The Good
We've seen Ben Grimm given a once-a-year cure from being the Thing. It's once again time for his transformation and it's Ben's wish to return to a certain point in the past to visit Yancy Street. Seeing his adventure and the reason for his visit is fascinating to see as it unfolds.
It's not often we get to see Ben in his human form and it is a glorious site. He is more than just a hero made of rocks. Of course the fact that he's in Yancy Street's past is a kick as well.
While this is happening, we start to see the seeds being planted for the team's next visit which might change what we know about a certain character, in a big way.
As a fan of Mark Bagley, it's always great to see what he does each issue. Seeing his version of Yancy Street in the past is pretty cool. You have to love his rendition of Ben Grimm as well.
The Bad
The story was enjoyable but just seemed to be lacking a little something. Ben has a reason in mind for visiting the past. You have to assume he didn't make it clear to Reed and the others what his actual intentions were. It does say something about Ben in the way things turned out. It just felt like his once-a-year transformation happened too quickly and didn't even last an entire issue.
It might be nitpicking but the fact that a year has passed in comics since Ben's last transformation is a little unsettling. Yes it's been a while (in our time) but the passing of time in comics, even at a slower pace, shouldn't be addressed. Comic characters remain ageless in a sense due to this and it allows for more stories. Maybe it's time to allow characters like Franklin and Valeria to age another year but looking at the big picture, it's not something I really want to think about.
The Verdict
The idea of the Thing returning to human form once a year is a neat idea. Unfortunately that time feels as if it's come too quickly and passes by even quicker. The action in this story passed by way too fast and it feels like it was just setting things up for the possible big implications hinted at for the next issue. Ben Grimm in Yancy Street was cool but with his 'mission' changing, it just felt like an average story instead of being allowed to have story elements fleshed out. I just wanted more from the issue. But we do have a pretty big twist possibly coming next issue.
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