1 Comment | Posted: May 18th, 2009 | Filed under: Design Fetish | Tags: hulk
The Art Of The Title Sequence has a very interesting interview with Kyle Cooper, who was responsible for the opening credits on 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. One of that underrated movie’s strongest points for me was how effectively the movie used its running time, particularly the way that it managed to achieve a soft reboot of the cinematic Hulk without retreading the origin. Cooper’s opening sequence was key to this effort, giving audiences the new1 genesis for the character in a brief span of time, allowing director Louis Leterrier to dive into the story.
1Yes, I know it’s a tweaked version of the one from the original TV series.
No Comments | Posted: September 30th, 2008 | Filed under: Art Appreciation | Tags: hulk
When I have a bad day at work, I think about this Marie Severin image of The Hulk, and everything gets better.
4 Comments | Posted: June 17th, 2008 | Filed under: Thinking About Comics | Tags: amadeus cho, hercules, hulk
1.
When I say Hulk-related, I mean it in the most tangential way for my favorites in the batch (The Incredible Herc,) as he’s involved in the same way that “Rosebud” was a character in Orson Welle’s most famous cinematic endeavor.
2.
World War Hulk is, crossovers and all, perhaps the most satisfying “event comic” (Lord, how I hate that term) since Invasion. It’s got a clear logline and knows exactly what it is from the outset: a giant 70s-style slugfest with current serial superhero comics technique dolloped on top. Gladiator Hulk may be my favorite iteration of the character since his disco decade appearances in The Defenders.
3.
I particularly enjoyed the dunderheaded fight between Ghost Rider and The Hulk that appears in the World War Hulk: X-Men collection. It’s a quick read – perhaps too quick for two issues – and the geography is wacky (Really, going from Buffalo to Manhattan via Brooklyn? C’mon, Daniel Way, look at a map…) but it’s got one of the best “aww k-SNAP!” moments I’ve seen in a Marvel book in a long, long time.
4.
The best thing about World War Hulk, however, is the offshoot Incredible Herc series, which defies all sorts of odds to become the best superhero comic that’s integrated into the Marvel Universe. (Daredevil sits on the fringes at this point, which is probably for the best.) Greg Pak and Fred Van Lente’s scripts are funny, exciting, and celebrate the mythos of the comics world and Roman and Greek mythology. The initial World War Hulk issues are good, but it’s after the events of the crossover, when it becomes Hercules On The Run with Amadeus Cho, that things really begin to click. The use of Ares in this title is note-perfect; he serves as the definition of a “good guy” baddie. When you realize that he and Hercules have been doing this for thousands of years and there’s no sign of their antagonism abating, the title’s over-the-top nature makes perfect sense.
5.
Amadeus Cho, for the record, is the first kid sidekick character in a long, long time I didn’t want to drown in a shallow puddle filled with solid and liquid waste. I’d say he’s easily the co-lead in Incredible Herc series, with his own motivations and desires. The use of the coyote pup as the only thing he cares for may be a bit heavy-handed, but it’s made apparent that Amadeus is more than a bit irrational. It’ll be interesting to see how Pak and Van Lente play with that character’s apparent destiny.
6.
It’s apparent that the writers have the same affection for Hercules and his adventures that Parker has for the Agents of Atlas. That is no bad thing. Marvel’s got some great talent doing some interesting work right now, which gets a bit lost in the Bendis-Millar hype machine. For instance, I recently found myself reading Ed Brubaker’s Uncanny X-Men, which has, at first blush, satisfied most of my criteria for a Big Loud Mutant Comic That Is Occasionally Very Smart.
7.
When I get around to reading Messiah Complex, maybe I’ll post about that. How do you like them apples?
