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.