As much as I enjoyed the latest movie adventure of the Fantastic Four, I was surprised at how little screen time Aunt Petunia’s favorite blue-eyed Thing got in it. Despite being arguably the most well-known member of the team, Ben Grimm barely made a dent in the FF’s big MCU debut, which left a lot of his biggest fans a bit disappointed with the final movie. Those itching to get their Grimm fix in the comics have been well fed the past year though, with titles like One World Under Doom and two volumes of Fantastic Four filling the Thing need. But his miniseries King of Yancy Street seemed to fly under the radar for a lot of readers. That’s a shame, because The Thing: King of Yancy Street by Tony Fleecs and artist Justin Mason is not only one of the best Marvel comics of last year, it’s one of the best recent Thing stories I’ve read in some time.
After another successful interdimensional mission with the Fantastic Four, Ben Grimm is ready for some rest and relaxation (well, mostly just rest). His slumber is quickly interrupted by a former school bully from his Yancy Street days, who is in dire need of help finding his missing niece. Ever the kindhearted if grumbly hero, Ben agrees to help him, only to find that the locations this man was visiting are not the type you’d bring a young kid to. As the mystery deepens and The Thing gets drawn more and more into the fray, villains from all across the Marvel Universe are brought in to stop him from discovering the girl, the reason why she was kidnapped, and from reaching the big man behind it all: Kingpin!
One of the reasons why we love The Thing is because he’s just your average guy who happens to have skin made out of rocks. Despite being able to bench press a Buick, Ben Grimm likes nothing more than hanging with his friends, family, and cat (a very relatable quality for yours truly). What makes Thing a hero is that he will still do the right thing even when it’s directly opposed to what he wants, and that’s what really makes King of Yancy Street such a fun read. The further and further the mystery goes, the more entertaining Ben is, especially when he’s going up against enemies that he doesn’t usually face like Bullseye, which is probably my favorite moment of the book. Watching Ben learn how to deal with a super acrobatic and deadly enemy makes for some really entertaining moments, especially when Bullseye realizes he has to be more direct with his bodily targets against Thing.
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Tony Fleecs’ script is really the reason why this take on The Thing works as well as it does. His characterization of Ben more than makes up for any shortcomings in the actual mystery of the story, which is pretty much revealed by the end of the second issue (with one big twist at the very end that I won’t spoil). That being said, Fleecs clearly had just as much fun writing this story as I did reading it, and the constant pairings of Ben Grimm vs another random Marvel villain was truly a blast to witness. The nods to classic film The Warriors are also really fun, adding a great way to jump into the action in media res and hook us at the beginning before going back and filling us in. After extremely solid character work in titles like Local Man, it was great to see those same strengths applied to The Thing, albeit with a few more punches than what that Image title usually had.
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The writing for King of Yancy Street definitely made a great foundation for the story, but it’s the art by Justin Mason that really makes the biggest impact. For being covered in rocks, the Thing is a surprisingly emotional guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, and Mason knows that, crafting a look for Ben Grimm that is both intimidating and inviting. This take on The Thing is one that is massive and imposing, but he’s not so imposing that you feel like he can take on a character like Juggernaut and not be phased. That’s not to say that he’s a pushover either, especially against foes he’s face before, or ones that aren’t in his weight class. Once he gets his hands on Bullseye and essentially punts him down the street, it’s one of the funniest moments in the book, and a true showcase for what Mason can do. While there are some moments in the middle chapters where the art is a little rushed, this is one of the best meldings of script and art I’ve read from a big two publisher in some time. I’ve seen very little of Mason’s work before this, but I was so impressed that I absolutely want to see what else he has coming up.
Most fans of The Thing probably got King of Yancy Street in single issues, but if it passed you by in monthly form, you should definitely make it a point to get this collected edition. This is one of those comics that is so well done that you wish you were getting more, and I sincerely hope that Tony Fleecs and Justin Mason get the chance to either tell another story with Ben Grimm or a different character soon. King of Yancy Street is the type of comic you want all characters to get: action packed, heartfelt, and most of all, fun.
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