There were any number of things I expected from this collaboration by Evan (Dork!) Dorkin and Dean (Billy Dogma Experience) Haspiel on a Marvel comic. Funny, probably. Weird, almost certainly. One of the best damn super-hero comics Marvel has produced in a while? Not hardly, but that's what The Thing - Night Falls on Yancy Street is. These days, it seems that Marvel's higher-ups are embarrassed to be publishing super-heroes, and even more embarrassed that they all live in the same universe and fight super-villains, so it was a joy to see a story that embraced some of the goofier aspects of the Marvel Universe and played like a straight super-hero tale in the beginning, while opening up for some of that great characterization I love in some of the other Marvel titles I'm following right now toward the end.
Though I have a fondness for the Thing based on his basic personality and role in the Marvel Universe, I can't say I've ever been a fan in particular. However, when someone does him right, it's easy to see the appeal of the character, and Dorkin's script absolutely captures the character. His gruff exterior isn't just a bluff that hides a warm and fuzzy interior; he can actually be a bit mean and surly. However, he's not just a jerk either, and it's hard not to relate to his bitterness. Dorkin does a good job of balancing out the Thing's justifiable anger and showing that some of his misery is self-inflicted, particularly with an ironic bit of inner monologue about how everyone either pities or fears him while a young boy who idolizes him is desperately trying to get his autograph.
While I love the take that these creators have on the Thing, and that is a big attraction of the series, what really got me right from the beginning is the use of the rest of the Fantastic Four. Dorkin's script, and Haspiel's visuals, make reference to the parade of colorful foes that the Four have faced, and the story actually contains a fight between the Fantastic Four and the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes. These days, many of the writers at Marvel prefer to quietly ignore these goofy aspects, but Dorkin clearly cherishes the spirit of the characters, capturing not just the camp appeal of some of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's creations but demonstrating why even adult fans with a fondness for super-heroes can enjoy them.
Haspiel has one of those art styles that a fan can spot a mile away, and if you've read Billy Dogma before, you'll have no trouble spotting Haspiel's style at work on Night Falls on Yancy Street. However, Haspiel's style also fits amazingly well into the Kirby style that defined the Fantastic Four, and his work here is as dynamic and imaginative as the legendary artist who helped bring the Fantastic Four to life in the first place. Whether it's in action or in plain clothes, his characters move like larger-than-life heroes, and at the same time Haspiel is able to capture less super-heroic doings like Ben's fury at a bad day or the sweet romance that blossoms toward the end of the first issue. In addition, credit should go to colorist Matt Madden, an accomplished indy artist in his own right, who keeps things bright and four-color but with a touch of drab browns and grays that help to set the art apart as much as the unusual sensibilities set the script apart.
With a familiar foe lurking in the backdrop, it seems that Dorkin and Haspiel have every intent on balancing the character drama with super-hero elements in the remaining issues of this mini-series. The book reads like a pop remix of 1960s Fantastic Four done by a pair of artists who are accomplished in their own right, and it impressively straddles the line between traditional super-heroics and the edgy, ironic heroes of today. This one is for the fans of X-Statix and old school Claremont and Byrne, self-aware of some of the goofy aspects of the Marvel Universe but reveling in the fun that those aspects can offer.
