HULK SMASH AVENGERS
is a weekly five-issue mini-series that just past the half-way point this
week. Each issue is $2.99 (which is a
nice break) and features a gorgeous Lee Weeks cover. Weeks (who had an excellent run on Daredevil [that issue was fantastic this
week] once upon a time is one of my favorite artists. He’s also responsible for some really good
Spider-Man mini-series and I think a Captain America one too. Regrettably, he doesn’t handle any of the interior
art on this title. Instead, it’s a bit
of a mix bag with rotating writers and artists for each issue telling an untold
tale of the Hulk and his relationship with the Avengers over the past nearly 50
years. One neat thing about Lee’s covers
is that despite all the physical changes the Hulk has gone through over the
decades, he illustrates him consistently with the same “look” on each one.
Issue one takes place in continuity (remember when that
actually mattered?) between Volume 1 #7 and 14.
It’s by Tom DeFalco and Ron Frenz with Sal Buscema handling the
inks. I was destined to love this
chapter with the creators of Spider-Girl
on board and seeing Sal on the Hulk again was pure joy. The Avengers are trying to get the Hulk to
rejoin the team (after he helped them against the Lava Men), but instead end of
fighting him (surprise surprise) when he loosely teams up with Baron Zemo’s
Masters of Evil. It’s the great
old-school action you’d expect for this team and the Hulk was making a good go
at it until Zemo threatened Rick Jones.
I would have been happy if this team had been scheduled for the whole
series, but alas they only had this one issue.
Issue two takes place in continuity immediately AFTER Volume
1 #181. It erroneously says “prior to”,
but I know that story very well and it only makes since AFTER Gyrich has picked
the team’s roster. It’s written by Joe
Casey and illustrated by Max Fiumara with colors by Jean-Francois
Beaulieu. One of the hard things for me
with this creative team is that the style is SO different from the Byrne era
issues of that time. Call me crazy, but
I’d like for my Untold Tales to actually fit in nicely with my back
issues. Still, if you take it by itself,
the art is very moody and enjoyable with the coloring really bringing the book
together. There’s a good deal of time
spent setting up the current state of affairs in the then Marvel Universe, but the
basic plot has Gyrich send the team to subdue the Hulk (in hopes that they get
their butts kicked for giving him so much grief), but here the battle ends
peacefully with the Avengers leaving the Hulk alone.
Issue three takes place in continuity between Avengers Volume 1 #227 and 228 and Incredible Hulk Volume 1 #280 and
281. This chapter is written by Roger
Stern, who was the scripter of the Avengers at that time and illustrated by
Karl Moline (penciler) and Jay Leisten (inker) with Beaulieu on board as
colorist again. The art reminds me a
little of Stuart Immonen’s Superman work and serves the story adequately. The framing sequence has two artists (based
on the dedication meant to represent Mark Gruenwald and John Buscema) selling
paintings outside Avengers mansion, arguing over the Hulk’s past history with
the Avengers. Meanwhile, we have Captain
Marvel (Monica Rambeau) learning the ropes as an Avenger –in-training, when the
recently amnestied and intelligent Hulk shows up to borrow a Quinjet (providing
a long missing continuity piece in his series).
Of course there’s a misunderstanding and a short tussle (that’s the
point of the series). All in all a good
chapter and I really liked the heavy continuity, except…
Yeah, you just knew there was going to be an “except” in
there somewhere. I can’t stand the
sliding timescale reality bending continuity mal-forming updates that Jim
mentioned briefly in a recent Monday post about the Samnee Daredevil issue. In issue one, we have more modern army
uniforms (or at least in the last ten years).
In issue two, we’ve got cell phones and EMP arrowheads. In issue three (worst of all), we have some
unnecessary dialogue between the Wasp and She-Hulk at a spa discussing the
latest eligible bachelors like George Clooney and some other person I didn’t
even know! It reminded me of a Marvel
Tales reprint of the Amazing Spider-Man
Annual #1 from the 80’s. In the original issue, Aunt May refers to The Beverly Hillbillies Show, but in the
reprint she instead talks about the Dukes
of Hazzard. Now that was a pretty
harmless switch and actually pretty compatible, but the point is WHY IS THIS
NECESSARY? Sure we have the sliding time
scale, but unless you’re totally rewriting the origins (like Ultimate Spider-Man) if you ever wanted
to read the referenced continuity issues (or reprinted trade or hardcover),
then you’re stuck BACK in that time period anyway! Like Jim, it totally takes me out of the
story. Instead, I’d like for them to
keep it in the era that the original stories were set in and that includes
fashion, technology, and jargon. I’d really
like for it to be written in the style of those stories too, but that’s too
much to hope for I guess.
Uh oh, the timer just went off…Luckily I’m at the concluding
paragraph anyway, so I think I can devote a few more minutes. The next issue (on sale Wednesday) has the 90’s
Mr. Fixit Hulk battling the West Coast Avengers. I tried to find the writer, but the Marvel
site didn’t say (that I could quickly see), but I hope they tapped Peter David
to write it or someone else from that time period. And the fifth issue? It features the RED HULK!!! I may not even get that one. I guess that’s one drawback to the series;
there is no real thread to bind the whole thing together. It’s really just five stand-alone
issues. So, check out the ones you like
and get those, but leave the rest. For
the ones I’ve read so far though, it’s a nice companion piece to my AvengersReading Initiative that I spotlighted last time.
That’s it for this week.
Looks like I’m going to see the Avengers for the fourth time today
(tomorrow morning for me)! [21:46 EST -- done!]
Happy Belated Birthday Matthew
ReplyDeleteTHANKS!
ReplyDelete