5 Things to Like About Clobberin' Time #1

Category: The Thing
Last article published: 19 April 2023
This is the 57th post under this label

My interest in team-up books has been sassiated once more! You gotta understand: I grew up on team-up books. They served as an introduction to many a character as I was learning about the Marvel and DC universes. But for whatever reason, they stopped making them, at least on the regular. So it's with some applause that I received Clobberin' Time #1 by Steve Skroce. Here are 5 things I liked about it...

1. Marvel Two-in-One is back!

Though I eventually read the series through Marvel's Essentials, I never saw nor got Marvel Two-in-One on the stands growing up. Or I never noticed it, as it's a really generic title (which Marvel had plenty of in the 1970s), Clobberin' Time is a MUCH better name for it, it's full of promise and is Ben Grimm-specific. And most importantly, LIKE Marvel Two-in-One and all those Bronze Age team-up books, it seems committed to doing one-and-dones with the guest star changing every issue. This was a failure of many 90s-2000s team-up books - they insisted on keeping guest-stars around for several issues. Might as well have been mini-series at that point, and really defeated the purpose of the format.

2. The Hulk as the first guest-star

Before Marvel Two-in-One, there was Marvel Feature, its two last issues essentially the first of Two-in-One, a TRY-OUT, if you will, that led into the longer series. The first guest star then was the Hulk, and here he is again. Bruce Banner has changed a lot (and a lot of TIMES) since the early 70s) - the two heroes are now friends - but they are still two peas in a pod. This makes me think that Skroce knows his history and will want to bring the best of Marvel Two-in-One in his version. Yeah, sure, Wolverine is next - gotta sell books - but I do hope to see more obscure guests because one of those best elements of the Bronze Age book was "I can't believe they went there".

3. It's a monster story

The book understands that Ben is a man turned monster. So is the Hulk. So they fight a kaiju and a horde of "demons". Skroce's art is well-suited to it, and it gets pretty epic. This is the Way.

4. The FF on social media

Just one of the examples of humor in the book (there's also a 90s extreme Watcher, a useless Reed Richards, and silly aliens) which made is so much fun to read.

5. A mystery villain

Like the original Marvel Two-in-One, Ben's team-ups are part of a larger continuing story (which was not usual for Bronze Age team-up books). I'm sure this villain from the far future, who once loved then hated today's heroes, wearing a piecemeal Iron Man/Dr. Doom armor, will return and fuel a number of stories. His ability to shunt Ben to other places and times is MADE for team-uppery! And of course, there's the mystery of who this guy really is!

Here's hoping the series survives the resolution of the villain's arc. I really want Clobberin' Time to be a thing for the immediate future and not suddenly stop like an unmarked mini-series. Make it happen, comics fans!