Issue(s): Thing #16, Thing #17, Thing #18
Cover Date: Oct-Dec 84
Title: "One Thing leads to another!" / "Blind ambition!" / "Family man"
Credits:
Mike Carlin / Bob Harras - Writer
Ron Wilson - Penciler
Joe Sinnott & Dan Bulanadi / Joe Sinnott - Inker

Review/plot:
Dan Bulanadi helps out on inks for issue #16. Bob Harras wrote issue #18.

Once i found out that the guys on the cover of issue #16 weren't the Stone Men From Saturn, i kinda lost interest in these.

This is basically another fantasy adventure story, heavy on the metaphor. The main point is that the Thing keeps getting separated from Tarianna.

First, he gets sucked into a crevice in the Earth, where he is prevented by orange skinned rock monsters from leaving. He's unable to shift back into human form while he's around the monsters. It doesn't get any more symbolic than that, folks.

Then an evil wizard kidnaps Tarianna and blinds the Thing, so he has to blindly scour the planet looking for her. Meanwhile the wizard has transformed her into a monstrous warrior, so when the Thing regains his sight, he attacks her.

Then the Thing and a restored Tarianna find an orphaned baby that they have to get to a city, allowing Ben to contemplate domestic tranquility.

They tame and ride unicorns to get to the city. Unicorns make everything more awesome.

Tarianna is again taken away at the end of this story, swept away from some "Annihilus rejects" (Ben's words) under the control of the Wizard.

When he gets to the city it turns out that the baby is the king.

The name of the city in issue #18 is called Muab, a tribute to L. Frank Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz.

Yeah yeah, but what's going on with Llrrllllnnllyyrrl?

The "Lady" in the above scenes is the aunt of the baby that the Thing returns to the city. I don't really approve of my Llrrllllnnllyyrrl plots crossing over with my main plot.

Ben's beard is coming in nicely.

Anyway, John Byrne will be writing this book again starting next issue.

Quality Rating: C

Historical Significance Rating: 1

Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A

References:

• The obligatory Secret Wars reference.
  
• The Thing notes that the forces of the planet seem to be constantly separating him from Tarianna. There's a reference to Thing #14 where they were briefly separated during a spaceship attack, and last issue, when a thug at a bar tried to pick Tarianna up. Neither example is very convincing, but of course Tarianna is kept away from the Thing pretty much this entire arc.
  
• The Thing also says that anyone whoever has anything to do with him winds up getting hurt, like Alicia Masters did in Fantastic Four #256.
  
• Ben isn't aware that Sue Richards has had a miscarriage in Fantastic Four #267, so at one point he makes a reference to the fact that Reed has a wife, a child, and another on the way. The footnote incorrectly says #269.

Crossover: N/A

Continuity Insert? N

My Reprint: N/A

The titles to #16 and #18 may refer to current songs by, respectively, the Fixx and Hall & Oates.