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The Incredible Hulk (1968) #301-313, Annual #13
Incredible Hulk: Crossroads
Collects Incredible Hulk (1968) #301-313 and Annual #13 & Alpha Flight (1983) #29.
Banished to the mysterious and dangerous Crossroads by Dr. Strange, the Hulk fights his way back from the edge of insanity; battles the U-Foes, the N'Garai, Klaatu, the Puffball Collective and more; fights along-side newfound friends like the Lady of Life in the City of Death; and comes face to face with three aspects of his own shattered psyche as Bruce Banner struggles to reassert control over his savage alter ego and come to terms with his haunted past! Plus: The story of Banner's birth, and how his tragic childhood shaped the monster within, is revealed! And longtime INCREDIBLE HULK artist Sal Buscema wraps up his decade-long run! The Jade Giant is truly at the crossroads of his life!
Banished to the mysterious and dangerous Crossroads by Dr. Strange, the Hulk fights his way back from the edge of insanity; battles the U-Foes, the N'Garai, Klaatu, the Puffball Collective and more; fights along-side newfound friends like the Lady of Life in the City of Death; and comes face to face with three aspects of his own shattered psyche as Bruce Banner struggles to reassert control over his savage alter ego and come to terms with his haunted past! Plus: The story of Banner's birth, and how his tragic childhood shaped the monster within, is revealed! And longtime INCREDIBLE HULK artist Sal Buscema wraps up his decade-long run! The Jade Giant is truly at the crossroads of his life!
375 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1985
5 people are currently reading
56 people want to read
About the author
Bill Mantlo
1,391 books44 followersWilliam Timothy Mantlo is an American comic book writer, primarily at Marvel Comics.
(source: Wikipedia)
(source: Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
June 9, 2021
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
Oh boy, this collection took a while to get through!
Granted, I am reading comics in publication order so that doesn’t help.
Anyway, after being the Intelligent Hulk for a while, the writers thought to go the complete opposite for the character and make him this unstoppable, unreasonable green monster who must be banished from Earth.
However, they did give him a little hope in that the senseless Hulk could wander through different planes of existence to find that one place he could truly call home.
They tried to make the stories different but many issues felt slightly ‘rinse and repeat’ when Hulk found himself in a new world, something went wrong and he ended up back at the Crossroads.
I did like the addition of the Puffball Collective and the Triad as they actually helped Hulk gain a little of his senses back (although for very different reasons).
When Bruce Banner finally returned, I was both interested and slightly disappointed.
I wish in that first issue they had leaned a little more into Bruce’s thoughts and feelings instead of including that weird old alchemist guy.
There was a Secret Wars II crossover however, it was more of a backstory issue.
We were shown Bruce’s life before the accident which made him into the Hulk. We saw how much his father hated him and learned of his poor mother’s fate.
Surprisingly (as it is an event crossover), this was my favourite issue in this collected edition.
For fans of the team Alpha Flight, I’m sure the last two issues would have been exciting but unfortunately for me, it was all just a means to get Hulk back on Earth.
I’m not sure if fans of Hulk need to read all of the issues collected (I sure didn’t!) but there are a few moments where they talk about the Banner/Hulk dynamic which was fairly interesting.
I definitely recommend reading issue #312 as that is the first iteration showing Bruce’s tragic childhood.
Oh boy, this collection took a while to get through!
Granted, I am reading comics in publication order so that doesn’t help.
Anyway, after being the Intelligent Hulk for a while, the writers thought to go the complete opposite for the character and make him this unstoppable, unreasonable green monster who must be banished from Earth.
However, they did give him a little hope in that the senseless Hulk could wander through different planes of existence to find that one place he could truly call home.
They tried to make the stories different but many issues felt slightly ‘rinse and repeat’ when Hulk found himself in a new world, something went wrong and he ended up back at the Crossroads.
I did like the addition of the Puffball Collective and the Triad as they actually helped Hulk gain a little of his senses back (although for very different reasons).
When Bruce Banner finally returned, I was both interested and slightly disappointed.
I wish in that first issue they had leaned a little more into Bruce’s thoughts and feelings instead of including that weird old alchemist guy.
There was a Secret Wars II crossover however, it was more of a backstory issue.
We were shown Bruce’s life before the accident which made him into the Hulk. We saw how much his father hated him and learned of his poor mother’s fate.
Surprisingly (as it is an event crossover), this was my favourite issue in this collected edition.
For fans of the team Alpha Flight, I’m sure the last two issues would have been exciting but unfortunately for me, it was all just a means to get Hulk back on Earth.
I’m not sure if fans of Hulk need to read all of the issues collected (I sure didn’t!) but there are a few moments where they talk about the Banner/Hulk dynamic which was fairly interesting.
I definitely recommend reading issue #312 as that is the first iteration showing Bruce’s tragic childhood.
August 29, 2018
Bill Mantlo’s weird, flawed run on the 80s Hulk is a sequence of failed character redefinitions - first a smart, heroic Hulk, then a mindless beast, ultimately winding up back to the characters then familiar Hulk-talk-like-cartoon-caveman status quo*. It’s a 40+ issue round trip which reflects the sense (not unreasonable) that Hulk as a character needs constant redefinition: the rampaging green goliath mode that defined his newsstand era glory years hasn’t cut it since the 70s, but is hard to escape from.
This collection gathers the “beast” stories, with Hulk stuck in an interdimensional nexus with only some talking puffballs for company. The stories read as a writer’s anger at a character he’s sick of - in most of them the Hulk is humiliated, beaten up, possessed, etc etc. Or possibly they’re just a messy compromise between a writer wanting to tell stories with the Hulk as a force of nature and a publisher wanting to keep the focus on the title character. Either way it doesn’t work. Sal Buscema and Gerry Talaoc provide just enough atmosphere to keep things readable, with an early-career Mike Mignola turning up at the end, sadly just as the stories become less gothic and more earthbound.
*A set-up for a John Byrne run which lasted all of six issues before the wheels spun again.
This collection gathers the “beast” stories, with Hulk stuck in an interdimensional nexus with only some talking puffballs for company. The stories read as a writer’s anger at a character he’s sick of - in most of them the Hulk is humiliated, beaten up, possessed, etc etc. Or possibly they’re just a messy compromise between a writer wanting to tell stories with the Hulk as a force of nature and a publisher wanting to keep the focus on the title character. Either way it doesn’t work. Sal Buscema and Gerry Talaoc provide just enough atmosphere to keep things readable, with an early-career Mike Mignola turning up at the end, sadly just as the stories become less gothic and more earthbound.
*A set-up for a John Byrne run which lasted all of six issues before the wheels spun again.
May 20, 2017
hulk in another dimension wolud be fine but a crossroad of them is glorious !!!!
April 15, 2025
Bill Mantlo, Sal Buscema, and Gerry Talaoc’s epic masterpiece.
The Hulk has devolved from an intellectual scientist to a savage, angry engine of destruction. For storytelling reasons this quickly evolved to inarticulate and annoyed by everything. Dr Strange has exiled him to a nexus dimension where his only companion is a wandering sentient pollen cloud, the crossroads in question. A spell limits the Hulk’s options as far as where he can go and how long he can stay there based on his emotions and intent, this is almost immediately loopholed though, once again for clear storytelling purposes.
Each world is different, yet the series has an overarching theme, the Hulk is alone and powerless to control his own fate. Used to being the strongest one of all, the Hulk finds himself thrown about by the sheer vastness of the dimensions and the infinite life therein. An appearance by old foes the U-Foes serves to emphasise this as the crossroads many pathways rock the collective to its core against the backdrop of an epic battle.
Sal And Gary’s Hulk is rightfully iconic, and suitably beastial. The art overall is stunning, and with covers by the likes of Bill Sienkievich a joy to read and collect. It is not for someone that prefers a story of the month style, but this is clearly the progenitor of the current runs of Hulk in strange new situations reintroduced by I mortal Hulk and continuing into the current series.
With storylines including a Jarella analog, and the U-Foes somehow guest starring, this series stand well within the established Hulk continuity of the day. Not an imaginary story, not a forgotten departure, but solid Marvel in Universe storytelling.
The Hulk has devolved from an intellectual scientist to a savage, angry engine of destruction. For storytelling reasons this quickly evolved to inarticulate and annoyed by everything. Dr Strange has exiled him to a nexus dimension where his only companion is a wandering sentient pollen cloud, the crossroads in question. A spell limits the Hulk’s options as far as where he can go and how long he can stay there based on his emotions and intent, this is almost immediately loopholed though, once again for clear storytelling purposes.
Each world is different, yet the series has an overarching theme, the Hulk is alone and powerless to control his own fate. Used to being the strongest one of all, the Hulk finds himself thrown about by the sheer vastness of the dimensions and the infinite life therein. An appearance by old foes the U-Foes serves to emphasise this as the crossroads many pathways rock the collective to its core against the backdrop of an epic battle.
Sal And Gary’s Hulk is rightfully iconic, and suitably beastial. The art overall is stunning, and with covers by the likes of Bill Sienkievich a joy to read and collect. It is not for someone that prefers a story of the month style, but this is clearly the progenitor of the current runs of Hulk in strange new situations reintroduced by I mortal Hulk and continuing into the current series.
With storylines including a Jarella analog, and the U-Foes somehow guest starring, this series stand well within the established Hulk continuity of the day. Not an imaginary story, not a forgotten departure, but solid Marvel in Universe storytelling.
June 4, 2021
⭐ * 3,5
Fechando o run do Bill Manto e Sal Buscema o saldo é positivo.
A Saga da Encruzilhada é uma das mais clássicas do personagem e não é à toa. Mantlo havia explorado o personagem de outras formas nas duas primeiras partes, mas aqui o que vale é o Hulk bruto e selvagem, sem qualquer tipo de consciência ou inteligência. Para depois recriar sua origem e apresentar representações interessantes da psique do Hulk quando Banner não está presente.
A Encruzilhada é formada por histórias super criativas. O autor em momento nenhum faz o uso do Universo Marvel para criar novos mundos dentro da história, o que deixa tudo mais desafiador. Cada história e mundo visitado diz algo diferente e algumas ainda trazem referências incríveis, como a de Moby Dick na história do alien Klaatu. A parte negativa da saga é a extensão dela, que ao meu ver se prolonga um pouco mais do que deveria.
Nesta edição além de Sal Buscema que desenha muito bem as expressões e movimentações do personagem, temos também capas e duas edições desenhadas por Mike Mignola que são de brilhar os olhos.
Fechando o run do Bill Manto e Sal Buscema o saldo é positivo.
A Saga da Encruzilhada é uma das mais clássicas do personagem e não é à toa. Mantlo havia explorado o personagem de outras formas nas duas primeiras partes, mas aqui o que vale é o Hulk bruto e selvagem, sem qualquer tipo de consciência ou inteligência. Para depois recriar sua origem e apresentar representações interessantes da psique do Hulk quando Banner não está presente.
A Encruzilhada é formada por histórias super criativas. O autor em momento nenhum faz o uso do Universo Marvel para criar novos mundos dentro da história, o que deixa tudo mais desafiador. Cada história e mundo visitado diz algo diferente e algumas ainda trazem referências incríveis, como a de Moby Dick na história do alien Klaatu. A parte negativa da saga é a extensão dela, que ao meu ver se prolonga um pouco mais do que deveria.
Nesta edição além de Sal Buscema que desenha muito bem as expressões e movimentações do personagem, temos também capas e duas edições desenhadas por Mike Mignola que são de brilhar os olhos.
May 28, 2018
En esta parte final de la etapa de Mantlo tenemos un hulk completamente reducido a sus instintos más primarios, esto hace que tengamos mucha narración en cuadros de texto que hacen en ocasiones farragosa la lectura. más adelante se agiliza más la cosa pero algunos números pueden costar. En todo caso tendremos un Hulk sin la influencia de la mente de Banner, que deambula por los mundos que tienen su punto de partida en la encrucijada, buscando un mundo en el que al fin le dejen en paz (lo que siempre ha buscado Hulk) sin mucho éxito.
Por otro lado en el tramo final se tratan temas bastante duros, en algunos números se explora la mente de Banner muy profundamente, se abordan temas como el maltrato que recibió de niño, el trauma que sufrió con la muerte de su madre, el odio que le tenía su padre desde pequeño... todos los factores que provocan su ira, desarrollando aún más esa idea de que Hulk es una personificación de la rabia que tiene en su interior.
Una etapa interesante a la que seguirán unos pocos números de John Byrne con más acción que otra cosa, y después por fin la etapa de peter david (los números de Bob Harras y Al Milgrom creo que me los salto).
Por otro lado en el tramo final se tratan temas bastante duros, en algunos números se explora la mente de Banner muy profundamente, se abordan temas como el maltrato que recibió de niño, el trauma que sufrió con la muerte de su madre, el odio que le tenía su padre desde pequeño... todos los factores que provocan su ira, desarrollando aún más esa idea de que Hulk es una personificación de la rabia que tiene en su interior.
Una etapa interesante a la que seguirán unos pocos números de John Byrne con más acción que otra cosa, y después por fin la etapa de peter david (los números de Bob Harras y Al Milgrom creo que me los salto).
October 23, 2023
Bill Mantlo's run on this title has to be one of the most underrated runs of the 1980s. I'm not kidding. Aside from #312 and 313 (which I bought when they originally came out- more on that later) these comics were all new to me, and they are all great. Mantlo's writing may seem overly wordy to modern reader sensibilities but bear with it, kids. He crams an arc's worth of characterization into every single issue and there is one helluva payoff at the end of the day, nearly 1200 pages across these three books later.
The Hulk has been banished to the Crossroads by Doctor Strange in an attempt to save both the Earth and the Hulk. Due to Nightmare's interference, Bruce Banner's intellect was squashed and the Hulk became a truly mindless beast. When Strange intervened Banner essentially committed suicide of the id, allowing a mindless Hulk to wander through the Crossroads, which is a nexus to different worlds and dimensions. Strange implanted a fail safe spell in the Hulk's mind so that if the mindless Hulk became discontented he would be transported back to the Crossroads, free to pick a new world until he found one that made him happy.
The Hulk encounters foes of all types in this dimension. Worlds where all of his strength is useless, as he is the weakest being (#302-303). Worlds where a symbiotic creature attaches itself to the Hulk and learns to dream (Annual #13). He befriends an entity called the Puffball Collective which is trapped in the Crossroads and unable to enter any of the worlds. There is a ton of development with that entity, and it ends up helping the Hulk before revealing it/their hand. The N'Garai appear in the finale, and that battle is pretty darn cool.
As if all of this isn't enough, the remnants of Bruce Banner's psyche begin to reemerge as three personalities called The Triad (#308). Glow, a star-like creature that is Banner's intellect; Guardian, Banner's survival instinct; and Goblin, his anger, basically the devil on his soldier. These three personalities helped the Hulk when he was mindless but were of course invisible to everyone else. That's right, kids, years before the show Herman's Head set the world on fire for the fledgling Fox Network Bill Mantlo paved the road for it with this title. This is some pretty heady stuff and predates many so-called sophisticated comics. Their origin wasn't revealed until #312, which I bought as 12 year old sucker because it was a Secret Wars II tie-in. It was dry for my tastes back then, even though I enjoyed the artwork of the then-unknown Mike Mignola, who would go on to great success with Hellboy.
I was suckered into buying #313 because it tied into Alpha Flight #29. AF was one of my favorite titles in 1985, and series writer/artist John Byrne was going over to The Incredible Hulk while Mantlo/Mignola/Talaoc were going over to Alpha Flight. The Beyonder set a chain of events in #312 which led to the end of AF #28 (which took place at the same time as #313) and beginning of #29. The whole thing ends with a bang, literally. It was a pretty clever way to tie up Mantlo's run as well as welcome Byrne to his ill-fated but highly advised run.
I was harsh about Gerry Talaoc's inking in my review for the previous volume, Regression. I stand by that critique, as his work in that book was substandard. He really shines here, though, having figured out how to compliment Sal Buscema's pencils perfectly. He also works well with a young Mike Mignola.
Bill Mantlo is a great writer who did what many comic book writers fail to do. Take a character, put that character through their paces, break things, and then carefully put everything back together the way that you found it. He put his stamp on the character without disowning what came before or making it impossible to follow without adhering to his take. Genius.
The Hulk has been banished to the Crossroads by Doctor Strange in an attempt to save both the Earth and the Hulk. Due to Nightmare's interference, Bruce Banner's intellect was squashed and the Hulk became a truly mindless beast. When Strange intervened Banner essentially committed suicide of the id, allowing a mindless Hulk to wander through the Crossroads, which is a nexus to different worlds and dimensions. Strange implanted a fail safe spell in the Hulk's mind so that if the mindless Hulk became discontented he would be transported back to the Crossroads, free to pick a new world until he found one that made him happy.
The Hulk encounters foes of all types in this dimension. Worlds where all of his strength is useless, as he is the weakest being (#302-303). Worlds where a symbiotic creature attaches itself to the Hulk and learns to dream (Annual #13). He befriends an entity called the Puffball Collective which is trapped in the Crossroads and unable to enter any of the worlds. There is a ton of development with that entity, and it ends up helping the Hulk before revealing it/their hand. The N'Garai appear in the finale, and that battle is pretty darn cool.
As if all of this isn't enough, the remnants of Bruce Banner's psyche begin to reemerge as three personalities called The Triad (#308). Glow, a star-like creature that is Banner's intellect; Guardian, Banner's survival instinct; and Goblin, his anger, basically the devil on his soldier. These three personalities helped the Hulk when he was mindless but were of course invisible to everyone else. That's right, kids, years before the show Herman's Head set the world on fire for the fledgling Fox Network Bill Mantlo paved the road for it with this title. This is some pretty heady stuff and predates many so-called sophisticated comics. Their origin wasn't revealed until #312, which I bought as 12 year old sucker because it was a Secret Wars II tie-in. It was dry for my tastes back then, even though I enjoyed the artwork of the then-unknown Mike Mignola, who would go on to great success with Hellboy.
I was suckered into buying #313 because it tied into Alpha Flight #29. AF was one of my favorite titles in 1985, and series writer/artist John Byrne was going over to The Incredible Hulk while Mantlo/Mignola/Talaoc were going over to Alpha Flight. The Beyonder set a chain of events in #312 which led to the end of AF #28 (which took place at the same time as #313) and beginning of #29. The whole thing ends with a bang, literally. It was a pretty clever way to tie up Mantlo's run as well as welcome Byrne to his ill-fated but highly advised run.
I was harsh about Gerry Talaoc's inking in my review for the previous volume, Regression. I stand by that critique, as his work in that book was substandard. He really shines here, though, having figured out how to compliment Sal Buscema's pencils perfectly. He also works well with a young Mike Mignola.
Bill Mantlo is a great writer who did what many comic book writers fail to do. Take a character, put that character through their paces, break things, and then carefully put everything back together the way that you found it. He put his stamp on the character without disowning what came before or making it impossible to follow without adhering to his take. Genius.
February 11, 2024
One of the earliest Hulk archs I read as a kid, albeit in chunks and never as a whole. The Mindless Hulk has always been my favourite incarnation/personality within Bruce Banner's mind so this was a treat. I'd compare this storyline to Alan Moore's run on Swamp Thing in the sense that it focused on exploring the psychology of a monster rather than on action/destruction. The issue that dealt with Bruce's abusive childhood hit particularly hard and made me want to seek out the subsequent stories that fleshed out his relationship with his father. I also noticed a healthy dose of Frank Frazetta and Conan inspiration throughout some of the adventures, which was cool to see. This is an underrated chapter of the Hulk's saga.
September 16, 2023
Nota 8,3.
Positivos: Roteiro amarradinho muitas vezes explorando o psicológico do personagem, desenhos incríveis, mundos abstratos curiosos, edição 312 tá no TOP 10 do Herói.
Agora os negativos...
Sinceramente eu esperava mais desse arco.
Achei que envelheceu mal. As histórias são episódicas e repetitivas, com bastante texto. O Hulk tbm não tem tanta participação nas próprias aventuras.
A conclusão é bem anticlimatica com uma luta genérica contra a Alpha Flight, sem nenhum fechamento ou foco maior no Hulk.
Enfim, uma ótima história do esmeraldino, mas que infelizmente cai bastante pra repetição, superficialidade e alongamento de histórias da época.
Positivos: Roteiro amarradinho muitas vezes explorando o psicológico do personagem, desenhos incríveis, mundos abstratos curiosos, edição 312 tá no TOP 10 do Herói.
Agora os negativos...
Sinceramente eu esperava mais desse arco.
Achei que envelheceu mal. As histórias são episódicas e repetitivas, com bastante texto. O Hulk tbm não tem tanta participação nas próprias aventuras.
A conclusão é bem anticlimatica com uma luta genérica contra a Alpha Flight, sem nenhum fechamento ou foco maior no Hulk.
Enfim, uma ótima história do esmeraldino, mas que infelizmente cai bastante pra repetição, superficialidade e alongamento de histórias da época.
June 17, 2022
One of my favorite Hulk runs.
After a brutal rampage, Bruce Banner is gone and the now beastial Hulk is banished to a pocket dimension, in the hope that he can find a reality where he'll be happy or at least a reality that is sturdy enough to hold up to him.
He then spends a year, bouncing across the multiverse, making a couple friends and stumbling through adventures.
It's weird and kind of brilliant.
After a brutal rampage, Bruce Banner is gone and the now beastial Hulk is banished to a pocket dimension, in the hope that he can find a reality where he'll be happy or at least a reality that is sturdy enough to hold up to him.
He then spends a year, bouncing across the multiverse, making a couple friends and stumbling through adventures.
It's weird and kind of brilliant.
November 4, 2021
A collection that benefits from Hulk being a less popular character with whom writers like Bill Mantlo can experiment, this tale sees Hulk, apparently free of puny Banner, banished to a series of alien worlds in different dimensions in search of a home where the beast can be happy. It's an odd yet intriguing period in Hulk's unfolding tale.
October 1, 2017
Some of my least favorite Hulk stories....he's a mindless brute through most of it, not a main character in his own right. He doesn't drive the action....he just reacts.
November 24, 2017
I liked this story line a lot. However, the only weak one was the Alpha Flight crossover. Sorry it was so boring.
November 21, 2018
Pretty nice compilation, well written by Bill Mantlo, he really gets into the Hulks mind and portrays his thoughts and frustrations about loneliness well
June 2, 2013
Bruce Banner is dead. Only the Hulk remains: reduced to a raging, primal state through the influence of a nightmarish demon, exiled to a nexus of realities by a former ally, and left to wander through an endless assortment of worlds in search of a new home.
Thus begins the Crossroads, the third and final act of Bill Mantlo’s run and one of the strangest and most surreal sagas to ever come out of the pages of INCREDIBLE HULK. Having stripped the Hulk down to his barest essentials, Mantlo guides him on an unpredictable odyssey of self-discovery. While at first appearing to be a mindless beast, it’s soon revealed that the Hulk still exhibits a range of emotions beyond the anger he’s famous for, and is also capable of learning from his experiences. Every place he enters by way of the Crossroads teaches him its own lesson. The lessons are often harsh and brutal, but resonate deeply within the Hulk as he eventually comes to realize that animal instincts, much like the intellectual reasoning he’d acquired in the previous storyline, are not enough to ensure his continued survival. To live, the Hulk must evolve, and his evolution is a very painful process.
Where these stories also excel is in the varied settings, and the possibilities that derive from them. From a medieval society at war to a ship of space-sailing pirates on the hunt, Mantlo never leaves us with a dull moment.
Along for the ride are artists Sal Buscema (who leaves partway through, wrapping up the longest artistic run on the series to date), Alan Kupperberg, Bret Blevins, and future HELLBOY creator Mike Mignola. Mignola, whose tenure on INCREDIBLE HULK is unfortunately short, produced with Mantlo the controversial but pivotal “Monster!” tale in issue #312, delving into Bruce Banner’s childhood and paving the way for how future contributors Peter David and Greg Pak would develop the character.
Two-thirds of Bill Mantlo’s INCREDIBLE HULK run has now been reprinted. Hopefully, the remaining portion (issue #s 245-268, and annuals 10-11) will receive the same treatment, either as their own collection, or as part of Marvel’s ESSENTIAL HULK series.
Thus begins the Crossroads, the third and final act of Bill Mantlo’s run and one of the strangest and most surreal sagas to ever come out of the pages of INCREDIBLE HULK. Having stripped the Hulk down to his barest essentials, Mantlo guides him on an unpredictable odyssey of self-discovery. While at first appearing to be a mindless beast, it’s soon revealed that the Hulk still exhibits a range of emotions beyond the anger he’s famous for, and is also capable of learning from his experiences. Every place he enters by way of the Crossroads teaches him its own lesson. The lessons are often harsh and brutal, but resonate deeply within the Hulk as he eventually comes to realize that animal instincts, much like the intellectual reasoning he’d acquired in the previous storyline, are not enough to ensure his continued survival. To live, the Hulk must evolve, and his evolution is a very painful process.
Where these stories also excel is in the varied settings, and the possibilities that derive from them. From a medieval society at war to a ship of space-sailing pirates on the hunt, Mantlo never leaves us with a dull moment.
Along for the ride are artists Sal Buscema (who leaves partway through, wrapping up the longest artistic run on the series to date), Alan Kupperberg, Bret Blevins, and future HELLBOY creator Mike Mignola. Mignola, whose tenure on INCREDIBLE HULK is unfortunately short, produced with Mantlo the controversial but pivotal “Monster!” tale in issue #312, delving into Bruce Banner’s childhood and paving the way for how future contributors Peter David and Greg Pak would develop the character.
Two-thirds of Bill Mantlo’s INCREDIBLE HULK run has now been reprinted. Hopefully, the remaining portion (issue #s 245-268, and annuals 10-11) will receive the same treatment, either as their own collection, or as part of Marvel’s ESSENTIAL HULK series.
January 30, 2014
Poor Bill Mantlo.
For many, the guy doesn't have the best reputation in terms of talent, then there's the terrible accident you may have, and, well, way down on that list, is whatever happened to end his run.
I greatly enjoyed the previous two collections,Incredible Hulk: Pardoned and Incredible Hulk: Regression) as Mantlo pulled off a pretty engaging and convincing version of that old superhero chestnut, "the illusion of change." Sure it took a while to get there each time, but the transitions in the Hulk's state were still interesting.
This collection starts very strong. I'm a pretty cynical guy but I almost shed a tear over story found in Annual #13; quite impressive considering what a weird story it was. But for some reason Mantlo has put Hulk into a storytelling that can't help but become repetitive; collections of comics from this era are usually not that easy to read all in one gulp, but here especially so; you'd probably be better off reading an issue a week at best!
And worse yet, after 10 or so issues of meandering, the culmination of Mantlo's story comes in an entirely abrupt, random, and unsatisfying fashion. Knowing that John Byrne's run would come right after, I assume this is why Mantlo had to quickly move the pieces back into play, but I really wish they'd given him some more warning. The worst part of it is that the last issue is a crossover with Alpha Flight, and Alpha Flight completely sucks... sorry Canadians.
Honestly, I wish I'd just stopped with Regression and let my imagination decide how Hulk got out of this fix. Ah well. Early Mignola art is interesting, at least!
For many, the guy doesn't have the best reputation in terms of talent, then there's the terrible accident you may have, and, well, way down on that list, is whatever happened to end his run.
I greatly enjoyed the previous two collections,Incredible Hulk: Pardoned and Incredible Hulk: Regression) as Mantlo pulled off a pretty engaging and convincing version of that old superhero chestnut, "the illusion of change." Sure it took a while to get there each time, but the transitions in the Hulk's state were still interesting.
This collection starts very strong. I'm a pretty cynical guy but I almost shed a tear over story found in Annual #13; quite impressive considering what a weird story it was. But for some reason Mantlo has put Hulk into a storytelling that can't help but become repetitive; collections of comics from this era are usually not that easy to read all in one gulp, but here especially so; you'd probably be better off reading an issue a week at best!
And worse yet, after 10 or so issues of meandering, the culmination of Mantlo's story comes in an entirely abrupt, random, and unsatisfying fashion. Knowing that John Byrne's run would come right after, I assume this is why Mantlo had to quickly move the pieces back into play, but I really wish they'd given him some more warning. The worst part of it is that the last issue is a crossover with Alpha Flight, and Alpha Flight completely sucks... sorry Canadians.
Honestly, I wish I'd just stopped with Regression and let my imagination decide how Hulk got out of this fix. Ah well. Early Mignola art is interesting, at least!
April 2, 2015
Mantlo finishes his run on the Hulk with some of the most unusual storytelling he'd done to that point. Dr. Strange has banished the Hulk to the Crossroads, where he can search out other dimensions to hopefully find a world where he can neither harm nor be harmed. It reads more like sci-fi/fantasy than a superhero book, as we follow Hulk through various worlds where he tries to rescue a princess, chases after Klaatu on a sky ship with a wannabe Ahab at the helm, battles demons, and makes (and loses) a friend with an exile who eventually must face punishment from his people for his crime of too much compassion. Banner, whom we thought was gone forever, emerges with the help of some totems from his youth, and we learn about Banner's abuse at the hands of his father--the source of the Hulk's great rage. It's chilling stuff, and makes the already tragic existence of the Hulk even more so. Right before that issue (312) is a fantastic standalone issue (while still remaining true to the larger continuity) about a scientist from the 18th century who was accidentally transported to another dimension and has learned the secret of immortality, but at great cost to the beings that live in that world. It could be straight out of the pages of a Clark Ashton Smith anthology, or EC's Weird Fantasy.
Mignola's also got some fantastic covers represented in this collection. Highly recommended.
Mignola's also got some fantastic covers represented in this collection. Highly recommended.
July 14, 2015
I remember reading a couple of issues of Hulk's adventures on "The Crossroads" in-between different dimensions, as a child as was interested in revisiting these issues as well as reading the story as a whole. While Bill Mantlo frequently uses the stories for moral tales, the different dimensions also allow him and the artists to go wild with some crazy worlds and their inhabitants (The Puffball Collective and Klaatu in particular for the latter). However, mu most vivid memory from these comics, The Triad; Guardian, Goblin & Glow, physical manifestations of the remnants of Bruce Banner's subconscious only appear in the latter half of the story, including issue #312, a fantastic retelling of Hulk's origin, before rushing headlong into a somewhat exposition-heavy crossover with Alpha Flight by way of Secret Wars II and The Beyonder after which the creative teams of both comics swapped over. Still it is a weird wonderful story and certainly one of the best Hulk comic tales for my money.
July 10, 2016
Spoilers:
Not sure what to think about this third volume by Mantlo. The ending is a bit of a bummer. Mantlo certainly showed me a very different Hulk than I've known my whole life. Here the Hulk is the silent destructive rage monster that we've seen in the two solo Hulk films. Definitely not my favorite take on the character. I prefer him a talker and a hero. Which he was briefly in the first volume of Mantlo's run.
There's so very little of Hulk's publishing history out of print. Or that has never been printed into collected editions I hate to be too critical. I'm very pleased to have these three fat Hulk books. Loved the first two. And this third books does have early Mike Mignola! And that's worth a rating star all on its own.
Not sure what to think about this third volume by Mantlo. The ending is a bit of a bummer. Mantlo certainly showed me a very different Hulk than I've known my whole life. Here the Hulk is the silent destructive rage monster that we've seen in the two solo Hulk films. Definitely not my favorite take on the character. I prefer him a talker and a hero. Which he was briefly in the first volume of Mantlo's run.
There's so very little of Hulk's publishing history out of print. Or that has never been printed into collected editions I hate to be too critical. I'm very pleased to have these three fat Hulk books. Loved the first two. And this third books does have early Mike Mignola! And that's worth a rating star all on its own.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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