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| The Hulk's face looks like my grandmother's when she'd get mad. She'd get mad a lot! |
Think
about popular super heroes and the volume of titles out about them. Superman
has Action Comics, Superman, Superman/ Batman, Superman/ Wonder Woman, and
appears in the pages of Justice League of America. Spider-man, Batman,
Wolverine, and countless other fan favorites appear in several different titles
every month. Now think about the Hulk. He’s been a pretty popular dude for a
very long time, but until very recently, he only appeared in the pages of Incredible
Hulk and the occasional mini-series.
I
remember reading Incredible Hulk as a kid and I thought that was really the
only series to star the Green Goliath (brief membership in the Avengers and his
quasi-membership status in the Defenders excluded.) I’ve been reading comics
for 33 years now and I’ve come to be considered to friends and family as an
expert on the subject. So imagine my surprise when I came across a used copy of
this book a few months back. Rampaging Hulk- what is that?
My
first thought was that these was a collection of the Hulks greatest rampages.
Instead, this was a magazine format black and white edition published in the
late 70s. The idea for the book was in relation to the live action Hulk series
starring the late Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. These adventures of the Hulk
take place during the first 6 issues of the Hulk published all the way back in
1963. It was meant to be a slightly more adult reader for people who loved the
TV show but had never read the comic before. The only difference was the
addition of a 3-fingered alien artist named Bereet and her bag of assorted
gizmos, who enlisted the Hulks aid in defeating her alien brethren who sought
to conquer the earth.
Apparently,
the mag was more popular with comic book fans than new readers and after 9
issues the title and the format of the publication changed. Instead of providing
an altered history of the Hulk and the early days of the Marvel Age of Comics,
fans clamored for a comic that was similar to the live action series. Gone was
the word “Rampaging,” as was Bereet, her brutal alien race, and one time
sidekick to the Hulk, Rick Jones. Now, Robert Bruce Banner travelled the
by-ways of the US, seeking solitude and solace from the one thing he can never
outrun- the Hulk!
These
new format tales have Banner finding work where he can find it, and usually he
ends up finding corruption too. Thus as he tries to make things right, he ends
up becoming the Hulk and doing a lot of destruction. Why nobody wonders why
this wanderer comes to town and winds up shirtless and in purple pants after
the Hulk rampages is beyond me. If I was to track down the Hulk, I would put an
APB out for stores that have recently sold a large quantity of stretchable purple
pants. Find the guy buying the purple pants, find the Hulk. Problem solved!
Anyway,
I liked this series- both formats. I think the reboot was imaginative and I
liked the newer tales that reflected the TV show. Some of those tales tackle
child abuse, nuclear waste, and race. It’s like Marvel’s answer to the relevant
comics of DC, such as Green Arrow/ Green Lantern, just about 7 years too late.
There’s a second volume and I am on the hunt for it. I liked what I read and
saw. Though I think the Ramping Hulk artwork is far more superior than that of
the later issues. The early stuff has fantastic shading and looks very
artistic. The later stuff is very clean but is what I would expect out of the
comic book. Either way, the entire series is a fantastic read and very much
worth consuming.
Rating:
9 out of 10 stars.
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