27 comments on “Feeling the Hulk love”

  1. I liked the opening arc, but I’m withholding judgment until I figger out just how far the “It was all a dream” thing goes. Not really my happiest storyline resolution method.
    Also, maybe this is just because I’m a furriner (Greetings from Malaysia – Don’t eat the food here if you like your stomach lining), but the whole 9/11 (or as we call it, 11/9) as some metaphysically astounding thing was just… ennh. Paul O’Brien explains it better than I ever could:
    http://www.thexaxis.com/capsules/29May05.htm

  2. I’ve seen several comments about the first arc being an “It Was All A Dream” thing. Actually, IMHO, it was a “It Was All A Nightmare” thing…and the two are quite different.

  3. I finally sat down and read the entire series as one piece. I almost didn’t buy the last issue because I don’t like the character of Nightmare and when it turned out to be him, I felt cheated. I guess I was expecting something unexpected, but Nightmare is a traditional villian. But I ended up buying the issue.

    I’m glad I did. Still don’t care for Nightmare as a character, but it turned out to be a good enjoyable storyline. (And I can’t believe I didn’t realize it was Nightmare in the second or third issue when we see the guy sitting in a chair with his very distinctive sleaves.)

    Of course now my question is: How would the Hulk fare against the real Fin Fan Foom?

    KIP

  4. what are marvels vs dc gross income if anyone could tel me i would be very gratefull thnk you in advance

  7. I loved the first arc but there is a period of time missing from Bruce Jones’s run to Peter David’s run. A lot has happened between the characters including yet another change to the core personality that the Hulk operates under. While he is nowhere near as smart as he was during Peter’s nineties run he is also not the dumb brute he has been over the past five years give or take several relaunces. I, as a fan, would like to see a mini series bridging the gap from Jones’s series to Peter’s current run.
    I would also like to see the Hulk’s supporting cast return as Rick Jones, Marlo, Betty and Doc Sampson have always been personal favorites of mine. No matter what happens though I am a happy camper as the Hulk is on my must have list once again.

  9. Well, the love for PAD continues. A writer at ComicsNexus apparently really loves PAD. He lists him as his #1 comic book author:

    http://comicsnexus.insidepulse.com/articles/38114

    For what it is worth, I have to agree. While I have not liked all of PAD’s stories, it is never because of poor writing. PAD is one of the most consistent authors I know, and so I am always willing to give something he does a chance. There are only 3 or 4 other authors (of any genre) for which I would do the same.

    Congrats, PAD, you deserve it.

    Iowa Jim

  10. 1
    >>Posted by snowcrash at June 2, 2005 02:23 AM
    I liked the opening arc, but I’m withholding judgment until I figger out just how far the “It was all a dream” thing goes.

    –it goes as far as you *want* it to go. Basically, Nightmare’s influence on the Hulk is a way for *any* reader to say “I don’t like this period of the Hulk’s history. I’m choosing to say Nightmare was manipulating the Hulk.”
    Peter’s not going to come right out and retcon any other writers’ work as being Nightmare’s handiwork, but he’s left the option open for readers to do just that. Or one can just say that Nightmare is lying and has only been manipulating the Hulk for a very short time.
    For me, I choose to think that the Bruce Jones run and the horrid John Byrne run (as well as part of Paul Jenkins’ run) didn’t “happen” and were cases of Nightmare manipulating the Hulk. You might choose to say that elements of Peter’s first run on the Hulk were not to your liking and you can wipe them away with Nightmare. Others still might like *everything* that the various writers have done with the Hulk over the years and simply feel that Nightmare was lying to the Hulk.
    I really don’t think there will be a follow up to this story in the way you’re thinking. Nor do I think there needs to be.

    >>Don’t eat the food here if you like your stomach lining), but the whole 9/11 (or as we call it, 11/9) as some metaphysically astounding thing was just… ennh. Paul O’Brien explains it better than I ever could:

    –works for me. Peter has explained why 9/11 was so pivotal an event for Nightmare’s intrusion into the MU and why no other event in history worked the way this one *specifically* did for the villain (quick, name a large-scale tragedy experienced simultaneously by millions upon millions of people across the world; many people not knowing whether it was real or not).

    PAD:
    When you asked for a show of hands a few days back, I know my hand wasn’t going to raise. I remember waking up on 9/11 shortly after the first plane hit and thinking that I’d turned on a movie channel and was watching something fictional. That was until I realized I was watching CNN. That’s when the reality started to sink in and I wished that I *was* watching something fictional.

  11. (quick, name a large-scale tragedy experienced simultaneously by millions upon millions of people across the world; many people not knowing whether it was real or not)

    In the Marvel Universe? Onslaught. Magneto’s trashing of NYC at the end of Morrison’s New X-Men run. Galactus, any number of times. That bit in the first Infinity XXX story where half the people on Earth died and came back. Kang’s attack at the end of Busiek’s Avengers run.

    That’s just naming a few from a not-very-diehard Marvel casual observer…

  12. I have to be honest — the last comic I ever purchased was the Rick Jones wedding story. It was great, the Hulk was smart, and I think that’s the way I want to remember the series.

    Now, I have Peter’s name as a shortcut for Amazon and I still feel bad about not getting copies of Fallen Angel before it was cancelled.

    I probably won’t read the new Hulk, but I will always believe that Pete is the best writer the series would ever have.

  13. Quoth Marc Grant:

    I have to be honest — the last comic I ever purchased was the Rick Jones wedding story. It was great, the Hulk was smart, and I think that’s the way I want to remember the series.

    Now, I have Peter’s name as a shortcut for Amazon and I still feel bad about not getting copies of Fallen Angel before it was cancelled.

    I probably won’t read the new Hulk, but I will always believe that Pete is the best writer the series would ever have.

    With all due respect, there’s no time like the present to pick up back issues or a trade collection (Fallen Angel already out, Hulk Visionaries 1 too, Hulk: Tempest Fugit on the way in August) to show your support. (And I’ll stop before I say something overzealous on the topic I’ll regret.)

    That said, while we’re hawking reviews, mine at Comixfan:

    Incredible Hulk #81 Review
    Incredible Hulk #82 Review

    ~G.

  14. “I know that PAD has said that he doesn’t know how long he’ll be on this book again. If I had it my way, though, he’d be doing it for another 100+ with Weeks bringing his pencils with him the whole way.”

    Ditto on this of course. I hope you’ll stay for many, many years to come and then personally get to pick the editors a few stone-set choices about creators you think could handle the character after/if you leave. Except for issue 24-25 of the new run, the stories after you left have been embarrassingy awful. The Byrne run, the Leader’s mutations, deaths and ressurrections, the Absorbing Man, etc etc etc… It’s been awful and the low-set modicum of required internal logic for the continuity was in shambles. I’m really happy about the ‘everything that didn’t make sense is out’ approach. 🙂

  15. “With all due respect, there’s no time like the present to pick up back issues or a trade collection (Fallen Angel already out, Hulk Visionaries 1 too, Hulk: Tempest Fugit on the way in August) to show your support.”

    Personally I think most of Peter’s entire run is worthy of bookshelf Essential collections, so everyone can readily enjoy both the gray Hulk, the Pantheon sage and further in affordable near-complete trades. 🙂

  16. 1
    >>In the Marvel Universe? Onslaught. Magneto’s trashing of NYC at the end of Morrison’s New X-Men run. Galactus, any number of times. That bit in the first Infinity XXX story where half the people on Earth died and came back. Kang’s attack at the end of Busiek’s Avengers run.

    –sorry, I was thinking of the real world and should have specified as such. The use of 9/11 in Hulk 81 was–IMO–meant to transcend the comics universe.

    Though even in the MU, some of your examples don’t hold up. IIRC, there were some transmission problems during Magneto’s destruction of NYC, hence tens of millions of people across the planet didn’t experience that tragedy simultaneously (the thousands that DID experience it did…literally; and they ain’t around anymore).

    In the Infinity Gauntlet, the wiping of half the universe was retroactively changed, so it never “happened”.

    The arrival of Galactus on numerous occasions–while monumental and potentially catastrophic to the heroes–wasn’t a tragedy in any real sense of the world. It *could* have been, but no lives were lost, IIRC (and even if there were, it wasn’t thousands of lives).

    In the case of Onslaught, while heroes were beloved by the world over, their apparent loss in the eyes of the entire world–IMHO wouldn’t be the same as thousands of innocents being killed in two devastating strokes (largely b/c the world expects the FF and Avengers to deal with this kind of stuff. It’s their job. Those are the hazards of their jobs).

    None of the above examples–to me–seems to match the senseless destruction and tragic loss of innocent lives like 9/11–even in the MU.

  17. David:
    >>Except for issue 24-25 of the new run, the stories after you left have been embarrassingy awful. The Byrne run, the Leader’s mutations, deaths and ressurrections, the Absorbing Man, etc etc etc…

    -though the Absorbing Man story didn’t fit into continuity (didn’t it conflict with Crusher’s appearance in Thor where he’d become a Thorite…as well as conflicting with him having given up crime?) I liked the inventive use of his powers. Had that story been told 10 years ago, I think it would have been received better.

    >>Personally I think most of Peter’s entire run is worthy of bookshelf Essential collections, so everyone can readily enjoy both the gray Hulk, the Pantheon sage and further in affordable near-complete trades. 🙂

    –ah, the Pantheon…my favorite era of Hulk greatness…esp. with Keown on art.

  18. Re: Issue 82

    That was a nice change of pace. And it felt good to read a one-issue story that filled up that one issue well. Really didn’t feel like there was a wasted page in there. And the art was nicely atmospheric and moody. Not sure Jae would work as a full-time Hulk artist, but as a one-off, that made a lovely change of style.

    Not the biggest fan of the Tempest Fugit story, but this issue reaffirmed my belief that PAD is one of the few writers who can do the Hulk right.

  19. “-though the Absorbing Man story didn’t fit into continuity (didn’t it conflict with Crusher’s appearance in Thor where he’d become a Thorite…as well as conflicting with him having given up crime?)”

    Yup, it was already retconned in Captain Marvel, but I really hated it so doing it more decisively doesn’t hurt imho. 😉

    “I liked the inventive use of his powers. Had that story been told 10 years ago, I think it would have been received better.”

    NO, it had been received far worse, given that the Absorbing Man had made many more appearances closer to those days, courtecy of Marvel’s former editor-in-chief Tom DeFalco. It wasn’t a ‘clever’ use of his powers, that’s what they’re doing in current issues of Spiderman, it was twisting the personality of a tough-guy, somewhat honourable (for an unrepenting criminal) bruiser into a sadistic, drooling serial-killer of children and the defenceless as well as somehow making a connection between ‘absorbing’ (duplicating really, but ‘Duplication Man’ doesn’t have the same oomph 😉 ) abilities and telepathic parasitic feeding on people’s brains and getting a kick out of permanently projecting his mind into the body of 4-year old girls… That it was a pretty horrible story in itself doesn’t make things better, but if they had to do this kind of story why not use a psychotic telepath or pre-existing parasitic creature instead of messing up what isn’t broken? All because of the bloody-awful appearance in the bloody-awful Hulk movie? Give me a better reason and gererally stop hiring pampered, narcisistic and bratty Hollywood divas or the like, instead of real writers of deep intellect.

  20. I really enjoyed Incredible Hulk #82. Story and art were just lovely.

    My only question is, did the Hulk actually do what he threatened to, or did he let the perp think that he did? Not that it matters, I suppose. I’m just curious what Mr. David’s take is on this.

    Great issue! Glad to have PAD back in the driver’s seat where he belongs!

  21. As always you make the Hulk a pleasure to read.

    Thanks PAD and keep up the great work.

    Regards:
    Warren Samuel Jones III

  22. I liked the rest of Tempest Fugit, but I didn’t get the last page of #81…..

  23. Loved the latest issue of the Hulkster.

    I guess we can rule out the crossover miniseries HELLBLAZER/HULK TEAMUP now that good old John has gotten beaten up by Mr. Greenjeans. 🙂

  24. Peter, why is there no “Whadja Think?” entry for Hulk #82? For that matter, why did it come out so soon after #81? (Not that I’m complaining.) It was your best Hulk story since returning to the book, and Jae Lee’s sublime Patrick Nagel-like artwork was as beautiful as it always is.

  25. I would imagine the reason for the weekly shipping of Hulk #81 & 82 results from the fact that #81 was really late, but #82 was still on-time because it had a different artist and the script had been completed some time ago. It would’ve been nice for the book to be delayed at least a week, so we’d have further time to digest #81, but then again, people would start complaining about the lateness of that book, so…dámņëd if you do, dámņëd if you don’t.

    In other news, anyone see the news about the Exiles’ series and what alternate timelines they’ll be visiting soon? PAD fans should be no stranger to these realms: New Universe (Justice), 2099 (Spider-Man 2099), Heroes Reborn (HR: The Return)…as well as the main Marvel Universe, and the Squadron Supreme’s Earth.

    Oh, and they’re going to this little alternate future we call “Future Imperfect,” too. ^_^

    Exiles World Tour 2005-2006

    ~G.

  26. Yeah, but that series has done a lot of Hulk-bashing, so I’m worried that Maestro won’t be presented as a more credible threat than Holocaust or Hyperion. 🙁

    Heck the Hulk always defeated Hyperion even before his many power-ups and the Maestro is supposed to be the most dangerous and powerful Hulk of all…

    Speaking of which, I still think it’d be nice to see whatever happened to ‘mainstream’ Maestro after he possessed the Destroyer and if he was the one behind the Abomination’s poisoning of Betty or not?

  27. Has the series really been furiously anti-Hulk? Hmm. And I can’t remember the Hulk ever trashing Hyperion, except back in Defenders–and that wasn’t the “real” Hyperion, anyway (just a goon the Grandmaster dressed up). I don’t think the current writer has done anything truly negative with the Hulk, and I know for a fact that artist Jim Calafiore is one of the biggest fans of the old savage Hulk out there.

    Besides, Hulk with Banner’s mind really doesn’t have the strength of the “real” Hulk and can be defeated easier; we all know this. 😀

    Oh, and I remember it being said somewhere that PAD always intended the Abomination to be behind the death of Betty. In the year and a half of stories before #466 (nearly as early as #447 or so), you can read between some lines and see the wheels turning, and IMO, the Abomination’s behavior in #459 is awfully close to a dead giveaway. She seemed to have been poisoned a long time before later writers showed it (the bag o’ blood). However, only Peter knows for sure.

    ~G.

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