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Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One #1
Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One, Vol. 1
Collects Marvel Feature (1971) #11-12 and Marvel Two-In-One (1974) #1-10.
Yes, the ever lovin', blue-eyed Thing's own series collected is between hard covers at last! Begun as a MARVEL FEATURE tryout, Ben Grimm's headlining effort kicked off with Hulk and Iron Man battles (not to mention Thanos and the Blood Brothers), and then shifted into high gear with monster vs. monster - yup, it's Thing vs. Man-Thing! Rounding out the first ten issues are the revival of the Guardians of the Galaxy; revelations in the life of the Valkyrie; and adventures with Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Ghost Rider, Thor and Black Widow - and before you know it, you'll be clamoring for more! Ya ain't a Yancy Streeter, are ya?
Yes, the ever lovin', blue-eyed Thing's own series collected is between hard covers at last! Begun as a MARVEL FEATURE tryout, Ben Grimm's headlining effort kicked off with Hulk and Iron Man battles (not to mention Thanos and the Blood Brothers), and then shifted into high gear with monster vs. monster - yup, it's Thing vs. Man-Thing! Rounding out the first ten issues are the revival of the Guardians of the Galaxy; revelations in the life of the Valkyrie; and adventures with Daredevil, Sub-Mariner, Ghost Rider, Thor and Black Widow - and before you know it, you'll be clamoring for more! Ya ain't a Yancy Streeter, are ya?
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
15 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Steve Gerber
637 books66 followersSteve Gerber graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in communications and took a job in advertising. To keep himself sane, he wrote bizarre short stories such as "Elves Against Hitler," "Conversion in a Terminal Subway," and "...And the Birds Hummed Dirges!" He noticed acquaintance Roy Thomas working at Marvel, and Thomas sent him Marvel's standard writing test, dialoguing Daredevil art. He was soon made a regular on Daredevil and Sub-Mariner, and the newly created Man-Thing, the latter of which pegged him as having a strong personal style--intellectual, introspective, and literary. In one issue, he introduced an anthropomorphic duck into a horror fantasy, because he wanted something weird and incongruous, and Thomas made the character, named for Gerber's childhood friend Howard, fall to his apparent death in the following issue. Fans were outraged, and the character was revived in a new and deeply personal series. Gerber said in interview that the joke of Howard the Duck is that "there is no joke." The series was existential and dealt with the necessities of life, such as finding employment to pay the rent. Such unusual fare for comicbooks also informed his writing on The Defenders. Other works included Morbius, the Lving Vampire, The Son of Satan, Tales of the Zombie, The Living Mummy, Marvel Two-in-One, Guardians of the Galaxy, Shanna the She-Devil, and Crazy Magazine for Marvel, and Mister Miracle, Metal Men,
The Phantom Zone
, and The Immortal Doctor Fate for DC. Gerber eventually lost a lawsuit for control of Howard the Duck when he was defending artist Gene Colan's claim of delayed paychecks for the series, which was less important to him personally because he had a staff job and Colan did not.
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
He left comics for animation in the early 1980s, working mainly with Ruby-Spears, creating Thundarr the Barbarian with Alex Toth and Jack Kirby and episodes of The Puppy's Further Adventures, and Marvel Productions, where he was story editor on multiple Marvel series including Dungeons & Dragons, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers. He continued to dabble in comics, mainly for Eclipse, including the graphic novel Stewart the Rat, the two-part horror story "Role Model: Caring, Sharing, and Helping Others," and the seven-issue Destroyer Duck with Jack Kirby, which began as a fundraiser for Gerber's lawsuit.
In the early 1990s, he returned to Marvel with Foolkiller, a ten-issue limited series featuring a new version of a villain he had used in The Man-Thing and Omega the Unknown, who communicated with a previous version of the character through internet bulletin boards. An early internet adopter himself, he wrote two chapters of BBSs for Dummies with Beth Woods Slick, with whom he also wrote the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode, "Contagion." During this period, he also wrote The Sensational She-Hulk and Cloak and Dagger for Marvel, Cybernary and WildC.A.T.s for Image, and Sludge and Exiles for the writer-driven Malibu Ultraverse, and Nevada for DC's mature readers Vertigo line.
In 2002, he returned to the Howard the Duck character for Marvel's mature readers MAX line, and for DC created Hard Time with Mary Skrenes, with whom he had co-created the cult hit Omega the Unknown for Marvel. Their ending for Omega the Unknown remains a secret that Skrenes plans to take to the grave if Marvel refuses to publish it. Suffering from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis ("idiopathic" meaning of unknown origin despite having been a heavy smoker much of his life), he was on a waiting list for a double lung transplant. His final work was the Doctor Fate story arc, "More Pain Comics," for DC Comics'
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 10, 2021
I love the Marvel Team-Up/Two-In-One format and this first volume of the latter is a lot of fun. It’s slightly variable in quality, given that there are a few creator changes over the course of this run. I’d probably give this 3.5 stars if I could.
Co-starring with the Thing in this volume are Iron Man, Man-Thing, the Sub-Mariner, Daredevil, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Ghost Rider, Thor and the Black Widow, so it’s an all-star cast, folks.
My next book: Spider-Man Noir: Twilight in Babylon
Co-starring with the Thing in this volume are Iron Man, Man-Thing, the Sub-Mariner, Daredevil, Captain America, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Dr. Strange, Valkyrie, Ghost Rider, Thor and the Black Widow, so it’s an all-star cast, folks.
My next book: Spider-Man Noir: Twilight in Babylon
October 26, 2024
Marvel had two long-running Team-Up titles. This one features the Thing, Ben Grimm from the pages of the Fantastic Four, and a different guest-star (just about) each issue. Because of the nature of the premise, this makes telling longer, more complex and interesting stories a little more difficult, although there are some real gems in this collection. Unfortunately, like most anthologies, there is a balance between the surprisingly good and the astonishingly bad. Some of the writers do come up with some very clever ways a telling a story over multiple chapters, with different guest-stars, but things (sorry about the pun) don’t always work out as intended.
Marvel Feature #11-12 - This volume starts off with two issues from a completely different title, as they start the series of adventures which team-up the Thing with another Marvel hero each month. Len Wein and Mike Friedrich start the series off right with art by none other than Jim Starlin. High marks all around, even with the continuity of keeping the characters, such as Thing, Hulk, Iron Man, Thanos, Leader, Blood Brothers, and Kurrgo, and their storylines, including threads from the pages of Captain Marvel, together (3/5).
Once we get to the Marvel Two-In-One (aka MTIO) issues proper we are treated with art from Gil Kane in the first two. Again off to a great start for this series. And with Steve Gerber providing a consistent grip on the script and plotting chores for the first 8 issues, so this is an additional bonus that helps this series set off in the right direction. Even through a dazzling array of guest-stars of the likes of Man-Thing, Namor, Daredevil, Captain America, the original Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Valkyrie & Ghost Rider (3/5).
The 2-part story that spans MTIO #4-5 is also the story that brought me into the series all the way back in dark recesses of 1974. Reading these issues again is like using a Way-Back time machine, and oddly enough Ben Grimm and Captain America, along with Sharon Carter, use a time machine in this story to travel into the future to 3014 where the meet the Real, I mean the original, Guardians of the Galaxy. This was only the team’s second appearance (the first being in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes #18). And this is NOT the team made famous in the films, here we have Vance Astro, Martinex, Charlie-27 and Yondu. I was thrilled by this storyline and was hooked for the foreseeable future because of how much fun this story was (4/5).
I have to admit that when I first read these next couple of issues, MTIO #6-7, I wasn’t yet a fan of Doctor Strange. So this story didn’t really thrill me. It took a couple of re-readings and more familiarity with the Doctor and the Defenders, as Valkyrie joins the story in #7, for me to really appreciate what was going on. But every time I come back to this story I enjoy it a little bit more, seeing how it folds in elements from Ben Grimm’s past as easily as it incorporates Wong, Clea and eventually even ties into the origins of Valkyrie. But for that we need the concluding chapter from Defenders #20 (which is sadly, and almost criminally, missing from this volume, check out Defenders Epic Collection, Vol. 1: The Day of the Defenders for the entire story) that really wraps up this little mini-epic (4/5).
Next up is the earlier mentioned story with Ghost Rider. This one is a little wonky, and rather typical in how the format of these team-up titles can be extremely contrived. It’s also a Christmas story, sort of (3/5). Then we have Gerber’s last issue, he provided the plot and Chris Claremont handled the script, in a story pitting Ben against the might of Thor while under the control of … aw, that would be telling. This one is the low point of the collection thus far and illustrates exactly why these team-up books can get old really fast (1/5). Claremont returns for the next story, with Ben and the Black Widow working together to save the world. Better than the previous one, but still a bit contrived (2/5).
Marvel Feature #11-12 - This volume starts off with two issues from a completely different title, as they start the series of adventures which team-up the Thing with another Marvel hero each month. Len Wein and Mike Friedrich start the series off right with art by none other than Jim Starlin. High marks all around, even with the continuity of keeping the characters, such as Thing, Hulk, Iron Man, Thanos, Leader, Blood Brothers, and Kurrgo, and their storylines, including threads from the pages of Captain Marvel, together (3/5).
Once we get to the Marvel Two-In-One (aka MTIO) issues proper we are treated with art from Gil Kane in the first two. Again off to a great start for this series. And with Steve Gerber providing a consistent grip on the script and plotting chores for the first 8 issues, so this is an additional bonus that helps this series set off in the right direction. Even through a dazzling array of guest-stars of the likes of Man-Thing, Namor, Daredevil, Captain America, the original Guardians of the Galaxy, Doctor Strange, Valkyrie & Ghost Rider (3/5).
The 2-part story that spans MTIO #4-5 is also the story that brought me into the series all the way back in dark recesses of 1974. Reading these issues again is like using a Way-Back time machine, and oddly enough Ben Grimm and Captain America, along with Sharon Carter, use a time machine in this story to travel into the future to 3014 where the meet the Real, I mean the original, Guardians of the Galaxy. This was only the team’s second appearance (the first being in the pages of Marvel Super-Heroes #18). And this is NOT the team made famous in the films, here we have Vance Astro, Martinex, Charlie-27 and Yondu. I was thrilled by this storyline and was hooked for the foreseeable future because of how much fun this story was (4/5).
I have to admit that when I first read these next couple of issues, MTIO #6-7, I wasn’t yet a fan of Doctor Strange. So this story didn’t really thrill me. It took a couple of re-readings and more familiarity with the Doctor and the Defenders, as Valkyrie joins the story in #7, for me to really appreciate what was going on. But every time I come back to this story I enjoy it a little bit more, seeing how it folds in elements from Ben Grimm’s past as easily as it incorporates Wong, Clea and eventually even ties into the origins of Valkyrie. But for that we need the concluding chapter from Defenders #20 (which is sadly, and almost criminally, missing from this volume, check out Defenders Epic Collection, Vol. 1: The Day of the Defenders for the entire story) that really wraps up this little mini-epic (4/5).
Next up is the earlier mentioned story with Ghost Rider. This one is a little wonky, and rather typical in how the format of these team-up titles can be extremely contrived. It’s also a Christmas story, sort of (3/5). Then we have Gerber’s last issue, he provided the plot and Chris Claremont handled the script, in a story pitting Ben against the might of Thor while under the control of … aw, that would be telling. This one is the low point of the collection thus far and illustrates exactly why these team-up books can get old really fast (1/5). Claremont returns for the next story, with Ben and the Black Widow working together to save the world. Better than the previous one, but still a bit contrived (2/5).
September 7, 2023
Like all team-up books, there are issues that both hit and miss. But Ben Grimm was a great choice for heading up the title. Like Spider-Man (who was the usual main protagonist in Marvel Team-Up), Ben is one of the hearts of the Marvel Universe. His inate heroism plus his sense of humor means he's plays well off of other heroes.
A few of the team-ups (such as one with Ghost Rider) feel forced. But the initial two stories (try-out tales from Marvel Feature) were great. Ben's slugfest with the Hulk in Marvel Feature #11 is a classic and his team-up with Iron Man in the next issue comes to an hilariously ironic conclusion.
A two-parter involving Captain American, the Guardians of the Galaxy and a trip to the future is also great fun.
The true classics from this title come in later volumes, but Marvel Two-in-One got off to a strong start.
A few of the team-ups (such as one with Ghost Rider) feel forced. But the initial two stories (try-out tales from Marvel Feature) were great. Ben's slugfest with the Hulk in Marvel Feature #11 is a classic and his team-up with Iron Man in the next issue comes to an hilariously ironic conclusion.
A two-parter involving Captain American, the Guardians of the Galaxy and a trip to the future is also great fun.
The true classics from this title come in later volumes, but Marvel Two-in-One got off to a strong start.
December 27, 2021
Marvel Masterworks: Marvel Two-in-One Vol 1 is solid fun. It is your standard villain of the issue fare. There aren't lengthy story arcs really. Like Marvel's Spider-Man teams up book, the title acts almost like an introduction to the larger Marvel universe and uses popular character to entice readers to get to know other characters (and maybe buy their titles). The other purpose these titles seem to serve is the task of breaking in new talent. Even still, a lot of fun work can get done in such a space. Most of the issues entertain while not bothering to be deep. The art and action work superbly.
And who can dislike the sometime curmudgeon, always funny, Ben Grimm?
And who can dislike the sometime curmudgeon, always funny, Ben Grimm?
September 1, 2021
Ben is a big loveable crumduggen. Although today he might be described as having an anger problem and be convicted of domestic violence. I enjoyed the stories of a man who never gives up even if the stakes are against him.
October 10, 2022
A lot of creative talent
Good color artwork. Built for guest appearances. The original guardians of the galaxy from the year 3014 are perhaps the most impressive. Black Widow looks good.
Good color artwork. Built for guest appearances. The original guardians of the galaxy from the year 3014 are perhaps the most impressive. Black Widow looks good.
May 2, 2021
Thing team-ups from the 1970s! What's not to like? Nuff said.
June 8, 2022
Steve Gerber kicks this title off to a great start with some fun and wild adventures of everyone's favorite curmudgeon, The Thing.
September 28, 2022
With Ben's wisecracking and a wonderful mix of team ups, you can't really go wrong here
June 11, 2025
3.5 stars. Rounded down, because... well, read it. Round down.
December 23, 2013
Been looking forward to this Masterwork collection for some time. I loved this title back in the 70s but didn't read it faithfully so most of this book was new to me. I do however remember why I'm not very fond of Steve Gerber's overwrought stories. His mess of an origin story for the awesome Valkyrie has harmed the character ever since. Mostly a good set of stories with strong house 70s-style art.
June 10, 2017
This is awesome! I love the FF and this is just an extension of what was happening at that time, Plus add random characters which makes it more fun.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews