tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post1035430564123115424..comments2024-01-16T03:07:03.419-08:00Comments on Herb Trimpe's Hulk: Incredible Hulk #170. An island full of monstersThe Cryptic Critichttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244329776376849506noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post-79175560294760712742010-09-21T14:39:51.037-07:002010-09-21T14:39:51.037-07:00Yeah the last few issues have most of the elements...Yeah the last few issues have most of the elements that made Trimpe’s Hulk so much fun: aliens, monsters, military hardware, strange lands, super-science and just plain weirdness. Incredible Hulk is like a throwback to pre-FF Marvel wackiness, and sometimes I wish they had stuck with that. Who needs costumed goofballs when you have protagonists like the Hulk, Silver Surfer, Conan, Ka-Zar and Shang-Chi, and villains like the Glob, Zzzax, Bi-Beast and Fin Fang Foom?Sean Strangehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04622195596387968961noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post-23881167131881013262010-09-21T14:13:13.129-07:002010-09-21T14:13:13.129-07:00I forgot to mention a DC series from the 1960s tha...I forgot to mention a DC series from the 1960s that provokes some of the same questions as Hulk #170's Weird Alien Island. It was in, of all places, Star-Spangled War Stories, and it was called "The War that Time Forgot."Hoosier Xhttp://mushtown.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post-13119722061039980162010-09-21T14:07:22.272-07:002010-09-21T14:07:22.272-07:00This is one craaaazy comic book.
Even the Hulk re...This is one craaaazy comic book.<br /><br />Even the Hulk realizes it. Round about Page 7, he remarks: "Dumb island. Nothing makes sense here ..."<br /><br />You know, the Hulk has so many strange adventures, so much weird stuff happens to him, and he takes most of it in stride. What's another giant monster, or one more green-skinned, gamma-ray-spawned adversary to him? It's usually just one more chance to prove that "the Hulk is the strongest one there is!"<br /><br />But even the Hulk remarked on just how strange THIS one is!<br /><br />Right from the start, this makes no sense! Bruce and Betty are falling down, down, down, after the destruction of the Bi-Beast's floating island. Betty has managed to conjure up a beach towel to cover her nakedness after her adventure as the Harpy, just before fainting. They land on a convenient island, with Banner turning into the Hulk just before impact, an act which, somehow, saves Betty from the usual hazards of falling several miles.<br /><br />(Hulk calls the Bi-Beast "funny-head," which always cracks me up.)<br /><br />Every time Betty sees her chance, she runs away from the Hulk. What a bitch! Even after she discovers that the island is overrun with gigantic, hostile, nonsensical aliens, she continues to run away, apparently prefering death with the aliens to all those awkward moments with the Hulk as he protects her, gathers food and even tries to make her feel more at home by squashing berries on her cheeks to simulate make-up. (To which she says: "It's a kind of make-up. Thank you, Hulk, that's very nice of you." But she runs away again as soon as she gets a chance! And the giant monsters abduct her. Even God doesn't know why.) <br /><br />The weird monsters prompt a string of questions: WTF? Why are they here? How long have they been on the island? Why do they all look so weird and random and colorful? How have they managed to escape notice by the rest of the world? (They can hardly hide in the brush when a plane goes by!) And what the Hell do they want Betty for? (I'm beginning to suspect that a plant or something on the island has some sort of hallucinogenic effect. Maybe Betty and the Hulk dreamed the whole thing.)<br /><br />There is, as usual, much to enjoy. The aggressive goofiness of the arbitrary alien parade in your face on almost every page. Great art by Herb Trimpe and Jack Abel. And I really love the scene where the Hulk can't bring himself to kill a deer, even though he believes he probably should kill it to get food for Betty, who would, no doubt, be overjoyed with a bloody, mangled deer carcass plopped next to her for a hearty breakfast. (To be perfectly honest, that deer, upon further reflection, seems to me to be the most unlikely creatures on the island. How did it survive the obvious hazards of living on Weird Alien Island? Even the Hulk can barely get through the day in this place!)<br /><br />And yet, I love Hulk #170. It's in-your-face craziness makes it a perfect coda to the Modok/Harpy/Bi-Beast saga, a storyline that was not exactly known for its commitment to sanity and reason and logical story-telling.<br /><br />Rock on, Jade-Jaws!Hoosier Xhttp://mushtown.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post-4701669240224982332010-09-21T00:17:32.214-07:002010-09-21T00:17:32.214-07:00You could be right. I assume it's why Herb Tri...You could be right. I assume it's why Herb Trimpe was drafted in to draw Marvel's Godzilla strip.The Cryptic Critichttp://mariamckee.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1494783406050099511.post-21839615611316011752010-09-21T00:00:19.583-07:002010-09-21T00:00:19.583-07:00I always thought that the Hulk comics of the early...I always thought that the Hulk comics of the early 70s were influenced by the Japanese Monster movies of the 60s.Much like Godzilla ran into other creatures like Rodan,Mothra,Gamera and the rest of the motley crew.The Hulk had his slew of gaudy looking characters and adversaries.I always thought that Marvel Entertainment should team up with some Japanese movie company to make superhero films like the Hulk or even Spiderman,Iron Man,etc.Live or maybe 3D computer graphic animated versions would be great.BuddAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com