Steven was offering up $15 head shots – and I took part in the madness that soon followed as a lot of the SF residents took a spot on Steven’s very long list! This artist is amazing and showed his skills as he took on almost every character imaginable! Seriously – if you can think of a character he probably drew it! Check out his Deviant Art Page if you don’t believe me! I love some of the pieces – but mine are the favorites, of course.
The Fixit is based off the Keown/Green Fixit back in issues #395/396. I actually would have preferred a Purves – which he actaully has coming up for someone else (I couldn’t believe someone else asked for Fixit – let alone got a better Fixit than I!) but this Fixit is fantastic. And the Planet Hulk – just a head shot – showing so much action is incredible!
The Positive: They have released a couple of these multi-figure SHS packs. The other HAS a Hulk in it – but it’s the same Hulk they have now released at least 5 times. I have made a stand and refuse to pick it up – mainly because they JUST released it in the Thor 3-Pack a month ago. This pack here has two things going for it – a re-painted Leader AND a first ever Red She Hulk.
Red She Hulk SHS
The Negative: So, here’s the rub. The original Leader had an Orange/Yellow evil jumpsuit – and they repainted the gloves, boots, belt to silver. And that’s it. I would have loved to see a McFarlane inspired Leader instead of a simple re-paint.
Leader Re-paint
The Conclusion: This is a great way to pick up quite a few SHS figures for less than buying those 2-packs. This pack also delivers the black suit Spidey (which is way cooler than the regular suit, IMO) and a great Cap not to mention Crossbones. This 7 pack is worth the pick up! Grade: B
I will tell you – I try to visit the other Hulk pages on a semi-regular basis – but sometimes I forget. So yeah – on Doug’s Incredible Hulk Comic Page – he had a pretty easy trivia question, which I answered. So now there’s a new one – and I know that answer too – but I figure I will give someone else a chance to answer – go to it Hulk maniacs! Also – click on the image for a cool website where that little green guy came from!
While it’s great to see the Hulk in more issues – he has almost NO time in the issue above! And below… well, crap it’s more Deadpool! WTF? Next Up – Incredible Hulk Annual!
The Positive: Much like any sequel there is going to be a sense of deja vu. But, with any good sequel they can make that deja vu still seem new. As an example I ask you to look at “The Hangover” as a BAD sequel. All they do is tell the same story in a new location – you spend the whole movie saying “Yeah, I saw this already.” Now, in comparison, you spend this comic saying “Okay – I’ll buy that. Keep going…” Ever since Parker took over Red he has made a character born from lunacy and greed and made him a worthwhile read.
Nobody's home....
Red’s not making feats of outrageous proportions with no real explanation anymore – now he explains how he gets into space – and here’s a hint – it’s not by jumping (like he did under Loeb’s script). How he lands on another planet and what happens while he’s there is both interesting and fast paced. Some say too fast paced – but I rather enjoy Parker not wasting space with filler to draw out the story for a thicker trade and bigger price tag.
Let’s not forget the biggest plus of all though – and that is that Carl Pags is back! Who else would you want to draw a PH storyline other than Pags himself!
The Welcome Party Sucks...
The Negative: Red Hulk is making a whole new fan base – a base that contains some that even admit in never liking the original Hulk. But let’s look at the Red of today… chased by the army (check), trying to be a hero (check), I mean – they like Red because – HE’S THE HULK! Parker is telling Hulk stories only he’s using Red to do it! Anyone not keen to that fact is kidding themselves – and more so – I don’t care how good Planet Red Hulk will be – it’s still an insult to the original.
How did the Hulk end up here? Who sent him?
What happened to Red’s overheating response to getting angry – does he not do that anymore? Am I forgetting something – maybe Grey can help me out with that one. It just seems like there were too many stupid powers to keep track of and they still come and go at will. And what’s up with there being 3 variants for last issue and then NO variants for Planet Red Hulk?
You don't mess with a Hulk!
The Conclusion: I like Parker – I like his Hulk stories – I just wish it was the Hulk that was starring in them. Still, you can’t deny a good story when you’re reading one – no matter WHO is the star of the book – Grade: A-
The Good: I… I… ummm… Man, I am real conflicted with this issue. I was giving it a real chance and was even a fan of the whole “Bond” theme. But this issue – as it kind of wrapped up… left me without a whole lot of “Good” to talk about. I did like that Tyrannus finally came out as a true villain again. Up until now he wasn’t DOING much but he finally had an upperhand he was happy with – enough that he tried to take the Hulk on.
Red Blood? I could have sworn... nevermind
I was also excited that the urn was broken open and we got to see what was inside – only to be sort of underwhelmed with what it did… which was nothing, really. The Hulk, of course, took care of it and it was great to see Pak actually have the Hulk do something that wowed people – but the celebration is short-lived.
Hulk saves the day - by inhaling...
The Bad: See, here’s the thing, I’m really aggravated with the whole Red Hulk saga and how people have bought into it. It’s frustrating to see Marvel give the Red Hulk his own series and continue to make the Hulk share his spotlight – with none other than the Red She Hulk. Who, I might be mistaken here – but I don’t recall anyone saying it – doesn’t have the fan base that even Red Hulk has. Betty Banner is a great character – but Red She Hulk… is not. And now, according to the issue, Betty is gone. But even worse – when the world needed help – help for a mess that SHE was responsible for creating – she asked the Hulk to walk away! WTF? Walk away and let other people deal with it? SHE’S one of the parties involved in getting the urn in the wrong hands – and then blames the Hulk when he goes back to finish the job… what is THAT all about?
And, can Marvel finally decide on what color Hulk’s blood is? Is it green? It has been – and just recently! But in this issue it’s red! I would buy that it is green – but we need to keep it consistent – something Marvel has issues with. I am a fan of the bittersweet ending – but these issues leave a sour taste in my mouth – he keeps getting the short end of the stick and doesn’t really “win”. This is one of the main problems with the Hulk having others to rely and watch over. If something happens to one of them – the character Hulk feels bad – but the readers are left wondering why they should care.
Betty's gone... for good... then again - Cho thought Talbot was the real thing
Conclusion: I like Pak – I think his writing on many of his series has been interesting and fun – but… I think his final issues of the Hulk are lackluster thus far. I want to think that he is building up to an amazing swan song – something that will make people re-evaluate this whole second run. Let’s just call it “my first impression” grade. I’ll have another chance to look back at it after Pak wraps things up – but for now – Grade: D
Wow – this may not look much like the Hulk – but it does look real. Freaky but real… and of course – then there is an original art page from issue #6 – for anyone who can afford it!
The Positive: What can you say about 2003? There was so much Hulk stuff I could spend the rest of my life searching and probably never find it all! Luckily, with the traveling I do for my job, I see A LOT of comic shops. I bought these back in 2009 at Bedrock Comics in Framingham – and I was psyched when I found them! I don’t have many Hulk planes or jets in the collections – so these filled a void.
Hulk Jet 2
The Negative: What can I say about 2003? There is a ton of crap to avoid! Maisto put out some cheap cars and jets (of which I have a TON of!). Now, should you seek this stuff out? Only if you are a nut like me! Otherwise, leave it on the shelf – or where ever you find them now – and buy a Snickers! Grade: C+
Easy game – name the artist comic and issue number this page comes from. The only hint is it’s the ONLY page Hulk appears on in this issue. Answer tomorrow!
THE POSITIVE: With the MU figures dominating the shelves nowadays it’s nice to see that Marvel hasn’t totally given up on their original ML line. Nothing has beat the Legend figures – in terms of awesomeness! The MU is on the way to surpassing the vastness of character selection – but the ML line is still the tops. For these recent (I say recent – but it wasn’t that recent – these came out late last year) figures Marvel held an online vote where fans could pick which figures they would like to see released. I can’t remember exactly – but I think the Red King was one of the figures up for the vote – which I would have loved! Amazingly, Aquon was shafted once again… anyways, Valkyrie was the poll and I know quite a few collectors who were ecstatic that they could finally finish their Defenders displays.
Hulk Free at Last!
The head sculpt for the Hulk is brand new and pretty great, seems very inspired by McGuiness, which works well with the re-used body. It works well with the Red Hulk figure if your posing them together (for the record – I think the Red Hulk should have had black pants). This Hulk towers over the other ML Hulks and most of the other ML figures which is perfect since the Hulk is suppossed to be large and in charge.
New Head Sculpt Really Works!
The original price point worked well for these figures – and by original I mean the $24.99 – not the $29.99 and then $34.99 that it was when it hit the shelves. Thankfully to the readers of this blog I was able to snag one of these figures off the TRU site for $24.99. Thank you to the readers!
ValkyrieClose Up
THE NEGATIVE: Yes, this is the same body used for the BAF Red Hulk. The body itself is fine – although it has two fists and I prefer one – only because it makes posing figures easier. The paint application is a bit off… mostly because of the shading. I liked the clean look of the Red Hulk figure – but with the Green Hulk figure here they felt the need to spray black into the folds between his muscles, on his fingers and hands, on his neck and the top of his feet. I am really unsure why they – as it doesn’t look that good.
Red vs Hulk
Now, even though I love the size, as far as scale goes – and as far as I recall – since I don’t have the Saquatch figure I can’t compare – but Sasquatch is taller than the Hulk – and this figure is just as big – so the scale isn’t perfect – but what toy line is? I don’t think we an hold that against them since we do have quite a few Hulk figures to choose from when displaying with other figures.
The Stare Down!
Conclusion: The 2-pack is a winner – absolutely! It’s a must pick up! Of course, looking on ebay, it seems that these 2-packs are selling for double the retail. Makes me wish I still held on to my double. And by double I mean double still in package – since I have one still in the package and then I have a loose pair. Anyways, I hope you picked it up – how many of you out there were able to order it off of TRU before the price increase? Grade: A
I thought is was funny when David brought by the series 2 Squinkies with a clear Hulk – and today he brought by another set – apparently this is the first set and the store he was at didn’t have them when he picked up the other one. Instead of the clear plastic that the figures are made of in series 2 – series 1 has solid colored plastic. It doesn’t do much for the actual look of the characters – the sculpt – it still looks a bit goofy – but overall, heck, I can admit that they look cute as hell!
Ratchet's Hulk Collection 