Tagged: hulk

Comic Cover of the Week: The Incredible “John Carpenter Thing” HULK!

I was looking through my incredible Hulk back issues the other day and sort of forgot about how good some of  The Incredible Hulk run from the late 90s early 2000s was. It reminded me of one of the things I took note of back then and again today, was how amazing Kyle Hotz’s Incredible Hulk artwork was!

One of my all time favorites is issue #19 from 2000. It reminds me of a sort of “John Carpenter’s The Thing” take on The Incredible Hulk. Hotz nails it here, giving this cover and many others a sort of “horror” vibe. I’m definitely needing to revisit these issues that he was artist on- again here’s another one issue #21, the kind of imagery I always want to see from an Incredible Hulk comic book-a dose of sc-fi, horror and of course a raging monster ready to lose control!

Comic Cover of the Week: The Brazilian 80s Alternate Incrivel HULK !

Here’s a sweet alternate Incredible Hulk cover from Brazil’s O Incrivel HULK #50-an interesting version of the American issue #297 shown below. I’m not quite sure why they redrew the cover? At least the top half appears to be a more “Sal Buscema” take on the green goliath? It’s the first time I’ve ever seen this, but it’s a real treat and it makes me wonder if there are other alternate versions of classic Hulk issues? 

The original cover from 1984 again features the Incredible art from Bill Sienkiewicz, this was a real sweet era of The Hulk as he slowly loses his “Banner Hulk” persona and further transforms into a truly “mindless” monster. I miss the feel of these 80s Hulk comic books-they were truly a blast-all over the world! Which one do you prefer?

Comic Cover of the Week: ENTER ‘SQUATCH!

To this day one of my all time favorite Marvel comics characters is most definitely Sasquatch, known mainly as a member of Canada’s greatest super hero team: Alpha Flight. However over the years he’s had several great tussles with The Incredible Hulk, one of my favorites is this 1979 Hulk annual, where we get to see the two of them go toe to toe. I’ve always loved how HUGE they made him, as a kid I just could not get enough of him and the Alpha Flight. This particular comic was one I got in the 1980s and the cover always blew me away. The giant tree being used as a weapon was a truly nice touch and it wouldn’t be the first time these two met in the wilderness! Looking at this more closely today again brought me back to a time when comic books felt very special in a day and age when they feel mostly disposable. These books (especially the annuals) had some real weight to them and I’ll always appreciate these older back issues and the wonder they filled me with. A great cover by Al Milgrom a true comic book icon…

And as I mentioned earlier the size of Sasquatch in the comics, here Hulk penciller Sal Buscema really brings the beastly gentle giant to life. What a great full panel!

This issue was loosely made into an animated episode too of the Incredible Hulk in the 1990s-check out a clip fellow ‘Squatch fans!

Comic Cover of the Week: Frank Miller, Daredevil & THE HULK!

I’m done waiting around for Daredevil to appear in the latest She-Hulk Disney Plus series! IMO the show is a complete annoying, trainwreck and I really don’t care to see whatever pathetic version of Daredevil they end up bringing to the screen. I say this as a huge fan of The Sensational She-Hulk series by John Byrne too. So here’s a classic cover with Daredevil in his prime facing a real Hulk from issue #160 from 1980! I love the simplicity here and how we really only need to see The Incredible Hulk’s giant green hand to witness the fear in Daredevil’s face.  The man without fear? I’m not so sure! Excellent work Frank Miller!!

Disney SHE-HULK: A Four Episode Gamma-Migraine!

I’ve been a She-Hulk fan since the 80s and been highly anticipating the “live action” version of the character in the MCU for quite some time! I really enjoyed the original 1980 Savage She-Hulk series and LOVED that the character replaced The Thing in the Fantastic Four in the mid eighties. By 1989 I was a teenager and got heavily into the John Byrne ‘Sensational She-Hulk’ run, it was one of my favorites and I’ll admit right now I had a major crush on the character!

Flash forward to 2022! One of my childhood wishes finally came true, She-Hulk got her own “live action” series. I’d initially been worried that they were going to botch this show by making her look and act more like The Incredible Hulk, not sticking to the original character’s classic vibe. Lucky for me they stuck to the landing and gave us a more traditional comic book accurate version of the character. However they also managed to make the character look incredibly unrealistic with some truly unimpressive dated looking CGI.

I’m still baffled that Disney/MCU has such an aversion to casting a real actor in the role, instead of using some weird looking rubbery CGI. There’s absolutely no reason that the green giantess couldn’t have been a real living breathing person. I’m guessing they really do want everything to look like a video game? But Hey I’m willing to set that all aside, even though it bothers me and just take the show for what it is. So after 4 episodes I can firmly say that the most the most appropriate word to describe this show in my humble opinion is: annoying. 

It’s jam packed with annoying one dimensional characters, annoying “plots”, annoying character designs & lazy annoying attempts at comedy.  At this point in the show the most likable characters are merely cameos, I’d rather be watching a series about Wong and Madisynn. Seriously. 

 Also I’m admittedly a bit tired of the MCU brand of “quirky/snarky Joss Whedon” humor and this dials it up to 11. People tell me to just enjoy it like like a classic sitcom but in order for any classic sitcom to work it’s gotta have some stellar comedic timing. The likes of Three’s Company, Martin or Diff’rent Strokes & OG Sex in the City among a long list of many other of my favorites. So if it’s not succeeding (in my opinion) as a sitcom and it’s not succeeding as a superhero/courtroom drama I don’t know exactly what this thing is supposed to be and who it’s exactly for? And kudos to you if you’re enjoying it, I have NO problem with that, this is just my personal opinion as a fan of the classic character.

I’m not so sure about the Disney Plus MCU stuff, the only series I was truly able to make it through was the Falcon and the Winter Soldier (which I dug!). I know there are a lot of overdramatic man babies/woman babies out there whining about the series being too “woke”, most of them merely complaining to get clicks, views and followers on their lame YouTube channels. I don’t honestly give a damn if it’s woke or not I just want a well crafted cohesive storyline and at least a few characters who I genuinely give a rat’s ass about.  I mean is there even an actual plot to this show so far? Do any characters have any actual endearing qualities or charm?  So far I’m really not finding anyone on the entire show to be very likable and I really think the Smart Hulk is bore. But Hey maybe I’m missing the big picture? Does anyone know what that is?

All of this Disney Plus stuff though feels a bit soulless, kind of like our big green CGI generated lead in She-Hulk. It’s sad to say but I feel the end of an era coming for me and the beloved MCU. Now I’ve just got to pull out all of my old Sensational She-Hulk comic books to make sure that I’m not just pining for teenage nostalgia’s sake, I mean who knows, maybe those comics lack the charm I remember them having?! I’m totally ready to admit I’m wrong! Unfortunately I’ve got to admit that my comic book crush has officially come to an end with She-Hulk…so be it!

Comic Covers of the Week: The Sensationally Savage SHE-HULK!

It’s no secret that She-Hulk has been one of my all time favorite comic book characters since the 1980s! Being that we are currently in the midst of her very 1st streaming series it only seemed appropriate to showcase a couple of my favorite covers from the original ‘Savage She-Hulk’ and ‘Sensational She-Hulk’ from the 80s. First we go SAVAGE! A brilliant cover illustrated by the legendary Michael Golden from 1980!

Next we go SAVAGE again with a sweet cover from iconic Hulk artist Dale Keown. This cool epic cover features her transformation into a grey ultra “Hulked out” version of the character, more in line with the more recent hefty beefy less feminine She-Hulk. A great one from 1989!

Comic Cover of the Week: Walt Simonson’s Savage HULK Rage Rainbow!

Anyone have those oh so fond memories of ‘The HULK’ magazine from the 70s/80s?! They were larger than your average comic cover and had insanely epic covers & also featured a BONUS Moon Knight story in every issue. There was also ‘The Rampaging Hulk’ which was another larger comic version with amazing hand painted colors. THIS issue #23 from 1980 features the icon, Walt Simonson (as seen with his unmistakable signature) with his Banner/Hulk “rainbow of rage”.

An amazing colorful piece of gamma charged work that makes me again wish that Walt had spent more time drawing The Hulk!

The MCU Wrecking Crew!! OMG Childhood Dreams DO Come TRUE!

I was thrilled to hear that one of my favorite Marvel Comics supervillain teams was coming to life on the upcoming She-Hulk Disney Plus Marvel series!

The wait was over, this rough and tumble band of colorful supervillains has finally arrived on the scene ready to clash with the likes of Thor, She-Hulk and yeah the OG jade giant himself! These guys are such Icons! 1st appearing waaaaay back in 1974 (my year of birth actually) in The Defenders #17! 

From what I understand though, many people may have missed these supervillain sensations in the trailer entirely! I guess it might be because Marvel always does seem to tweak the costumes just a little bit for their live action shows, so here we are in case you missed it let’s check out “The Wrecking Crew” and let all of our childhood nostalgia FINALLY come to life!!!

So?! What did you think? Are you as excited and blown away as I am?!! Do you think this one’s got potential or do you think they’ve just made another throwaway version of iconic Marvel characters? What are the chances these guys will suit up in  something more……exciting? Also do you think these guys have superhuman strength or are they just luggin’ around some stupid MCU tech for the sake of some “witty” MCU humor? Only time will tell True Believers!

The SHE-HULK Series’ “Roger Rabbit” Style CGI!

Yowza!! So the day has finally come, yes, we finally get the official full length ‘She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law’ trailer that dropped TODAY!  Awwwww yeah!

As a giant fan of the character, who’s been one of my favorites since the 1980s (especially the ’89 John Byrne series) I’ve got a little bit to say about this! How can it possibly be that Marvel’s CGI seems to be getting WORSE rather than better?!

  I’ve been very apprehensive about how they were going to create ol’ Shulkie and bring her to the “live action” MCU & my literal worst nightmare just came true upon viewing this damn trailer! Arrrrrrgh! She-Hulk definitely has a retrovibe here, but not in a good way but a retro nineties level CGI vibe! 

 First and foremost let me say that I was actually impressed with the with the “story” and style of the trailer & with the direction that it seems to be headed. It’s exactly what I was hoping for in a She-Hulk series! That’s why this is particularly frustrating.

I can definitely feel the spirit of John Byrne’s iconic run right here materializing on screen in this trailer. Nice work, unfortunately She-Hulk looks more like Shrek, when I saw just how bizarre the CGI on She-Hulk AND The Incredible Hulk actually are so far here. At this point I just kind of wish they would have gotten a real living breathing female body builder to portray the character. This is what I like to call a sort of “Roger Rabbit” style live action CGI attempt, only unlike Roger rabbit we’re supposed to believe SHE is an actual real life character. Hmmm..this is indeed perplexing for a couple reasons..

I’m just NOT buying it true believers!  Somebody better jump in quick and “Sonic the Heddgehog” this shit. She-Hulk deserves way better than this, there’s simply no excuse for the sub par level of FX in a show by produced by a multi-billion dollar corporation. Disney/Marvel get your shit together fast, cuz this is embarrassing!

Spider-Man Atari 2600: The Greatest TV Commercial of the 80’s!!!

So today I want everyone to check out the greatest TV commercial of the 1980s: Atari 2600’s Spider-Man’s home video game!! I of course remember this one quite well, back then this shit was cutting edge to the MAX!

Sure it was a good time but what really sold this for me was the wild n’ crazy live action commercial, that featured the Green Goblin in all of his sparky pumpkin bomb glory. Check this out for a little refresher on how to make a totally bad ass TV comnercial! College kids in advertising take NOTE!!

Yeah so what 80s commercial is better? If you got one send it my way. If you’re too young to remember this one and what the actual game looked like then you’re likely in for a shock, things have changed a LOT in video game graphics since ’82! Check out the cutting edge gameplay of the Atari 2600 Spider-man!!

Ok & just for good measure here’s a cool, but not nearly as ambitious commercial for 1994’s Incredible HULK game from Sega Genesis!

This was a ton of fun and I really dig the graphics! I need to revisit this one ASAP!

They reeeeeeally needed a live action Lou Ferrigno HULK appearance to really sell this one! Oh well!!