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Tales to Astonish
Tales to Astonish #97
The Hulk meets with a group that seeks to end war on Earth. But why is this organization turning to the irradiated man-monster?
- GenresComics
24 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 1967
About the author
Stan Lee
7,597 books2,414 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 16, 2023
Best overall issue in a while.
Best Submariner story in a long time, lady dorma and the elder both turn on Namor thinking he wants to declare war on the humans, he has been toying with the idea for a while, he is horrible i hate this version of namor, but they falsely accused him this time, and now Atlantis is about to be attacked, and namor is banished, which i think shouldn't be a problem, since the attack is closer and namor will attempt rescue, what will you tell him, you are under arrest for trying to rescue us?
Hulk story, first thing i do when i start is always check if marie is the artist.
for the last few issues, hulk has been wanting one thing, people who do not run when they see him, who also treat him as their friend.
The living lightening legion is giving him that, and now he is on his way to destroy the military missile base.
Best Submariner story in a long time, lady dorma and the elder both turn on Namor thinking he wants to declare war on the humans, he has been toying with the idea for a while, he is horrible i hate this version of namor, but they falsely accused him this time, and now Atlantis is about to be attacked, and namor is banished, which i think shouldn't be a problem, since the attack is closer and namor will attempt rescue, what will you tell him, you are under arrest for trying to rescue us?
Hulk story, first thing i do when i start is always check if marie is the artist.
for the last few issues, hulk has been wanting one thing, people who do not run when they see him, who also treat him as their friend.
The living lightening legion is giving him that, and now he is on his way to destroy the military missile base.
November 29, 2020
TALES TO ASTONISH #1-101, INCREDIBLE HULK #102 (The Next Chapter)
A bit of a weak epilogue to Tales to Astonish , then again it was always going to have its work cut out for it; coming right off the conclusion of the epic year-spanning storyline from Tales to Astonish #59-91 , it makes sense that a creative project spanning so many years might have left Stan Lee a little exhausted in regards to this character.
Therefore, what we’re left with here is a disjointed collection of action set-pieces that serve as no more than episodic filler; it ultimately pales in comparison to the massive overarching storyline that spanned 3 entire years of this comic book without a break. That had such a defined character arc and consequential events that affected the life of Bruce Banner, where every single issue of this follow-up is totally inconsequential and formulaic. Every issue of this arc is just the same cookie-cutter copy paste action set-piece of the week, probably because this was a period where Lee wasn’t sure what to do with the character after concluding his odyssey-esque epic.
I think in retrospect it would have made more sense for Lee to give the Hulk his own comic book IMMEDIATELY after the end of Tales to Astonish #91, as the story really ends there and leaves the Hulk with nowhere else to really go narratively (at least with the existing setup LEE established).
I’m excited, however, to see new writers expand on the lore with new stories to tell; I just think it was becoming clear by this point that Lee had already done what he set-out to do with the Hulk, so his time with the character was more or less spiritually finished even before this story.
A bit of a weak epilogue to Tales to Astonish , then again it was always going to have its work cut out for it; coming right off the conclusion of the epic year-spanning storyline from Tales to Astonish #59-91 , it makes sense that a creative project spanning so many years might have left Stan Lee a little exhausted in regards to this character.
Therefore, what we’re left with here is a disjointed collection of action set-pieces that serve as no more than episodic filler; it ultimately pales in comparison to the massive overarching storyline that spanned 3 entire years of this comic book without a break. That had such a defined character arc and consequential events that affected the life of Bruce Banner, where every single issue of this follow-up is totally inconsequential and formulaic. Every issue of this arc is just the same cookie-cutter copy paste action set-piece of the week, probably because this was a period where Lee wasn’t sure what to do with the character after concluding his odyssey-esque epic.
I think in retrospect it would have made more sense for Lee to give the Hulk his own comic book IMMEDIATELY after the end of Tales to Astonish #91, as the story really ends there and leaves the Hulk with nowhere else to really go narratively (at least with the existing setup LEE established).
I’m excited, however, to see new writers expand on the lore with new stories to tell; I just think it was becoming clear by this point that Lee had already done what he set-out to do with the Hulk, so his time with the character was more or less spiritually finished even before this story.
March 9, 2024
Hulk: 8/10
This story goes downhill compared to the previous issues. From out of nowhere a new evil organization that is a serious threat to the nation with foolish costumes and nutty tech. The marvel universe looks a little crowded with evil organizations lately. I guess that in those years there was a trend among evil ones.
This Hulk version continues being capable of having coherent talks with others and himself and reasoning out problems and look after an injured man. At this pace, in a few issues Hulk could become smarter than Banner.
Sadly, the poor guy can be easily cheated on his frantic quest for friends.
Namor: 2/10
Oh my god, stop this penance, please!!!!
What painful reading. The Plunderer is a joke of a character, in the league of leapfrog and Paste Pot. Three issues in a row with him, and knowing that at least he will appear in the next one is torture.
He continually gloats over conquering earth but is incapable of walking without stumbling on any pebble on his way.
And someone must take the people of Atlantis to therapy with a shrink to help them manage their emotions. You cannot change your opinion to the opposite from issue to issue, nor jump to drastic conclusions from unclear facts.
This story goes downhill compared to the previous issues. From out of nowhere a new evil organization that is a serious threat to the nation with foolish costumes and nutty tech. The marvel universe looks a little crowded with evil organizations lately. I guess that in those years there was a trend among evil ones.
This Hulk version continues being capable of having coherent talks with others and himself and reasoning out problems and look after an injured man. At this pace, in a few issues Hulk could become smarter than Banner.
Sadly, the poor guy can be easily cheated on his frantic quest for friends.
Namor: 2/10
Oh my god, stop this penance, please!!!!
What painful reading. The Plunderer is a joke of a character, in the league of leapfrog and Paste Pot. Three issues in a row with him, and knowing that at least he will appear in the next one is torture.
He continually gloats over conquering earth but is incapable of walking without stumbling on any pebble on his way.
And someone must take the people of Atlantis to therapy with a shrink to help them manage their emotions. You cannot change your opinion to the opposite from issue to issue, nor jump to drastic conclusions from unclear facts.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews