tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post1126792982314381674..comments2024-03-28T06:13:35.339-04:00Comments on Rip Jagger's Dojo: The Incredible Hulk - The Toad Men!Rip Jaggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09936426877024852134noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post-2639338497602966472017-01-09T10:17:21.338-05:002017-01-09T10:17:21.338-05:00That's the thing about the Hulk though, and wh...That's the thing about the Hulk though, and what I wanted to post last night, but let it ruminate overnight. Is the Hulk a villain, sometimes he only seems to respect brute force. He is the embodiment of Darwin's survival of the fittest. If left unchecked he would destroy anything in his path. However, other times he seems to be a victim. He just wants to be left alone but the army, villains and villainous aliens keep chasing after him. <br /><br />That's why I never got into the comic because the Hulk seems to be different depending on the issue. <br /><br />And if Hulk is the bad guy, who is the good guy? Bruce Banner? Bruce usually takes the backseat in the comics so the reader can have lots of Hulk action. The hero usually wins in comics and Bruce always loses because he never manages to cure himself. <br /><br />In the TV show Bruce (David) was front and center and the Hulk just came in at the end. That was basically Marvel's answer to "The Fugitive." <br /><br />I've never been clear on if the Hulk if Bruce's dark side or if the Hulk is a person in his own right. That's why it makes me uncomfortable when Bruce's intellect becomes inserted in the Hulk because that means Bruce has "killed" the other personality. <br /><br />I've called the Hulk a "one trick pony" he's strong, the answer is always smash and if that doesn't work smash harder. I prefer more intellectual heroes that use their brains along with their brawn. Chimeradavehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14373236451090168388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post-30455898717427485152017-01-09T01:39:46.486-05:002017-01-09T01:39:46.486-05:00I was asked on a board recently to identify the mo...I was asked on a board recently to identify the most successful villain comic book and I said the Hulk. For most of his run he was the baddie, the nemesis of the society, the military, and even his own alter ego. It's hard to do a book when the bad guy is the protagonist and the Hulk does a grand job of it by and large. <br /><br />Rip OffRip Jaggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09936426877024852134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post-30486432048883884822017-01-09T01:37:28.361-05:002017-01-09T01:37:28.361-05:00No doubt. But the change from the first issue (whi...No doubt. But the change from the first issue (which is pretty serious really in many ways) and the second is notable. It's not the craft I challenge, only the odd change of tone. <br /><br />Rip OffRip Jaggerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09936426877024852134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post-43304702776234838272017-01-08T20:15:19.180-05:002017-01-08T20:15:19.180-05:00The stories in much of the first run of Hulk are h...The stories in much of the first run of Hulk are hard to defend, I'll grant you, and since it died at the box office there were obviously problems. But I keep coming back to what an anomaly the protagonist was in a world of squeaky-clean, code-approved superheroes. Banner gets arrested for being a traitor, but shortly before that he was (as the Hulk) contemplating "wiping out all mankind" with the captured space tech. Like the early Thing, the Hulk was a frightening figure. The shock of early Marvel heroes was how menacing and weird they were compared to the status quo. The comics themselves were very dark and ominous-looking compared to pristine, brightly colored DC and others.It's hard to convey how powerful this new line was in context.<br /><br />And,man,that Kirby/Ditko art is just insanely beautiful. Russhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04809592629762693427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8220285230636101823.post-7599654966496302272017-01-08T14:33:37.754-05:002017-01-08T14:33:37.754-05:00What you say is undoubtedly true, Rip, but really ...What you say is undoubtedly true, Rip, but really only to adult eyes. At the time, kids wouldn't have been so analytical and just soaked up the great art by Kirby & Ditko. Funnily enough, I really like this story, mainly because of the time and place in my life with which I associate it, and also because I liked that Karloffian-Hulk look that was never quite repeated. Kidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07224781868125924337noreply@blogger.com