Bruce Jones's run on "The Incredible Hulk"

*Spoiler Warnings beforehand*

Books read in “Incredible Hulk” by Bruce Jones:

Return of the Monster - issues 34-39 Penciler: John Romita Jr. Inker: Tom Palmer.

Boiling Point - issues 40-43 Penciler: Lee Weeks. Inker: Tom Palmer

Transfer of Power - issues 44-49 Penciler: Stuart Immonen. Inker: Scott Koblish

Abominable - issues 50-54 Penciler and Inker: Mike Deodato Jr.

Hide in Plain Sight - issues 55-59 Penciler and Inker: Leandro Fernandez

Split Decisions - issues 60-65 Penciler and Inker: Mike Deodato Jr.

Dead Like Me - issues 66-69 Penciler: Dougie Braithwaite. Inker: Bill Reinhold

Big Things - issues 70-76 Penciller and Inker: Mike Deodato Jr. (issues 70-72)

Penciller: Dougie Braithwaite. Inker: Bill Reinhold (issues 73-74, 76)

Penciller: Darick Robertson. Inker: Tom Palmer (issue 75)

“The Incredible Hulk” was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962.  Doctor Bruce Banner suffered from an accident involving a gamma bomb explosion that led to some monstrous side effects.  Whenever Banner would get upset or angry, he transformed into the giant, green-skinned menacing hulk: hero to some, monster to others.  Writer Bruce Jones penned the monthly “Incredible Hulk” from 2001 – 2004 issues 34 -76.  I’ve read Jones’s works from DC, which came later.  He had written for “Nightwing,” and “Deadman,” when the rights to the character were owned by Vertigo Comics, a branch of DC.  I admit that I was a little hesitant when starting with Marvel’s “The Incredible Hulk.”  How many stories could be written about a man/monster trying to hide from the government/military and stay off the grid in the United States?  Well, I was pleasantly surprised with Jones’s take on the “Jolly Green Giant.”  Jones always struck me as a thriller writer.  There are a lot of psychological elements throughout his run on “Incredible Hulk” and in his later works.  One of the many surprises I discovered from these books was how much this run influenced the Louis Leterrier “Incredible Hulk” film with Edward Norton playing the title character.  The movie showcased Banner’s meditation techniques and his communications with an ally cryptically named “Mr. Blue.”  Honestly, I really enjoyed this writer’s take on the Hulk.

First things first. The first volume, “Return of the Monster,” sets up the story.  Bruce Banner is on the run, and the first issue has no Hulk.  That sounds almost sacrilege.  This is to show Banner trying to live his life on the lam, contacting his seemingly only ally Mr. Blue for small assistance. He is helping those in need in his current surroundings and he conducts his meditation methods to keep himself calm.  The Hulk is on the run because footage is leaked to the media with the Hulk destroying a building with a young boy being killed in the process.  Now, all forms of law enforcement are searching for Doctor Banner to answer for the boy’s murder.  Admittedly, the first two issues are pretty standard Hulk stories showcasing Banner’s dire situation and how he copes with living off the grid.  These issues set the tone for the coming stories and they are a very effective setup.  They show that this is Banner’s story, and the Hulk is a monster that should be feared.  The third issue is where the story starts.  An unnamed agency, not the military or the covert organization SHIELD, is after the Hulk, not Banner, for reasons that are revealed throughout the 42 issues.     

There is one point in the eight-volume story that is completely unnecessary to the bigger story.  Volume five, “Hide in Plain Sight,” has none of the Home Base conspiracy mentioned at all.  Bruce is just finding out another science monstrosity that needs a smashing.  None of Bruce’s allies show up at any point.  Not even a page with a “meanwhile” to show his friends or enemies is used to make chronological sense of this story.  The reveal at the end of “Abominable” is not mentioned until the next chapter.  For all intents and purposes, this chapter is filler.  This story brings back Carl “Crusher” Creel, the Absorbing Man, after learning some new abilities while being incarcerated in a new form of prison.  While this arc showcases Banner clashing with a classic Hulk villain, there is a big gaping flaw in this story.  The reader can finish “Abominable” and start “Split Decisions” without missing a beat.  Nobody introduced in this story is ever mentioned or needed ever again in later chapters.  Don’t misunderstand me.  This is an okay story.  Creel’s new abilities in the field of absorbing make sense, to me at least, and the story reminds me of the film, “The Fallen,” with Denzel Washington, where a demon keeps jumping bodies to destroy the life of a detective.  While it is an interesting standalone story, “Hide in Plain Sight” can be plucked out of its place in the series without anything story-wise being lost.

The final two issues bring everything together and the reader discovers the mysterious puppet master behind Home Base and the one that has been chasing Banner to get blood from the Hulk.  These two issues pick up after the “Big Things” story arc featuring Tony Stark.  So many plot threads try to tie up that it feels a bit rushed.  Ultimately, though, this is an ending and it is satisfying as an ending to the tragic tale and burden of Bruce Banner and the Incredible Hulk.

I won’t lie to you.  I had questions while reading this run.  Banner had friends in high places, right?  Where were they to support him while he was a fugitive?  He had Reed Richards and Tony Stark as friends, two of the smartest, technologically-minded people on the planet.  Banner emitted radiation, and Richards and Stark have methods of tracking him.  Why wouldn’t they come to his aid to show how the footage was obviously doctored, as revealed later in the series?  The Fantastic Four could create the only device to repel Galactus, Devourer of Worlds, but they couldn’t go to the authorities and say “hey, this footage looks falsified” because of such and such reasoning.  Maybe film wasn’t in Reed’s numerous doctorates.  Tony Stark, a fellow scientist, with the most technologically advanced Earth-based science couldn’t look through simple Photoshop.  This took place prior to the Superhero Registration Act.  They were not enemies at this point.


But we’ll get to that next time with Greg Pak’s “Planet Hulk” and following “World War Hulk.”

Favorite cover of the run: Issue 41

I love the “Rice Krispies” cereal box parody.  The cover speaks to the inner child in everybody.  I would eat a Hulk cereal like this. There was a run of parody covers involving the Hulk in Jones's run, often using using Hulk in some Norman Rockwell setting, but this one, for me, tops all of those.

The box certainly looks more fun than what was actually used as a Hulk cereal.

 

Favorite Story arc: Abominable

I liked seeing Banner be the one in control with all of Hulk’s strength.  I enjoyed the fight scene in the café where the place wasn’t obliterated by the Hulk transformation.  This is the part of the story where answers are starting to be revealed.  The readers get an idea of the machinations about Home Base through the character Supervisor-3 (S-3 for short.)  Banner meets a new ally in the form of Nadia Blonsky, wife of Emil Blonsky, the Abomination.  There is a great fight between Banner/Hulk and Blonsky in the middle of the desert.  Finally, the identity of the mysterious “Mr. Blue” is revealed to Home Base, but not to the reader just yet.  The audience learns who has been helping Bruce at the end of Abominable, but the big reveal comes in "Split Decisions." 

           

Favorite scene in the entire run: issue 64 where Hulk is just tearing apart Home Base like it is made of cardboard.

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This has been Banner’s story throughout the run, and it was really satisfying to see the Hulk finally cut loose and just tear through the enemy stronghold like it was made out of cardboard.

All in all, this is a story that should be read all the way through, aside from volume 5.  This run is about the journey, not so much the destination, or ending.  This is not a different story volume by volume; there is a beginning, middle and end with the run.  This is one big story with twists and turns about a man on the run trying to figure out who exactly is after him and why.  Jones writes a gripping psychological tale about just how scary being the Hulk can be.

“The Incredible Hulk” and all related images, names, characters mentioned are owned by Marvel Comics.

Comic Book Crossover intro and ethics

Hello, everyone.  This is a blog about crossing over to something different.  I have been reading about the adventures from the characters of DC Comics since I was in high school and earlier.  The crossover event “Infinite Crisis” introduced me to the history and the expanding universe of DC.  I love Grant Morrison’s and Scott Snyder’s different approaches to the idea of Batman.  I have been a fan of the Green Lantern since I was ten years old.  I learned of the Justice Society of America, the original superheroes and the idea of “legacy.”  Legacy, to me, in terms of comic book characters, is about the idea of a hero never dying, because there would always be somebody inspired to take up the mantle of a fallen character.  James Robinson’s “Starman” is all about legacy, as the main character is the son of the original Starman.  The character Dick Grayson, the original kid sidekick Robin, actually grew up, both physically and finding his own identity with the moniker Nightwing.  To me, DC had evolution and growth with its universe and its characters.  Now that the New 52 relaunch has set in, resetting not only the DC universe timeline, but changing characterization for icons such as Superman and Wonder Woman for a new generation and a new audience.  That history I grew up reading about is now different.  DC’s New 52 universe depicts superheroes starting to show up merely five years ago.  No World War II heroes, no Justice Society (in Earth 1 at least), and there is only a fraction of that idea of legacy that I loved.  Nightwing is still Nightwing, though, and Batman and Green Lantern seem to be the only characters that have their history pre-New 52 intact.  Oh well, I still have my books, and will cherish the memories, but I can accept that a comic book business needs to adapt, or evolve or mutate or change with audience trends should the company desire to keep thriving.  Now, while waiting for new stories from DC, I have thought about dipping my toe into DC’s competition, Marvel Comics.  Before, when I was strictly a DC reader, I rationalized that I did not read Marvel because of how I felt about the comic event “Civil War” and how the personalities of characters were changed to fit that story and the aftermath.  I’m not sure what happened behind the scenes at Marvel at the time.  This is not a blog looking at who was to blame for what, or a deep insight about the differences between both companies nor is this about one company being better than the other.  I was looking for something different to read, and I found some characters and books really worthwhile. 

My code of ethics concerning this blog is as thus:

I am giving my opinion about what I read.  If I do not like what I read, I will do my best to explain why I do or do not like a particular book or creative run on a character and what I do and do not like.

I will talk about stories from both companies.  As of right now, I am reading Marvel books through the library and checking them out to see if I like them.  I will also talk about stories from other companies and talk about comic book movie adaptations.

I will read an entire run by an author before writing if I can get a hold of the books.  I get the books from the public library and not everything can be found in my local library system.

I will try my best to keep to a weekly schedule.  This is a hobby for me, not a chore, and I would like to keep the fun in this blog.

I am writing about the stories.  I may agree or disagree with how a story is written, but I won’t talk much about the art, unless I feel that it is a problem.  I will be fair and balanced and give personal pros and cons about what I read.

I will provide a little bit of information about the writers, but I will not go too far into detail.  This blog is about what I’m reading and if I like what I read or not.

This is not a blog where I take cheap shots at writers or editorial staffs.  I understand that changes are made behind the scenes and that can affect the story the creative team is telling.  I will point out if I feel the changes were good or bad for the story in my opinion. 

Everything is subjective.  There is no true “good” or “bad” when discussing art or fiction.  While I will do my best to be fair and balanced in talking about what I read, what I write is still going to be my opinion.  I am not telling people what to think, I am merely giving recommendations and discussing what I enjoy or dislike from what I read.

I will do my best to avoid any type of mistakes, be they grammatical, concerning facts.  I cannot promise to be perfect, but I will admit my mistakes. 

I’m a comic book reader and collector.  I love explaining comic book nuances and giving answers to those that have questions.

I will start my posts with stating what I have read prior to writing, and I will end the posts by stating what will come next.

I admit that this blog is not meant to be thought-provoking.  This is just a way to get people to look into something different.  Because of my reading experiment, I am a bit of a Marvel fan.  While DC is number one in my heart, Marvel is surprising me with their stories as of late.

I tend to wait until collected trade paperbacks come out because I do not collect as many titles. It is much cheaper for me to get items through the library, and they contain more of the story than single issues.

First up is going to be the eight volumes of Bruce Jones’s “Incredible Hulk.”