Clobberin’ Time #3 Review

Written by: Steve Skroce
Art by: Steve Skroce
Colors by: Bryan Valenza
Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
Cover art by: Steve Skroce, Bryan Valenza
Cover price: $3.99
Release date: May 31, 2023

Clobberin’ Time #3 finds the everlovin’, blue-eyed Thing teaming up with the Sorcerer Supreme to stop a time-traveling thief.

Is It Good?

Clobberin’ Time #3 is something else, I’m just not sure what. In the previous reviews, I was favorable to Steve Skroce’s mix of irreverent wit and boisterous action wrapped around the mystery of a time-traveling thief up to no good. In issue #2, irreverent wit is subdued, boisterous action is muted, and the mystery resolves itself with time-loop causality shenanigans that look complex but aren’t much fun. The result is a comic that veers away from the original tone to “get serious” about the plot, and it loses something in the direction change.

When last we left Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, he (sorta) teamed up with Wolverine for a TED talk getaway on Krakoa Island. When the time-traveling thief showed up to steal some Krakoan goo, the battle got messy. Now, Thing’s family dinner is interrupted by Dr. Strange (followed by a giant dragon snake), and the two head off to an illusory future where they find the thief, Ogdu, before Ogdu found the ring that gives him time-traveling powers.

Through a series of unfortunate events, we learn the ring’s original owner, Mekron, tortured Ogdu until Strange and Thing showed up to investigate how Ogdu acquired the ring. During the battle with Mekron, Stange is severely injured, and a younger Ogdu escapes with the ring Strange brought to the future.

It’s one of those “investigating how Ogdu got the ring is the inciting moment that gave Ogdu the ring in the first place” types of stories. If you tease out the string of events, Skroce doesn’t quite get the math right on the causality loop, but you get the general gist of what he tried to do. Plus, there’s a lot that doesn’t get explained. Which future Mekron is Thing and Strange facing? Why is Mekron torturing Ogdu? If Mekron is a threat in the present, why did Strange visit Mekron in the future? If the ring is so dangerous, why not simply destroy it?

For Skroce’s story to work, you have to ignore all these questions (and several more), which is why time-travel stories are not to be taken lightly. So, combine a time travel issue that seeks to unveil the big mystery with a muted, less-fun tone, and this issue is probably the least good of the three issues so far.

How’s the art? Skroce’s style is Skroce’s style. If you look at the cover and you like the art style you see, the internal pages match (a rarity these days). Personally, I don’t mind it, but I think Skroce’s style lends itself more to dry humor, which is why the first issues worked so well. Shifting to a “more serious” superhero comic doesn’t suit the art style as well, but it works well enough.

About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.

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Bits and Pieces

Clobberin’ Time #3 rolls up its sleeves and gets down to the business of telling a “serious” time-traveling adventure that partners Thing with Dr. Strange. Unfortunately, the time travel explanation surrounding Ogdu (the thief) doesn’t quite work, and the highlights from issues #1 and #2 (fun and humor) are greatly reduced.