Essential Incredible Hulk, Vol. 3

Essential Incredible Hulk #3

by Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, Herb Trimpe

PThe misunderstood monster's earliest adventures continue as Robert Bruce Banner's rampaging alter ego clashes with Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Fantastic Four, and the Avengers! He fights his share of super-villains, too - including Maximus the Mad, the Glob, the Leader, the Rhino, the Absorbing Man, Night-Crawler, Tyrannus, the Mole Man, Hydra, the Abomination and the Sandman! Featuring the almost-wedding of Bruce and Betty Ross!pCollects Incredible Hulk #118-142, Captain Marvel #20-21, and Avengers #88

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes

576 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 1971

About the author

Stan 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.

Reviews

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ahhh... This was a huge trip down Nostalgia Avenue for me as this collection contains the first Hulk comics I ever read, as a wee, young nipper.

I'm not sure why Goodreads credits this to Stan Lee as the vast majority of this collection is written by rascally Roy Thomas, with superb artwork by hairy Herb Trimpe.

From a balanced, unbiased point of view (which I'm totally incapable of having) these probably aren't the best Hulk tales ever written (there's nothing by Peter David in here, for starters) but they're the Hulk stories most likely to bring a big ol' grin to my face, for sure.

There are so many Hulk firsts in this book, too! First meeting with Dr. Strange, first appearance of Doc Samson, first appearance of Jarella, first time Betty Ross gets turned into something horrible, first time Hulkie gets tossed off the Empire State Building... Oh, the memories!

I remember when this was all fields as far as the eye could see...

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, old-school fun; that half-man, half-cyborg guy was creepy, though.

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 4 out of 5]

This third Essential Hulk volume collects # 118–142, Captain Marvel # 20–21 and Avengers # 88. Most of the material in the volume was written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Herb Trimpe. Both of whom are in excellent form in these pages.

We are treated to a range of classic Hulk stories where the lovable green behemoth encounters a range of heroes and villains, including Namor the Submariner, the Fantastic Four, Rhino, the Absorbing Man, the Avengers, the Leader, Kan the Conqueror, the Sandman, the Abomination and Hydra.

This volume also introduces three characters important (to varying degrees) to the Hulk mythos. The first one out is the young black man called Jim Wilson, who is the first substitute to fill the vacant side-kick shoes left behind by Rick Jones (who also appears in this volume, of course, together with his alter ego Captain Mar-Vell).

The second character is Jarella, the green hued queen of a world in a subatomic universe. She appears for the first time in the second hald of a crossover between Avengers (# 88, "The Summons of Psyklop) and The Incredible Hulk (# 140, "The Brute that Shouted Love at the Heart of the Atom"); a crossover which it is worth mentioning was plotted by none other than Harlan Ellison (though scripted by Thomas).

And finally, towards the very end of the volume (# 141), psychiatrist Leonard Samson is transformed into the green haired superhero Doc Samson.

All in all, a very fine volume, warmly recommended to anyone interested in classic Hulk stories, Roy Thomas' comics writing or Herb Trimpe's comics art... or the combination of the three. Well, in all honesty, anyone who enjoys a good classic superhero yarn would be well off to give this volume a shot.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good, writing was interesting. The two issues that Harlan Ellison, wrote were both atrocious and good. first was laughable writing not that engaging, second was good, even as he shamelessly plugged his own novels. Still overall run in this book was good.

[Rich Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good black-and-white reprint collection, featuring some great artwork by Herb Trimpe and Marie Severin. This Essentials volume also features the first appearance of Doc Samson.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great entertaining stories not once did i lose interest reading these stories they're fast paced and have plenty of action

[Martha]

I like reading the old original comics from way back in the day

[Brent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started bad and ended bad but, in between it was pretty entertaining and had some good develepments.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Presented in no frills, glorious black and white:

Incredible Hulk #118 - Hulk vs Namor: round 2.

Incredible Hulk #119-120 - Why is everyone in the tiny (& fictitious) Central American country of Costa Salvador (think of a cross between Costa Rica and El Salvador) acting like zombies? Oh it’s just Maximus and his band of evil Inhumans taking over and trying rule the world. One of the rare times Maximus is allowed to just be a general villain and terrorist and not be stuck in the Inhuman city of Attilan being an Inhuman villain and terrorist.

Incredible Hulk #121 - Marvel’s first attempt at a swamp monster? The Hulk in the Everglades and he accidentally creates The Glob (certainly inspired by the golden age era character from another company called The Heap, and a clear prototype for Marvel’s eventual Man-Thing).

Incredible Hulk #122-124 - In a whirlwind sequence of events, Banner & Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four team-up and figure out a way to “cure” Banner of the nightmare that is the Hulk. So, of course, the first thing Banner does is court Betty Ross and then marry her. Sure that makes sense. But, of course (again), the Leader doesn’t like the notion of the Hulk being happy. So puts a srop to the wedding.

Incredible Hulk #125 - What a contrived mess. But at least the Absorbing Man is back on earth.

Incredible Hulk #126 - Part of a Lovecraftian type of horror tale that lays the initial groundwork for what would become a group of Marvel Heroes known as the Defenders. Even though this issue only feature team-up between Doctor Strange and the Hulk, it did help create some kind of link in the minds of the readers. This is an interesting story that is perhaps enhanced with familiarity with the works of H.P. Lovecraft, although that’s hardly necessary. See Defenders Epic Collection, Vol. 1: The Day of the Defenders for the full, complete story.

Incredible Hulk #127 - Subterranean Wars! As the feud between Tyrannus and the Mole Man pulls the Hulk into their conflict.

Incredible Hulk #128 - The Avengers (Black Panther, Goliath, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Vision) try to help out Thunderbolt Ross by ending the threat of the Hulk.

Incredible Hulk #129 - The Leader contrives a plot to use The Glob to stop the help.

Captain Marvel #20-21 -

Incredible Hulk #130-131 - A method is devised to separate Bruce Banner from the Hulk, and it succeeds. But the resulting fallout in the aftermath being Iron Man into play to defeat the rampage of the Banner-less Hulk and reunite the two divided personalities. The later of these two tales also introduces the new teenage sidekick for the Hulk, Jim Wilson.

Incredible Hulk #132-134 - Let’s call this the fascist trilogy shall we? It begins with the Hulk and Jim Wilson in the clutches of Hydra and then the Hulk ends up in the small European nation of Morvania and its tyrannical dictator, Draxon. The last of these issues, features a tale comparing the Hulk to the legends of the Golem of Prague.

Incredible Hulk #135 - Kang tries to send the Hulk back into history to stop the Phantom Eagle (see Marvel Super-Heroes #16) from destroying a weapon which would kill Bruce Banner’s grandfather if it were not destroyed. The plan almost succeeds, leaving a future altered without a Hulk ever having been created and the Avengers never forming. It’s just as doomed as all of Kang’s foolish shenanigans are.

Incredible Hulk #136-137 - This last two-part tale for this volume is basically a sci-fi adaptation of Moby Dick. But it does reintroduce the Abomination.

Incredible Hulk #138-139 - The Sandman is back for another battle, actually he’s trying to fix his glass hand (there’s some slight continuity glitches here, contradicting events from Fantastic Four #94, but nothing too major) and the Hulk just gets in his way. And then the Leader returns with another con-job to get the military to do his dirty work, and it all ends up Betty Ross turned to glass. Also, the last we’ll see of Jim Wilson for awhile? Yes, it’s all as weird and silly as it sounds.

Avengers #88 & Incredible Hulk #140 - Okay, the big draw for this pair of stories is Jarella’s introduction … no, wait … the big draw is Harlan Ellison plotting this 2-parter … or maybe it’s the Avengers, or Reed Richards making an appearance. I give up. I’m going to go with Jarella’s introduction as Ellison’s involvement is overrated, and as much of a cash grab as the presence of the Avengers.

Incredible Hulk #141 - First appearance of Doc Samson.

Incredible Hulk #142 - Second appearance of the Valkyrie, but actually the first appearance of this particular incarnation of the character. It all very confusing.

[Harriet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read much Hulk and I had mixed feelings going into this. I wasn't sure how far you can really go with a character who becomes huge, green, and strong when he gets angry or scared. I felt like maybe that wouldn't hold up for more than a few issues, let alone 500+ pages, in black and white, no less. But I was pleasantly surprised!

The book starts especially strongly. Herb Trimpe's art was less like the Kirby/Kane Marvel art I've usually seen in these Essential collections, and more reminiscent of older EC horror comics, which is right up my street. The writing was more considered and less bombastic than Stan's work on comics of the time, and many of the stories - and Hulk himself - was sadder than I expected. For about half of the book I was having a great time.

Unfortunately the book does take a turn into more cosmic material halfway through, which personally I don't enjoy. It became a lot more action-heavy and less emotional. Bruce Banner also all but disappears from the stories, although he does appear for issue 140, which introduces the character Jarella. This issue and the following one, in which Hulk falls in love with a green-skinned princess and finds a place in a society that accepts him, before losing it and going on a raged rampage, we're two of my favourites. The emotions felt real and the action was relevant to the plot. But they were high points in a flagging second half.

Overall, I feel like this is two books - one which I really enjoyed, and one that I could have happily dropped. But I think part of that comes down to personal taste, rather than a actual drop in quality, so I'm still going to give it three stars, which would be three and a half if it was possible.

[PJ Ebbrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting volume showing Thomas and Trimbe producing some solid comics. My older self can now see some of the original concpets - Moby Dick in space, although I think the Legion covered this. What made this volume was seeing some great John Severin artwork.