Check out this blog – and this fans ultimate Hulk issue. It begs the question, what issue do you consider to be the best issue of the Hulk – only choose one issue – not a whole storyline – but a single issue. Which one is it?
For me, of course, it’s TIH #165. But you all knew that. 🙂
No worries guys, I will be posting my thoughts on TIH #2 very soon. Probably Friday.
Who remembers this one?
I won’t let me copy the pic – so follow the link:
This is great news! I will be working on doing quite a few things at the Comic Con this year – and as every year, would LOVE to meet up with some other people there – if you plan on going, let me know!
The Wolverine were the ads for issue #181!
It’s funny, to me anyways, that this battle is a “fan favorite”. It seems like such an easy, lopsided fight for the Hulk to win! Heck, in their original meeting all the Hulk had to do was be able to get his hands on him just once and the fight was practically over. Even the Canadian government that sent Wolverine out there said he failed his mission! So, how did this “loser” become so popular?
Alright, I admit – I actually like Wolverine. A lot. But I think I am one of the few who roll their eyes at a promise to see a new Hulk/Wolvie battle royale. What else is there to see? Every time they meet up the same inevitable outcome is reached. And that is that Wolverine cannot beat the Hulk – on his best day – or the Hulk’s worst. Granted, the first encounter had a very different Wolverine than the one we see today. The Hulk breaks Wolvie’s ribs – or so he admits – giving us the assumption that his bones are not laced with adamantium. His healing factor is also a mystery as he seems to be able to take a bit of punishment – but is easily knocked out by gas. Hulk also dispatched Wolverine ala a knock to the noggin like they are rehearsing a 3 Stooges bit. Not to mention, Wolvie’s claws (which originally were going to be part of his gloves and NOT part of his anatomy. I’m going on record saying that would have been one of the biggest blunders in Marvel history – so kudos to them for changing their tune) can’t even pierce the Hulk’s skin. I miss this Wolverine. Today’s incarnation has survived a nuke at ground zero. What’s the fun in a character who seemingly can’t die? And how is Marvel going to milk more cash out of us with a poly-bagged “Death” issue when we’ve seen Wolverine come back from being dust?
Of course, the Hulk isn’t any slouch in the “change and adapt” category either. The Hulk from ’74 would get his butt whopped by the current Hulk. The ’74 Hulk doesn’t know loss, betrayal and anger the way the Hulk of today does. So does Wolvie (the super, unkillable one of today) stand a chance against the Hulk of today? Well, if we look at the WWH X-Men mini – then no. Let me compile a small list of the Wolvie vs Hulk issues and go through some of the best and worst moments.
The Incredible Hulk #181 – Of course, as I said, the character was not fully formed but his introduction did make it apparent he wasn’t a character that will shy away from a fight – even one he can’t win. This fight sticks with Wolverine so much he never forgets it – or the Hulk! He even flashes back to the fight when Wedigo comes a calling in Uncanny X-Men #139.
Best Moment: The Hulk and Wolvie take on Wendigo together – and Hulk thinks Wolvie is his friend… until Wolverine turns around and starts slashing away at our emerald hero – showing that the Canuck is not afraid to take a cheap shot!
The Incredible Hulk #340 – one of the great behind the scenes moments from this issue is that PD admits to having to plead with the X-Offices to let him use Logan. At that point no one was allowed to use any of the X-Men is guest shots – but PD finally persuaded them all because McFarlane REALLY wanted to take a shot in drawing Wolverine! All of this to bring one of the greatest comic covers to light ever!
Best Moment: After Wolvie loses control and dishes out the pain – the Hulk gets back up and asks for more!
The Incredible Hulk #454 – Banner-less Hulk is facing off against metal-less Wolverine. Hulk is weakened without his alter ego – but Wolverine has no adamantium. Wolvie never stand a chance.
Best Moment: After Wolvie slashes the Hulk’s throat the Hulk realizes there is no metal to be heard of… and the gloves come off.
Hulk #8 – Larsen pens another bout with ole’ bone claws against the raging muscles. Of course this issue (which David reviewed on this very site!) actually has a Wolverine Skrull facing off against the Hulk. But it’s still an action filled issue that’s worth the pick up!
Best moment: Tit for Tat – Wolverine pokes the Hulk’s eyes out – Hulk snaps his claws off. Awesome!
Marvel Fanfare #2 (Second Volume) – This is a weak issue to begin with but I do think it’s worth checking out if only to see Wendigo the size of a teddy-bear. It’s another brutal fight between the Engine of Destruction and the Pint-Sized Foreigner where the Hulk actually teaches Wolvie something about self control.
Best Moment: The Hulk stands there after taking blow after blow from Wolverine’s claws – but even bloody and injured – he remains in control and tells Wolverine he needs to find a way to control his anger.
Infintiy Gaunlet #3 – While the madness of stopping Thanos is taking over everyone’s thoughts there is a quick scene between the hairy midget and Jade with the fade (haircut) where they express some mutual respect.
Best Moment: This is such a short part – but I love it when Hulk refers to their bouts as “Down and Dirty Scraps”
Wolverine #7/8 – Wolverine is going by Patch, Hulk is going by Joe Fixit, and they meet at a cross roads. Amazingly, Claremont makes a slight blunder here – Wolverine mentions knowing who Fixit is by his fighting style and scent – even though he’s grey instead of green. But the last time the two met the Hulk was already grey. Besides that the issue dishes out some great action – most of it not being between Wolvie and Hulk, although, there is sweet chin music laid on Patch after he sort of threatens Fixit.
Best Moment: I love the bit where Wolverine replaces all of Fixit’s suits with purple pants.
Wolverine Origins #28 – Here Deodato takes a moment to flex his pencils and recreates the Hulk and Wolverine’s first battle. This issue really shows how Deodato has grown as an artist – every page is amazing! The above cover is the 2nd print.
Best Moment: I do like how they tied it all together in the end and had Prof. X on the helicopter that picks Wolvie up. Perfect issue!
Wolverine #50 – This recounts the original meeting between the two but the amazing art by McG is totally worth the cover price! This bloody battle is even colored the good old fashion way with pixellated color dots.
Best Moment: Ed’s pencils giving homage to that most excellent dividing of Wolverine! Even better then the original!
The Adventures of the X-Men #1-2 – This is probably my least favorite battle – mainly because Hulk never gets a chance to really stick it to Wolverine. Wolverine actually is winning most of the time – before the other X-Men come and stop the two.
Best Moment: I can’t even give you a best moment – in the 4 page battle nothing of consequence really happens to either of them.
Wolverine/Hulk: Six Hours – This story has it all! A poisonous snake, a sick boy, The Shredder! (No, not the one from TMNT – but a deformed assassin instead – who has tangled with Wolverine in the past).
Best Moment: It’s not the Hulk – but Banner instead who lays out Wolverine with a fist to the ole’ money maker.
Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk – Granted this storyline took almost a decade to finally be released but it still lives on in infamy – not only for the delays but also some other controversial details, for instance; Hulk eats people. This storyline also had the be-heading of Wolverine and had him live through it.
Best Moment: I don’t think anyone will EVER forget Wolverine being ripped in half. Classic.
Over the years people still get giddy when they see that these two are going to dance the violent tango – again and again – but I still don’t see the big deal. Wolverine is just not able to handle what the Hulk has to dish out and the best part is – he never WILL. Here’s the real kicker though – Wolverine doesn’t care. He will still go head first into this tussle and take a beating – but he will go down swinging. Maybe that’s the endearing part of his character. Maybe that’s why they like to see them fight. People like to see if the underdogs can get one over on the goliaths. Sort of like the Red Sox vs Yankees. The Yankees are totally out matched and out classed by the Sox – but people still love to see them kick the dirt up.
Hehe – sorry, I couldn’t resist! But one thing can be said about Wolvie – he has real interesting taste in “reading” material.
In closing I thought it would be interesting to read the initial responses from Wolverine’s first appearance:
The fans were immediately excited to see this match up again – although, it would not come for some time!
And another:
While I agree Wolverine has given us some great comic moments over the years – usually they don’t involve the Hulk! The only real chance Logan ever really has against the Hulk… is when it’s not the Hulk at all!
I have a few more MU to show off – when I get a chance to actually take a photo of them and post – but one interesting thing I noticed is that when they have announced a variant for a figure – like when they showed a clear variant for the Dr Strange figure – the variant is the first to show up in stores and the regular comes out later. The other thing I noticed is that once the regular is released – good luck finding the variant in a store again! Well, this rings true for this figure too – Absorbing Man! The variant, which is a fully absorbed figure, is out now. I’ve had it for a few weeks – but I still have not seen the regular out there yet. I am not worried, as I know it will pop up eventually, but I was waiting to see if I could post them together! Anyways, the variant is great – because, along with the figure that the Secret Wars 2-packs gave us, we can have ALL of the stages of the Absorbing Man – regular – mid-transforming – fully transformed! Anyone else out there able to snag this – or the regular – yet?
It has been a wild ride! But not really – Marvel announced that the newly announced Silvertri/Aaron super group on the Hulk will be no longer as Silvestri hands over the title to Portacio. Really, Mark? you couldn’t even last a mere 6 issues at least? Oh well – this can only be good news as NOT ONE other site thought that Silvestri’s work was anything to be excited about.
What to get into first? I have so much to share! I was lucky enough to have the morning off and planned to get to the LCS before it opened – waiting outside the door until they opened the doors, rush inside and get my issues. But it was raining – so I just waited in my car until the neon “OPEN” sign came on and then strolled into the shop. No rushing needed – as I was the only one there. But that’s alright – I was still excited! I knew there were quite a number of variants to get – 7 covers in all – and I had the manager putting them aside for me – so I wasn’t worried about getting them all. But I was interested in picking up quite a number of blank covers because I am working on something… secret right now!
So, what do I discuss first here? Story? Art? The variants? Let’s start with just that – the variants! The regular cover has become well known now as it’s the same art that was used in all of the promotion for the re-launch. My favorite cover is the 1:15 Ladronn Hulk cover. The sheer intensity of the illustration screams out “Hulk!” Another – the Neal Adams cover – is a cool idea but I think the face sort of ruins the whole cover. Portacio’s art is… what it is – a decent cover. Some say it’s a “3 per retailer” variant – and others have it listed as a 1:15. Either way, I have it. The Keown variant – a 1:50 – is an amazing shot… of the Hulk’s foot. I know what he was going for here – but it doesn’t work.
The rarest variant of them all is the 1:100 sketch cover. I HATE that. A black and white version of the regular cover? What genius! And by genius I mean loser. But yes, I have that one too…
My favorite variant:
The story is an interesting one – I didn’t read very much of the Fear Itself event – didn’t really interest me – but I do know that the Hulk and Banner were separated. Aaron has made a curious and enthralling debut with the Hulk being asked to stop the one thing more dangerous than himself – and that’s… himself. Or, his other self. Banner. He’s asked to stop Banner. Banner looks as though he’s gone a little batty – trying to make himself another Hulk.
A few years ago we could have all said “That was a unique set of circumstances that could not be duplicated – Hulk is one of a kind” but of course, that is all ruined now (thanks Joey Q and Loeb – please, do me a favor, punch yourselves in the face) because MODOK and the Leader created the Red Hulk – who is basically the same character – just red. So why can’t Banner? But whatever – like I said, Aaron has written an interesting jumping on point.
The art – I wasn’t so jazzed about. Silvestri is a great artist, don’t get me wrong, but he’s NOT a great Hulk artist. There are some great looking pages – and others… not so much. I did dig the Dr. Moreau feeling that Banner’s lab had to it – but I was underwhelmed with the issue’s art overall. And that’s all I will really say about that.
Now, the Hulk has been separated from Banner a few times before – under Byrne he became a mindless raging monster – and under PD he is much pretty much as he is here – only now, he’s going to stop Banner! It’s something I didn’t think I’d ever see. It’s certainly an interesting premise. So, should you guys bother picking this issue up? Absolutely – buy it – buy it NOW! I’m thinking we’re in good hands with Aaron. Grade: B+
I’ve had… OH HEY – HULK #1 COMES OUT TOMORROW – EVERYONE GET IT! Now back to the post… this guy for a little while now – I really am not looking to get commissions – I am more interested in picking up published art these days. If I see an artist offering a great deal sometimes I take the plunge. Brent Peebles was giving a great deal to some of the members on Statue Forum and I jumped in with both feet! I may start looking into getting different versions of the Hulk but mostly, these days, I am curious to see what people can do with either the Classic or Planet Hulk. The one thing that grinds my gears is artists who don’t do any research on the character you ask for – I mean, it’s their job, isn’t it? Well, Peebles obviously did his- because PH has the armor, helmet and the obedience disc – you would NOT believe how many artists forget the disc!
Reading through the comments about each issue is like slicing a knife through each of my eyes and squeezing lemon juice in the holes! Seriously – did this guy even bother learning ANYTHING about the issues he chose? You have to read it for yourself – so click the image for the article – but just remember – especially when he makes the “Afro Hulk” comment – this guy had to be the worst person to write an article about the Hulk… ever!
Yes, the new Hulk MM volume is out. I picked up the gold frame cover (#167) and they are now getting into one of my favorite era’s of the Hulk. Trimpe is really getting his confidence in drawing the Jade Giant in all of his glory – and the Leader is ever present! For me, there is not a miss in this collection – every story is amazing – pick up this book, is you can!
I just finished the last Defenders MM so this came at a perfect time – I don’t get a whole lot of time to read extra stuff. It’s funny – I like the Omnibus format but haven’t touched it because I read the issues a few times over in other books. This is why I LOVE the MM books – these I can take with me anywhere – and when I find a myself with a few extra minutes before I have to do a job – I crack open a MM and go into my job with a great attitude!
Love the storyline or hate it (and for the record, I totally hated it) the idea of having a figure based on this comic was a great idea – a combined Green and Red Hulk figure? There was LOTS of buzz around it! Of course, most people who did score one seemed to immediately list it on ebay – for a profit, of course. Hasbro announced that they almost sold out of the figure – but still had enough to list on their site for a few hours. Me? How did I score one? Read on…
It was because of the generosity of one of the readers of this site that I was able to show you the one in this post – thank you Tbear! – but I was also contacted by a member of the SF a few days later that he also picked one up for me! An extra? Sure! Thank you! Not even a couple of hours later, my friend Corry, from Zapp Comics, let me know he also had one reserved for me. So yes, dear readers, I am a fortunate man – one with friends in all the right places… for Hulk collecting!
As for the figure – it’s a pretty decent variant – one that, I think, will be sought after. Right now there are plenty on ebay – but when those dry up watch as the prices rise. Thanks to all who were able to assist me in getting a figure – like I said – at the moment I only have this one to speak of – but I have faith that the others will land in the Hulk room. Just to let you all know, I will be opening one – and the last is already spoken for by a Hulk fanatic I am helping out. Yes, one hand washed the other – or in this instance – One figure is passed from one fan to another!
Since my last post – I only think it’s fair to share a few pics of my daughter (in her new Halloween costume, yes – she’s a cupcake) for you all to see. Three posts already done for next week… see you Monday!
I wish I had more time to post everything – my life was totally different when I first started this blog – I didn’t have a child then, of course, and now I do. She is the light of my life and if I am not working on one of the thousand different projects I am currently pursuing I am taking my daughter to the playground, having a lazy morning with her watching Mickey Mouse Playhouse and eating Fruit Loops and bananas. I am having the time of my life. One thing that has made it easier is that I no longer receive emails about posting on this site – making me feel like I am letting people down. I wish I had time to post more – but it’s nice to know that people still come to this site to check out the Hulky goodness I have – even though I am not posting like I once did.
So, here’s my promise to the fans of this blog – I will continue to post whenever I can – whatever I have (as you can tell, last week I had enough free time to post almost everyday). I love to hear from you guys – so when I do post – make a comment – say ANYTHING – even if it’s negative, as long as it’s not rude – I will respond and continue to have a dialog with everyone out there. Anyways, I hope you made it through this rant – and yes, those are Marvel coasters – glass ones – I found these for a measly $2 at the mall and I have to admit… I kind of like the Wolverine one the best! I hope you enjoy! Talk to you soon!
Hulk items will be going on auction… for anyone interested… click on the freakishly happy Hulk above.
Ratchet's Hulk Collection 