA
Now, that's an interesting idea,
Larry. And here's another about that very same subject.
Respected Friends and Comrades,
Here I sit, as I sat some eight years ago, still pondering the ultimate
question. Yes, I refer to the problem of what that "stuff" is which the
Thing is truly made of (or covered with, if you prefer). It seems that
this question arises time and time again...
Well, as was suggested in my letter to FANTASTIC FOUR #182, I still
believe that he has undergone a transformation which had mutated his
organic structure into an organic silicon or polymer compound. (And not
floor wax.) I back this claim with the following evidence:
Data - Cellulosics (a type of polymers) has a tendible strength of 8000
psi. This would explain Ben's great strength and stamina. It also has a
high specific gravity explaining his great density.
Uses - This class of polymers is used in the manufacture of coatings,
high-strength fibers, and explosives, i.e, Ben's seeming imperviousness
to puncture, and his knock-out punch.
Formation - As we all know, a Reaction is a formidable force. An
organic compound (Cellulose) is Polymerized into a Cellulosic-type
plactic in a reaction. Isn't this what really happened in 1961? (Maybe
Ben had a sliver in his finger on that eventful voyage.)
I realize that these things take time, but it seems your fans are
starting to demand an explanation "en masse." Maybe the second panel,
page 15 of THING #32 is the start of a long awaited disclosure?
Michael Johnson
Mason, MI
Maybe, Michael, and maybe not. Among
the many eye-opening events that occur in the last few issues of this
book, the revelation of Thing's skin composition unfortunately isn't
among them. But check out next issue for a development in that department. And thanks for sharing
your ideas with us!
Note: Mark Gruenwald was the editor
of this issue.