• The Thing
• She-Hulk
• Dragon Man
• Lord Bonham

THE THING: FREAKSHOW #1-4:

Script: Geoff Johns
Pencils: Scott Kolins
Inks: Andy Lanning & Doug Hazlewood (#3)
Colors: David Self
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Tom Brevoort

The Thing: Freakshow #1: "Rock Bottom"
23 pages + cover • August 2002

In a flashback episode, a young and insensitive Ben Grimm is cursed by an old gypsy woman at a traveling carnival after picking on her deformed "freak show" son.

Years later, as Ben Grimm he finds himself sullen and feeling like an outsider as a member of the Fantastic Four. After a fight with the Wrecker, his seeming lack of respect from the public and his teammates drives him to take some time off. He hops a train, thinking he's headed to a sunny beach getaway, but winds up in the middle of nowhere in Michigan.

He wanders through a small Michigan town that seems strangely deserted, until he arrives at the edge of town, where they are all assembled at a traveling carnival, where he once again lays eyes on The Accursed Albino, the boy he once picked on, who is now the main attraction at the circus sideshow, a hulking, wild-eyed and sharp-toothed behemoth straining at his chains.

The Thing: Freakshow #2: "Old Friends"
22 pages + cover • September 2002

The Accursed Albino recognizes Ben Grimm from a distance, and breaks free of his bonds to chase after him. There's a huge struggle which spills all over the carnival until the leader of the circus calms him down. Thinking he's made a big mess of things, Ben slowly begins to realize that the people of the town are very excited to see him! In fact, they roll out the red carpet for him, and at a local diner, he is given a huge dinner, with a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes and a giant sundae.

But after an uncomfortable altercation with the sideshow boss Paul Balk, where the man gives him trouble for ruining his circus, Ben takes off from the diner without eating his sundae. He decides to get out of town, but not before making an official apology to the Albino. While on his search to find the circus freak, he sees some of the townspeople he had just been with, including the waitress who served him his food, acting suspiciously while entering a barn. He investigates and finds out that they are Kree warriors.

Ben realizes he's got to get back to the FF so he can get reinforcements, but all of a sudden he doubles over in pain, realizing it's something he ate at the diner! He wanders off towards the circus, where he's suddenly surrounded by a herd of cows who slowly turn into Skrulls. Then, the sideshow boss transforms into Paibok, the Power Skrull.

The Thing: Freakshow #3: "Strange Things"
22 pages + cover • October 2002

Ben finds out that he's stumbled into the midst of a fight between Kree and Skrull warriors, the prize of which is a gigantic Watcher baby. Helped by the Accursed Albino, he tries to rescue the Watcher baby, but realizes he can't do so without laying some major fistwork on the Kree and Skrull foes. p>

The Thing: Freakshow #4: "It's Clobberin' Time!"
22 pages + cover • November 2002

The Thing has to fight his way through Paibok's hordes and Staak's mighty forces of Kree warriors- as well as mind-controlled Albino- before finally defeating all comers. He convinces the Kree that it's in their best interests to leave the Earth, and when he is finally left to take care of the Watcher baby, his "family" arrives to evacuate him and take him home. Talmadge, the baby, tells Ben he mentally controlled him to come save him from being held hostage in the Kree/Skrull power struggle because he has watched him from afar and respects him as man.

Ben is touched by this and bids them- and the circus freaks newly freed from Skrull bondage- farewell.

THING & SHE-HULK: THE LONG NIGHT #1:

Script: Todd DeZago
Pencils: Brian Hitch and Ivan Reis
Inks: Paul Neary and Randy Emberlin
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Randy Gentile
Editor: Jaye Gardner and Tom Brevoort

39 pages + cover • May 2002

She-Hulk and Ben Grimm are minding their own business when the subway cars they are riding in are caught in the middle of a random explosion. While helping secure safe passage for the passengers, they quickly find out they're in the middle of a very odd confluence of events: in a deep underground lab, Roxxon employees try to breathe life into the Dragon Man, and at the same time, a tribe of subterranean vampires led by Lord Bonham have set the bomb that will bring them a large meal of subway passengers. But the bomb has freed Dragon Man from his cage as well.

The two heroes quickly realize what they're up against, with Ben using Dragon Man's attraction to Ms. Walters, the She-Hulk, to help enlist his aid against the vampires and the Roxxon paramilitary forces.

-- synopsis by Gormuu