An 'Incredible' 40 Years! Hulk-mania Part 1

In the spirit of complete anticipation for this Friday’s premier of The Incredible Hulk, directed by Louis Leterrier and featuring Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, Liv Tyler as Betty Ross and William Hurt as General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross, I have decided to produce a series of posts on everyone’s favorite savage beast. Today I’m gonna take the time and go over some features of The Hulk’s origins, as well as give a brief overview of how the character has progressed in the Marvel Universe over the decades.

The Incredible Hulk #1 hit shelves in May of 1962, with its title star making his very first historical appearance, and was created by Marvel masterminds Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It told the tale of how Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, a scientist working on a project to create a gamma bomb, would save the life of a young boy and, in the process, become transformed into a rampaging giant green monster when the bomb exploded accidentally. Reverting to savage impulse, the misunderstood Hulk would wreak destruction wherever he went, causing him to become the target of police and military efforts, often lead by General ‘Thunderbolt’ Ross, in order to halt his destructive impulses. The only people able to calm the savage beast within the Hulk was Betty Ross (General Ross’ daughter) and Bruce Banner’s friend (and the boy whom he saved from the original gamma blast) Rick Jones. Rick Jones could be said to be The Hulks true sidekick.

The initial run of The Hulk was cancelled after a mere six issues. However, within a year The Hulk was re-instituted into the Marvel Universe, as a founding member of The Avengers. His run with The Avengers lasted their first two issues, where he then returned in issues 3 and 5 as an antagonist. You cannot truly ever control the savage beast. The Hulk’s run of comics began in earnest, introducing such villains as Abomination (who will be the primary focus for the villain in this Friday’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ movie) and the Leader. By March 1966, issue #77, The Incredible Hulk became one of Marvel’s first heroes to have their alter ego publicly known in the Marvel Universe.

Over the years, primarily in the 1980’s and 1990’s, writers and artists of The Hulk began toying with reasons for The Hulk’s aggressive tendencies. In October 1984, during the series “His Crossroads of Eternity” (which ran from issues #300 - #313), the current writer in charge of the Hulk, Bill Mantlo, explored the idea that Banner had suffered child abuse when he was younger. This became a fully recognized element to help explain the motive behind the transformation of Dr. Banner into The Hulk. It was soon decided that Banner suffered dissociative identity disorder (DID), possibly stemming during his years of abuse when he was younger, which is very similar to a multiple personality disorder. This explains the different personalities of the Hulk over the years.

From a savage beast full of anger, to a ‘puny human’ doctor, to the Vegas enforcer Joe Fixit (or ‘Grey Hulk’), Bruce Banner held within him conflicting personalities. Finally, in January of 1991, issue #377, writer Peter David revamped the Hulk once again. This time, using hypnosis and the aid of one Dr. Samson, the pieces of Banner’s identities were able to become fused. A new Hulk with the vast power of the Savage Hulk, the cunning of Joe Fixit, and the intelligence of Bruce Banner; a vastly more dangerous Hulk.

The Hulk continued on, until finally, in 2006, a secret group of Marvel’s topmost heroes calling themselves the Illuminati and consisting of Dr. Strange, Professor Xavier, Sub Mariner, Black Bolt, Reed Richards and Iron Man, decided finally that the Hulk was an impending threat to humanity. With his new (and unknown to him) status as a potential risk to Earth, Hulk was sent on a mission into space where his spaceship malfunctioned, sending him crash-landing onto what was supposed to be an abandoned planet. However, due to a slight trajectory malfunction, Hulk instead landed on the planet of Sakaar. Here, with the help of a bit of muscle power, he usurps the throne of Sakaar from it’s tyrannical leader and reigns supreme over this world. However this was not to be, as the vessel he landed on explodes, destroying Sakaar’s capital as well as his wife and unborn child. With vengeance in his heart, Hulk returned to Earth to take his revenge on the Illuminati.

Once back on Earth, after causing panic amongst Earth’s people and amongst the heroes there, The Hulk was eventually subdued, and taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, much of his former anger abated. Only very recently has he escaped from imprisonment in order to fight new menaces.

The Hulk has taken on many changes since his original creation in the 60’s. He has gone through multiple style changes, personality changes and has even fought on both sides of the field. There are few other heroes on the Marvel Stage that have made as large of impacts onto regular continuity as The Hulk has. He has also had a very impressive list of film and television appearance. A TV series from 1978 – 1982, a movie entitled ‘The Incredible Hulk Returns’ (TV film) in 1988, ‘The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (TV film) in 1989, ‘The Death of the Incredible Hulk’ (TV Film) in 1990, a segment in ‘The Marvel Superheroes’ (an animated series) in 1966, a full animated series in 1982, and an updated animated series in 1996, a movie entitled ‘Hulk’ in 2003 (directed by Ang Lee) and now, on Friday, ‘The Incredible Hulk’.

Quite an impressive resume - we’ll see how this pans out!

The Dirt on Tokyopop

On June 2, a week ago today, Tokyopop announced a sort of splitting of their company. Tokyopop is literally THE Manga company, and are responsible for most (if not all) the translated material we get here in North America. They have decided that they will spin off their comics-to-film and digital operations into a new company, called Tokyopop Media LLC.

Publishing, which will still remain with Tokyopop Inc., will be reduced by around 50%, reducing output to only 200-250 titles per year. Tokyopop had over 500 titles. This move has required the ‘reducing of their workforce’ by 39 employees, however the executive level will also see some changes.

ICv2 reports that “Group President and COO John Parker will take over as Publisher at Tokyopop, Inc. Marco Pavia, previously Director of Marketing, has been promoted to Associate Publisher. Mike Kiley, who has been serving as Publisher at Tokyopop Inc., will take over as the key senior executive in Tokyopop Media.

If you think about all this, however, it seems to make sense. Out of 500 titles per year, dropping it to 200-250 means only halting the translation of the ones who don’t nearly do as well anyways. Guaranteed the top 200 are the breadwinners with Tokyopop, where the last few are lucky to sell a few hundred copies. The market is simply diluted with far too much material out there to absorb! By separating resources into this new venture, Tokyopop will be able to fully focus on success in the two departments that mean something currently.

50% of the company can now focus solely on producing these excellent titles, while the other 50% can fully focus on their job of bringing these materials to the big or small screen, and onto the internet in unique ways. As we can all see, when Marvel made their big push into entertainment, it was pure gold for them. With Tokyopop now able to focus on comics-to-film, we can expect to see big things coming from them through different forms of media.

ICv2 has a new article up just today of a particularly insightful interview they had with Mike Kiley, the former Tokyopop Publisher who will be taking a ‘yet-to-be-named’ position at Tokyopop Media. I urge you to read it!

‘C’ is for Comic Books - An Encyclopedia Blitz!

I think it started sometime in 2006. Yes, that’s when the Marvel Encyclopedia was published by DK Publishing. I have a handy copy of it right here, and as I flip through I can tell you that this is a pretty in-depth look at the Marvel universe and her characters. More than a thousand articles in here.

I’ll agree with a friend of mine and allow that Deadpool doesn’t get nearly the page space he deserves... still a very comprehensive look, however.

The Marvel Vault, published by Running Press, followed suit in 2007. The ‘Museum-In-A-Book’ did extremely well during the holiday season, and traced the history of Marvel from the Golden Age all the way to present day. Nearly 70 years of history and over 30 pieces of removable memorabilia – such as old trading cards, reprints, artwork, etc. – all in a book. Makes you feel like a kid again just by opening it and exploring the treasures inside.

This is why Running Press will be releasing ‘The DC Vault: A Museum-In-A-Book’ this October! Following the success of its predecessor, The Marvel Vault, Running Press has ordered a huge first printing of 100,000 copies of this new Vault collection. There will be tones of extras to be found in this vault, such as exact reproductions of early sketches, memos and even a working model of a 1942 Junior Justice Society of America Decoder!

How cool is that?!

Look for that one in stores in October for roughly $50.00!

DK Publishing won’t be missing the boat this holiday season
either, as they will be releasing a thoroughly informative collaboration to follow up on the Marvel Encyclopedia! DK’s The Vertigo Encyclopedia ($30.00) will be a 240-Page, full color hardcover edition will be out for the holidays and will most definitely be a top seller. In here you will find all of the primary Vertigo labels such as Hellblazer, The Sandman, Preacher, Swamp Thing, Fables, and Y: The Last Man. That’s not all, there will be tones of other articles on other Vertigo properties. Look to the shelves this holiday for this one to add to your collection!

But DK’s not done yet! With the success yet again of its Marvel Encyclopedia, DK is coming back with Marvel Chronicle (roughly $50.00)! It’s a 352-page, year-by-year accounting of the history of the Marvel Universe! From its early days all the way up to the recent events of Civil War and Secret Invasion! Along the way it will also note the key events of our time to coincide with what comic books were being published in those years. This book will be a great idea for those who wish to find out just how Marvel found themselves in the position they are today – how they and their characters built up so much steam to become the true marvels they are today.

So a bunch of encyclopedic knowledge about comic books will be out for the holidays this year. So throw away your Encyclopedia Britannica – there wasn’t much in those anyways – and make some shelf space for a whole new set of books containing all you need to know about the comic book titans of history!

Marvel Wants More ‘King’

It’s simple fact that Stephen King’s novels are sheer gold when it comes to comic book adaptations. Each issue of the series has sold no less than 100,000 copies and has remained in the top 3 sellers since the initial release. With this incredible success, Marvel has taken it as a signal and has announced a licensing agreement with Doubleday in order to continue their work with Stephen King.

What’s next on the list?

The Stand: The Complete and Uncut Edition. The adaptation is based off of Stephen King’s novel, which is a post-apocalyptic tale set in America after a virus has wiped out 99.4% of all humanity. It tells of two separate bands of survivors, struggling against each other to survive.

The book which the series will base itself off of has sold over 4.5 million copies worldwide, and it is expected that with the previous success of The Dark Tower series as a comic adaptation, this will do equally well if not better. Robert Aquirre-Sacasa (Fantastic Four) is set to adapt the novel and Harvey Award-winning artist Mike Perkings (who was the artist for Captain America) will illustrate the series.

You can expect the first issue of this new series to hit stores in September!

Wake The Dead

Mary Shelly once warned of the “over-reaching” of man. In her story, Frankenstein, she told the tale of a scientist creating and bringing to life a new being – similar to a man but larger and physically better – from dead body parts. The story unfolded with the monster being shunned and feared by the local populace. However, in the end, the monster is merely misunderstood. He is truly suffering from immense solitude, hatred and remorse. When his master dies, he too ends his suffering.

This is the feel that Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) took with his graphic novel: Wake The Dead. The graphic novel is a re-imagining of the classic Frankenstein tale, where life is created from what was dead.

And now it is to become a movie! From the looks of it, the production crew is STACKED with talent.

Holding Pictures has acquired the rights to do the film, which has already hired names such as James V. Hart (August Rush, Hook, Bram Stoker’s Dracula) to pen the screenplay and Jay Russell (The Water Horse, Ladder 49, Tuck Everlasting) to direct. WETA studios, which have done previous work on The Water Horse and, of course, on the Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, will be handling the visual effects for Wake The Dead.

Charlie Lyons (The Water Horse, Firewall) has been set to produce the film, and can be quoted saying, “The idea is to make a classic horror film, and what I liked was the combination of Jay, in a genre he's wanted to experiment in for some time, with Jim, who is particularly skilled at this kind of voice, and with a world created by Steve, who has become a classic in the graphic novel world."

Charlie Lyons will personally fund and finance the film through the end of principal photography, giving this creation a big chance at coming to life.

Disney Creates Graphic Novel Medium

Walt Disney Studios is now launching Kingdom Comics, through which they will begin to adapt graphic novels for the big screen. Also, it will be Kingdom's job to handle work on rejuvenating Disney's live action film properties. ICv2 reports that 'Disney Publishing will have the first option to publish the material, although Kingdom will be able to take its packages elsewhere if Disney declines to publish.'

This means that Kingdom Comics will be creating new graphic novels and characters and optioning their creations for film adaptations. Also they will be taking movies from the Disney Vault and re-imagining them as graphic novels.

Who knows what we will find turning up in graphic novel form in the future? Perhaps a Davey Crockett graphic novel series? I think that would be pretty awesome. Loved that film when I was but a boy. Ooooh. Old Yeller would be awesome.

Kingdom Comics will be headed by Ahmet Zappa (Check IMDB to see what he's been in. He's also written 'The Monstrous Memoirs of a Mighty McFearless' which is also being considered for a film. Ahmet is also currently executive producer of a Fraggle Rock feature), Harris Katlemen (His key to fame is when, from 1980 - 1992, he ran 20th Century TV which developed The Simpsons during that time), and Christian Beranek (who founded Silent Devil).

So far no writers or artists have been signed on, but that will likely change soon.

The Deal with D&D

As some of you may know, the definitive table-top RPG (Role Playing Game) of our time - and inspiration for countless works of fiction, cinema and video games - is releasing its highly anticipated 4th Edition on Friday, June 6. Dungeons and Dragons, created by Mr. E. Gary Gygax and Mr. Dave Arneson, was originally released in 1974 and has grown in every way since then.

For those who have no clue what this game is all about, I will give a quick rundown of what the game entails.

Players create their own character along a provided guideline, allowing for a large amount of creativity. The leader of the game session, named the 'Dungeon Master' (DM), controls the games progression. His/her job is to tell a story, through which the players' created characters quest in order to achieve glory and riches by defeating various monsters that the DM throws at them. Actions are controlled through the use of various die rolls, especially the all-important d20 - the 20-sided-dice.

This game is all done verbally, and use of the imagination is called on frequently and is of key importance to the success of the game. Many visual components have been produced over the 34 years of this game's existence to aid adventurers in completing their campaigns to the utmost satisfaction.

And now, 34 years later, Dungeons and Dragons has created a 4th edition of rules, updating and fixing the many issues that have built up over previous editions. With such new additions as an online component, this release is expected to be HUGE.

With D&D Insider, which I believe comes out to 9.95/month for a subscription (if purchasing a year) grants the user access to a veritable plethora of online material - the best part being the online game table. The game table will allow a DM to host a session of Dungeons and Dragons online with (from what I hear) up to 15 people. With the online aid, rules and procedures will be literally at your fingertips for easy access. A voice chat system will allow for the game's demand for verbal interaction, although instant messaging will no doubt be available. The game table itself will represent an actual dungeon which may be fully customized; every monster, every spike trap, every treasure chest and even the dungeon layout.

Players will be able to create their own characters, controlling everything from facial features, armor, how they stand, etc. The game will then place this newly created character as a playable figurine on the virtual game table. No more worries for the artistic impaired. The use of this character designer means you'll never again have to ask your friends to draw your character!

Unfortunately everyone must wait for June 6th for this release. However, on May 23 it was reported that Buy.com was shipping out copies of the new core rulebooks - 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Wizards of the Coast - the company handling the release of this new edition - released a statement that they take these matter seriously and that they were looking into the matter.

In the mean time, the books have wound up on various Bit Torrent sites. Regardless of this fact it is expected that paper copies of the product will still do exceptionally well, if not even better because of the additional hype over this early leak.

3 days ago now, however, ICv2 reported that the 4th Edition has gone back to the printers in order to handle the demand of the release this Friday. They report that the sell-in of this new edition has been 50% higher than Edition 3.5, and now Wizards of the Coast must compensate for this flux in sales.

You can currently pre-order your own copy of the core rulebooks either separately or in this convenient gift set. Amazon.ca currently has the set listed at $76.23 Canadian before shipping, and each book separately listed at approximately $25 Canadian apiece.

On another note, the guys over at Penny Arcade and PVP got together with Wizards of the Coast in order to do some online advertising, etc. They were able to sit down and play a session of the new edition, and went through a few of the new changes in play. This session will be released in a series of podcasts, of which the first you can see here. Accompanying this escapade is some official D&D artwork drawn by Scott Kurtz (PVP) and Mike Krahulik (Penny Arcade). Go check it out! It's both informative AND funny!

Movie on tap for Witchblade

It looks like another comic is on the slate for movie production. Witchblade - a comic that's been around since 1995 and has become wildly successful around the world (it is now printed in over 20 languages), has been dished out for production via a partnership of Top Cow Productions, Arclight Films and Platinum Studios.

The Witchblade is a jewel encrusted gauntlet that, when wielded by someone worthy, forms a symbiotic relationship with it's host. Those unworthy, however, lose their arm.

The gauntlet itself is alien in origin, and is the offspring of the universes two opposing aspects: Light and Dark. The gauntlet is male, and in order to balance, it must have a female host. When wearing the Witchblade, it has a tendancy of ripping one's clothes off and surrounding it's host by expanding in size to protect her in a sort of armor - the amount of armor depending on the threat level of a foe.

So... to summarize... a very scantily clad woman kicking a lot of ass, wearing anywhere from huge amounts of armor to barely anything at all. Just wanted to make sure I got that...

The gauntlet itself has many many unique properties as well, including forming into different forms of weaponry. It also has the ability to heal wounds, even those that would certainly kill a person.

A two-year TNT cable network television program ran shortly after the release of a made-for-TV movie in 2000. This, however, will be the first silver screen appearance of the Witchblade.

It should be noted that the poster you see posted is merely a teaser poster released by the production companies. Casting has not yet been completed, so the woman you see there is simply a stand-in.

Batman: The Dark Knight

Hands down one of my most anticipated movies this year. After how incredible of a job they did on Batman Begins, I can’t help but think that this movie will be even better – if only for the addition of (the late) Heath Ledger as the Joker. I’m not sure if you have seen the Batman trailer, however I’m assuming if you’re reading this blog you must have by now. Watch it in QuickTime format here.

The thing I’m most impressed about in regards to this movie is the impressive (possible overload) of viral marketing. The campaign they have gone through to promote this movie has been nothing short of breath-taking. Let me see…

There’s Why So Serious, where currently you can take a personality test to see if you qualify to be one of the Joker’s thugs. There’s the Gotham Times, where you can go and read the Gotham newspaper to catch up on current events in Gotham. Ha Ha Ha Times goes hand in hand with this, where you can view a doctored, vandalized version of the same newspaper articles.

And then there’s a number of obscure and professional looking websites such as The Gotham National Bank website, The Gotham City Rail website and The Gotham City Police Department website. With that last one, there is also We Are The Answer – a website devoted to citizens of Gotham reporting claims of dirty cops and corruption.

Then there’s "I Believe in Harvey Dent" - the Harvey Dent campaign website! Harvey Dent, we all know, is the man destined to become Two Face, and is played by Aaron Eckhart.

Lastly there’s a very… realistic website devoted to a student reportedly killed by Gotham gang violence, called Remembering Gina.

How can you not look on all of these websites (all of which have offered so many different hints over the past few months) and not admire this massive marketing campaign? I mean sure, a lot of people don’t like to go on scavenger hunts in order to discover a little piece of information, but just the fact that there are so many ways to accidentally stumble onto a piece of their marketing is incredible.

Anyways.

If even the acting and script quality of the first film can remain intact for this second installment, then Batman: The Dark Knight will win the superhero opening weekend fight over Hulk or Iron Man. With the addition of Mr. Ledger as the Joker (and from what we’ve seen from the trailers – the best damned Joker EVER) and Mr. Eckhart as Harvey Dent, this movie promises to have a far more complex, and far darker plotline than any other Batman movie before. If they put even half the effort into the movie that they put into marketing... this one will be money.

See you at the theatre!