Issue(s): Thing #19
Cover Date: Jan 85
Title: "Monster Mash"
Credits:
John Byrne - Writer
Ron Wilson - Penciler
Michael Gustovich - Inker
Mike Carlin - Editor

Review/plot:
The Thing continues his quest for Tarianna, who has been kidnapped by an evil wizard.

But this issue is mostly a tribute to old horror movies.

The first creature to appear is from 1945's Dead of Night, a somewhat obscure British film

The rest are the more recognizable Universal horror monsters. There's a Bela Lugosi-ish Dracula...

...the Mummy...

...and Frankentstein's monster (who notably doesn't look like the Marvel version).

Additionally, the search for Llrrllllnnllyyrrl's dowry continues. It's apparently something the wizard has a stake in.

Beyond the novelty of the movie monsters, there's nothing new in this issue, except maybe a final, absolute confirmation that the events occurring on this planet are influenced by the Thing's subconsciousness, and there's no real noticeable uptick in the quality of the writing even though John Byrne is back.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: This story is continued directly in Fantastic Four #274.

References:

• While he's on the Battleplanet, every issue of the Thing will have a reference to Secret Wars. The series was only up to issue #9 at this point.
  
• The wizard says that he's been controlling "everything" since Thing #11, the first issue that took place after Secret Wars.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A