Letters Column: The Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Letter's Page
Synopsis:
Reed informs Ben his chances of being reverted to human form are lessening as Ben's body grows "comfortable" being the Thing, suggesting his latest remedy would have worked years earlier when Ben's body was "trying to shed the effects of the cosmic rays." After Reed leaves, Ben decides to take Reed's formula and use Dr. Doom's time platform to travel back to a time shortly after the Fantastic Four was created, in the hopes of retroactively curing himself.
Arriving at a time before the events of FF #3, Ben witnesses Reed Richards touring the Baxter Building before renting it. He also encounters his primitive, lumpy self and engages himself in a protracted 10-page fight scene that consumes over half the 17-page story (which includes three splash pages).
Notes:
This issue's title is taken from that of Marcel Proust's seven-volume novel published between 1913 and 1927 (a work also known as "In Search of Lost Time" since its 1992 revision).
The credit box notes: "Dedicated to STAN LEE & JACK KIRBY--who started it all!"
The letter column includes two missives addressing MTIO #45 and one commenting on #47. The correspondents are AL SCHROEDER (Nashville, TN), BILL SELIGMAN (Brooklyn, NY) and MARK ELLIS (Newark, DE). The letter's page also includes a caricature of John Byrne and a box outlining details for MTIO #51 through 53.
Opposite the Bullpen Bullpens is a Hostess Twinkies comic book-style ad titled "Spider-Man Puts Himself in the Picture."
