A classic done-in-one. While the storylines involving “tortured Thing” could get tiresome, this one–in which someone switches bodies with him–is an absolute classic. And look at that beautiful splash page.
A mystery man tricks Thing into sleeping on his couch and then pulls a body switch.
So, Thing is technically cured. He always complains about being rocky but then when he’s not he complains about that, too.
Reed goes to the negative zone for the first time.
At the end, everyone is reunited.
Meanwhile…
Reed Richards invents a portal. This was the issue that introduced the Negative Zone for the first time, and also the first issue where Jack Kirby used photo-collage to illustrate the story. He originally wanted to tell the whole story this way, but it was too expensive and time-consuming for Marvel to publish.
While this issue is not particularly a favorite of mine, it has been highly acclaimed as one of the all-time top Fantastic Four issues on countless websites! I have seen more positive reviews for this one issue, than for any other Fantastic Four story.
Reed really needs to invent the Thing Ring (“Thing ring, do your thing!”) from The Thing’s cartoon show from 1979.
Yes!!!!