Clobberin’ Time #1: The Thing and Hulk Reunite!

Marvel has been doing a great job as of late crafting mini-series that dive deep into its continuity, helping draw in lapsed readers and those searching for alternatives to the current crop of on-goings. To a much smaller degree, they’ve also been pumping out books set within the bounds of evergreen motifs from creators who are both an artist and writer in one. Daniel Warren Johnson’s Beta Ray Bill: Argent Star and Trad Moore’s Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise are examples of this, and both have been critical darlings for their creative risks and general artistry.

CLOBBERIN’ TIME #1 carries with it the same narrative beauty that the other two series do, modernizing the magic of old-school Marvel without feeling like an either dated or pale interpretation of the stories that inspired it. The series follows Ben Grimm, A.K.A The Thing, as he teams with a new hero every issue to help handle whatever superhero shenanigans ruin his day. Each issue will have some connective tissue with the introduction of a new mystery villain, who, in this issue, appears to send our powerhouse duo as far away from Earth as they can. While this is all they do, they promise to appear in the following issues as per the previews. It’s very much an homage to Marvel Two-In-One, a book Marvel desperately needs right now as its many lines fall deeper and deeper into the trenches of controversial choices and messy continuity.

This issue’s story follows Ben and their long-time rival, the Incredible Hulk, as they are sent to an ancient alien world in desperate need of saving. Honestly, the plot is only here to serve the visuals and characters in dynamic and stunning ways. This isn’t to say the story is terrible; far from it. This is a super fun micro-epic about Ben and Bruce fighting monsters in space, but it isn’t trying to set the world on fire with its place in either character’s history.

There’s something about Skyroce’s pencils in this issue that bring about a perfect mix of joy, excitement, and disgust in some of the best ways possible. There’s a brutal fight toward the issue’s end, and in it, you see both The Hulk and Ben get nearly eviscerated, exposing the flesh under his rocky skin. This evisceration is prefaced by a bonkers double-page spread that’s pure eye candy. Valenza’s colors bring out the best in Skroce’s work, breathing an imaginative sense of atmosphere into our mystery world.

The alien world our duo is transported to is rife with uniform detail that makes their civilizations realistic and believable; it’s out there designs backed up by their consistency. The monsters and demons that the duo face are also brilliantly designed, good enough to be endearing and monstrous enough to still seem like threats to these two powerhouses.

However, if this book were only great because of its art and wonderfully shaded colors, I wouldn’t be singing its praises as a full-blooded comic book. Steve Skroce pens the best narrative in that it spirals forwards because of our characters’ decisions, and they aren’t decisions made because the report needs them too. The Hulk shooting off on his own to free the alien planet’s sorcerer supreme or The Thing deciding to risk his chances of returning home to Alicia to save the earth are both results of these heroes’ general approaches to heroism. The story highlights how these two work with one another, subverting the classic trope of the two fightings instead of working together. The two’s combative history does color their working relationship, though, which leads to some particularly badass and comedic moments.

This book also contains a Reed Richards cameo that is played both for laughs as well as our plot’s setup. This issue is firmly set in place during our current Marvel continuity, Bruce visiting the FF to get his gamma cells checked post Immortal Hulk and Ryan Ottley & Donny Cate’s stint on The Incredible Hulk. However, neither of these is necessary nor enriches the material within this issue. If you haven’t read either of those, the book reads as Bruce Banner getting a check up from one of Marvel’s most giant brains.