Maestro: Symphony in a Gamma Key

Maestro by Peter David #3

by Peter David, Dale Keown (Art), German Peralta (Art)

The story you’ve waited decades for: the origin of the Maestro! Almost 30 years after the landmark tale FUTURE IMPERFECT, legendary INCREDIBLE HULK scribe Peter David returns to the far-future version of the Hulk — the embittered, tyrannical master of what remains of the world! With astounding art from HULK veteran Dale Keown and up-and-coming talent Germán Peralta, MAESTRO answers questions that have haunted Hulk fans for years — and raises some new ones! How did the world fall and the Maestro rise? What happened to the world’s heroes in between? And where is the Hulk we know and love? Plus: Just how did Rick Jones gather all the weapons and collectibles of his super-heroic generation? As a new rebellion begins, the Maestro’s world will never be the same — and neither will the incredible Hulk!

Collects Maestro (2020) #1-5.

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Graphic Novels, Comic Book, Fiction, Superheroes, Dystopia

112 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 10, 2021

About the author

aka David Peters

Peter Allen David, often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games. His notable comic book work includes an award-winning 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, SpyBoy, Supergirl, Fallen Angel, Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2099, Captain Marvel, and X-Factor.
His Star Trek work included comic books and novels such as the New Frontier book series. His other novels included film adaptations, media tie-ins, and original works, such as the Apropos of Nothing and Knight Life series. His television work includes series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, Ben 10: Alien Force and Nickelodeon's Space Cases, which he co-created with Bill Mumy.
David often jokingly described his occupation as "Writer of Stuff", and he was noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real-world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference.
David earned multiple awards for his work, including a 1992 Eisner Award, a 1993 Wizard Fan Award, a 1996 Haxtur Award, a 2007 Julie Award and a 2011 GLAAD Media Award.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, it’s Peter David back on the Hulk so, obviously, it’s great. However, It’s also yet another alternate-future-parallel-universe type story and I am SO burnt out on those. If this wasn’t PAD back on the Hulk, I don’t think I’d’ve even picked this book up.

As I did, though, I have to admit I really enjoyed it. The artwork was fantastic throughout, even on the backup strips, and the ending even made me shed a tear. Poor Rick...

[Subham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bruce Banner wakes up in a perfect dream and then realizes the nightmare it is and then facing off against Modok who tells him how the world came to be and how it destroyed itself and then him going to explore the world and seeing what has happened and the way people lived and having confrontation with Hercules who calls himself the Maestro now and the story is mostly about him trying to defeat the latter and maybe assuming the role for himself in order to get the "Future Imperfect" timeline. And maybe some interesting things with Rick.

I loved the simplicity of the story and how it flows so naturally and Hulk facing off against his old friends and this time much in control and having this descent to villainy being a natural course for him was good and I love the philosophical arguments between him and Rick and the way it sets the inevitable sequel is too good. The art is gorgeous and just the coloring works synchronously with it to enhance the reading experience.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hulk is in my top 3 favorite characters and I usually like Peter David’s stuff but this books ends up being useless basically. There’s nothing here that gives you any cool “aha” moments that connect this to Future Imperfect. Hulk uses some lame cheating tactics to take out who’s in charge and takes over. All happens pretty damn fast.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome origin story of this interesting villain. Very recommended

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

Origin of the Maestro

A good story. What changed? How and why did the Hulk become the Maesto? A very good story and good artwork that fits the story perfectly.

The Hulks wakes up from a dream into a nightmare of a world destroyed? Who did it? Who is to blame? Who (if anyone) or what (if anything) has survived?

Peter David has always explored the different personalities, making him the perfect scribe to pen the tale of how the Maestro came about. This is not a Hulk Smash story. Let's face it, there is not much left to smash. This is a story about the darkness within the Hulk/Bruce's head and heart. The book finishes with a thumbnail varient covers gallery.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fazia bastante tempo que não gostava tanto de um quadrinho recente do Peter David. Neste encadernado que, infelizmete saiu em capa dura pela Panini Brasil, David, Dale Keown e Gérman Peralta prestam uma homenagem aos 30 anos de lançamento da impactante minissérie do Hulk, Futuro Imperfeito. Nela, ao lado do desenhista George Pérez, David estabelece um futuro alternativo, em que o Hulk acabou dominando o mundo e que Rick Jones guarda em sua casa uma porção de relíquias de super-heróis. Já em Maestro: Sinfonia em Gama Maior, o leitor é inteirado de como o mundo chegou a este estado pós-apocalíptico e como os heróis da Marvel foram derrotados, ou seja, este encadernado é uma prequel à icônica saga Futuro Imperfeito. Peter David, Keown e Peralta conseguem desevolver uma trama convincente que fecha as pontas soltas deixadas na minissérie dos anos 1990, além de trazer a "origem" do Maestro e o significado do seu nome. A minissérie se saiu tão bem lá fora que a Marvel publicou uma continuação Maestro: War & Pax. Se for tão boa quanto esse prequel, estamos no lucro!

[Brian Garthoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maestro is a solid overall mini-series, but ultimately not the fully formed origin of the character I was hoping it’d be. Also, I was a bit put off by the ending, or lack thereof, since the story closes out to an ad for another Maestro based mini-series. Thus far, Maestro is a far shot from the source material in terms of quality, but it’s still worth reading.

[Marius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entmenschlichung des Hulk

Inhalt: In einer nahen Zukunft erwacht der Hulk in AIMs Gefangenschaft. Sein Ausbruch führt ihn ein verstrahltes postapokalyptisches Ödland, welches einst die Erde war. An nur wenigen Orten ist noch menschliches Leben möglich. Dazu gehört die Stadt Dystopia, die im festen Griff des totalitären Herrschers "Maestro" steht. Der Hulk stellt sich ihm als Herausforderer entgegen. Tief enttäuscht vom Versagen der Menschheit, zertrümmert er dabei alle Grenzen der Moral.

Bewertung: Der Autor entführt den Leser in die Vorgeschichte des selbsternannten Weltherrschers Maestro. Eindrucksvoll und nachvollziehbar beschreibt er die Entmenschlichung des Hulk hin zum Tyrannen. Bekannte Charaktere feiern ihr Comeback. Wenngleich die Story insgesamt sehr gut geschrieben ist, gibt es Längen, die Verbesserungspotenzial bieten. Die Grafiken sind passgenau und vermitteln gut das Raue des Ödlands. Auch äußerlich vollzieht sich die Änderung des Hulk, die so gut akzentuiert ist.

Fazit: Guter Einstieg in die Geschichte des grünen Zukunft-Tyrannen, macht Lust auf mehr. Gesamt: 4/5

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know...this was supposed to somehow explain how the Hulk became the Maestro, but other than a brief comment from Rick Jones about how Bruce has become his father, there really isn't a whole lot more to it than the Hulk deciding to be a jerk, largely because he can. Who can stop him? Other than Hercules, the previous Maestro, there's really no one around with the means or the strength to do anything. And Rick is sitting in the ruins of New York surrounded by the castoffs and detritus of dead superheroes: Captain America's shield, etc. The art is decent, but the story was kind of a disappointment.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

David remain my favorite Hulk writer, though Ewing is making it a very tough decision if I'm asked that question right now. David has a good ear dialogue and a fine sense of pacing, but the best part of these AU David Maestro stories remain...

Rick Jones. Not the dystopian world that is portrayed. Just that some how Rick retains some of the light and still wants to save Hulk and the world.

But, do we need this series David showed us the end for this with Future Imperfect?

Fun, but not memorable.

[Comics Appreciation Project · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maestro: Symphoney in a Gamma Key (2020) by Peter David & German Peralta (Marvel)

I was a big fan of the original Future Imperfect storyline from thirty years ago and have reread it several times. Peter David and George Perez were an awesome pair and they would go on to do Sachs and Violens the following year.

I found this prequel of Maestro’s origin on ComiXology Unlimited. I noticed it received a 3.9 on Goodreads, 4.6 on Amazon, and 7.6 Critic Rating on Comic Book Round Up. It was nice seeing the opening pages by Dale Keown. Peralta’s art was fitting and complimentary to George Perez’s style from the original. The story was “interesting” but not something I’d likely ever reread. I concur with some of the reviews that the story was lacking. There is some stuff in the beginning that wasn’t really well resolved. If it wasn’t for the interactions with Hercules, i do not think I would ever revisit this book but that part was very enjoyable. I’m reminded of the following quote:

“What good is a story you only want to read once?” -Bill Willingham

The Maestro character and world are interesting so I may continue to see where David takes them in Maestro: War and Pax and Maestro: World War M.

[Ignacio · Rating 3 out of 5]

En este revival de tebeos de hace dos y tres décadas que busca atraer a los cuarentones y cincuentones que se han desconectado, Peter David regresa a Futuro imperfecto para escribir El camino a Maestro; los acontecimientos que transforman a Hulk en este personaje icónico creado por David y George Pérez. Hay algo en la metamorfosis de Banner-Hulk entre precipitada y traída por los pelos, pero tampoco importa mucho. Entre el dibujo de Germán Peralta (Keown apenas hace unas paginillas de retrocontinuidad), detalles de ese futuro apocalíptico y los guiños inevitables a otros tebeos como El Fin el fan de toda la vida seguramente salga satisfecho.

[Keef Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't for me. It wasn't bad. It just felt like they knew the ending and made the story to get to the ending. Hercules was a cool hero to put against the hulk. The robot dog things were weird. It felt like hulk didn't have enough motivation to start his villain arc. His thinking is told to us but not really shown. It also doesn't give enough justification for how callous and uncaring he is about killing innocent people.

[Xroldx · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally long time Hulk readers get some answers on how Bruce Banner became Maestro.

This is a Hulk you don't want to mess with and both story as artwork is incredible.
I'd love to read more of this version of the Hulk.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25
I love a good Marvel Hercules when done right. When's he coming to the MCU? And it's great to have more David Hulk tales. A good story!

[Hugo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read few Marvel Comics since the '90s—and fewer still in the last ten years—I wasn't expecting much from this, other than nostalgia, so I'm pleasantly surprised. Certainly, this is modern decompressed storytelling, with not too many panels per page, and very little dialogue to them, so it's a quick, breezy read, and not helped by seemingly days or weeks passing between scenes, giving everything a rushed and abbreviated feel, but the story is strong and fun, the action widescreen, even if it's not as humorous and character-based as David's previous classic Hulk run.

Keown's art, in the prologue and back-up strip 'Relics, doesn't do it for as it once did, but the main narrative is capably illustrated by Peralta, and made beautiful by the painterly colours of Aburtov, reminiscent of French BD.

(Read as single issues.)

[Eric Hultgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The start to this book is very interesting and seems like it will be a bit of a slow boil to something crazy by issue # 5

[Trike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prequels are hard to pull off and we have plenty of evidence to support that. But David does an excellent job of giving us the backstory to The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect, which came out in 1992, nearly 30 years before this one. It’s been that long since I read it, so I can’t say if this perfectly aligns with that story, but I feel safe assuming that it does.

Future Imperfect was one of those game-changers that everyone was immediately taken by. Even Peter David’s long run on Hulk with all the various permutations he put the character through were overshadowed by Hulk’s metamorphosis into the wasteland-ruling Maestro of Marvel’s dystopian future. Unlike previous future dystopias like the classic 1981 storyline X-Men: Days of Future Past, there was no reset where the grimdark future was erased (or later relegated to an alternate universe). It became inevitable.

All of the subsequent similar stories, Wolverine: Old Man Logan, Old Man Hawkeye: The Complete Collection, All-New Wolverine, Vol. 6: Old Woman Laura and Old Man Quill, Vol. 1: Nobody's Fault but My Own basically riffed on Maestro's tale. So going back to the well is kind of a no-brainer. Why it took 3 decades is a mystery.

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well... doing some research has proved me wrong....
I picked this title up to read because I wanted more stories about the beginnings of The Wastelands, a desolate future shown in the Old Man Logan comics, where OML was opposed against The Maestro, an old raging version of The Hulk. This comic promised "The Origin of the Maestro", but little did I know (and only found out by reading the back of the graphic novel) that "The Maestro" was actually a very similar version of the Hulk, originally created by Peter David and George Perez back in 1992 for a story called Future Imperfect. THIS version of Maestro is who's origin is covered in this story.
Or for superfans.... OML Maestro is from Earth -21923, FI Maestro (this one) is Earth-9200.
Anyways...

The origin here tells that Hulk was put in status while the majority of humanity fought against each other and killed themselves almost completely off. Waking in the custody of AIM, Hulk breaks out and explores the world. He finds a city still functioning, but under the control of someone called the Maestro. Hulk finds out that he is actually Hercules. Of course they fight... Ultimately, after some trickery and time, Hulk is able to defeat Hercules and claims his title as Maestro.

Good read, nice to enjoy despite the mix-up. Looking forward to the sequel: War and Pax.
Recommend.

[James Elkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really more like 3.5 stars. I read this digitally as individual issues rather than a collection.

Peter David returns to the first of, what I think, a planned trilogy chronicling the rise of one of a fan favorite alternative history Hulk or dark personality Hulk or dystopian Hulk; doesn’t matter how you describe him his name is Maestro.

While Maestro is Italian for Master it is most associated with genius talents in the arts and in my experience music. This volume’s subtitle, Symphony in a Gamma Key, along with the chapter titles embrace the musical connection.

Except for some dialogue (or is it narration), in the first chapter, that feels as if it’s driven more by contemporary partisan politics than the character or story I quite enjoyed it. Even in this one instance Maestro’s attitude is still consistent with the character, that being child-like petulant authoritarianism.

German Peralta’s art is great and fits the story, but it is the Dale Keown art in the shorts (interludes) at the end of each chapter that were great to see.

[Aaron Harvey · Rating 3 out of 5]

So I have never really been a fan of The Hulk. I saw re-runs of the original show when I was growing up and liked it, obviously I've seen the movies, but that's it. I've never really liked the Hulk. However, I've always heard Peter David was basically THE Hulk writer and this was available and seemed like a quick read so I read it..... I really liked 75% of this. The first two issues were INCREDIBLE, lots of fun, a lot of intrigue, really good art, then the 3rd issue was really good but slowed down and felt a little more tedious. Then there was randomly an undefined time jump and while the story it told after that jump was good, it felt jarring.

It looks like there is a follow up mini so I'll probably give that a read if it's available to me somehow, and I'm now way more open to more Hulk stories and giving them a try, but it still isn't/won't be a priority (except the upcoming Donny Cates run because it's Donny Cates.

Also the back up in this book was SO good and SO heartbreaking, even for someone who only really knows Rick Jones from a distance.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back in the day, Peter David took us on an adventure and showed us a dystopian future where people blew the shit out of the world, the heroes were all dead, and a tyrannical Hulk calling himself The Maestro used his...Hulkiness combined with a genius intellect to rule what was left of the world. It was one logical extension of the "smart" Hulk storylines - the Banner brain merged with the Hulk body that recently showed itself to the whole world in Endgame. It was called Future Imperfect, and it was one possible (?) future, and that question mark is what always makes it fun.

This is the origin story of that version of the character, and while I am usually a holder of the opinion that retroactive origin stories make a character less interesting - this one is quite good. It has an old school quality to it and some to-the-point storytelling combined with some really solid art that makes a fun jaunt for old readers, and a great "What If...?" for new ones.

[Shannon McShortall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter David proves what doesn’t need to be proved at this point, he is the strongest Hulk writer there is. He references the characters and looks of his run on the comic, but also leaves time to show not only a deep love for older Hulk comics and comics in general, with references to the work of Roger Stern and Chris Claremont, he shows how on the pulse he is with the character currently, with references to lore present in Jeph Loeb’s Hill run and the MCU Hulk references. While yes, this is predicated on a knowledge of Hulk and Maestro, much like with the book Thanos Rising, this works as both a fresh read and a fun book for those in the know as to how it will end. But this isn’t just references, and David uses all of this to spin a story of nihilism, superheroes in relation to ordinary people and the effects of abuse, further delving into a character he clearly has all the love in the world for. An absolute treat for a Hulk fan

[Vincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed Future Imperfect, and Peter David has had a huge influence on the portrayal of Banner and the Hulk. But Maestro delivers far less that you might expect.

The "origin" of the Maestro doesn't work for me because David has given short shrift (probably due to page count issues) to Banner's journey across America and the broken societies he presumably finds. We only get a few pages for each of the stops that we do see and IMO it's not enough to account emotionally for Banner's turn.

This felt like they tried to cram as many references from the original story in as possible instead of trying to show how Banner's optimism and compassion were eroded by the environment.

[Doctor Doom · Rating 2 out of 5]

Artwork is top notch. The story is good but Hulk's thinking is indeed erratic. He blames all people for the faults of few. He preaches what he does not practice and much of his preaching is "woke" nonsense [I, for one, do not read graphic novels to be preached left-wing propaganda, especially in such a heavy handed manner - even if that heavy hand turns out to be green]. The parts with the original Maestro are especially interesting and fit within the parameters you might expect - hedonism from boredom, excitement from boredom, anger and on down the line.
Again, I would probably have gave it 3 stars or more if not for Peter David's over-bearing propaganda.

[Mark Schlatter · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is, basically, the story of how the Hulk became the Maestro in the future of the Marvel Universe depicted in Peter David's and George Perez's Future Imperfect. You don't need to read this to understand that book, and I'm not sure this volume adds that much besides continuity (especially since the Maestro-Hulk makes a much better antagonist than the protagonist of his own book). Dale Keown pencils the first pages of the collection and then some side stories. It's serviceable, but nothing special.

[Brian Rosenberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the road to becoming the Maestro
As a huge fan of the original Future Imperfect story and the Maestro character, I was super interested to see how writer Peter David carved out the path of how the Hulk became the Maestro. It’s only 5 issues and probably could have used more issues to better develop the story. I wanted to see more interaction between the Hulk and my favorite Have-At-Thee Avenger Hercules. At least, we get appearances from M.O.D.O.K, Rick Jones, and Vapor of the U-Foes. And there’s a sequel – War and Pax

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Collects Maestro (2020) issues #1-5

Ever since I first read "Future Imperfect," I have loved the character of Maestro. Even though I've never been a huge fan of The Hulk, Maestro is one of my favorite villains. This miniseries tells the story of how the Hulk became the Maestro, and I loved the story. There were a few surprises along the way. I was excited to learn that Marvel plans to continue the story with another miniseries.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look it wasn't anything deep, but it was a hell of a lot of fun. Yeah things happen a bit fast, with no clear statement on how much time the story moves over, but if you really enjoyed future imperfect, I don't know how you couldn't enjoy this one. For the record I'm biased because one of my favorite marvel characters makes an unexpected appearance, but I thought it's exactly what this story needed.

[David Waweru · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sympathy in B Minor

On the whole it's a pretty tale. I wished they showed a little more about the time after his defeat at the hands of the original Maestro. In the beginning the pase was good. But it still missing a lot information. His appearance has changed, so time has past and he's completely ruthless. I want to see how each act he committed turn him into the big brow Maestro.