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Post by EdoBosnar on Sept 2, 2019 3:03:33 GMT -5
So far, Dream Country is the only Sandman collected volume that I've read. You're probably right that "Midsummer Night's Dream" is technically the best story in the book, but my favorite here is "Dream of a Thousand Cats." That one just stuck with me more than any of the others. By the way, if you haven't already, you should read Gaiman's similarly cat-themed story, "The Price." It's in one of his prose collections, but in 2004 it was also adapted into a comics story painted by Michael Zulli. It's in a book called Creatures of the Night.
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Post by Mormel on Sept 3, 2019 3:10:31 GMT -5
OK much as I'm enjoying these late 80s Iron Man issues, the Kathy Dare subplot is atrocious.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 3, 2019 16:12:26 GMT -5
So, my read through of The Sandman continues with Volume 3: Dream Country... I felt that this was the best volume of The Sandman so far. It's a pretty scant volume – only four issues in length – and is basically made up of four unrelated, stand alone filler issues. Dream, the central character of The Sandman so far, is only peripherally involved in these stories, but that didn't matter one jot. This is a collection of stories about stories, and, for me, was the point where I felt that Neil Gaiman's writing chops wholly matched his vision for the first time in the series. Of the four stories, "Calliope" was a particularly memorable and enjoyable moralistic tale about the Muse from Greek Mythology who has become trapped by a mortal. This gentleman then gives her as a slave to a young writer who is struggling with writer's block. This young author keeps her imprisoned and continually rapes her in order to provoke his inspiration. As a result, he becomes tremendously successful, as he continues to subjugate poor Calliope. Thankfully, this was one of the less gratuitous rapes in so-called "mature" comic books, simply because Gaiman is (I think) making a point about writers, artists, or musicians and how they unrelentingly demand servitude from their creative muse, and how ill-tempered, unpleasant and abusive – to others and themselves! – they can be if that inspiration isn't forthcoming. After all, don't all artists abuse their creative gifts? Another stand out story for me was "A Dream of a Thousand Cats", which is a story about domestic felines, told entirely from the perspective of domestic felines. It would take too long to describe exactly what happens in this kitty conspiracy tale – and anyway, I wouldn't want to spoil the story for anyone. But Suffice it to say that, if you're a cat lover, as well as the owner of cats (as I am), you will smile knowingly a lot of the time during this tale and never look at your precious pussy, as they twitch in dream, in quite the same way again. The very best story in this volume though was, for me, "A Midsummer Night's Dream", in which William Shakespeare performs his new play (the titular A Midsummer Night's Dream) for Dream and an assembled audience of faerie folk, including such key characters from the play as Oberon, Titania and Puck. This particular story is linked to events in Volume 2 of the series, The Doll's House, but not so closely tied that you necessarily need to have read volume 2. Gaiman's writing in this chapter is very thematically complex, rather touching, beautifully eloquent, and just downright brilliant from start to finish. The story is not just a retelling of the play: it is an episode of the series that explains how the play is an homage to the faerie and was commissioned by Dream himself in return for giving Shakespeare what he thought he most desired. As I say, it's excellent and a real masterclass of a comic. The other story in this book is titled "Façade" and this was the only story in the volume that I felt was less than fantastic. It centres around Element Girl from DC's old Metamorpho comics from the mid-60s. To be honest, I had to Google who the hell Urania Blackwell was, as I had absolutely no idea (I'm not the biggest DC fan in the world). The story was unrelentingly bleak, but it was somewhat interesting insofar as Urania is thousands of years old and all she really wants to do is die. But despite this nifty concept at its core, the story never really hooked me in the way that the other three did. Overall, this was a hugely enjoyable volume of The Sandman, which, while it barely featured Dream/Morpheus at all, finally seemed to justify the hype that the series gets. On to volume 4, Season of Mists! Those four stories are a master-class in writing one-and-done stories that still contribute both to the larger universe and which will, at least in some cases, come back to resonate later on in the series. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" won the World Fantasy Award for Best Short Story in 1991 which caused quite a furor within the WFA administration.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2019 20:56:06 GMT -5
Read these Marvel Masterworks in the past week:
Golden Age Human Torch: Vol. 1-3
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Post by spoon on Sept 9, 2019 19:47:45 GMT -5
When last I posted here, I had read through Incredible Hulk #285. Now, I've read Incredible Hulk #286-313, plus Annual #12-13 and Alpha Flight #29. That's the contents of the Regression and Crossroads TPBs.
** WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW **
Annual #12 is a space story with a rather grim moral at the end about the oppressor can become the oppressed. There's a world in which red people oppress green people (Mantlo will recycle that later). Trimpe returns to Hulk for the first time in a while to do the art. It's not that great; he works a lot better with certain inkers.
A typed note at the bottom of page 1 of #286 notes that it is based on a short story and teleplay (from The Outer Limits) by Harlan Ellison. Apparently, that credit wasn't in the original printing of the issue. More on that later.
By this point, Bruce Banner was established a lab in upstate New York called Northwind Observatory which observes gamma radiation from outer space. He gains an assistant named Dr. Kathryn Waynesboro. Kathryn is secretly a SHIELD agent placed to keep track of Bruce lest he lose some of his newly gained control over the Hulk. Kathryn becomes a love interest for Bruce. Although Bruce uncovers her role in SHIELD, for once melodrama is passed over, and Kathryn is quickly forgiven. There's a creepy story with MODOK trying to transform Kathryn. I find Kathryn Waynesboro an intriguing love interest for Bruce. It's a relationship that seems to work, and she has more guts and good sense that Betty Ross.
Around #293, Bruce starts to have nightmares about losing control of the Hulk. The issue has an interesting plot where a main whose town was destroyed by the Hulk months before tries to assassinate Bruce manner. Bruce realizes the havoc he's wreaked in the past. As the Hulk, he single-handedly rebuilds the town.
The next issue starts the rapid slide to tragedy. Bruce experiments with the curative powers of gamma rays on a terminally ill dog. The dog's disease is healed, but as a side effect it turns green. Bruce wants the use of gamma therapy carefully monitored, but an aging mob boss without his medical ethics just wants the cure. He sends Boomerang to kidnap Kathryn to gain Bruce's compliance. Boomerang surprisingly is able to escape the Hulk with Kathryn, and the mobster gets Hulk to provide the cure. He then discloses the address of the penthouse where Boomerang is holding Kathryn. On the way there, Hulk is distracted by the gateway that leads to Battleworld and the Secret Wars miniseries.
I skimmed Secret Wars for all the Hulk scenes, but a 1 page summary in the Hulk: Regression TPB summarizes it well. Things don't mesh precisely between SW and Hulk's own title. In Secret Wars, Hulk says his intelligence has been declining, but in his own title we've only really seen some nightmares about losing control and some waking anxiety along the same lines. The Hulk also injures his left leg and gets a high-tech brace and crunch at Battleworld.
Returning to Earth, Hulk is enraged by Boomerang's kidnapping of Kathryn. He is now really showing signs of savageness, knocking over a bystander and nearly killing Boomerang before the police intervene. I knew Boomerang survived this issue, and yet I was still worried the Hulk would beat him to death. On his return to Northwind Observatory, Bruce is distressed to learn the mob boss (Stryker) has taken over the lab and is dispensing the gamma cure without proper testing and protocols. The following night, the irradiated dog turns savage, Stryker turns into super-strong, savage monster, and they other treated people start dying. The Hulk starts turning savage during the ensuing fight. Rom shows up to cure the irradiated people and the mobster (inexplicably renamed from Stryker to Hammer). However, the Hulk is irradiated to be cured. Hulk attacks Rom and strikes Kathryn. Realizing what he's done and that he's now losing control over the Hulk again, Bruce freaks out and flees.
The Hulk unleashes a path of destruction and is pretty much operating with the limiting intellect and vocabulary of the classic savage Hulk. It's now revealed to readers that Nightmare (the Dr. Strange villain) is the source of the Hulk's nightmares and he sends a hypnotic dream message that the Hulk should seek Dr. Strange for help (but really to destroy him). At this point, Gerry Talaoc is the regular inker on Sal Buscema's pencils, and he works really well with the bestial Hulk.
SHIELD and Kathryn try to stop the Hulk's march to Manhattan, but despite a momentary transformation back to Bruce Banner, the Hulk can be stopped. He knocks Kathryn down again. When Hulk finally arrives at Dr. Strange's sanctum sanctorum, Strange probes his mind and learns the truth. Strange is able to reach Bruce deep in the Hulk unconscious mind. Bruce decides that he no longer wants to be tortured by co-existing with the Hulk and a savage Hulk is best to defeat Nightmare, so Bruce is some able to will his human self to psychically die and unleash a complete savage Hulk on Nightmare in the dream world. #299 ends with a horrifying image of "mindless" Hulk, who appears more ape-like and less human than ever before, unleashed on the waking world.
This all culminates in #300 with a now non-verbal Hulk unleashing destruction on NYC and an assemblage of heroes (mostly Avengers) trying to stop him. This monstrous Hulk is a departure from classic savage Hulk. Whereas the Hulk traditionally just want to be left alone but would smash when people bother him, this Hulk is the one who initiates fight. He doesn't speak or communicate or show any compassion. Dr. Strange decides that this new Hulk, totally detached from the intelligence of Banner (who Strange believes is gone forever), is too dangerous to remain on Earth. But out of regard for their friendship, Strange decided merely to exile the Hulk. Because he cannot find a single safe world, Strange decides to send him to the Crossroads, a dimension with gateways to various worlds. This will all the Hulk to move between various worlds, each supposedly to determined to be realms that he could not harm and which could not harm him. Spoilers - not so true. But to help, a spell is in place that will cause Hulk to be transported back to the Crossroads when his dissatisfaction with world subconsciously triggers the spell.
So that's the Crossroads, title of the next TPB. On its face, it seems like a questionable premise for an arc. The Hulk is more mindless than ever before. His moral compass is seemingly destroyed. His supporting cast is gone (including Kathryn Waynesboro, a good match for Bruce who I wish could stick around longer). Earth is out of the picture, with seemingly little change of the classic rogues gallery showing up. Is this going to be monotonous? Will it be a disaster?
Well, I don't feel like continuing for now (maybe I should opt for a shorter summary), but I may cover the Crossroads in another post this week. For now, I'll just say that it turned out surprisingly well. That might be a function of binge-reading. I don't know if the Crossroads arc would read as well wait from month to month.
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Post by Duragizer on Sept 11, 2019 22:10:35 GMT -5
Darker Image #1; The Maxx #½-13
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 12, 2019 8:03:55 GMT -5
When last I posted here, I had read through Incredible Hulk #285. Now, I've read Incredible Hulk #286-313, plus Annual #12-13 and Alpha Flight #29. That's the contents of the Regression and Crossroads TPBs. ** WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW ** Annual #12 is a space story with a rather grim moral at the end about the oppressor can become the oppressed. There's a world in which red people oppress green people (Mantlo will recycle that later). Trimpe returns to Hulk for the first time in a while to do the art. It's not that great; he works a lot better with certain inkers. A typed note at the bottom of page 1 of #286 notes that it is based on a short story and teleplay (from The Outer Limits) by Harlan Ellison. Apparently, that credit wasn't in the original printing of the issue. More on that later. By this point, Bruce Banner was established a lab in upstate New York called Northwind Observatory which observes gamma radiation from outer space. He gains an assistant named Dr. Kathryn Waynesboro. Kathryn is secretly a SHIELD agent placed to keep track of Bruce lest he lose some of his newly gained control over the Hulk. Kathryn becomes a love interest for Bruce. Although Bruce uncovers her role in SHIELD, for once melodrama is passed over, and Kathryn is quickly forgiven. There's a creepy story with MODOK trying to transform Kathryn. I find Kathryn Waynesboro an intriguing love interest for Bruce. It's a relationship that seems to work, and she has more guts and good sense that Betty Ross. Around #293, Bruce starts to have nightmares about losing control of the Hulk. The issue has an interesting plot where a main whose town was destroyed by the Hulk months before tries to assassinate Bruce manner. Bruce realizes the havoc he's wreaked in the past. As the Hulk, he single-handedly rebuilds the town. The next issue starts the rapid slide to tragedy. Bruce experiments with the curative powers of gamma rays on a terminally ill dog. The dog's disease is healed, but as a side effect it turns green. Bruce wants the use of gamma therapy carefully monitored, but an aging mob boss without his medical ethics just wants the cure. He sends Boomerang to kidnap Kathryn to gain Bruce's compliance. Boomerang surprisingly is able to escape the Hulk with Kathryn, and the mobster gets Hulk to provide the cure. He then discloses the address of the penthouse where Boomerang is holding Kathryn. On the way there, Hulk is distracted by the gateway that leads to Battleworld and the Secret Wars miniseries. I skimmed Secret Wars for all the Hulk scenes, but a 1 page summary in the Hulk: Regression TPB summarizes it well. Things don't mesh precisely between SW and Hulk's own title. In Secret Wars, Hulk says his intelligence has been declining, but in his own title we've only really seen some nightmares about losing control and some waking anxiety along the same lines. The Hulk also injures his left leg and gets a high-tech brace and crunch at Battleworld. Returning to Earth, Hulk is enraged by Boomerang's kidnapping of Kathryn. He is now really showing signs of savageness, knocking over a bystander and nearly killing Boomerang before the police intervene. I knew Boomerang survived this issue, and yet I was still worried the Hulk would beat him to death. On his return to Northwind Observatory, Bruce is distressed to learn the mob boss (Stryker) has taken over the lab and is dispensing the gamma cure without proper testing and protocols. The following night, the irradiated dog turns savage, Stryker turns into super-strong, savage monster, and they other treated people start dying. The Hulk starts turning savage during the ensuing fight. Rom shows up to cure the irradiated people and the mobster (inexplicably renamed from Stryker to Hammer). However, the Hulk is irradiated to be cured. Hulk attacks Rom and strikes Kathryn. Realizing what he's done and that he's now losing control over the Hulk again, Bruce freaks out and flees. The Hulk unleashes a path of destruction and is pretty much operating with the limiting intellect and vocabulary of the classic savage Hulk. It's now revealed to readers that Nightmare (the Dr. Strange villain) is the source of the Hulk's nightmares and he sends a hypnotic dream message that the Hulk should seek Dr. Strange for help (but really to destroy him). At this point, Gerry Talaoc is the regular inker on Sal Buscema's pencils, and he works really well with the bestial Hulk. SHIELD and Kathryn try to stop the Hulk's march to Manhattan, but despite a momentary transformation back to Bruce Banner, the Hulk can be stopped. He knocks Kathryn down again. When Hulk finally arrives at Dr. Strange's sanctum sanctorum, Strange probes his mind and learns the truth. Strange is able to reach Bruce deep in the Hulk unconscious mind. Bruce decides that he no longer wants to be tortured by co-existing with the Hulk and a savage Hulk is best to defeat Nightmare, so Bruce is some able to will his human self to psychically die and unleash a complete savage Hulk on Nightmare in the dream world. #299 ends with a horrifying image of "mindless" Hulk, who appears more ape-like and less human than ever before, unleashed on the waking world. This all culminates in #300 with a now non-verbal Hulk unleashing destruction on NYC and an assemblage of heroes (mostly Avengers) trying to stop him. This monstrous Hulk is a departure from classic savage Hulk. Whereas the Hulk traditionally just want to be left alone but would smash when people bother him, this Hulk is the one who initiates fight. He doesn't speak or communicate or show any compassion. Dr. Strange decides that this new Hulk, totally detached from the intelligence of Banner (who Strange believes is gone forever), is too dangerous to remain on Earth. But out of regard for their friendship, Strange decided merely to exile the Hulk. Because he cannot find a single safe world, Strange decides to send him to the Crossroads, a dimension with gateways to various worlds. This will all the Hulk to move between various worlds, each supposedly to determined to be realms that he could not harm and which could not harm him. Spoilers - not so true. But to help, a spell is in place that will cause Hulk to be transported back to the Crossroads when his dissatisfaction with world subconsciously triggers the spell. So that's the Crossroads, title of the next TPB. On its face, it seems like a questionable premise for an arc. The Hulk is more mindless than ever before. His moral compass is seemingly destroyed. His supporting cast is gone (including Kathryn Waynesboro, a good match for Bruce who I wish could stick around longer). Earth is out of the picture, with seemingly little change of the classic rogues gallery showing up. Is this going to be monotonous? Will it be a disaster? Well, I don't feel like continuing for now (maybe I should opt for a shorter summary), but I may cover the Crossroads in another post this week. For now, I'll just say that it turned out surprisingly well. That might be a function of binge-reading. I don't know if the Crossroads arc would read as well wait from month to month. I have the original comics and was really surprised that the cover for # 300 was so subpar. They should have gotten a big shot to do the cover. Great story leading up to this issue, by the way.
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Post by Icctrombone on Sept 12, 2019 8:04:32 GMT -5
And is that Betty Boop in the background ?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 12, 2019 11:10:59 GMT -5
Read these Marvel Masterworks in the past week:
Tales to Astonish: Vol. 1-4 The Avengers: Vol. 17
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Post by MDG on Sept 12, 2019 12:03:07 GMT -5
Last week, my friend gave me this saying, "The worst story ever!" I see no reason to dispute him. (The issue is redeemed by a Bridwell/Newton Capt. Marvel Jr. story.)
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Sept 12, 2019 12:45:10 GMT -5
Last week, my friend gave me this saying, "The worst story ever!" I see no reason to dispute him. (The issue is redeemed by a Bridwell/Newton Capt. Marvel Jr. story.) I bought that off the newsstand for whatever reason. That lead story is really a dog. Though to be fair World's Finest was traditionally pretty awful.
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Post by spoon on Sept 14, 2019 11:40:02 GMT -5
I have the original comics and was really surprised that the cover for # 300 was so subpar. They should have gotten a big shot to do the cover. Great story leading up to this issue, by the way. I think it's a solid cover, although I acknowledge it's an unusual layout. I think there was pretty early in the career of Bret Blevins. Bill Sienkiewicz and Kevin Nowlan were also doing Hulk cover around that time. Al Milgrom, who was the editor of the series, had also done some earlier covers. So there were some more experienced hands available.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 14, 2019 11:59:26 GMT -5
DC Archives
Black Canary Archives Blackhawk Archives
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Post by spoon on Sept 14, 2019 20:46:05 GMT -5
Continuing on with my Hulk read-through, I read the Crossroads TPB, which reprints #301-313, Annual #13, and Alpha Flight #29. I also re-read Alpha Flight #28, because it sets up the Hulk crossover and he appears at the end. *** SPOILERS ABOUND ***
Crossroads isn't just a metaphor; it's the name of the dimensional confluence to which Hulk was exiled, which has gateways to various worlds. The Hulk was exiled there because the Hulk has become uncontrollably savage due to the consciousness of Bruce Banner seemingly "dying", leaving no subconscious force to mitigate the Hulk's rage. As noted in my previous post, Hulk has a slightly altered appearance that seems more beastly or ape-like to me. His face also looks different with a larger area between the upper lip and nose, different nose, and often a vacant look. It reminds a bit of facial differences that coincide with some intellectual disabilities, so at times it seems like an uncomfortable analogy. Gerry Talaoc is the new regular inker, and he's well-suited to the more savage, less intelligent Hulk.
On paper, it sounds like we're at a storytelling dead-end. No less an authority has told us that Bruce Banner is dead. The Hulk is non-verbal. He's come across as a destructive, downright evil character in the issues leading to his exile, so there's no reason for him ever to be returned back to Earth. He's been separated from his supporting cast and Earth. There doesn't seem to be a reason for even old villains to show up. The storytelling possibilities seem limited. Hulk can go to a new worlds from the Crossroads, and Strange's spell will return him to the Crossroads whenever he becomes disenchanted with a world. Is it just going to be monotonous sequence a dumb Hulk smashing different world's with no dialogue.
Surprisingly, the arc ends up working! Mantlo finds interesting ways to keep things fresh. He introduces challenges and both new and (surprisingly) old villains. It gives an opportunity to evolve from the depths to which he's regressed. Because it's a comic book, Bruce Banner's mind isn't really dead, and the return makes for an interesting story. Also, Mantlo fudges a bit with the rules he set up.
The first issue is mostly an intro to the premise, with Hulk visiting the different worlds. The most interesting world has Hulk in a toy village as a plaything for a child who is a giant in comparison. The idea of the Hulk being weak compared to the worlds he visits will be a recurring theme. Because Hulk can't speak, a hive-mind creature called the Puffball Collective which lives at the Crossroads befriends the Hulk and acts as a character who can narrate. Unfortunatley, the collective is unable to leave the Crossroads. John Byrne would create a very similar character in a Green Lantern annual a few years later.
Annual #13, drawn by Alan Kupperberg, places Hulk on world inhabited by non-verbal beasts, but also by parasites that communicate telepathically. Somehow Mantlo makes me care about a parasite that resembles a spinal column, and a short-lived, tragic friendship starts the Hulk on his road to redemption. In #302-303, Hulk goes to a medieval world with a sad princess whose tears turn into vegetation. Mantlo reuses the idea (from a Hulk Annual a year earlier) of red-skinned people oppressing green-skinned people. Again, Hulk is overmatched by the strength of his rivals, and it's actually the princess who does the most to save the day. She also does most of the exposition with the Hulk still non-verbal. But the princess's arc of being hardened through the cruelty of war makes this two-parter compelling.
In one of the few forays to Earth, #304 starts with the U-Foes escaping federal custody. They're always entertaining and there's actually an interesting discussion about the ethics of holding them without charges. The Hulk plot is forgettable, and the point seems just to keep him busy until, through some malfunction of Vector's powers, the U-Foes are transported to the Crossroads. We get a few pages on Earth with Dr. Strange testifying before Congress to re-establish the Crossroads premise. But the rest of the issue is the Hulk and the Puffball Collective versus the U-Foes. Mantlo had to find a way to bring the U-Foes back for one last story because they're the best villains introduced in his huge run and genuinely one of my favorite things in my giant Hulk read-through. All they wanted to do was transform themselves into an evil, self-serving version of the Fantastic Four and now they just go through a series of Hells. They all seem so dangerous. After all, X-Ray can fatally irradiate people and Vapor can turn into poisonous gas. But all are as horrifically transformed as the Thing, and ever appearance seems to end with various members seemingly annihilated in painful ways. There's a "can you top this" quality of how Mantlo comes up with ways to bring them back. They're homicidal but I kind of root for them. Sometimes they're comedic, but they're also horrific. They painful ways is which they suffer seems cruel and just at the same time. There's a lot of themes going on with them. In the end, they each up exiled to different Crossroads, seemingly beyond salvation.
#306-307 revives some old space-fairing characters from 170 issues ago. Captain Cybor and the crew of the Andromeda chase after the giant Klaatu in a story similar to Moby Dick. But horrifically, Cybor, who is a cyborg, had his human parts destroyed after the events of that old arc and is still alive but a figurehead mounted on the bow. Hulk is conscripted against his will, but the two-parter ends with the Hulk sympathizing with Klaatu and helping his escape.
#308 is a huge swerve as the Puffball Collective is revealed to be evil! They were a malignant force within a larger collective that released murderous N'Garai demons on their world, causing them to be exiled to the Crossroads by other puffballs. Puffball tricks Hulk into breaking the seal to reach its world, but three creatures suddenly materialize to help Hulk. They are Goblin, Guardian, and Glow: the Triad. With their help, Hulk is able to trap the Puffball at the mercy of the N'Garai, seal the door again, and escape to the Crossroads. Goblin looks like a creepy demon/gremlin. Guardian is a lithe, elvin archer of ambiguous gender. I don't know if it's an error or if Guardian is an early "gender fluid" character, but I think it's referred to as both boy and girl at different points. Glow is a floating jewel-like thing, similar to the Bit in the movie Tron. The mystery of their origin last only an issue or two, as they are revealed as aspects of Bruce Banner's mind: his rage, his drive, and his reason.
In #310 (drawn by Bret Blevins) and #311 drawn by Mike Mignola, Hulk rescues a bikini-clad alien from a group of cloaked aliens only to be captured by a horde of animated skeletons. A poison spear cause Hulk to revert to Bruce (surprise, still alive) for the first time in the arc. The bikini babe is about to perform a human sacrifice on Bruce, when she's called off by an 18th century Scottish alchemist. It turns out that he is gaining immortality through a horrific blood-letting experiment, but believes the Hulk's blood (not Bruce's) is the only way to avoid the effects of aging. After hearing the explanation, Bruce escapes and bikini babe breaks her hypnosis and slays the alchemist. After doing some earlier covers, Mignola is now the regular penciller.
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Post by spoon on Sept 14, 2019 22:19:17 GMT -5
Hulk #312 is apparently one of the most pivotal issues in the character's history. Over the years, there might have been little suggestions of a psychological origin for the Hulk, but this is AFAIK, the first really developed account of the Hulk's rage as a manifestation of Bruce Banner's suppressed childhood fear, anger, and trauma. We flashback to the birth of Bruce Banner to atomic researcher Dr. Brian Banner and Rebecca Banner. Rebecca loves Bruce, but Brian is jealous of the attention his son gets and becomes obsessed with the notion that his precocious intellect is due to mutation from Brian's own radiation exposure. He wishes Bruce was never born. It's revealed that the Triad of the Hulk's imagination from the Crossroads are inspired by recollection of his childhood. Glow is a mobile over his crib. Guardian is a doll he plays with. Goblin is his nightmarish view of his angry nanny (and later his father). I'm a bit disappointed by the background for Goblin, because in the memories he's Bruce's fear of harmful people, but Goblin actually seems to help Bruce.
"Monster" becomes one of Brian's insults for the freak he thinks Bruce is. Bruce witnesses Brian abusing Rebecca. Skipping years ahead, Bruce is in high school, and we learn his father has murdered his mother. Brian Banner was acquitted by reason of insanity, but institutionalized. Years later, Brian is released from the hospital, but is unrepentant. Brian attacks Bruce at Rebecca's grave. Bruce repudiates his father, and after Brian departs, he leaves the Glow mobile. Eventually, Bruce arrives at Gamma Base and is introduced to Betty. He has the Guardian doll in his moving boxes, but General Ross breaks its arm off while angrily ranting about Bruce's caution. It turns out he's familiar with the Banner family history, which seems like an unnecessary retcon. It seems General Ross reminds Bruce of his father and Betty reminds him of his mother. The accident that created the Hulk is revisited and it is revealed that the gamma radiation has unleashed Bruce's pent-up childhood rage and unleashed the monster his father had labeled him.
The flashback ends and the Hulk is present in the Crossroads with the Triad. He manages to change back to Bruce and the Triad disappears. Bruce despairs that he is still not free of the Hulk. An invisible Beyonder observes. He sees an energy probe passing through and redirects it toward Bruce to "help" him.
In #313, Bruce attempts to jump to his death, but the Crossroads environment doesn't let him die. The energy probe from last issue strikes Hulk in the back like a harpoon on a line. Hulk attempts to move from world to world (include one panel with a creature like Hellboy still with his horns), but cannot detach the energy probe. For those that has read Alpha Flight #28, the probe is a sort of fishing line of energy that member of Alpha Flight have cast into an interdimensional portal to find a body for Walter Langkowski (Sasquatch). Sasquatch's body was recently destroyed and his mind has been inhabiting the robot body that Roger Bochs has used in his identity as Box. They thought they found a mindless body.
Langkowski's spirit enters the Hulk's body while Bruce's mind is disembodied. They have a dialogue. Langkowski realizes that Bruce's mind had returned and thinks it would be unfair effectively kill him. Walt's mind departs the Hulk's body and Bruce's mind returns to fill the mental void in the Hulk body. Bruce is aggravated because he was determined to die. Hulk comes back to Earth and sees Alpha Flight in their Vancouver base. The story continues in Alpha Flight #29, but since the two titles have now swapped their creative teams, we get one more issue of Mantlo & Mignola on Hulk. Hulk goes on a rampage and Alpha Flight tries to stop him. Most of the issue is about AF, and the Hulk aspects seem mostly about setting up Byrne's run by returning Hulk to Earth, letting him escape from Vancouver and head toward New Mexico, and behaves savagely/destructively. It's pretty disappointing, because the later part of the Crossroads part had the Hulk recover from the depths of mindlessness and brutality. In part he seems to have made progress and dealing with the trauma that made him a monster. Having the Hulk smash a major Canadian city seems to undo that progress.
This complete Mantlo's giant Hulk run, so it's time for reflection. I really enjoyed Mantlo's run. I start out with apprehension, because I know some people think of him as a hack, and at the beginning his writing (scripting, plotting, and characterization) were weaker than what had just come before. Turning Glenn Talbot & General Ross into villain felt like a regression. Talbot had actually been a stand-up guy for most of his history. That made the love triangle so unique, because he seemed worthy of Betty and friendly to Bruce. And while Ross had hated the Hulk for a long time, he grew to respect Bruce and care for his welfare in the years before Mantlo started, so it was shame to see that wiped away. However, it did create opportunities for new storylines and Talbot's obsession with killing the Hulk and apparent death opened the door for Betty to become a love interest again.
Mantlo sent the Hulk on a world tour arc that introduced characters like Sabra and Arabian Knight and fascinating new villain team in the U-Foes. He brought Rick Jones and Betty Ross back into the picture for stints (but then had Betty flip-flop in ways that seemed strained and inauthentic). Glorian & the Shaper of World had a great appearance. The High Evolutionary attempted suicide by Hulk, and Mantlo somehow got away in the 80s with repeatedly having Bruce wish for death. Rocket Raccoon entered the mainstream. Bereet moved over from The Rampaging Hulk magazine, and she was a unique artistic visionary.
As opposed to those who want a permanent status quo, I think that as a character born from transformation, it's nice to change the nature of the Hulk occasionally. Mantlo gave us a couple years of Hulk with Bruce Banner's mind, and for the most part it was really great. Dr. Kathryn Waynesboro was an interesting love interest; sadly, the Crossroads storyline removed her from the picture. Although the execution wasn't perfect, for the most part the whiplash transition from a smart Hulk to a mindless one was really done. I imagine Crossroads might have been unpopular or tedious to read monthly as released (was it?), but as a binge it was pretty good. It's a big risk. I think Mantlo left Hulk in a good spot. Unfortunately, I read ahead into Byrne's run. While I won't talk further about it now, it's a shame Byrne did follow Mantlo more organically.
Now, the controversy. The story of Bruce's childhood in #312 is a brilliant way to integrate psychological theories about childhood trauma into the story of the Hulk. I know it was influential to later writers. My brother collected Hulk during the Peter David/Dale Keown period. I didn't realize David was drawing up a Mantlo story. But was he? It's been alleged that this story was stolen from a Hulk story that Barry Windsor-Smith was working on. Jim Shooter alleges that Mantlo found materials on the BWS story and repurposed the story. Series editor Allen Milgrom published it before Shooter realized what happened. Unfortunately, because of his brain injury, Mantlo can't tell his side. BWS has for years supposedly been working on revising it for a new character. Descriptions sound similar in some ways and different than others. The Triad sounds like it wasn't in the BWS pitch. Did Mantlo create the Triad first and then work the family story into out? The transition from the Triad to #312 seems a bit uneven. Or did Mantlo create it on his known? Another theory I've heard is that Mantlo assumed the BWS story was going to be published as a graphic novel, and wrote his story assuming it would dovetail with BWS's story rather than as an attempt to rip it off. I'm a bit doubtful about this because the two versions have different names and occupations for Bruce's father.
Also, the controversy over Incredible Hulk #286 gives me pause. As I noted in a prior post, the TPB has a typed credit noting that it's based on a Harlan Ellison story (and Outer Limits episode). That credit wasn't in the earlier issue. Shooter claims editor Milgrom wasn't aware of the source prior to publication. I think he said Archie Goodwin pointed out the similarity. According to Shooter, Ellison caught wind and threatened to sue, but settled for a credit & lifetime subscriptions. I've never read the short story or seen the episode, but from a description, it sounds similar. Then again, Ellison was notoriously litigious and thought many people ripped him off. He also claimed The Terminator ripped off the same story. The Hulk issue and The Terminator are only linked in my opinion by having a character with military training back in time from a bleak future. If Ellison thought that was enough to constitute theft of his intellectual property, he deserves massive amounts of disdain. So I'd like to read the story and see the episode to decide for myself.
I really hope Mantlo didn't steal the idea for Hulk psychological origin. It puts a damper on things if it's true. When I was looking up info about the plagiarism issue, I also listened to a podcast where Mantlo's brother was interviewed. He said that Mantlo told him he made up cases to cite to in his law school exams. The brother seemed to find that amusing, but it's concerning to me in light of the allegations (and on its own). But there's so much to love about Mantlo's run, and I want to remember him for his contribution to the Hulk, whatever the truth is about #286 and #312.
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