One would get the impression from my recent blog posts that all I do is read books by Christian Mystics. So I thought that I would dispel that myth by reviewing some comic books.
The Marvel Essentials series is a cheap way for people like me to buy back my childhood. Each edition reprints about 500 pages of the early years of Marvel Comics in one convenient paperback book. One drawback is that the reprints are in black and white, but what do you expect for fifteen bucks?
The Essential Incredible Hulk Volume 1 collects a few dozen of Ol' Greeny's early appearances in Marvel Comics between 1962 to 1967. That's really not a lot of output for a character that has become one of the most iconic in the Marvel stable of characters. A little bit of comics trivia for you -- the original run of the Hulk was cancelled after just 6 scanty issues. The Hulk was kept alive through guest appearances in other mags until he landed a steady gig as a co-feature with Giant Man and Sub-Mariner in Tales to Astonish. It wasn't until 1968 or so that sales warranted the Not-so-Jolly Green Giant getting his own book again.
This book is probably the best evidence as to why it took so long for the Hulk to move into the limelight. (Sorry about that last pun.) While the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde meets Frankenstein premise seems straightforward enough, it seems like writer Stan Lee didn't really have a handle on the direction the series should take. For instance, is the Hulk a hero or monster? Some stories have him saving humanity only as a byproduct of his own selfish actions. Other issues portray Bruce Banner intentionally turning into the Hulk to fight crime, ala Batman or something.
And how does Bruce transform into the Hulk anyhow? The first few issues seem to indicate in the best horror movie fashion that the metamorphosis happens at sundown. Others show the "don't make me angry" schtick familiar to TV viewers. And for a run of a few issues, Bruce uses a gamma ray device that he built to change back and forth at will.
Much of the book is made up of stories culled from Tales to Astonish in which the Hulk only made up half the comic. The shorter page count doesn't lend itself to what Marvel did best -- developing characters and fantastic story arcs. Unlike Spider-Man, it's hard to get involved in the lives of the cast of characters. It's hard to sympathize with an anti-hero like the Hulk, and the military base setting just seems too far removed from real life as opposed to the New York setting of most of the other Marvel characters. Sometimes the Hulk appears to have Banner's mind and an antisocial chip on his shoulder, sometimes he just appears dumb.
The inconstancy finds its way into the artwork as well. It seems as if the whole bullpen handled the penciling at one time or another, including Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Bill Everett. Some artists only drew one issue, which leads to a lack of consistency in the look of the supporting cast of characters.
I'd recommend passing on this one. If you want to take a look at Marvel Comics in its prime, check out the Spider-Man or Fantastic Four Essentials instead.
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