- Written by: Steve Skroce
- Art by: Steve Skroce
- Colors by: Bryan Valenza
- Letters by: VC’s Joe Sabino
- Cover art by: Steve Skroce
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: July 5th, 2023
Clobberin’ Time #5 brings the time/space adventure to save all reality to a close when Ben Grimm teams up with Dr. Doom and Tuvah Tu to stop the Psychopomp from remaking reality.
Is It Good?
Well, that’s an ending. Clobberin’ Time #5 puts a cap on the wildly weird take adventure starring the Fantastic Four’s ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing, and the big lug saves the day (naturally) while taking more than a few lumps for his trouble.
When last we left Thing, Dr. Doom, and Tuvah Tu, they were captured by Psychopomp after learning the grand plan – use his Psychopomp Engine to siphon off the energy of the Big Bang to make a new universe tailored to the Psychopomp’s liking. Now, the trio must escape and stop the Psychopomp Engine before it’s too late.
Steve Skroce’s finale is ultimately a mixed bag of strong positives and weak negatives.
On the positive side, the stakes feel massive, Thing cements and elevates his status as a hero by enduring horrific punishment to stop Psychopomp, and the ending brings the arc to a close with some level of satisfaction and a return to the humor that landed so well in issue #1.
On the negative side, that return to humor feels a little out of place in the heat of battle when Psychopomp loses some shrewdness as the butt of Ben’s jokes. And the satisfaction level of the conclusion takes a hit when Psychopomp is dispatched by Doom in a way that makes it unclear if he was really dispatched or if Doom is pulling a fast one. Psychopomp is too dangerous to take chances with, so to gloss over where and when Doom put him comes across as either a lazy setup for a future return or a rush job.
That art is the art. If you like Skroce’s caricature-ish style, you’re going to like more of it here. Skroce’s highly-stylized approach does tend to lend itself more to humor, which creates an odd disconnect during the serious moments, but the increase in humor in this issue plays to the art’s strength.
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 #5 brings the wildly weird time-traveling adventure to a close with big action set pieces, an uptick in humor, and a mostly satisfying conclusion.
Weird Science Marvel Comics 