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(The dates for 1975 and 2025 are identical.)
The character clearly evolved over the years, becoming less a monster and more a peculiar and powerful figure. The Thing as drawn by Kirby looked like nothing else, and despite the great talent which has followed, no one ever drew the character as well as the King.
Here is Kirby alongside his greatest creation at the San Diego Convention in 1980. According to this report, this drawing was done before the admiring eyes of those in attendance.
The greatest Thing story, and possibly the greatest single story from Mighty Marvel is "This Man...This Monster!" from Fantastic Four #51. In this tale Ben Grimm is freed from his burden by a villain who takes on the powers of the Thing. But when Reed Richards finds himself stranded in the Negative Zone, it requires the might of the Thing to save him. Once again, our hero steadies his form to carry the burden.
I didn't really appreciate Ben Grimm when I first started reading comics. I was a Hulk guy, but the Thing won me over with Kirby's last great FF epic, a story featuring the Thing. The saga of the Skrull planet Kral, a planet of gangsters where Ben Grimm is kidnapped and turned into a gladiator is a stirring tale. What it might lack in the grandeur of earlier FF sagas, it makes up in rich characterization.
To close, here's another Kirby original featuring the King's Thing.
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I didn't really appreciate Ben Grimm when I first started reading comics. I was a Hulk guy, but the Thing won me over with Kirby's last great FF epic, a story featuring the Thing. The saga of the Skrull planet Kral, a planet of gangsters where Ben Grimm is kidnapped and turned into a gladiator is a stirring tale. What it might lack in the grandeur of earlier FF sagas, it makes up in rich characterization.
To close, here's another Kirby original featuring the King's Thing.
Rip Off
The Thing (as he developed to the image we know him for now) is an amazing design , and as you rightly note a wonderful character. It is strange that many artists never seem to get the Thing "right" even Neal Adams struggled to get the character spot on. I'm a Hulk guy but old Ben Grimm was a close second. Hope your recovering after your fall, take care.
ReplyDeleteI'm a Hulk guy too, but soon grew to love the irritable Thing when those two clashed. Hulk was stronger but Thing was strong enough. Neal Adams had a hard time because his realism fell short when dealing with such a broad design.
DeleteI've always felt there were two characters in the Marvel universe, that had like personalities; Peter Parker and Ben Grimm. To me, they were the ones who you could count on to do the right thing, the ones who always had your back, and just being a good human being. True blue you could say, even if they did screw up sometimes. You could say the same about Captain America, but he was always a boy scout, lol. The Thing always did what he had to do, without going to excess except if it was absolutely necessary. I think Spider-Man and the Thing were always a great duo, they complimented each other like a couple of buddies getting together occasionally. Now, being an old guy, I'm not sure if the characters have changed in the last 20 years, cuz I haven't bought or read much anything new in that time. I hope not.
ReplyDeleteFascinating. It's interesting to note that those were the two characters who held down classic team-up books for long periods of time. Marvel-Two-In-One was a horribly titled book but a great read.
DeleteThe Thing was complimentary to Kirby's "blocky" art, I think.
ReplyDeleteWatching the Thing's design alter over time is a good way to see how Kirby's style was opening up.
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