With the new Fantastic Four film arriving next year, Marvel is focusing heavily on their first family in the comics as well — which includes a new miniseries starring The Thing by Tony Fleecs and Leonard Kirk.
The solo miniseries finds Ben Grimm back on Yancy Street, where his attempts to stop a criminal conspiracy put him in the crosshairs of a mysterious villain who puts a contract out on him — drawing the attention of everyone from Bullseye to the Juggernaut.
“What I love about Ben Grimm is that he’s just a regular hardworking guy—who happens to have super powers,” said Fleecs, co-creator of Image’s Local Man. “He’s Jack Kirby. He’s not easily impressed by all of the outlandish, cosmic stuff constantly going on around him.”
Here’s how Marvel describes the series:
Ben Grimm may be the strongest member of the Fantastic Four, but once upon a time, he was just a scrawny kid from Yancy Street. When an unexpected visitor from his past sends him on a search for a missing child, the Thing must unravel the mystery even if that means becoming a wanted man!
Get ready to see the Ever-Lovin’ Blue-Eyed Thing versus every super-powered criminal and bounty hunter in New York City! Fleecs and Kirk give a glimpse into the history of the Thing that reminds you why Ben Grimm is the heart of the Marvel Universe… and why you don’t want to let him hear you say that!
“The fun thing about this book is trying to figure out— ‘okay, then what WOULD surprise the Thing?” Fleecs asked. “What WOULD catch him off guard?’ In that spirit, we’re throwing every villain in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe at him. Trying to pit him against some opponents that you wouldn’t expect. We’ve got Leonard Kirk drawing The Thing! Believe me, you’re gonna see ol’ Benjy clobber some guys he’s never clobbered before.”
Kirk returns to drawing a member of the Fantastic Four after working with James Robinson on the book back in 2014-2015.
“It’s been a decade since my run on Fantastic Four and I am thrilled as punch (pun intended) to be working on this series with everyone’s favorite orange, pugilistic paragon of heroism, Ben Grimm,” Kirk said. “The villains he goes up against range from the, let’s just say, less than serious, to the absolutely iconic, and I am very much looking forward to drawing all of them. The first issue has already been a fun romp and I know I will love the rest.”
The main cover for the first issue is by Nick Bradshaw, while Greg Land did a variant:
The first issue of five arrives March 5.