Random Happenstance

Sweet Aunt Petunia, this week is kicking my ass sideways. And it's a short week, so I'm now at a loss for how this could have happened. I should blame comics being late...

Things could be worse, though, so to speak: I could be the Thing.

Not just because being a huge orange monster would probably kill my sex life, I wouldn't be able to fit in my car, and I probably wouldn't get a lot of typing done if I was short a couple of fingers. No, it would suck because for being one of the mightiest people on the face of the earth, Ben gets knocked out. A lot.

A lot of that's dramatic license or shorthand or formula: more often than not, Ben has to be taken out of action to give another Fantastic Four member a chance to shine, or to keep the issue going another ten pages, or to show the villain's plot being at least somewhat planned out.

These panels are from three straight issues of Fantastic Four, which, allowing for Marvel Time, means they probably took place within a month at the outside, but they seem more likely the same week. So, the next time you think you're having a hard week, ask yourself: Have I been electrocuted in the last couple of days? More than once? Yeah, I didn't think so either. Things will look up...again, so to speak.

Panel one from Fantastic Four #216, "Where There Be Gods!" Story by Marv Wolfman, dialog by Bill Mantlo, pencils by John Byrne, finishes by Pablo Marcos.

Panel two from Fantastic Four #217, "Masquerade!" Written by Bill Mantlo, art by John Byrne and Joe Sinnott.

And panel three Fantastic Four #218, "When A Spider-Man Comes Calling!" Bill Mantlo, "Co-opted writer," John Byrne and Joe Sinnott "artists in residence." Probably my first real (non-reprint) FF comic.