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Stan Lee Meets the Thing
Book Released: 25 Oct 2006
Posted 28 Oct 2006
Writer: Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Johnny Ryan
Artist: Lee Weeks, Nelson
Artist: Jack Kirby, Joe Sinnott
Scott Kolins, Johnny Ryan
Colors: Paul Mounts
Publisher: Marvel Publishing, Inc.
3.80 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by J. W. DeBolt Jr.
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Once again Marvel has put out a quartet of humorous one-shots that nicely counters the heaviness of the current regular line, i.e., the Civil War, where something like Front Line #2 is so dark that you don’t want to read it. A few months ao, Marvel issued the Romance Redux and now we have Stan Lee meeting the Thing, Spider-Man, Dr. Doom and Dr. Strange in honor of Stan’s 65th year of association with Marvel.
The cover of this issue is taken from Fantastic Four #51, “This Man, This Monster,” in which Ben Grimm deals with the serious issues of being a transformed creature. In this issue, the concept is turned on its head. Stan tells the Thing that since he created him, he can write that he is cured of his rocky condition. But Stan learns a lesson during his visit to Yancy Street. Stan wrote this one himself and he has fun lampooning a story he originally wrote.
The second story, “So You Wanna Play, Eh?” is written by Roy Thomas, the first editor to run Marvel after Stan made his indelible mark. Here, Thomas presents an untold tale of Stan’s history, when Stan was a writer for the Signal Corps (as detailed in Stan’s recent bioautography . His commanding officer tells him to come up with a play using some of those superheroes he’s always writing about.
Johnny Ryan’s contribution is a cute two-page offering called “What If Stan the Man Lee and the Blob Were Roommates?” ‘Nuff said.
The last piece in the book is a reprint of Fantastic Four #79, “This Monster Forever!”, with which they bookend the theme of Ben Grimm’s self-image. Ben has been turned back into his human self and encounters a situation that highlights his human frailty. In the previous issue, the FF defeated the Wizard and took his “Wonder Gloves” which transformed Ben back into a human. Later, while at a restaurant with his girlfriend Alicia Masters, he has the gloves in his possession because he is so nervous about meeting Alicia in his human form. Android Man (this is the mid-1960s, remember) homes in on a signal from the gloves and tracks down Grimm. You can predict the choice he has to make.
The other three Stan Lee comicbooks are organized the same way, each with an original story starring Stan, a smaller piece or two, and a classic reprint in the back. It’s great to see the old stories reprinted with solid color on slick pages when they were originally that half-tone dot pattern stuff on dull newsprint. Long-time fans will enjoy the subtle references in the backgrounds, such as great Marvel creator names (and I didn’t even see Iron Man peeking out of that window until the second read). For a refreshing break, check out these Stan Lee books.
—CCdC—
Cover image used without explicit permission in accordance with the "Fair Use" provision of US copyright law.
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