Tag: Incredible Hulk

Magic Mike Made Me Think of The Incredible Hulk…Seriously

The Incredible Hulk #417 courtesy Marvel Comics

  Steven Soderbergh, Channing Tatum and Matthew McConaughey are making male stripping cool again in this week’s Magic Mike. When I saw the trailer I was reminded of a comic book Bachelorette party in the pages of The Incredible Hulk.

  Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler were friends with Bruce and Betty Banner so when the complicated couple got engaged they got the traditional stag parties courtesy of writer Peter David and artist Gary Frank.

  In the classic and offbeat The Incredible Hulk #417 Rick gets a Bachelor party complete with a stripper and stag movie with a surprise. Wholesome Captain America’s discomfort with the naughty proceedings is classic. This is back when Bruce was in control of Hulk’s body but he lost control of the party in a jaw dropping way.

  Betty, Scarlet Witch, Invisible Woman, She-Hulk and Crystal of the Inhumans take Marlo out for a wild night too at a male strip club. Betty yells for the dancer to take it off. Marlo gets pulled on stage. Susan Storm Richards wished she was invisible. Sue told Jennifer that the this is not her idea of good taste of a good time. The show is interrupted by would-be robbers who picked the wrong night to try to steal from his joint.

  This is not your typical issue and the wedding is even more fun with appearances by Death (of Vertigo Comics) and Peter David himself.  I love this Hulk era. Peter David effortlessly mixed heartbreak, humor and humanity among the superheroics and world saving.

Thanks to Marvel.Wikia for assist with the cover.

By Editor

Avengers Assemble in Seattle

Tom Hiddleston as Loki & Chris Hemsworth as Thor in Thor courtesy Marvel

  Not only is Seattle comic book cool because we’re the home of Emerald City Comicon, Ed Brubaker, Fantagraphics and Soundgarden (their first song in 15 years will be featured in Marvel’s The Avengers!) but we have the Seattle International Film Festival.

  SIFF Cinema is giving Avengers fans their own heroic festival to get caught up on the super team’s solo adventures. The Avengers Assemble series is April 30th May 4th at SIFF Cinema Uptown. You can see The Incredible Hulk, an Iron Man Double Feature, Thor in 3D and Captain America: The First Avenger in 3D.

And don’t forget the The International Film Festival starts May 17th.

Incredible Hulk Stays Angry

 

Incredible Hulk #8 courtesy Marvel.com

  Jason Aaron previews his next Hulk story arc Stay Angry kicking off in Incredible Hulk #8. The Punisher, Wolverine, Kraven the Hunter and new enemies will help the green goliath stay angry. The 5 part story will have a diffent artist. Part one features art by Steve Dillon. Pasqual Ferry in on the next chapter.

  “Hulk is a character like Wolverine where I can mix it up in terms of tone. It swings from being pretty dark to more crazy and outrageous. I really like going from one extreme to the other, often within the same story. It’s easy to do that with Hulk and that will continue.”

  “Stay Angry flows out of the end of Hulk vs Banner, which has a big, shock ending that changes Hulk’s status quo and dynamic again. All I can really say is this is a five-issue story with each issue relatively self-contained for the most part, done by a different artist and in a different location.” -Jason Aaron

 “Kraven is a character I have never written but always loved. Kraven’s Last Hunt is on my desert island list of Marvel comics. I remember being at the retreat when it was decided Kraven was coming back and being both excited and terrified. I’m glad I get to write him. His mindset is right in line with how it has been since he came back.”

For the entire session here’s the Marvel.com link.

What artists would you like to see draw the Hulk with Aaron? Chris Bachalo and Salvador Larroca pop into my mind.

Valentine’s Day – Great Comic Book Gifts of Love

 

courtesy Fantagraphics

Young Romance: The Best of Simon and Kirby’s Romance Comics The men who created Captain America also created the romance comics genre! Fantagraphics collects all the love, schemes, heartbreaks and makeups of the classic comics of a bygone era.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix Saga A woman, two men that love her and the most powerful destructive force in the universe. The tragic heroine Jean Grey fighting a losing battle to control the darkness within her. Cyclops and Wolverine were the two men who’d take on the universe to save her. This is the ultimate X-Men story and one of the most cosmic love stories in comics.

Astonishing X-Men Omnibus This is must pick for two great love stories. Scott Summers and Emma Frost. The stoic leader of the X-Men slowly fell for the ice-cold bad girl turned ally. Kitty Pryde and Peter Rasputin. Not even death could keep them apart. Colossus came back from the dead and finally had sex with his beloved “Katya.” This is Joss Whedon’s romantic, thrilling and game changing X-Men era in one huge collection with stunning art by John Cassady.

New Avengers Annual #1

Jessica Jones and Luke Cage Marvel’s coolest couple is former hero Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. Ex-superhero turned private investigator Jessica was introduced in the series Alias by Brian Michael Bendis. Former Hero for Hire Luke Cage was her love interest. When Bendis revamped the Avengers, Captain America recruited Luke and Jessica and their baby moved into Avengers HQ. The couple married in the beautiful New Avengers Annual #1. Luke has unbreakable skin but the tough guy went all soft and romantic for the troubled ex-heroine. AKA Jessica Jones based on Alias is in a television pilot stage and could become an ABC series. 

Rick Jones and Marlo Chandler this may be an odd choice but I love against all odds love stories. During Peter David’s classic run on The Incredible Hulk he eventually merged Bruce and the Hulk into one being. Rick was the Hulk’s sidekick. Marlo was the Hulk’s girlfriend in Las Vegas back when he was grey and a mob enforcer named Joe Fix-It. Marlo later became best friends with Betty Banner and fell in love with Rick. Not even death could keep them apart. After Marlo’s resurrection they couple were married in Incredible Hulk #418 in a sweet but hilarious cameo filled ceremony.

 

Is Banner More Dangerous Than Hulk?

  With the Hulk/Bruce Banner returning to the big screen in The Avengers and a possible new television series by Guillermo Del Toro and David Eick (Battlestar Galactica) this is a great time read the new Incredible Hulk series by Jason Aaron.

Incredible Hulk #4 preview art courtesy Comic Book Resources

  The Hulk and Bruce Banner are now two separate beings.  The new series began with the Hulk at peace and Banner on the edge of sanity and creating truly horrific experiments. 

  The creative team is raising the idea that Dr. Banner’s brilliant mind may be more dangerous than the rampaging physicality of the green goliath. Aaron talked exclusively with Comic Book Resources about the direction for the series.

  “One question that we’ll continue to explore in this initial set of stories is whether or not Bruce Banner and the Hulk can survive as two separate beings,” Aaron said. “From the Hulk’s perspective he’s always been told that he was Banner’s burden. He was the thing that was holding Banner back. He was never going to find the happiness that he would have found on his own. So this looks at that from the other side of things. Maybe that wasn’t exactly true. Maybe the Hulk was the one that was being held back. At least that’s the way he sees it. That’s a question that’s going to be explored more going forward.”

  For more of Aaron’s interview and preview art from this month’s issue #4 click here. I’m working on a post about the Peter David era when the Hulk joined the Pantheon. I dived into those issues during the holidays stay tuned for that later this week.