Thing Tuesday: Marvel Slurpee Cups Featuring Benjamin J Grimm

This article should be subtitled "Everything Ya Ever Wanted To Know About Ever-Lovin Thing's Slurpee Cups"!  Because there were not one but three cups produced in 1975.  That's how big a star The Thing was in the 70s!

The first cup featured this great Jack Kirby drawing of the Thing in a tense stance, ready to fight.  I cannot place the issue of the FF where this came from.  Lex Carson, who wrote a great article about the Marvel Slurpee cups in Back Issue #34 (2009) has an index that states it came from FF #67.  After looking at my copy I can't find it.  Maybe that's because I've been drinking slurpees all day.

The back of the cup shows the human Ben Grimm explaining he was a hero even before he grew into his rocky hide!

The second cup featured the Thing in a classic pose with his arms above his head, no doubt yelling It's Clobberin Time!  Obviously this cup has taken a trip through the dishwasher and the ink has smeared, something buyers need to beware when shopping on eBay.  This was also by Jack Kirby.  Which comic did it come from?

This classic image of the Thing, which we've all seen somewhere, didn't appear in any FF comic.  It was done by Kirby for merchandising in the Merry Marvel Marching Society.  If you were a kid like me, you saw this tantalizing ad for Marvel Sweat Shirts featuring both The Thing and The Hulk!  Only $3.15...too expensive for my money, I was lucky to have $5 a month to spend on comics.

Later this same drawing was used in the corner box of the Fantastic Four...they rotated characters as the primary standout so each of the FF had a spotlight.  This is probably where most of us have seen this particular illustration.

The back of this slurpee cup has the Thing proclaiming what a lucky lug of a guy he is to have been loved by Alicia Masters.  Yet somehow despite what this says, I think Alicia prefers the Thing to Ben Grimm.

The third cup I don't actually own...yet.  But it has another image of the Thing in a classic clobberin' time pose.  You can probably guess that this wasn't drawn by Kirby.

This image was taken from FF #116, the special 25 cent double size issue which featured the team (minus Reed Richards) begging Doctor Doom to join them in the fight against Over-Mind.  A good drawing by Buscema.

How about that, three cups featuring Ben Grimm as the Thing, who woulda thunk it?  Nuff Said!