The time was ripe for betting on green

Maestro: War & Pax Nos. 1-5
Marvel Comics
Creators: Peter David, Javier Pina and Jesus Aburtov
Release date: January-May 2021

This series was timed just right to grab my attention.

I’ve long been a fan of the Hulk. I like most of the more “monstrous” Marvel characters like Hulk, Thing, Beast after Hank McCoy sprouted his blue fur, and Nightcrawler. They appeal to me visually, I guess, but I’ve also liked the characterizations of Hulk and Thing a great deal.

When I was a kid, my family watched the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno “Incredible Hulk” television program every week. I also read and very much enjoyed a nice run of Incredible Hulk beginning with issue No. 212 while visiting a friend around that same time in the late 1970s. I’d read some other issues of the character from time to time, but never on any consistent basis.

I also enjoy the writing of Peter David, be it in the form of Star Trek and other prose novels or in comics. I like how he makes his stories character-driven and always includes touches of humor. Some of my favorites among David’s comics writing include Young Justice, Fallen Angel and Supergirl. I’ve long been curious about David’s lengthy run on Incredible Hulk. He lasts a good long time on the title, and it’s a character I like, but I’d always been unsure where to start reading.

I decided to do something about that curiosity several years ago by picking up the first couple Hulk Visionaries: Peter David trades, but then they got dropped on my to-be-read-sometime pile. Last year, I decided it was time to finally satisfy that curiosity and make sure I did the big Hulk read-through by tracking down the rest of the Visionaries series of trades and the Marvel Epic trades that picked up Peter David’s run on the title.

I also picked up a number of back issues from before Peter David’s run and settled in for a lengthy but enjoyable reading project that stretched from Incredible Hulk No. 195 through No. 448. There were some gaps, especially early on, but I revisited that run from my youth and read a number of later issues I truly enjoyed for the first time. And Peter David’s run was mostly complete, including every issue from No. 331 through 448. I was not disappointed. In fact, I enjoyed reading these Hulk adventures so much, I began following the new Immortal Hulk title in trade form as well, and I’m also enjoying Al Ewing’s take on Hulk.

Included in those Incredible Hulk Epic Collection trades of Peter David’s run was the two-part Future Imperfect story arc. This prestige format limited series by Peter David and George Perez was originally released in 1992. I bought and read these issues when they were released and enjoyed the tale of the modern-day Hulk being transported to a dystopian future where he has to fight a twisted version of himself named the Maestro.

Re-reading this series as part of David’s collected Hulk run, I was better able to appreciate the context around which Future Imperfect was written. I got to not only read Future Imperfect again for the first time in a long time, but I was able to see the beginnings of the story slowly develop in the regular monthly title and then explore the repercussions of the limited series on the characters going forward in future issues. Then shortly after I finished reading those collected Hulk editions, it was announced that Peter David was going to return to the concept of the Maestro for more tales nearly 20 years after the original story was printed. Now that’s serendipitous timing.

These new series would focus on how the Maestro came to be, and I was excited to try them. The first of the announced trilogy of miniseries was simply titled Maestro and explained how Hulk came to be alive in this future war-torn time. It also showed how he encountered another familiar face, who was then using the title of the Maestro.

This second series, War & Pax, picks up the story after Hulk has assumed the mantle of the Maestro and shows him coming into opposition with Dr. Doom and the members of the Pantheon, Hulk’s former teammates. I’m sure this was a welcome callback for any fans who first read about the Pantheon 20 years ago, but it was also a nice callback for me, who had just discovered the Pantheon members about 20 months ago, give or take a few weeks.

Both of these first two Maestro series were fun codas to Peter David’s earlier run writing Incredible Hulk. I’m looking forward to the third installment to begin in a few months. And I expect it to be just as much fun.

The long wait is finally over

Welcome back, Slacker! 

That refers to me, not you, dear reader. Why would I insult you? I don't even know if you're still hanging around after all this time without a new post. But I've missed writing this blog, and I'm going to take a stab at keeping up with it once again. 

So what do we have to entice you to come back? Just a short post this time, and one that doesn't even center on a comic. Nope, I'm going to brag a bit about the latest figure I've added to my collection, the King Shark build-a-figure included in one of the latest DC Multiverse lines from Mattel. 

I really like the look of this figure, based just as much on his appearances in Season 3 of The CW's "Flash" television program as it is on the character's comic appearances. His bulk makes him look imposing next to the other regular six-inch figures I have, and he's a nice addition to my shelf of villains, which was already quite Aqua-centric due to the multiple Ocean Master and Black Manta figures. 

Besides, what's not to love about the character when he was even a quasi-good guy during the Sword of Atlantis Aquaman run? Why, if Arthur has trouble taking this big guy down alone (perish the thought), maybe the Hulk would be more King Shark's size? 

Come back next Tuesday, and I'll tell you about the surprise I got recently reading some old Superman comics. I promise I'll try to make it worth your time.

Somebody's Gonna Get A Beatin'

Indestructible Hulk 2
Marvel Now
Mark Waid, writer
Leinil Yu, artist

I'm one of those readers who felt that Tony Stark/Iron Man had a lot to answer for after the events of Civil War a few years ago. Since that time, I've been happy to see some instances where some of Tony's friends have taken him to task for some of his decisions and his hubris during those events. This book falls into that category.

Maria Hill, director of S.H.I.E.L.D., has taken Bruce Banner up on his offer from the first issue: S.H.I.E.L.D. supplies Banner with a lab, staff and materials so he can create things to benefit mankind and ensure that he is remembered for more than the destruction caused by his green alter ego. In exchange, Banner allows S.H.I.E.L.D. to point him in a useful direction when he inevitably hulks out again. While not 100 percent convinced of the overall benefits, Hill is taking advantage of the offer in light of there being no other workable solutions to the Hulk problem. For his part, Bruce Banner is making the most of his deal, already having developed a few new bits of hardware and setting a goal for himself to complete work on at least one new invention each week.

Enter Iron Man at the outset of this issue, barging into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base where Banner is currently located and demanding that Hill turn over whatever technology or whichever super-villain she is using to mind-control Banner. Hill explains that isn't the case, but Iron Man insists on investigating the situation for himself. Tony and Bruce share a mathematical joke to lighten the mood of the meeting, and Bruce does what he can to assure Tony that this plan is for the best. But it is also obvious that the two men have an underlying animosity/rivalry going on. Tony is clearly impressed by some of what Bruce has already accomplished but refuses to acknowledge that out loud. And Bruce has anticipated Tony's interference and expects the metal-clad Avenger to try to end the arrangement. You just know all of that tension is going to result in a superhero smackdown! But don't worry, fans of each character have their moments to be proud of in what ensues.

In fact, my only complaint with this book so far is the art -- just not a fan of Leinil Yu's work, especially on this title. I absolutely hate the way he draws faces here: the drawings are so detailed, you can't see the faces for all of the linework.

Taking A Cue From The Film

Indestructible Hulk 1
Marvel Comics
Mark Waid, writer
Leinil Yu, artist

Several reviewers of "The Avengers" movie gave their highest praise to the portrayal of the Hulk. This book takes that concept and runs with it.

I have to say I haven't been too impressed with most of the advance information on the Marvel Now! titles. Some of them might be very good stories, but most didn't make me want to pre-order the books. However, I've enjoyed Waid's writing in the past, most recently on his recent new take on Daredevil. So I thought I would give his new Hulk a try based on that title.

This first issue was necessarily mostly setup and thus pretty Banner-heavy at the cost of very little Hulk action. But I like the direction Waid is going. Banner hasn't exactly decided to embrace his green alter ego, but he HAS decided to quit using Hulk as an excuse to be miserable. He decides to turn himself in to S.H.I.E.L.D. director Maria Hill and request a staff and funding so that he can produce the kind of innovations to help mankind that Reed Richards and Tony Stark often create. After all, Banner is a pretty smart guy in his own right. In exchange, he will allow himself to be pointed in the villains' direction WHEN he hulks out, because as he puts it, "It's a given" that he will hulk out at some point. Then when the crisis is averted and Hulk calms down, S.H.I.E.L.D. just comes in and gives Banner a lift back to his lab. Everybody wins.

I love this concept and am anxious to see it in action, so I plan to stick with this book for a while. In fact, my only real complaint so far is the Hulk's hair. When Banner does finally hulk out in this issue to take down the Mad Thinker as his trial run with S.H.I.E.L.D., the Hulk is colored as the familiar green everywhere but his hair, which remains brown. Not only is that not consistent with ANY other incarnation of the character I'm familiar with, it just looks odd! 

Please Help Peter David

For any of my readers who don't already know him, Peter David is a very prolific writer of not only comics, but also prose novels, television scripts, and I think even a few movie scripts. If you like comics and/or science fiction, odds are you have read or seen something of his. But his work is not limited to those two fields.

Peter David recently suffered a stroke, and while he is recovering, the various medical and recuperation-related bills are mounting. The family continues to update Peter's fans about his condition through his blog at http://www.peterdavid.net/

The family has also suggested a number of ways that Peter's fans can help, either through direct donations or by simply buying his books, most available in either print or e-formats. And they've asked that any of Peter's fans with a blog help spread the word. Hence this extra post.

For more information on how to donate or links to many of Peter's books, just go to this post from Peter's site. If you are looking for some of Peter's comics work, he had a very lengthy run on Marvel Comics' The Incredible Hulk in the 1980s and '90s and is the current writer of Exiles. Some of my favorites of his are also DC Comics' Aquaman in the 1990s and Young Justice in the early 2000s, as well as Fallen Angel, begun at DC, and later resumed at IDW Publishing.

Thanks for your time and attention for this special announcement.

A Week Of The Unusual

Only a few reviews again today. Haven’t had as much time to read again this week, partially because of some recent back issue purchases. I think I mentioned previously (but I’m too lazy to check) about trading for a complete run of DC Comics’ original Checkmate series from the late ’80s. I didn’t know it until they arrived, but smack in the middle of this 33-issue run is a crossover story with Suicide Squad and a couple other books. The crossover is called “The Janus Directive.” Well, I went on a hunt for the other chapters in this crossover so that when I read the arc, I can assess it based on the whole. That led to a number of other finds and impulse buys which have recently arrived.

I was also able to snag copies of the three-issue miniseries , The P.I.s: Michael Mauser and Ms. Tree, by First Comics. Trade ads for this series looked good in the mid-1980s issues of Jon Sable, Freelance. I don’t know Michael Mauser, but I’ve read some Ms. Tree before. She’s a classic, hard-boiled private investigator from the old school except she’s a dame, not a guy. I was also able to pick up the complete 24-issue run of DNAgents from Eclipse Comics at a nice price. Don’t know much about this series either, except it was supposed to be good, was written by Mark Evanier and was compared to Marv Wolfman’s New Teen Titans, which I love. And I also picked up Incredible Hulk #s 210-222 from the late ’70s. I remember reading these issues at a friend's house at the time and liking them, but that’s about it. I dunno if this is a complete arc or several arcs; I don’t remember. But I’ve checked on buying them in the last few years and always found them a little pricey. A few weeks ago, when I found them on sale, I snagged them.

It may be a while before I get a chance to read some of these finds. Back issue buys like the Checkmate series, which started in 1988, can be read and filed when I come to the appropriate dates as I go back through my collection. Older stuff, though, like DNAgents and the Hulk issues, I’ve already passed those respective dates. So they get added to a stack of out-of-continuity trades and such that I have vowed not to touch and read through until I finish the massive undertaking that is making it back through all of those chronological back issues. The stack is getting kinda big.
Enough of that. On to some quick reviews:

Outsiders 38 (DC Comics) — More questions than answers in this book. I want to like it, but it’s teetering on the edge of being dropped right now. How does the grim and brooding Nightwing in this book justify with the more laid-back personality he has in his own book now? DC online has said they will address that, but when? How do the Brain and Monsieur Mallah’s actions in this title jibe with their appearances in Teen Titans? On the fence with this one.

The All New Atom 1 (DC Comics) — This story started out slower than we were promised in Brave New World. I thought that book was the intro and that the new series would pick up from there. Apparently not. If that’s the case, since Brave New World did nothing to change my already-conceived notions aboiut these new titles, was it a waste of my money?

OMAC 1 (DC Comics) — Same thing here. The issue starts out before what we saw in Brave New World. It doesn’t even catch up to BNW by the end of the issue.

Marvel Westerns featuring Kid Colt and the Arizona Girl 1 (Marvel Comics) — I don’t remember these characters, but I like them. I just wish Gray and Palmiotti hadn’t made the villains of the piece aliens. Am I the only person who thinks cowboys and aliens just shouldn’t mix, even in the Marvel Universe? Still a fun read, though.

Fantastic Four Presents: Franklin Richards, Son of a Genius Super Summer Spectacular (Marvel Comics) — Whew, what a name! Typical cartoon fun. These books are fun for what they are, but then, after reading three of them, the humor is starting to grow a tad stale. A Calvin-espue Franklin shares misadventures with his robot nanny, H.E.R.B.I.E. (Why does that name sound familiar?)

Justice League Unlimited 23 (DC Comics) — The Royal Flush Gang is always fun, even this overly-serious grouping from the Cartoon Network series. This story also has Martian Manhunter insights to boot.

52 Week 10 (DC Comics) — Some nice character bits with Clark Kent and a whole lot of time spent with Black Adam, a truly fascinating character in the DC Universe the last couple years. I’m guessing the young lady, Adrianna Tomaz, will become the new Isis soon. But y’know, we really only spend time with Clark and Adam. Did none of the other players in this little drama do anything this week, or are we seeing some of the working of having multiple writers on this title: each one takes one story and we don’t get development on a particular storyline if that writer didn’t get his stuff done that week? Hmmmmm.

That’s it for today. See ya next time, kiddie cops.