Marvel Two-In-One #23

Comic: Marvel Two-In-One #23

Where Purchased: Anytime Antiques in Wells, Maine

When Purchased: May 30, 2024

When Read: November 11, 2024

Another recent addition to our lives has been finding antique stores during our travels.  In all honesty, I don't think I ever really shopped at one until Nan discovered Five Corners Antiques in Essex Junction, Vermont before we moved.  

I can't remember why or when exactly she went but she texted me pictures of comics that she found there.  After that, we went somewhat regularly and I would try to find something worth picking up.

From there, and especially while we were house-hunting and after the move, antique stores have become a fairly regular staple for us.  On longer trips it gives us a chance to stretch our legs and get some steps in.  There is more than enough for Nan to search for and I can speed through to find any hidden cache of comics.

Most places are hit or miss.  Often times places will vastly overprice the most common or worthless comic.  Some times I will find something worth purchasing but it comes with a degree of impulsivity or regret later at the condition or price I paid.

But I do enjoy looking and the thrill of just finding some is always a treat...even if it is rare for me to find something that is actually on my want list.

All of which brings us to this past May where we decided to take a mini-vacation to Maine.  After checking in to our hotel and before meeting Haley and Brian for dinner, we found an antique store in Wells.  We arrived right before closing so I did a hurried search through the boxes of comics they had.  I was happy enough with what I found that we went back the next day before leaving the area.

This issue of Marvel Two-In-One was on my want list in that I was actively trying to complete the series at this point.  I found three MTIO in total here, in addition to a slew of Captain America issues and a Rom Annual.  This was one of three issues I probably overpaid for but it is balanced out by the deals I got on the Captain America issues.

As far as issues go, this one is actually the conclusion of a three-part story.  That is fairly unusual for this book, as I always thought part of the appeal of this series (and Marvel Team-Up) was to rotate guest stars and focus on one-off stories.

It isn't a bad story.  It is fun to see The Thing team up with Thor and have them visit the Egyptian gods.

The Thing # 35

 

Comic: The Thing # 35

Where Purchased: Double Midnight Comics in Manchester, New Hampshire

When Purchased: May 10, 2023

When Read: November 10, 2024

I 100% picked this up on a whim.  I have the next issue, like the art on the cover, and the concept of the second Ms. Marvel always intrigued me.

The issue itself is...underwhelming.  Perhaps because it is the penultimate issue of a canceled series but I also remember one of the reasons I didn't collect this back in the day was the whole wrestling angle which was never really my bag.

There are some interesting themes here, as the new Ms. Marvel, Sharon Ventura, visits a shady figure in the Marvel Universe know as the Power Broker.  I surmise, as the Thing's potential love interest, she felt a need to find a way to enhance herself.  Her character is a stunt woman and always shown to be quite capable.

But it is another product of its time with some stilted writing and interior art doesn't live up to the cover.

I purchased this issue during our team's annual in person meeting last year.  I think it was about a week before we moved.  

Double Midnight is a great shop in Manchester, NH.  I've visited them nearly two dozen times over the years.  They recently moved closer to downtown and I really like the new spot.  I think they still have a second location in Concord, NH which I have been to once.

One of my first visits ever was sometime shortly after my son was born.  I remember chatting with one of the owners and telling him we named our son Logan.  He shared that his last name was Parker and was sorely tempted to name his son Peter.

Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night

 

Comic: Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night

Where Purchased: Time Capsule in Seekonk, Massachusetts

When Purchased: June 21, 2023

When Read: November 10, 2024

I think I mentioned that I have always been a fan of She-Hulk.  She was a member of the Avengers when I started reading comics.  After the events of Secret Wars in 1984, she joined the Fantastic Four, taking over for The Thing, who stayed behind on Battleworld.  As I was collecting the Fantastic Four at the time, this just meant I got to see her written and drawn by my favorite creator, John Byrne.

I also collected She-Hulk's solo book in, a comedy series that broke the fourth wall, when it debuted.  

But, there came a time where I stopped collecting and when I returned, it took me quite awhile to start gathering things I missed.  As I made an effort to collect the original She-Hulk run, I also started hunting down the more recent relaunches.

At some point, I was made aware of this title and added it to my want list.  I couldn't recall many stories with these two together and I really like the artist so it was a no-brainer to pick this up.

It really is a fun romp.  It requires a little more knowledge of Marvel history than one would expect from a one-shot and I am not entirely sure how self-contained the story really is.  But all things being equal it is a solid 7 out of 10.

I had forgotten that artist Bryan Hitch took over on the Sensational She-Hulk series when John Byrne quit in the first year.  There had been a rumor that the art for this book was from unpublished issues of Bryan Hitch's earlier run on Sensational She-Hulk.  It seemed likely, as he only drew the fist 25 pages, with the final 14 drawn by Ivan Reis, with inks by Randy Emberlin.

However, Bryan Hitch himself explained that these pagers were originally intended to be part of a Thing/She-Hulk miniseries that had been announced in the late 1990s.  That project was canceled before it could be completed.

You can read all about the origins of this one-shot here: https://www.cbr.com/she-hulk-thing-bryan-hitch-mystery/

I bought this issue on my first work trip after we moved last year.  Time Capsule has two locations, one in Seekonk, MA and one in Cranston, RI.  I have been to both of them twice over the years.  They are great places to stop for back issues.

Marvel Two-In-One #90

 

Comic: Marvel Two-In-One #90

Where Purchased: Richie's Comic Cabana in Waterbury, Connecticut

When Purchased: May 4, 2024

When Read: October 29, 2024

For the longest time, for series like this or Marvel Team-Up, I would get the issues that either had characters I liked as guest stars or featured a creative team that I enjoyed.  And then titles like this became easy books to snag if I visited a shop that didn't have much to offer me but I wanted to buy something to support them.

Then I'd assess my collection and recognize that I was getting near a full run so the missing issues would end up on my want list so that I could complete the run.  This series is now on the "Need to Complete" list so when I found this in the wild it was an easy pick up.

This is a fairly standard, straight-forward comic from the era.  Basically, Spider-Man and the Thing team up to fight a medieval wizard that possess a Renaissance Fair magician. Written by Jan Strand who also wrote a mini-series about the Atom for DC around this time that I really liked and have been hankering to reread for a while now.

I gave it a solid 6 out of 10.

I picked it up on Free Comic Book Day this year.  One of the benefits of our move is the proximity to so many comic shops.  I'll save the big story about this year's adventure for another time.

One of our stops was at Richie's Comic Cabana.  I had ordered a few comics from Richie's via eBay the previous August.  I'll share all about that purchase sometime soon, too.

But I knew about the physical location and we made it one of our three stops.  It was delightful chaos.  So many great books and such great prices. 

And after a few other recent purchases, I am only missing issues 2, 3, 6, and 8 of this series!  Nothing too crazy so I should stumble across them any day now!