I plan to read every Marvel Silver Age series up to about 1980. I have just done this with FANTASTIC FOUR. My reviews of the Lee/Kirby FF run can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57250 My "Fantastic Four: Between Kirby and Byrne" thread can be found here: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=60835. Now, it's the Hulk's turn!

I will be reviewing two decades worth of Hulk comics - from the very first issue until INCREDIBLE HULK #244, cover dated February 1980 (on sale date: November 1979). I'm stopping with that issue, because it's the last issue before Bill Mantlo's run start. I have nothing against Mr. Mantlo, but his run goes well in the 1980s, and that's farther than I want to go for now. Good news for Roger Stern fans: I WILL be covering Stern's run, which ends before Mantlo's begins.

I'm taking these series in order of debut date. FF was the first, and the Hulk was the second. I plan to tackle Thor next, followed by Spider-Man.

In some ways, my OCD works against me. Part of me would prefer to leave the Hulk for later, because...well, frankly, he's not one of my favorite characters. Among the major Marvel heroes, he's probably my LEAST favorite. That's largely because his limited intelligence limits story possibilities. Since the Hulk can't really THINK his way out of problems, he has to smash them, and thus, too many tales end with "The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets..."

That said - there ARE some fascinating aspects to the Hulk. He's Jekyll and Hyde crossed with the Frankenstein monster, but he's also a cautionary tale about anger. At the same time, I'd bet that we've all become angry enough to wish that we'd turn into a huge monster and cause people to greatly regret ever crossing us.

The Hulk is also a wonderful symbol for the Cold War. While utilizing technology for weapons of mass destruction, a scientist finds that the greater threat lies within ourselves. It's interesting that the military is often an adversary in the stories. One could read this as a symbol of growing baby boomer unrest toward authority. Really, though, I suspect that Stan and Jack were simply taking their cue from tons of sci-fi/monster movies, going at least as far back as the 1951 film THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL.

The Hulk is considered the second super hero of the Marvel Age. I think that you could just as easily argue, though, that he's not a super hero at all. Personally, I see him more as a force of nature. He may defeat a super villain here and there, but battling super villains is not something that he generally sets out to do. The Hulk is misunderstood, but I think that you could also argue for Thunderbolt Ross's side of the debate. The Hulk may not directly harm anyone who doesn't deserve it, but...couldn't one argue that his very presence endangers those around him? The guy's huge, super strong and has a temper! Of course, he also never asked to be created in the first place, so there, you have an interesting gray area and another great Cold War analogy.

If you made it through this long essay, then congratulations! Stick around, and I'll post a review sometime in the early evening (evening in the Eastern time zone, that is!).

This should be interesting as the Hulk had a pretty wild first few years...

Looking forward to reading your reviews, Bob!

Yep, me too.

I had a little paperback of the first six Hulk issues when I was a kid and I read them over and over.

I must warn the readers of this thread that I will strafe it with pro-Ditko sentiments, when it gets to the point where Ditko "fixes" the Hulk into his best and most classic form.

You can best understand my posts if you understand what makes me tick. Behind every post, remember that I secretly think:

1. Ditko, while not as great as Kirby, belongs squarely alongside him in understanding what made the Marvel Silver Age.

2. Ditko, at first, poured more of his passion and himself into the books he was given "his shot" on, while Kirby phoned it in during the early going, then RAISED HIS GAME because of what Lee/Ditko were on their books. Ditko seemed to "get it" first that the Marvel Age was going to be different, more personal with its heroes, and with a supporting cast and subplots that spread out over many issues. It may be because this was Ditko's first real "shot" in the limelight, and Kirby had done this dance before, watching the fads come and go.

3. Ditko deserves to be afforded the same courtesy Kirby does when it comes to the collaboration with Stan Lee. That is to say, it is unfair to laud Kirby as a creative genius, but then parse Ditko's work by assuming "Stan Lee probably came up with that." I believe Stan Lee deserves all the credit in the world, but compared to each other, Ditko and Kirby should be given creative credit for the books they did with Stan under "the Marvel Method."

4. That having been said, my single favorite Hulk story is a Kirby one.

Thanks.

Ditko. My favourite Hulk is the one in issue #6 of the first series, where Ditko depicts a noble (but weak) scientist who deliberately changes himself into an intelligent (but brutish) monster with a gamma ray machine in order to fight supervillains. Neat purple trunks, not ripped purple pants. That's the best version of the Hulk AFAIC, a real superhero book with some science thrown in a la Green Lantern, Flash or Atom. I wish it had clicked with the readership.

But the one that clicked with readers was the very next run, also by Ditko.

(But before that story arc was over, it would go back to the deliberate Banner Hulk).

Because he's greater than Kirby? Yes, I agree.

Sorry ... I really don't care who likes whom, and there's no way to objectively declare one "greater" than another, but I get so tired of everyone having to accept as a given that Kirby was simply the greatest ever, and he was akin to a force of nature and so on. I think Ditko is greater by far. That's just my little opinion. I wanted an alternative view to be included for a change.


Even when reading the pre-hero monster/horror/sci-fi stories, it seems pretty clear that Ditko was doing everything except the scripting in his collaborations with Stan Lee. Ditko's favourite story themes and even some of his dialogue quirks ("Wha?? Who?? How??") show up all over the place. Ditko and Kirby were surely plotting their own stories long before Stan credited them for it officially.

In the Amazing Fantasy Omnibus it's very easy to tell when the real Ditko collaborations (and not just art robot) stuff begins. It all goes up another level.

It is at this point that I must sadly include
• my Dad owned the first issue of the Incredible Hulk
• but it was lost/destroyed in our basement (and perhaps thrown out during some clean-up activity)
• or it was stolen by one of our "friends"

As the same thing happened to Fantastic Four #1, it suspiciously looks like it was deliberate removal.

So, only Hulk #3 remains (Dad had #1 and 3, and many of the Tales to Astonish issues). I have
purchased the missing of the Tales to Astonish issues with the Hulk in them (and bought the very pricey
Ant-Man issues as well). Dad only began buying TtA when he discovered the Avengers book. I suspect
that the Avengers book helped out the popularity of all of the solo books.

Will you be covering Ant-Man/Giant-Man, Bob?

I agree. It's the Kirby fans who start trying to give Stan all the plotting and character credit when it comes to Lee/Ditko.

On the contrary, for me the Ditko presence in the stories is even more distinctive than it is in Lee/Kirby.

Wait until we get to one of the first panels of Tales to Astonish -- Banner is sitting in a jail cell looking frightened, neurotic, like Peter Parker on acid.

She said it, so I don't have to

I find most of the stories in Amazing Fantasy not draw by Ditko to be pretty weak sauce.
I like much of the artwork, but I just can't finish reading most of them. But I have read the
Ditko stories many times. They are very much akin to what Ditko had done at Charlton
in Out of This World and the other books. Since the common factor is Ditko, it's very
apparent to me that Steve was doing the bulk of the work to make these great.

Linda, I'm starting to get a strange buzzing of my Spider-sense . . . . have you ever read the Lee/Ditko Tales to Astonish run? If not, run don't walk, starting with Issue 60. (And keep reading, it stays good when Kirby comes back in the game, up until issue #74 (then you can stop).

Yes, I've read it.


My Astonish collection ends with the last Giant-Man/Wasp issue, but I stopped reading the Hulk feature when Ditko left. It's very good artwork (a lot of it was pasted into the 1966 cartoon) ... probably the most iconic, classic version of The Hulk, as you say. But for me it's not a patch on the earlier, failed version from The Incredible Hulk #6. I don't like the iconic, classic Hulk much.

Sub-Mariner is Aquaman to you?

I have all The Hulk masterworks volumes, I should probably read along.

Pretty much for me. I have considered selling off the run after the Hank and Jan stories end.

Imperius Sux.