Marvel Two-In-One Epic Collection: Monster Man - (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The ever-lovin' blue-eyed Thing smashes into a new round of team-up action!

This volume launches with double-sized epics pitting Ben Grimm against the Hulk, the Stranger and Pluto, and then throws both him and the Avengers into a Negative Zone war against Blastaar, Annihilus and the Super-Adaptoid. The excitement keeps rolling as the Thing faces the Circus of Crime, journeys into Man-Thing's swamp, confronts Atlas-era terror Xemnu and burns rubber with Ghost Rider. Guest stars abound -- from Ant-Man to Sandman to the American Eagle. Our exploits take a heartfelt turn when the Thing fights to save Giant-Man from a deadly illness, revealing the soul inside all those tons of stone. It's classic heroism in the Marvel manner from Tom DeFalco and Ron Wilson!

COLLECTING: Marvel Two-in-One (1974) #75-87, Marvel Two-in-One Annual (1976) #5-6

Written by: Tom DeFalco with Alan Kupperberg, Doug Moench & David Michelinie

Penciled by: Ron Wilson & Alan Kupperberg with Jerry Bingham

About the Author

Tom DeFalco's earliest comic-book scripts were for Archie and DC; he soon moved to Marvel, where he wrote Avengers, Machine Man and other titles, also launching Dazzler, a hit series of the early '80s. In addition to writing long and well-received runs on Amazing Spider-Man and Thor, DeFalco edited many titles, eventually becoming editor in chief. During the 1980s, he headed the creative team that provided fictional biographies for G.I. Joe members, originally included with Hasbro's toys and later used as the basis for multiple storylines on the animated series. Perhaps his best-known work is multi-title character Spider-Girl, whom he introduced in 1998. DeFalco has authored multiple books, including Ultimate Guides for Avengers, Fantastic Four, Hulk and Spider-Man.

From his early work as letterer at Seaboard-Atlas, Alan Kupperberg went on to contribute to Marvel's black-and-white magazines -- including Crazy, for which he wrote and illustrated the sardonic shenanigans of Obnoxio the Clown. The regular artist on Roy Thomas' Invaders, Kupperberg contributed as both writer and artist to Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, What If? and multiple Spider-Man titles. He also illustrated the Howard the Duck and Incredible Hulk comic strips; and wrote, penciled, inked, colored and lettered Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men. At DC, he penciled Blue Devil, Fury of Firestorm, Justice League of America and more. He has also worked on animation projects for Don Bluth Studios and Nickelodeon.

In addition to runs on Fantastic Four and Thor, original Moon Knight scribe Doug Moench specialized in writing features outside the Marvel mainstream -- including Adventure into Fear's Morbius, Frankenstein, Inhumans, Ka-Zar: Lord of the Hidden Jungle, Master of Kung Fu, Werewolf by Night and Astonishing Tales' Deathlok. Proving his eclectic abilities, he also wrote the full run of Godzilla, most of Shogun Warriors and stories for virtually every Marvel black-and-white magazine of the 1970s. He expanded on his Star-Lord and Weirdworld sagas in multiple anthology titles. At DC, he wrote memorable runs on Batman, Detective Comics and Legends of the Dark Knight -- along with numerous Batman one-shots, cross-company crossovers and Elseworlds sagas. He further contributed such short-lived but unique series as Electric Warrior, Lords of the Ultra-Realm, Slash Maraud, Wanderers and Xenobrood.

After beginning his writing career on DC horror titles, David Michelinie moved to Marvel. He and co-writer/inker Bob Layton established Iron Man's battle with alcoholism, use of specialized armor variants and vendetta against Doctor Doom, as well as other aspects of the character that endure to this day. Michelinie's unique blend of action, suspense and humor distinguished not only Iron Man, but also Amazing Spider-Man. With artist Todd McFarlane, he introduced the vicious vigilante Venom; he also wrote the first Venom limited series, Lethal Protector. Michelinie's run as Amazing writer was second in length only to that of Stan Lee himself, while he also authored tie-in titles Spectacular Spider-Man, Web of Spider-Man and Spider-Man. He moved from Marvel's flagship character to DC's with a stint on Superman's Action Comics, later returning to the world of Tony Stark for writing collaborations with Bob Layton on Iron Man: Legacy of Doom and Iron Man: The End.

Ron Wilson began penciling the Thing's Two-in-One adventures in 1975 and remained for most of the title's run. He subsequently illustrated follow-up series Thing until its end in 1986. Wilson also contributed art for Avengers, Captain Britain, Power Man and other titles, including the entire run of Marvel's licensed Masters of the Universe series. At DC, he provided character designs for the Milestone imprint.

From his early work as letterer at Seaboard-Atlas, Alan Kupperberg went on to contribute to Marvel's black-and-white magazines -- including Crazy, for which he wrote and illustrated the sardonic shenanigans of Obnoxio the Clown. The regular artist on Roy Thomas' Invaders, Kupperberg contributed as both writer and artist to Avengers, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, What If? and multiple Spider-Man titles. He also illustrated the Howard the Duck and Incredible Hulk comic strips; and wrote, penciled, inked, colored and lettered Obnoxio the Clown vs. the X-Men. At DC, he penciled Blue Devil, Fury of Firestorm, Justice League of America and more. He has also worked on animation projects for Don Bluth Studios and Nickelodeon.

Jerry Bingham has penciled covers and/or stories for Black Panther, Iron Man and several Spider-Man titles. At DC, he penciled, inked and colored Mike Barr's controversial Batman: Son of the Demon graphic novel, and penciled covers for Spectre, Warlord and DC's Babylon 5 adaptation. He has also illustrated stories for Batman Confidential and First Comics' Warp. During the 1990s, he became a production artist in the film industry, designing props and special effects.