The Thing #1
The Thing #1 marks the first time Benjamin Grimm ever headlined a completely solo ongoing series, separating him from the team-book format he had occupied since 1961 and the team-up formula of Marvel Two-in-One. Byrne's bold structural choice — opening with an introspective, flashback-driven origin story rather than a conventional action debut — signaled that Ben Grimm's interior life was worthy of sustained literary attention. The issue delivered the first comprehensive, darkly textured account of Ben's Yancy Street childhood, establishing canonical backstory for his family, his older brother Dan's gang involvement, and the poverty that shaped his working-class character; those story elements became the bedrock every subsequent writer has drawn on. It also quietly updated the FF's founding mythology, offering what readers and commentators have noted appears to be the first retelling of the Fantastic Four's origin that scrubbed direct references to World War II, reflecting the sliding Marvel timeline.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
The series emerged directly from the cancellation of Marvel Two-in-One, Marvel's long-running Thing team-up vehicle, giving the character a vehicle to stand entirely on his own for the first time. John Byrne, then at the height of his celebrated Fantastic Four run, served as writer and cover artist; penciller Ron Wilson, who had drawn much of Marvel Two-in-One, carried over to provide visual continuity, with veteran inker Joe Sinnott finishing the interiors. The book was edited by Al Milgrom under editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, and went on sale March 22, 1983, carrying a July 1983 cover date.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Title of the debut story: 'Lifelines' (sometimes rendered 'Lifelines!'). Cover date: July 1983. On-sale date: March 22, 1983.
- First issue of the Thing's first completely solo ongoing series — a direct successor to the cancelled Marvel Two-in-One.
- Written by John Byrne (who also drew the cover); interior pencils by Ron Wilson; inks by Joe Sinnott; colors by Bob Sharen; letters by Janice Chiang; edited by Al Milgrom; editor-in-chief Jim Shooter.
- First appearances (all in flashback) of Daniel 'Dan' Grimm Jr. (Ben's older brother, dies in issue), Daniel Grimm (Ben's father, dies in issue), and Elsie Grimm (Ben's mother, dies in issue).
- First time Ben Grimm's childhood on Yancy Street is explored in depth, including his youth membership in — and eventual departure from — the Yancy Street Gang, explaining in-universe the long-running antagonism between Ben and the gang.
- The issue also recaps the Fantastic Four's cosmic-ray origin, notably without the World War II references present in earlier retellings — an early marker of Marvel's sliding publication timeline.
- The series ran for 36 issues (July 1983–June 1986), later encompassing a major Secret Wars tie-in arc in which Ben elects to remain on Battleworld as 'Rocky Grimm, Space Ranger.'
- Reprinted in: Secret Wars II (Marvel UK, 1986) #35; The Thing Classic Vol. 1 TPB (Marvel, 2011); Fantastic Four by John Byrne Omnibus Vol. 2 (2013); The Thing Omnibus (Marvel, 2022).
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