Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #474

[Concluding my look at Joe Casey's run on The Incredible Hulk. Another lesser known comic on Friday and then, who knows what on Monday.]

This is the last issue of The Incredible Hulk and Casey begins it in a strange way: Matt Idelson phones Joe Casey who is stuck, not knowing how to begin the last issue of The Incredible Hulk. Now, you would assume that this issue will be metafictional throughout--or, at least, framed as such--but it is not. Nor is that the point of this scene: this scene is here to remind us that "...THIS IS THE LAST ISSUE OF THE INCREDIBLE HULK! MAN, I WASN'T EVEN BORN WHEN THIS BOOK STARTED..." One of those legandary books is ending and no one cared because, soon, John Byrne and Ron Garney were relaunching the title. Casey wants to remind us of how big a deal this is--while, at the same time, reminding us that he is just an interim writer, not necessarily that skilled, and not worthy of ending the series. And is he wrong? Casey had only been in the business for a year at this point... did he deserve to end The Incredible Hulk?

The issue itself is an odd one that does resolve some things. The Hulk (with Banner's mind intact) and Qnax are in the Watcher's (not the usual Watcher) stronghold while aliens attack. This leads them to this weird "House of Truth" where they must confront their inner selves. For Bruce, this means the death of Betty where he realises that even if he didn't kill her himself, their life together led to her death, which makes him responsible. Somehow, he winds back on Earth right in the middle of the Abomination about to escape after beating on General Ross a little. This leads to what we'd assume is the ultimate showdown: pissed off Banner-as-Hulk confronting his wife's killer...

And it doesn't happen. Ross pulls out some weird giant gun and stops it from happening. The Abomination escapes, which Ross also allows. Bruce is willing to let Ross kill him, but he doesn't because Betty loved him. Bruce is left free and ready for the next Hulk series.

The issue ends with Ross in the room with Betty's chryogenic chamber, admitting that he failed in avenging her death, mostly because he recognises that he also played a role. It's a nice callback to the beginning of the run.

This issue contains a slightly-mind-bending scene, a staple of Casey's work. It also features the total dominance of Bruce over the Hulk. It has a subtle link to classic Marvel stories in the sense that it is all about power and responsibility, usually a Spider-Man theme, but Casey applies it here well. All of which leads us to...

Should this run remain forgotten? No. This is an entertaining and stimulating run by Casey. It fits in with his early work and provides glimpses of what's to come. It also acts as a prologue (of sorts) to his Deathlok run, which is very essential reading. This isn't an earth-shattering, blow-your-mind run, but it is solid superheroics. It can also probably be gotten for a very cheap price.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #473

[The penultimate (I love that word) issue of Joe Casey's relatively unknown run on The Incredible Hulk. The final post in this series will go up on Wednesday, followed by another "Lesser Known Joe Casey Comic" on Friday. Following that, who knows. Something else by Casey, but what? WHAT I ASK YOU!]

Not a whole lot happens this issue. Bruce and Qnax try their best to get to the Watcher and obtain the Ultimate Machine. General Ross fights the Abomination with a gun. What matters is the journey in each.

In an effort to keep Bruce and Qnax away, the Watcher uses various telepathic attacks, but Bruce thinks through them. Casey does a great juxtaposition by having the Hulk show up in the telepathic hallucinations, while Bruce is in the real world and figures out the problem. Bruce does what the Hulk cannot, replacing him as the hero of the book.

The Watcher is a little nuts, having had to watch his wife die. This gives Bruce a point of reference, which turns the Watcher to their side when he views Bruce's thoughts. Just as they are about to succeed, the aliens from last issue attack.

Meanwhile, the Ross/Abomination story is weird because it's two crazy-as-fuck guys trying simultaneously to kill one another and themselves. It's a weird dynamic as both are stubborn and righteous, while obviously guilt-ridden. Neither one does much and their confrontation ends, for this issue, with the Abomination revealing that he killed Betty, NOT Bruce. Ross couldn't look more surprised if Betty rose from the dead right there and then.

I'll examine Ross a little more next issue and provide the answer to the usual "Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics" question: should this run remain forgotten or is it worth tracking down and buying?

Tomorrow: the first issue of the Joe Casey/Sean Phillips Wildcats run and, holy shit, is it a great issue with lots of look at. I'll tell you right now that it is a strong contender for the best comic Joe Casey has ever written, that first issue of his and Phillips's run. Until then.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #472

[Continuing my look at Joe Casey's run on The Incredible Hulk. I would have posted sooner, but I spent a lovely day of reading (The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster), music (four albums by Sarah Slean) and blowing my nose every twelve seconds. Plus, because it's Good Friday, the Subway near my house was closed. What's up with that? It was snowing, though, which made the walk pleasant. Not that any of that really anything to do with this comic. New posts Monday and Wednesday, but that does it for this run. On Friday, I'll have another lesser known Joe Casey comic.]

This issue begins the wind down of Casey's run as Bruce Banner encounters Qnax, the Xanatarean, some pink alien the Hulk has fought in the past (back in Tales to Astonish #73-74), but is now friendly. Yay. He needs to get back to his home planet to stop a Watcher and his "Ultimate Machine," which could fuck shit up big time. Bruce, being a good guy, helps him out. They use some sort of universal transporter to go take on the Watcher, but, before they leave, Bruce purposefully transforms into the Hulk and retains his intelligence. After they go through the machine, Qnax finds the Hulk mindless and destroying stuff, but he subdues him and Bruce regains control and transforms into himself. They find that they are on some strange planet that is near the Watcher's planet--one that is pissed off and ready to blow that bald-headed bastard to hell.

Meanwhile, Devlin Deangelo has sought out General Ross since they both want to see the Hulk dead. They use a tracker that Deangelo's people have created to track the Hulk... to a small town that he has destroyed. The army arrives, but Ross goes in all alone, because he is a crazy old man that no one has the good sense to punch in the face until he stops acting so goddamn crazy. But, he doesn't find the Hulk, he instead finds the Abomination.

This issue has a few trademark Caseyisms, including the return of Qnax all the way from Tales to Astonish--Casey has a fondness for older villains (like Zzzax, used in Cable) and also subverts expectations by making this one an ally. As the Hulk/Bruce evolves beyond older behaviours, so do his villains. Since Bruce is now more capable and heroic without depending on the Hulk, old rivals can no longer be so two-dimensional. (Does that sound convincing? I am making this up as I go, you know.)

Bruce's control over the Hulk here isn't exactly new, but does further Casey's strengthening of Bruce and takes it to its logical conclusion: Bruce and Hulk being the same person 100%. Although, the lack of control means the evolution isn't complete yet.

Ross's confrontation with the Abomination will prove interesting as it will highlight, in a few issues, the entire problem with Ross's character--and how misguided he's always been with his Hulk-obsession. Casey will also show that the character is unable to transcend his roots, unlike the title character.

The Hulk has always been a book about evolution, characterised by the various Hulk variants (and more directly discussed in Warren Ellis's current Ultimate Human mini-series), and Casey explores that idea throughout the run in various ways. Firstly, Bruce's evolution from the weak alter-ego of the Hulk to a more heroic and confident character that controls the Hulk aspect of his personality. Qnax has also evolved from his original Stan Lee roots. The Circus of Crime did not evolve and suffered as a result, while the Ringmaster did evolve and, as we see in Deathlok, prospers. General Ross does not evolve; he does not grow, he does not learn--he is the ultimate example of stasis (along with his long-lost "cousin" J. Jonah Jameson) and obsession.

But enough of that, I don't want to blow my wad when there are two more issues to go.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #471

[Continuing my look at Joe Casey's run on The Incredible Hulk. I feel a cold coming on, so no "witty" comments in this space today. New posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

So, the Circus of Crime has kidnapped Bruce Banner and are now fighting the Hulk publically in a Vegas casino. The goal: get people betting and then rob the place. Criminal masterminds, they are. What actually happens is that the Hulk tears through them and escapes, while they all go to jail.

Banner is aided by Marlo and Dr. Spar, who shoot him full of adrenaline, which gets him all worked up and green. The ensuing fight if very entertaining, mostly because of Ed McGuinness's art. He draws the sheer absurdity of the Hulk fighting circus folk very well. My favourite pic is a two-page spread of the Clown riding a moped, shooting at the Hulk as they bust through a wall.

This issue is peculiar as Bruce Banner rarely appears--and when he does, he's helpless. It breaks from Casey's pattern for the run. I do enjoy that it's two women who rescue him, subverting expectations.

The Clown continues to narrate the issue and the only interesting information given is his commentary on the Hulk, how this one is silent, and business-like. This does enforce Casey's conception of the character, reducing him to pure muscle--his role during this run. Although, that may change... I honestly can't remember.

At the end of the issue, some big red alien towers over Banner. To be continued.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #470

[Continuing my look at Joe Casey's mostly-forgotten run on The Incredible Hulk. Hey, it's St. Patrick's Day and the Hulk is all green! And... oh, "Banner" is English and/or German. Shit. Guess the Hulk isn't Irish... at least on his paternal grandfather's side of the family. The rest could be all kinds of Irish, who knows. Actually, I bet someone out there knows. Why would someone know that? New posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

And I wrote that intro, like, six-and-a-half hours ago. It's now Tuesday morning, a bit after two, and I just spent three hours playing Super Smash Bros. Brawl on the Wii with a buddy. We kicked some serious ass. I play as Ganondorf and had a habit of grabbing guys in mid-air and then slamming us both off of the screen, but the game would give them the KO on me and another player the KO on them. Does that seem fair to you? I slammed them. Shit.

What does that have to do with this issue of The Incredible Hulk? Nothing. Or, can I make it tie in?

Bruce Banner hits Vegas and gets involved with the Circus of Crime, which is working at a Circus Circus type casino while also pulling bank heists. You may remember the Clown from Deathlok, except instead of the lean, mean killing machine, we get a chubby middle-aged guy. What happened? Did Joe Casey and Leonardo Manco revamp the character? Did Ed McGuinness draw him wrong here?

While in Vegas, Bruce meets up with Marlo (Rick Jones's ex) and she's in with some shady people, so he tries to get it all sorted out, but that goes wrong and he winds up in the middle of a bank job that the Circus of Crime is pulling, and they fight, with the Circus taking down the Hulk.

This is a wacky-as-hell issue. It continues Casey's efforts to make Bruce the hero of the book with the Hulk as a "secret weapon." He continues his love of using older Marvel concepts with the Circus of Crime, and it also sets up his Deathlok run. The story is framed by the Clown talking to Doc Samson, which makes the story problematic with its relationship to Deathlok as this is not the same character.

Ed McGuinness does art for this issue and the next, and it fits the wacky story. He's one of Casey's... well, frequent isn't the right word, but common collaborators with a guest issue on Cable and the first six issue of Mr. Majestic done together. They seem a good match as McGuinness can do big superhero action well, which is something Casey likes to bring out, particularly early in his career and on corporate-owned books. (Actually, I would classify McGuinness in the same category as Mike Wieringo, Derec Aucoin, Jim Muniz, and Derec Donovan when discussing Casey's work. All have cartoony styles, and do very clean work. I should do a categorisation of Casey artists at some point. Hmm.)

Next issue wraps up the Vegas adventure. And how does this all relate to Super Smash Bros. Brawl? Er...

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #469

[Continuing my look at Joe Casey's short, mostly forgotten run on The Incredible Hulk. New posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

This issue, along with the next two, help set up Casey's Deathlok, filling in the other half of the equation as Cable provided the hero... and this run provides the villain(s).

Here, Bruce Banner, on the run and in search of his wife's killer, gets himself kidnapped by Devlin Deangelo, some piece of shit crook that specialises in superpeople-related crime. He's kidnapped Banner to fix the Super-Adaptoid, and promises to help Banner find his wife's killer if he does so... of course, that's not actually going to happen, but Banner is also smart enough to know that if he refuses, men with big guns will probably kill him. The Hulk doesn't seem an option to him as he works as reprogramming the Super-Adaptoid so that, when he escapes, it will attack Deangelo and his men. That doesn't exactly go as planned as it attacks Banner, which brings out the Hulk and then two fight until the new programming kicks in.

Where this run ties into Deathlok is Deangelo providing the Ringmaster with his new eyes, which he then uses on Banner to send him to Vegas to take on his former Circus of Crime. Toboldt shows up in Deathlok on a much grander scale, using his hypnotic eyes for political gain. In the next two issues, we'll also see the Clown (albeit in a different form), another major player in Deathlok.

Bruce Banner continues to solve problems as himself rather than relying on the Hulk. Most of the issues has Banner figuring out what to do and then acting, the Hulk only showing up when absolutely necessary--when a super-villain appears. The line between Banner and the Hulk is the line between alter-ego and mask; Deangelo isn't a super-villain, he's just a common arm's dealer that specialises in bigger things, which really makes him a petty thug, one not worthy of the Hulk's attention, almost.

The first page of the issue has a nice gag as Banner waits in a bus station and kid next to him plays with superhero action figures. Namely, Captain America and Iron Man--the founders--and the kid plans to get Thor next. A nice little reminder that the Hulk is not on the same level of those heroes despite being a founder of the group--something Captain America is not. Banner's response is to sigh while the kid sings the theme song from the Captain America cartoon series from the '60s. After Banner leaves, the kid then sings the theme from Iron Man's show.

Next issue, the Circus of Crime.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #468

[Continuing my look at Joe Casey's totally forgotten run on The Incredible Hulk. It has been lost to the sands of time and recovered by me with all my mighty blogging might. Best to stay on my good side or I'll bring back Fantastic Four 2099. Yeah. I'd do it, too. New posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

"In which Bruce Banner discovers he was not the cause of his wife's death..."

Not much happens in this issue beyond that. Bruce gets Rick Jones to help him sneak onto the army base where a new scientist, Dr. Katherine Spar has been hired to take over the Hulk-related science stuff--and she's kind of Banner-friendly, which General Ross doesn't like because he's having nightmares similar to the Hulk's origin about Betty dying.

This issue begins Casey's effort to make Bruce Banner a strong character--I remember an article in Wizard where he was making fun of the number of times we've seen Bruce in the fetal possition, crying like a little kid, and points out that this is an adult and should probably begin acting like one. We see him like that at the beginning of the issue, actually: curled up and weeping, but Casey is using that as a starting point to illustrate his growth. Bruce will be the focal point of Casey's run, not the Hulk, which is how it should be (Bruce Jones took a similar route in his run--which I read online when Marvel was offering comics online--remember those pop-up panels?.

Javier Pulido provides the art for five of the seven issues this run lasts (well, six and eight if you include last issue's two-page story) and his retro style works well with Casey's writing and the subject matter. It's actually kind of weird to look at the artists Casey has worked with as a number of them use styles that allude to older artists (Ladronn, Pulido, Tom Sciolli, Steve Rude... and weirdly only one of those draws one of Casey's "fill in Stan Lee's plotholes" books--and, yes, that series of books WILL be the focus of posts at some point in the future).

This is a solid beginning to a solid run. Nothing spectacular happens, but it's not boring or bad, either. In next issue, Bruce is kidnapped and fixes the Super-Adaptoid. Exciting.

Lesser Known Joe Casey Comics: The Incredible Hulk #467

[Beginning my look at Joe Casey's little-known run on The Incredible Hulk, which he wrote between Peter David's departure and the relaunch by John Byrne. New posts Monday, Wednesday and Friday.]

This issue actually only contains two pages by Joe Casey as an epilogue for David's run/prologue for his own run. The rest of the issue is actually Peter David's last issue on the book and delivers a conclusion that doesn't actually happen. At the end of his run, Bruce Banner's wife, Betty died, from radiation poisoning--supposedly from him--and her dad blamed him--and he blamed himself. This issue has a future version of Rick Jones discussing what happened next with Bruce dropping out of sight, going a little insane and trying his best to die without any success. The issue is a nice mix of traditional comic panels and pics with text in the gutters. It tells a story that could never happen as it actually changes things in a big way, particularly how Bruce acts--and the future of the Hulk. At the end of the issue, David admits that it's an alternate future. But, still, it's a decent story. I never read David's run really, never being a big Hulk fan, but this issue seem a good way to end such a long run.

Bruce, in a way, acts as David's stand-in, especially at the end of the issue where he speaks about how sometimes you just need to move on.

Casey's two pages set-up General Ross keeping Betty's body in a cryogenic-type tank so she can be brought back at some future point--while swearing revenge against Bruce and, in a way, thanking her for giving his life purpose again.

Sorry for this cheat of a post, but it worked out well as today has been very busy and I'm not in the mood for something longer.

Tomorrow, I begin looking at an entirely different Joe Casey run... what will it be?