Hulk: Grand Design- Treasury Edition

The idea of Marvel's Grand Design books is rather brilliant. You take about 50 years of comic book history and you formulate it into a cohesive biography of some of your favorite Marvel heroes. This time around it's the big, bad Incredible Hulk and it's rather appreciated by me that he was given the Grand Design treatment.

With the Hulk coming in varying colors of green and gray; not to mention dozens of multiple personalities such as Joe Fixit and the Maestro, this is a character the fans most deserved a chronicle of their extremely confusing history. Don't expect all of your favorite Hulk moments to be here. That time the Hulk joined the Ringmaster's circus is not covered. Neither is the time Hulk and 3 others became the New Fantastic Four. Also don't expect to have a lot of time devoted to your favorite Hulk moments if they do happen to make the cut. Hulk's first meeting with a certain Canadian super-hero is the subject of only one fair-sized panel.

The writer and artist of this treasury sized collection of Hulk history is Jim Rugg. Originally published as a set of 2 one-shots (Hulk: Grand Design Monster and Hulk: Grand Design Madness), there's a clear separation of quality. But I don't think Jim Rugg is to blame. Monster ends after a New York City rampage that leads the Avengers and Doctor Strange to believe that the Hulk is dead. Instead, we find out in Madness that Hulk was transported to a micro-universe before returning to save his heroic colleagues from the collapse of a gigantic mountain during the first Secret War. After this event, it seems that the writers and artists of the Hulk decided to got bat-crap crazy.

Sometime around 1984, Bruce Banner's psyche just could no longer deal with the monster within. After the death of several lady loves, Banner blames his alter ego and the Hulk connives to destroy puny Banner. Friends and allies will try to cure Banner, first with therapy performed by Doc Samson and then with overloads of gamma radiation by just about any and all members of the Marvel universe that is able to access a nuclear powered gadget. These cures work for about 1-2 issues and then the past trauma of an abusive father who killed Banner's mother right in front of him as a child, comes to light and the cycle begins all over again. Only now, the result is a bigger, badder and much more insane version of the Hulk. Heck, we've even had Berserker Banner on more than one occasion. 

The second half of Hulk history just isn't as interesting to me as his early days. Though, the Immortal Hulk has recaptured my interest. Some people might like a psychologically damaged Hulk. I prefer a Bruce Banner who is haunted by the antics of his dark side much like Jekyll & Hyde. It just seems criminal to put poor Bruce Banner through the wringer like that year after year.

What is indeed criminal is how few properties have been given the Grand Design treatment. First it was the Fantastic Four, which I read and loved despite Tom Scoli's microscopic artwork and then Ed Piskor's account of X-Men lore, which I have not read yet. I would love for Marvel to really get behind these projects and offer histories of characters such as Thor, Black Panther and Doctor Strange. Grand Designs are great reads, even when the source material might lag at times. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars. 

Marvel Comics Presents #140

Wolverine is now officially teamed with Doc Samson. Recently freed from his mental enslavement by extraterrestrials, Samson is working to free other humans from their torments. But can the good doctor really be trusted?

The Ghost Rider story that pits him with the Masters of Silence is still action-packed. But that now seems to be all of the story. It's like a Double Dragon video game now. Just continual fighting until you get to the big boss.

I'm just not a fan of that Spellbinder story. This is not because the character is a female. Not at all. It's because the story bounces from reality to induced fantasy; often without warning. And I swear this is just a grown-up version of Rainbow Brite. 

And for our one-and-done story, guess who's back! If you guessed Iron Fist, give yourself a cookie! I mean it's not like the Marvel Universe has other characters or anything. Unfortunately, I don't really remember anything about it either. 

This issue is like a ski slope. You start off on the highest high. But as you make your way through the book, you keep getting lower and lower. Only this time its lowering in quality, not height.

Rating: 5 out of 10 stars.

Marvel Comics Presents #139

For the past two issues, Wolverine has had his tropical island vacation ruined by some pesky aliens, a navy blue gorilla and a seemingly possessed islander. In the past 16 pages of story, Wolverine has had this notion that he knows who the islander is. This chapter reveals that yes, Logan does know who that fella is- Hulk psychiatrist Doc Samson! Now we've got a Wolverine team-up!

The Ghost Rider/Masters of Silence story is a pretty good kung-fu caper. It has a lot of Bruce Lee movie type elements to it. 

I really don't know what to think about the Spellbounder story. The lead character at the point can't really tell what's real and what is illusion. In my bones, I also feel like this story steals a lot from Rainbow Brite. I don't know why. That's just the vibe I get. 

Our one-shot story stars that Captain America foil, Batroc the Leaper. When a bank is robbed by a diminutive goon with psychic powers and his gang, a desperate bank manager hires Batroc to recover the stolen cash. For a fee, of course!

The Batroc story was a laugh riot. Such a romp by Silver Surfer scribe Mike Lackey. The artwork is by someone referred to as Pedi. Whoever this person is, they're a complete unknown. The Marvel Wiki has nothing about this artist other than listing the work on this story. Not even a place of birth! Google searches just take me to pedicure artists. So if I had to describe the style, I would compare it to that of 'Mazing Man's Stephen DeStefano. It's vibrant. It's impressionistic. And it's kinda wacky. 

A good offering of segments. Though, I really think the Spellbounder tale has turned into something I'd expect from a girl-centric weekday cartoon series from the 80s. If the creators of it didn't steal some element from Rainbow Brite, I'll eat my hat.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Immortal Hulk, Vol 4: Abomination

When I last left the Immortal Hulk, he had just completed a venture through Hades, reunited unsuccessfully with ex Betty Ross Banner, and then went back into therapy with long thought dead Doc Samson. Then both Hulk and Samson went to pay their respects to the late Rick Jones, only to learn that someone had stolen the body. And then... for some reason I let 3 years pass before following up on this amazing series by Al Ewing (Defenders) and Joe Bennett (Checkmate).

I had last read volume 3 in the autumn of 2019. So COVID wasn't just the only reason why I took a break. See, Abomination was the last volume available at the time. I figured I could wait a couple of months and then binge volume 4 and 5 at the same time. And then the pandemic hit, my library closed for almost 2 years and I added several volumes of this series to my 'To Read' list.

Finally, Immortal Hulk came up on my list of things to read and the time was right. After a cursory review of the third volume, I dipped my toe into gamma infested waters and I got swept in the undertow! Not only does the Hulk learn about the whereabouts of Rick Jones body, the Big Green Machine learns the secret of gamma radiation! But the revelation that blew me away was the return of a long forgotten part of Bruce Banner's psyche! 

I really screwed up with my last trip to the library. I only checked out 1 unread volume of Immortal Hulk! Hopefully, I can make a trip without excessive delay in order to get my hands on 5, 6, and maybe more. 

What I didn't screw up on was reading this book. It was violent and bloody and crude and I loved it. I'm not a big fan of how Hell and its denizens are key players in this series. But it's not done gratuitously like some of those 1970s Doctor Strange stories that how goten under my skin recently, so I'm dealing. There's a lot of Dante's Inferno mixed into this story as this is also a very psychological narrative about the Hulk.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.