Review by Ian Keogh
Volume 1 presented the Hulk’s earliest solo stories, showing how the formula wasn’t entirely refined. After his series was cancelled, the Hulk spent eighteen months menacing other Marvel headliners in their titles, and when relaunched into his own series Stan Lee had a better idea of who the Hulk was. Bruce Banner now only became the Hulk when extremely agitated, as he does in the opening story on discovering the Avengers are searching for him, and that proved a sustainable concept.
Beyond that, though, the formula was already in place. Banner loves Betty Ross, but feels he’s not good enough for her, while she’s attracted to him, but her inadequacy is activated by his intellect. Looming over both is her father General Thunderbolt Ross for whom intimidation via strength or power is the solution to any problem, yet he’s consistently unable to capture the Hulk. Teenager Rick Jones is at first absent, but returns for a couple of pivotal moments. Newcomer Glenn Talbot is career army, introduced as a rival for Betty’s attention, but every bit as dogmatic and blinkered as her father. Lee is excellent at constructing soap opera drama and milks the characters for all they’re worth, but the Hulk now starring in ten page episodes means considerable emotional repetition when the stories are collected.
The landmark here is the introduction of the Leader, at first a mysterious masked presence before revealing his grotesque appearance. He appears in an extended story occupying much of this collection. He first sends his Humanoids to test the Hulk, and so deepens the suspicions Banner is a foreign agent due to his absence. That leads into a tour of foreign lands, a return to the USA and a killer problem for the Hulk and Banner.
While revered for drawing Doctor Strange and Spider-Man, Steve Ditko’s run on the Hulk remains largely unacknowledged, and that’s plain wrong. It has the same elegance and emotional resonance as his other work, yet when brute power is needed Ditko can also supply it. He’s good at drawing a variety of people, and while the idea of the Hulk constricted by a six panel grid may seem the opposite of what’s visually required, Ditko works it well. It’s perhaps a matter of personal preference, but when Kirby returns halfway through, his Hulk is somewhat scrappy. The art also deteriorates considerably when Bob Powell or Mike Esposito (as Mickey Demeo) draw over Kirby’s layouts. “Scott Edward” is far more accomplished, but it’s because Gil Kane, then still working for DC, uses an alias, while John Romita, then Bill Everett ensure the final episodes look good.
When serialised at monthly intervals the thrills were possibly perpetuated, but this collection reveals a bloated story running too long and depending too greatly on repetition. The Leader uses his Humanoids again and again and again, and no matter how many times Banner is proved innocent, Ross immediately suspects him of treachery again in the following story. Toward the end, though, Lee drops a big surprise, and it sets up Volume 3 nicely.
If you’d prefer these stories in black and white on pulp paper you’ll find them as Essential Incredible Hulk Vol. 1, while the luxury colour selection is the oversized hardcover Hulk Omnibus. The mid point is Epic Collection The Hulk Must Die. If you’re on a really tight budget there’s the pocket sized Mighty Marvel Masterworks Incredible Hulk – The Lair of the Leader.
