Marvel Masterworks The Avengers Volume 3 (Volume 3)

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Goliath rejoins the Avengers of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch

Marvel Masterworks The Avengers Volume 3 (Volume 3)

Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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Marvel Masterworks Avengers Volume 4 (The Avengers, Volume 4)

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men, Vol. 3

Marvel Masterworks: The X-Men Vol. 2 (Hardcover)

Marvel Masterworks: The Avengers Volume 5

Marvel Masterworks X-men 5

ASIN: 0785111794

Product Description

Giant-Man becomes Goliath! The Wasp returns! The team battles the Enchantress, Power Man, the Ringmaster, Kang, Doctor Doom, Attuma, the Collector, the Swordsman, and the Black Widow! Collects AVENGERS Vol. 1 #21-30

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Goliath rejoins the Avengers of Captain America, Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch.......2005-08-24

Volume 3 of "The Avengers" in the Marvel Masterworks series collects episodes 21-30 of the comic book, which is covers the second major lineup in the group's history. Led by Captain America, the group consists of Hawkeye, Quicksilver and the Scarlet Witch at the start of this volume with Goliath rejoining the team by the end of this volume, although it turns out that the former Giant-Man and former Ant-Man is now stuck in extra large size. As Cap says, "The most powerful Avenger...and yet...he's also the most tragic!" (This coming from a living legend who had been frozen in a block of ice since the final days of World War II). The original Avengers line-up was too powerful, with Thor and Iron Man, not to mention the Hulk at the very beginning. Then they went to skill over strength with a group consisting of a guy who throws a shield, a guy who shoots arrows, a mutant who runs fast, and a witch. When Hank Pym rejoined the team they could actually use a bit of strength without having the overkill of a Norse God. They were not that powerful of a group of superheroes, especially compared to the Fantastic Four (or the Justice League of America over at DC), but they could hold their own against the X-Men.

At this point "The Avengers" is still being written by Stan Lee, with Don Heck established as the book's artist. Now, I have made clear that Heck was my least favorite artist that Marvel used on a regular basis, but that being said, the issues where his pencils are being inked by Wally Wood (#20-22) are the best Heck's work ever looked (I was going to add issue #23 inked by John Romita, Sr. to that short list, but it really looks like a Romita drawn issue). Dick Ayers inks #25 and Frank Giacoia #26-30, which is right before the period where Heck did the pencils and ink (for the record, Chic Stone did the least to enhance Heck's art for this book). But you can make up you own mind about where Heck's artwork stands in the Marvel pantheon.

The collection gets off to a good start with the introduction of Power Man (who is he?) in #21. He defeats the Avengers and the city council orders the Avengers to disband. In #22 the Avengers try to find out who is helping Power Man (the Enchantress), and while they succeed and the City Council declares Avengers Day, Steve Rogers announces he has played straight man to these jokers long enough and he decides to split. However, Kang the Conqueror returns for a rematch in the next two-issues (note that #24 features a cover by Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers). If you thought that was bad, Dr. Doom shows up for #25, which means the Fantastic Four cannot be far behind. The Wasp has to be rescued from Attuma in #26, which means the Avengers have to assemble underwater in #27. Giant-Man is back in #28, only now he is known as Goliath, because the Wasp has still not been rescued; now the Collector has her. They rescue the Wasp, but then Goliath collapses and we find out why in #29, although the Black Widow and the Swordsman cause problems (you new that sooner of later a guy with a sword should show up to fight a pair of guys with a shield and arrows). Finally, in issue #30 the Scarlet Witch wants to resign because she has not been helping the group lately, so Cap lets her and her brother go on vacation while the Avengers that are left finish up with the Black Widow and the Swordsman.

There are no classic Avengers tales here, but you have to admit things are never dull in any superhero team that has both Hawkeye and Quicksilver on it because they are the two biggest malcontents around (in the pre-Wolverine era anyhow). Hawkeye always thinks he would be a better leader than Captain America, and Quicksilver is always complaining about humans hating mutants (although he is sending back a healthy dose of animosity in the other direction all by himself). The Scarlet Witch is the problematic character because if Wanda is hitting on all cylinders then she should be able to win every fight by herself (Do you see Doctor Strange fighting with a team? No, not until the Defenders anyway, but that is decades away at this point). But I had to admit I like the brother and sister act of Pietro and Wanda since it sibling bickering is more interesting than lovers/spouses bickering (to wit, Hank and Janet), plus they have the whole need for redemption since they used to be members of Magneto's Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. I really consider these stories just marking time until the Vision shows up, because that is when this comic book finally comes into its own.

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials)

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Classic Marvel Madness!

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 4 (Marvel Essentials)
Roy Thomas , Gary Friedrich , Len Wein , Gerry Conway , Chris Claremont , Archie Goodwin , Steve Gerber , Steve Englehart , Dick Ayers , and Herb Trimpe
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0785121935

Book Description

It's the original trial of the Incredible Hulk, but not even Doc Samson and Matt Murdock can get the Hulk free of charges... from the Rhino, the Abomination and the Bi-Beast! Foes from the sewers, the seas, the stars and a shrunken realm gone mad! And Betty Ross gives a new twist to becoming a Harpy after the wedding! Monsters, mindswaps and Niagara Falls! Plus: For the X-Fans, the birth of the Wendigo and the death of the Mimic! Collects Incredible Hulk #143-170.

Customer Reviews:

Classic Marvel Madness!.......2007-01-05

This volume contains Harlan Ellison's classic Hulk stories. If you're a fan of either Old School Marvel, or the brilliant futurist/SF writer Ellison, then give it a try!

Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1 (Second Edition)

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The Hulk retains his appeal
The Hulk is strong
The HULK! "Is he MAN or MONSTER or . . . BOTH?",
Bruce Banner discovers it isn't easy being ol' Greenskin
Hulk is a smash!

Marvel Masterworks: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1 (Second Edition)
Stan Lee
Manufacturer: Marvel Entertainment Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0785111859

Customer Reviews:

The Hulk retains his appeal.......2007-02-10

Marvel released so many new comics in the early 1960s that several of their super heroes were launched without the character having been fully worked out. The Incredible Hulk is clearly one of these. Within the space of the six issues reprinted here, they changed his color, his powers -- he figures out how to fly by taking reaaallly long jumps -- his personality, and how he can be controlled. You would think they would have thought through these things before they started publishing. It might not be surprising that sales were apparently not high enough to sustain the book and it was killed after just six issues. In addition, they kicked the Hulk out of the Avengers. In that sense the Hulk was the one true flop among the early Marvel books. Still, I find these stories very appealing. The idea of the Hulk was a great one and early Lee and Kirby (and Ditko in issue 6!) is always worth reading. So, I would recommend this volume to anyone interested in the early Marvel Silver Age. It ain't Spiderman or Fantastic Four, but it ain't bad.

The Hulk is strong.......2005-12-17

He can beat up anyone, including you. He's stronger than Spdier-Man, the Thing, and Thor put together. They're all wimps compared to the Hulk. If you saw the Hulk, you'd be afraid and run away because you know he can beat you up.

The HULK! "Is he MAN or MONSTER or . . . BOTH?", .......2005-03-10

The Marvel Masterworks volume, "The Incredible Hulk, Volume 1" (2nd Edition) brings together the six issues from the original comic book of "The Incredible Hulk," which were published before Ol' Greenskin became one of the co-tenants of "Tales to Astonish" (first with Giant-Man and then Namor, the Sub-Mariner"). Unfortunately the Hulk always seemed to be particularly ill-suited to the 10-page story format since in pretty much every story Bruce Banner changes into the Hulk (or the Hulk changes into Bruce Banner). For that reason, the original six issues of "The Incredible Hulk" stand out in such marked contrast.

In issue #1 we meet Dr. Bruce Banner, the brilliant scientist who has invented the gamma bomb. Right before the big test a teenager, Rick Jones, drives out on the site. Banner goes off to get the boy out of there but his assistant Igor does not tell anybody, thinking this will be a way to get rid of Banner, who pushes Rick into a ravine right before the gamma bomb explodes. In the hospital Banner changes into the Hulk for the first time, in front of Rick Jones, who feels he should look out for the man-monster seeing as how Banner saved his life, which would tend to create a sense of obligation even in a teenager. Of course, Rick Jones would go on to the side-kick for not only the Hulk but also Captain America and Captain Marvel.

Ultimately I think the idea of the Hulk is better than the stories, especially the ones being told in these first six issues. The combination of the Dr. Jekyll & Hyde transformation with the Frankenstein monster is inherently interesting. Those classic references also explain why the better stories seem to be those in which the army is going after the Hulk rather than the less than stellar super villains who pop up. Sure, the Leader would be rather ironic from the viewpoint of Dr. Banner, but the best conflicts with the Hulk involve not brains versus brawn but the one against the many. When "Thunderbolt" Ross has the U.S. Army go after the Hulk, then we are cooking with gas. Very few bad guys can go toe-to-toe with ol' green skin. Issue #2 comes up with the lame Toad Men, #3 has the Ringmaster and the Circus of Crime, #4 offers Mongu the Gladiator from Space, #5 has Tyrannus, and #6 provides the Metal Master. But not one of them slugs it out with the Hulk, who still finds ways to cause lots of damage to the landscape, buildings and furniture.

The lack of mano-e-mano fisticuffs probably explains why the soap opera element of the Hulk coming between Bruce Banner and Betty Ross are more appealing. That is actually what provides the continuity over the course of these stories. The end result is okay, but certainly not the best Marvel was putting out in the early Sixties. The origin story is far and away the best of the six stories, and really the only reason to get this one unless you are a really big fan of the Hulk. Stan Lee writes all of the stories and Jack Kirby does most of the art, except for #6, which is done by Steve Ditko. The stories are reprinted in color, but the idea of comic books being printed in a hardcover edition always strike me as being quite strange.

Bruce Banner discovers it isn't easy being ol' Greenskin.......2004-02-17

"Marvel Masterworks, Volume 8" brings together the six issue-run of the original run of "The Incredible Hulk," before ol' Greenskin was sent off to "Tales to Astonish" to share with first Giant-Man and Wasp before the Sub-Mariner took over the other half. This explains why this is a relatively slim volume in the Marvel Masterworks series, which usually covers ten issues in the run of one of Marvel's comic book titles from the Sixties.

The Hulk was what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up with after the success of "The Fantastic Four" gave birth to the Marvel Universe. Trying to build on the success of the F.F. Lee wanted to come up with a character with superhuman strength, which was not exactly an original idea (i.e., see Superman), but Lee wanted to take the cliché concept and make it exciting and relevant. Lee knew that the Thing was the most popular member of the F.F. and had always had a soft spot in his heart for the Frankenstein monster, who never wanted to hurt anybody and was just trying to come to terms with those who wanted to destroy him. Borrowing from the story of Jekyll and Hyde as well, Lee and Kirby came up with a scientist who was accidentally transformed into by a nuclear accident into a raging gray behemoth. That is right: originally the Hulk was gray, but the coloring was inconsistent in that first issue and so Lee decided to go with green because (drum role) no one green characters were running around in comic books.

With the six issues of "The Incredible Hulk" reprinted in color in this volume you get the following: #1 "The Hulk," in which scientist Bruce Banner is hit by mysterious gamma rays when he saves the life of young Rick Jones, who was trespassing on the test site. We are also introduced to General Thunderbolt Ross and his daughter, Betty, who is just getting on a first name basis with the Doc, and the fact that only Rick Jones knows the secret of the Hulk. The villain is the Gargoyle, a mutated monster created by the evil Soviets (remember, the Cold War? It was in the newspapers back them); #2 "The Terror of the Toad Men" is another one of the early Marvel stories that Lee and Kirby did that has weird monsters, just like the stories they were doing for Timely. This is also the issue where the Frankenstein monster resemblance is the strongest.

Issue #3 has three stories, with "Banished to Outer Space" having the army tricking the Hulk to going into a spaceship that is shot into space, a short recap of "The Origin of the Hulk," and an encounter between the Hulk and "The Ringmaster"; #4 has "The Monster and the Machine," where Rick tries to help cure the Hulk, and "The Gladiator From Outer Space," which has a strong guy from outer space showing up to battle the Hulk, only to be exposed as another commie plot; #5 offers "Beauty and the Beast," where the Bruce and Betty romance is interrupted by Tyrannus; and "The Hordes of General Fang," where the Hulk tangles with Chinese communists; and #6 "The Metal Master" has Steve Ditko taking over as artist as the Hulk battles a real alien menace.

The Cold War aspects are a big part of these early Hulk stories and you can see that even before the move to "Tales to Astonish" the Hulk stories were already getting to be the length of half an issue. These stories are of more interest from a historical perspective, as the stories have to come up with new ways for Banner to change into the Hulk and visa-versa without anybody ever notices issue after issue. Through this limited run the only decent Hulk villain that Lee and Kirby came up with was Thunderbolt Ross and it was not until Marvel paid as much attention to the villains as they did to creating the tortured hero that the Hulk stories started to get a lot better.

Hulk is a smash!.......2003-05-22

Here we have all six issues of the Incredible Hulk's first series. It's a fun series. It holds up pretty well, other than the commie smashing. You can see how they were struggling with how to present the Hulk in the early days. They change his color, his means of transformation, his powers and his personality all within these six issues. The hardcover format with glossy pages is an excellent presentation of this material. If you can afford it, it's a good deal. It's still cheaper than buying the original issues.

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)

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awesome hulk collection from lee and kirby...

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1 (Marvel Essentials)
Stan Lee
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0785123741

Book Description

Caught in the heart of a nuclear explosion, victim of gamma radiation gone wild Dr. Robert Bruce Banner now finds himself transformed during the times of stress into the dark personification of his repressed rage and fury: the Incredible Hulk, the most powerful man-like creature ever to walk the face of the earth! Relive his earliest adventures here! Collects HULK #1-6 and TALES TO ASTONISH #60-91.

Customer Reviews:

awesome hulk collection from lee and kirby..........2007-01-17

if you are a fan of the hulk, you can't pass this one up. there isn't a dvd-rom collection of the hulk yet, so unless you want to pay big bucks for the masterworks collections (which are a lot shorter) this is the way to go. i don't mind it anyway, it's kind of nice just to see the king kirby's pencilwork without color. lee and kirby= the greatest team ever in comics.

Marvel masterworks The Incredible Hulk From Tales To Astonish Nos. 59-79 (#39)

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the hulk is the rage in all of us...

Marvel masterworks The Incredible Hulk From Tales To Astonish Nos. 59-79 (#39)

Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0785116559

Product Description

"Experience the seminal stories of the world's favorite super heroes. Marvel comics is proud to present the Masterworks library in this special limited-printing collector's edition featuring the classic format. This printing is limited to 1400 copies."

Customer Reviews:

the hulk is the rage in all of us..........2007-01-11

sometimes people read into things a bit too deeply with their own rose-colored glasses, and see things not as they are but as they personally perceive them to be. stanley lieber and kirby didn't write this as any kind of allegorical tale about racism, but it's amazing and a testament to the timelessness of the material that someone might think so. after all, the green rage machine is the beast that lives inside every one of us.

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials)

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Artist Herb Trimpe had the best version of the Hulk
A brief time of perfect happiness for the Incredible Hulk

Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 3 (Marvel Essentials)
Stan Lee , Roy Thomas , Herb Trimpe , Gerry Conway , and Harlan Ellison
Manufacturer: Marvel Comics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0785116893

Book Description

The misunderstood monster's earliest adventures continue as Robert Bruce Banner's rampaging alter ego clashes with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers! He fights his share of super-villains, too - including Maximus the Mad, the Glob, the Leader, the Rhino, the Absorbing Man, Night-Crawler, Tyrannus, the Mole Man, Hydra, the Abomination and the Sandman! Featuring the almost-wedding of Bruce and Betty Ross! Collects Incredible Hulk #118-142, Captain Marvel #20-21, and Avengers #88

Customer Reviews:

Artist Herb Trimpe had the best version of the Hulk.......2005-05-26

If you like Herb Trimpe's version of the Hulk; you'll love this one. In it are classics by Harlan Ellison and Roy Thomas. It's so hard to believe that both Ellison and Roy Thomas are no longer writing for Marvel anymore. It doesn't seem like all that time has passed. If you love good seventies comics, then this volume of the Hulk is one of the best. I wish artist Herb Trimpe were still drawing the book today. It was a mistake to take him off the book. I still wish that editor in chief Joey Q at Marvel would let him draw a book in tribute to the seventies version of the Hulk.

A brief time of perfect happiness for the Incredible Hulk.......2005-04-30

In Volume 3 of the "Essential Hulk," Stan Lee gives over the writing reigns to Roy Thomas who invites Harlan Ellison to write one of the more memorable stories of Ol' Greenskin and Herb Trimpe finds the perfect inker for his pencils in John Severin. Collected within this trade paperback are issues #118-142 of "The Incredible Hulk" along with "Captain Marvel" #20-21 and "Avengers" #88 in the name of providing crossover continuity (which makes sense since "The Incredible Hulk" #140 was includes in Volume 4 of "Essential Avengers," which shows this is going both way just like it should).

Understand going in that I always found the Hulk to be one of the least interesting Marvel characters because he was always caught in the same cycle. Bruce Banner turns into the Hulk (or the other way around or both). The Hulk smashes things. The army tries to track down the Hulk. The Hulk smashes things. Villains smarter than the Hulk try to get him. The Hulk smashes them. Villains who think they are strong try to get him. The Hulk smashes them too. At the end of this collection we get to the creation of Doc Sampson, the man Banner could have been if the gamma rays had been nice. Guess what the Hulk does to him. Bruce Banner loves Betty Ross, but the Hulk takes care of that romance and every other relationship he tried to have (e.g., Rick Jones). There is certainly an inherent pathos to the Hulk, who was intended to bring together key elements from "Frankenstein" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," but you can only go through the same basic story so many times before it wears thin.

That is why "The Brute That Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom" (#140) was such a surprise. Ellison's story worked because it found the best of all possible worlds for the Hulk. Shrunk to sub-atomic level, the Hulk ended up in a world where everybody was green and where the princess Jarella had her court magicians work some mojo that put Bruce Banner's brain in the Hulk's body. The only problem is that, of course, it does not last. We do not even get to explore this brand new world for the Hulk for a story arc lasting several issues before the Hulk is untimely ripped from his happiness. Ironically, the artwork for the issues is different because Trimpe did the layouts and Sam Grainger the finished art (as opposed to Granger doing just the inking as in #138-139).

Consequently, I am put in the position of saying that it was a good thing that Severin was not doing the inking for that issue because that look did not really fit the story, but overall Trimpe's pencils never looked better than when Severin did the inking (another irony is that if you look at when Trimpe did his own inks, as in issues #118-123, it looked a lot like Marie Severin's artwork). Trimpe & Severin did some of my favorite Hulk covers as well (I really liked #135 for some reason).

The Ellison story is really the key one here, setting up as it does the creation of Doc Sampson in #141 and being presaged by the idea the Hulk is the Golem in #134 and when the Hulk fights Banner (#130) who almost marries Betty (almost being the operative word). Otherwise the Hulk goes toe to toe with Namor, the Sub-Mariner (#118), Maximus of the Inhumans (#119-120), the Glob (#121 & #129), the Leader (#123, 139), the Rhino (#124), the Absorbing Man (#125), the Night-Crawler (#126), Mogol (#127), Hydra (#132), Draxon the Dictator (#133), Kang the Conquereor (#135), Xeron the Star-Slayer (#136), the Abomination (#137), the Sandman (#138), and the Valkyrie (#142), as we find out whether or not the Hulk smashes women. There are crossovers with the Fantastic Four (#122), the Avengers (#128), Iron Man (#131) for a chance of pace, because superheroes always want to help Hulk rather than smash Hulk before Hulk smash them. By the time you read all of these, plus the Captain Marvel two-parter, you will understand why Ellison's Hulk story stands out.

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Hulk: The Impressive Guide

Hulk Guide Great Recap of History

A Great Guide

Incredible Hulk Great and Extenstive

Hulk: The Incredible Guide (Marvel Comics)
DK Publishing
Manufacturer: DK CHILDREN
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0789492601

Book Description

Capturing the legend of this amazing Marvel Comics superhero, Hulk: The Incredible Guide traces the Hulk's 40year career, with special emphasis on the latest developments and characters. Each chapter deals with a different decade of the Hulk's story, from the original comic book to the long running 1970's television series, as well as focusing on the upcoming feature film. Discover the secret of the Hulk's superhuman powers, the terrifying multiple personalities that manifest from deep within Bruce Banner's tormented psyche, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Hulk: The Impressive Guide.......2004-01-02

I got this for Christmas and just finished reading it. The format of this book is great. It starts with basic information on Bruce Banner, The Hulk, Hulk's powers, Betty Banner, and a few other main characters throughout Hulk's history. Then it is broken down into decades starting with the 1960's and going up through the 2000's. Each decade details major events, allies, and of course enemies of the Hulk. This set-up is perfect. The art is taken mostly from the comics and there are samples of pages added featuring the spotlighted character. All in all this is well worth the price for a fan of The Hulk.

Hulk Guide Great Recap of History.......2003-05-30

Mr. DeFalco's latest Guide for the Incredible Hulk shows a tremendous amount of research and skill in editing in focusing on the history and surrounding chararacters of the Hulk mythos.

I confess this is my first Marvel DK Book, that I've looked at. Previously, I've spent more time examining the DC ones, (Superman, Batman, the Justice League, etc). And I have to confess that background gives me a slant.

Unlike DC, Marvel did not trash or recon its history as extensively as the Superman Group did in the mid-eighties, so their continuity is far more coherent than in DC. I confess I love that.

It's a good read. Mr. Defalco covers the major storylines, with recommendations on some of his best-loved favorites. There were a few two-age spreads that I thought could have been used for more textual information. But that's just my humble opinion.

Of course, this is to tie-in with the upcoming Hulk movie release (smart move, wait till a major publicity event is coming to relaunch books like these).

I look forward to more such books from both DC and Marvel. From Marvel: The Fantastic Four and Daredevel, From DC: Wonder Woman and Captain Marvel.

Not bad.

JThree

carolyn@dia.net

A Great Guide.......2003-05-26

Tom DeFalco does a great job again (as he did with Spider-Man The Ultimate Guide), and I consider this book the best Hulk encyclopedia out there. Precise, accurate, giving proper credit to all Hulk artists, major or not, with tons of great images, easy-and-fun-to-read, in summary, a great buy. I could not say the same about the Hulk Marvel Encyclopedia by Kit Kiefer, which is a true dissapointment, a 3/5 stars book (tops), deserved by the great artwork on it, and the sections about Hulk merchandising, the TV series, and the 2k3 movie. Kit's book is sometimes inaccurate (for ex., it says that on the first issues, Banner changed into the Hulk when he was asleep, page 28, but it was nightfall that triggered the changes), calls the Hulk a 'keep-it-simple-stupid-character' (page 22), ridiculizes Peter David's run saying about his comics: 'they were not the Hulk', does not even mention Sal Buscema, the most prolific Hulk artist of all, but does mention his late brother John who probably did 3 issues maximum. It's your money, but I suggest you get DeFalco's guide, a true homage to the incredible Hulk.

Incredible Hulk Great and Extenstive.......2003-05-23

This is the first of the Marvel Guides I've commented on. In the past, I've focused primarily on the DC titles (Superman, Batman, JLA), but this is the first real Marvel one.

Someone I've skipped the Spider Man and X-Men ones. Hey, A guy can't afford everything.

Anyway, I got an early copy of the text yesterday, and I must say Mr. Defalco did his homework and research really well. The Visual Guide covers most of the highlights of the Hulk's 40 year career.

The one advantage that the Marvel Books have over DC, is they don't have to worry about all the revisionism problems that DC ran into in the mid 80's when Superman and a few other character's history got rewritten. So in effect, the Marvel history is far more coherent, and doesn't have all the "glitches" the DC texts have.

As for this one, I loved the set up, and how the chapters were broken up. The major characters, and events were mentioned. Somehow I had the idea that the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno tv version would get a few pages. But I was mistaken, this was a comics only Guide.

Still, it's a great overview, and the DK books have really helped give a general idea of the high points in the Hulk Comics. And the afterword points to some of the best stories.

I look forward to more of these books both from Marvel and DC. In particular, the Fantastic Four, Daredevil.

And from DC, Wonder Woman, Captain Marvel and a few miscellaneous characters.

Book Description

In this second collection of classic early material, General "Thunderbolt" Ross continues to stalk the Jade Giant while Dr. Bruce Banner strives to find a cure for his horrifying condition. It's not an easy path, as he must contend with the arrival of the Leader and the Abomination, two others humans who have been altered thanks to the merciless gamma radiation.

The Hulk finds himself opposed by the army, super-villains, and even the love of his life, Betty Ross. It's certainly not easy being green, and all the child-like Hulk wants is to be left alone. Nice wish, but he's the only one who wants that. Everyone else wants him dead.

Customer Reviews:

tfhtdutyuurrur.......2005-08-14

The bad bad bad reviewer from the first volume is a dumbas dumbass dumbass.The style and amount of action in this comic is perfectly satisfying.It will make you understand why the hulk trusts no one because of how he's been betrayed.It's great to see how the Hulks character evolves as he starts to learn more about his own history and his relations with others.The love,hate,and misunderstanding that exists amongst the struggles between Bruce Banner The Hulk Betty Ross General Talbot and the General makes for an excellent story.Great artwork/Not in color.The person who said The Hulk from volume three is the best version is a dumbass. This one is the best.There is a lot of print so you'll have lots of time to enjoyit. Almost ever story in this novel has you rooting for The Hulk.You'll really get into each story and be wondering what's going to happen next and what the conclusion will be.It's amazing to see how Stan Lee weaves one story into the next.Cast-Of course Namor+Thunderbolt Ross+Betty Ross+General Talbot/Puppet Master/ Silver Surfer/High Evolutionary+New Men/Inhumans/Rhino/Sandman/ Mandarin/Ka-zaar/Galaxy Master/A Radioactive Monster/Space Parasite/Exexecuctioner and Enchantress+Asgardians/Umbu The Unliving/A Giant Android/Nick Fury and Sheild+A version of Sheild from another nation/Living Lightning Legion
The battle between the best, Namor and the Hulk,is really great
Spoiler Alert.
Warning Warning.
Here it comes
I'm serious. .
The Hulk dies.
Just Kidding.
Seriously The Hulk doesn't die but instead just the opposite happens.Someone "comes back to life" and that someone as you might have guessed is the Leader.The last story in this book is the best. It is about an evil plan being carried out by the Leader and it will make you believe that nothing can stop The Hulk.Be warned if you read this book you'll "need" to read volume three because you'll love volume two so much and it will leave you in suspense.The only problem with volume one is that the amount of dialouge used by The Hulk is a bit excessive and some of it seemed unneccesary but you could probably care less when you read it.

RAAAAAAAAR HULK CRUSHES COMPETITION WITH GREAT COMIC RAAAR!.......2004-09-11

Dr. Robert Bruce Banner is a weak yet intelligent scientist with a dark secret: high emotions cause him to transform into the huge greeb monster known as the Hulk- a creature of immesurable strength who just wants to be alone. But when he's angry, he resorts to breaking things. Did I say secret? My bad, Banner's secret identity was revealed to the public in the first Essential volume. But Bruce went inti hiding shortlly thereafter. Military General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross is the man who had hounded the Hulk all these years and still does not trust him completely. Major Glenn Talbot also distrusts Bruce Banner for differant reasons- because both are in love with the beautiful Betty Ross. Betty obviosuly has her heart set on Bruce, but he's almost never around.

This anthology collects the last issues of Tales to Astonish (#92-101, Hulk stories only) before changing to the Incredible Hulk(Volume 2) with Issues 102-117 and the first Incredible Hulk Annual all from the late 60s. With Namor out of the picture, Hulk now has twenty-plus pages all to himself(Tales to Astonish was a comic shared between two superheroes who each got aobut ten pages worth of story). Now Marvel's second Silver Age hero is up for bigger battles written by Stan Lee with art by John Romita and various other artists.

The stories get bigger with each issue. One flaw is taht a trend starts to develop between some issues (Hulk somehow winds up in extraterrestrial place. Hulk proves his worth to the foreigners and is zapped back to Earth.) There also aren't many new villains except for lame part-timers like the Man-Beast, Galaxy Master, Space Parasite and Umu the Unliving or something. Most of Hulk's enemies are guest stars- Tales to Astonish #100 features a titanic showdown between Hulk and Namor the Sub-Mariner, current stars of the book. Other guest stars include Nick Fury, the Silver Surfer, Ka-Zar, the Inhumans and the good dudes from Asgard. The guest villains include the Mandarin, the High Evolutionary, the Sandman, Maximus, the Puppet Master and the Executioner. But one of Hulk's major villains in his small stable of villains unexpectedly returns in an awesome three-parter that ends the book and proves that Hulk deserves this rating. Now when's Volume Three coming out?

Graphic novels really should be listed as regular novels.......2004-03-30

I love graphic novels as much as the next collector and have just about everything listed by Amazon. Not exactly everything, but a great percentage. This graphic novels should actually be rated and listed the same as regular novels, because the dynamics of their stories, not just the fantastic artwork, takes you away to places that novels, such as STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, CHILDHOOD'S END, FOUNDATION, RINGWORLD, STAR TREK novels, DARKEYE: CYBER HUNTER and so forth, take you. All are extremely imaginative and have visually-gratifying narrative/dialogue not too far removed from graphic novels such as this or any other. Broaden your minds, but hang on to the graphic novels as well!

Ol' Greenskin kicks out Namor and gets his own comic book.......2003-11-06

When I think of "The Incredible Hulk" it starts from the period covered in "The Essential Hulk, Volume 2," when Herb Trimpe was doing the pencils and John Severin was doing the inks. This is not to be confused with the period right before that when Herb Trimpe was doing the inks over Marie Severin's pencils. This only sounds confusing because we are talking about the Trimpe-Severin period and not the Severin-Trimpe period, and while this is the same Trimpe it is different Severins, although they are brother and sister. Collected in this volume are "Tales to Astonish" #92-101, at which point the Hulk and the rest of the Marvel superheroes doing time shares in comics like the Sub-Mariner, Captain America and Doctor Strange, got their own titles. Namor's title started with issue #1 while "The Incredible Hulk" picked up at #102 and we continue through #117.

The Hulk benefited from getting a full twenty pages each month instead of the ten page more so that the other characters. That was because with Captain America, Nick Fury Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., and Dr. Strange the Marvel writers and artists came up with pretty good multi-part stories. However, a key part of the Hulk is the whole transformation bit back forth from the Hulk to Bruce Banner, and that is hard to do every issue when you only have ten pages. Stan Lee does the writing for most of the issues and if you compare these stories to those in Volume 1 of "The Essential Hulk" you will find that the main thing is upping the ante on the Hulk's opponents. This time around Ol' Greenskin gets the Silver Surfer, the Rhino, the Missing Link, the Mandarin, Ka-Zar, the Sand-Man, and the return of the Leader. There is a lot of borrowing from other comic books, but when you are coming up with lame original villains like the Space Parasite, this is not a bad thing. The best story lines of the bunch are the multi-part story with the High Evolutionary and the one in the land of the Inhumans in the first "Hulk" annual, although his best fight is with the Sub-Mariner, which is what took place in the second to last issue of "Tales to Astonish" that they shared together, #100 (nice touch).

The issues collected her are a definite improvement over Volume 1, but the glory days are still to come. Hopefully we can get to Volume 3 in this series so you can see for yourself, but only Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four have gotten that far so far. I do not mind that these collections are just in black & white because I appreciate the economics involved and if you want your favorite title in color the Marvel Masterworks series is getting around to those as well. You just have to be patient, because it might be a long haul. Final Note: Great choice of using the Hulk from #105 for the cover of this collection.

An intriguing Essential collection from Marvel.......2001-10-23

The Marvel Essential series is perfect for both novice comics fans and the hardcore faithful, providing 500+ pages of comics for less than .... Some of the collections vary in quality; the first Hulk collection is a bit spotty, with weak writing and inconsistent reproduction. But Hulk vol. 2 is a much better package. The reproduction is uniformly crisp, and the quality of the stories improve greatly. Granted, the stories aren't as deep or rewarding as Peter David's long run (or even Bill Mantlo's 80's run), but it's a fun romp nonetheless. If you're looking for more good fun, I highly recommend Marvel's Essential Fantastic Four vol. 3 and the Essential Spider-man collections (all are wonderful!). You can't go wrong here!

The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect (Marvel's Finest)

Average customer rating:

The HULK smahing story ever told
Boy did i make a make mistake...
The enemy is me.
Hulk: Future Imperfect
Hulk at his finest

The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect (Marvel's Finest)
Peter David
Manufacturer: Marvel Entertainment Group
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0785100296

Customer Reviews:

The HULK smahing story ever told.......2006-08-11

This grafic novel, shows the powerful hulk can be, in a caotic future, that he can kill all the marvel universe if he is mad enough, the drawings are fenomenal, if you don't like the hulk character, with this book sure you will change your mind

Boy did i make a make mistake..........2004-12-20

by NOT buying this masterpice when i had the chance! My Library had a copy and i took it out, read it and loved it! i thought that i could just go back there for when ever i had a craving to read this great story, but now it's listed as "missing," i.e. some kid borrowed it and never returned it. Now it's out of print, hard to find, and when u can find it it's pricey. Well, it's availble here and i'm gettin' my copy before the're all gone, and if you like the
Hulk or super-hero comics in general, buy this baby while you still can.

The enemy is me........2004-11-05

Another masterpiece from the mind of Peter David, Future Imperfect is praised by fans and critics not only as some of his best Hulk work, but as some of his best work overall!

Brought forward in time ninety years and arriving in a post-apocalyptic future, the Hulk is beseeched by a group of resistance fighters to take down the being responsible for all the devastation. A being known only as "the Maestro."

But the battle won't be a simple one, for the Hulk soon learns that the Maestro is none other than a bizarre future incarnation of himself! Driven insane by decades of persecution, made even stronger by the free-floating radiation of the era, and having nearly a hundred years more experience than his younger self, the Maestro will rank as the Hulk's greatest challenge ever...... assuming he survives it.

Featuring art by George Perez and colors by Tom Smith, Future Imperfect is a modern-classic that belongs in every fan's collection.

Hulk: Future Imperfect.......2004-10-22

What can I say that hasn't already been said by others? I have read and re-read this book many times. It is one of the best Hulk stories you'll ever read and the art is great, too. Almost no prior knowledge of the Hulk is necessary to fully enjoy this masterpiece. Buy this thing now!

Hulk at his finest.......2004-05-29

The Ultimate Comic Book Fight, Hulk vs. Hulk. Hulk in thrown into the future where his future self controls everything. That pretty much sets everything off. One of the finer moments in Hulk History. So just buy this, now, and be preparded to see how a real Hulk Story is written.

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