What do you think?
Rate this book
Essential Rampaging Hulk #2
Essential Rampaging Hulk, Vol. 2
Addiction, domestic violence, militant paranoia...the human heart can hatch a lot of trouble, and nobody knows it better than Bruce Banner, the proverbial man with a monster inside him! The Hulk's wandering ways led him into the social struggles of a generation ago, stories that are still timely today! Plus, for more conventional smashing: evil sorcerers, crazed fish-men, and more! Includes rarely seen work by some of Marvel's mightiest minds!
Collects: Hulk! (magazine) #16-27 -- written by Doug Moench, Jim Shooter, Roger Stern, J.M. DeMatteis; illustrated by Mike Zeck, Ron Wilson, Gene Colan, Bob McLeod, John Buscema, Brent Anderson, and more.
Collects: Hulk! (magazine) #16-27 -- written by Doug Moench, Jim Shooter, Roger Stern, J.M. DeMatteis; illustrated by Mike Zeck, Ron Wilson, Gene Colan, Bob McLeod, John Buscema, Brent Anderson, and more.
544 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
1 person is currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Doug Moench
2,075 books123 followersDoug Moench, is an American comic book writer notable for his Batman work and as the creator of Black Mask, Moon Knight and Deathlok. Moench has worked for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics and many other smaller companies; he has written hundreds of issues of many different comics, and created dozens of characters, such as Moon Knight. In 1973, Moench became the de facto lead writer for the Marvel black-and-white magazine imprint Curtis Magazines. He contributed to the entire runs of Planet of the Apes, Rampaging Hulk (continuing on the title when it changed its name to The Hulk!) and Doc Savage, while also serving as a regular scribe for virtually every other Curtis title during the course of the imprint's existence. Moench is perhaps best known for his work on Batman, whose title he wrote from 1983–1986 and then again from 1992–1998. (He also wrote the companion title Detective Comics from 1983–1986.)
Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.
Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.
Moench is a frequent and longtime collaborator with comics artist Paul Gulacy. The pair are probably best known for their work on Shang-Chi: Master of Kung Fu, which they worked on together from 1974–1977. They also co-created Six from Sirius, Slash Maraud, and S.C.I. Spy, and have worked together on comics projects featuring Batman, Conan the Barbarian and James Bond.
Moench has frequently been paired with the artist and inker team of Kelley Jones and John Beatty on several Elseworlds Graphic Novels and a long run of the monthly Batman comic.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 6, 2013
This book collects The Hulk's magazine-format adventures circa 1979-1981, and these stories have never been reprinted elsewhere. The magazine series was designed to appeal to viewers of the then-popular live-action Hulk TV show, adopting the show's formula of Banner as wandering pariah, trying to find a place to fit in. Because of its stand-alone nature, there are no tie-ins to the larger Marvel Universe continuity, nor are any familiar villains or supporting characters present.
This volume is much improved over the previous one, especially the art. A good-sized chunk of these issues are illustrated by the masterful Gene Colan, whose shadowy pencils always look great in black-and-white. There's also a novel-length sword-and-sorcery saga penciled and inked by the great Bob McLeod, who never quite got his just due as one of the best comics artists of the 80s.
On the downside, as in the previous volume, these issues are inexplicably reprinted to B&W from the color proofs rather than the original art. The unfortunate result is that a good 10-20% of the panel captions are rendered completely unreadable, and a lot of the art becomes murky. If you've ever printed a graphic-heavy color webpage using black ink only, then you have a sense of what the book looks like. I realize the Essentials line is published on the cheap, but the presentation here is still lazy and shameful regardless.
This volume is much improved over the previous one, especially the art. A good-sized chunk of these issues are illustrated by the masterful Gene Colan, whose shadowy pencils always look great in black-and-white. There's also a novel-length sword-and-sorcery saga penciled and inked by the great Bob McLeod, who never quite got his just due as one of the best comics artists of the 80s.
On the downside, as in the previous volume, these issues are inexplicably reprinted to B&W from the color proofs rather than the original art. The unfortunate result is that a good 10-20% of the panel captions are rendered completely unreadable, and a lot of the art becomes murky. If you've ever printed a graphic-heavy color webpage using black ink only, then you have a sense of what the book looks like. I realize the Essentials line is published on the cheap, but the presentation here is still lazy and shameful regardless.
May 20, 2020
This was the second of two volumes & just as with the first, these were all new stories to me. As a kid, pre-teens to early-teens, these were either too spendy or too adult for us. The tagline mentions topics that are still relevant today & it is all too true. Nuclear energy disasters, militants, drug addiction, et al. Some of the stories were more harrowing than others, but as a whole, I was glad that I read them as an adult since they were far more meaningful as a result.
February 14, 2016
Great old Hulk stories. I read these in the original magazines a few years ago. This is a great reprint of those stories. Recommended
August 24, 2020
Super Marvelcolor should never be reprinted in B&W. Worst looking Marvel Essential ever.
Read
June 9, 2016Quick recap: In the 1970s, Marvel Comics started doing larger magazines for newsstand distribution, most of them in black and white. One of these was The Rampaging Hulk, which originally featured adventures taking place between the Hulk’s appearances in the first year of his existence. But then it was renamed just The Hulk and retooled to more strongly resemble the then-hot television series starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno, as well as now being published in color.
This volume continues the run with issues #16-27, which were published 1979-81. It’s a curious mix of the television series and the comics continuity. The usual supporting cast is not seen or mentioned outside of a brief flashback to the Hulk’s origin, and a mention of Doctor Strange in the narration. Nor are there any of the usual supervillains–the closest we get is Rypel, who is more of a Bond villain type that wants to trigger World War Three so his underwater utopia can inherit the Earth. Most of the time, it’s just Robert Bruce Banner wandering from town to town and getting involved with relatively ordinary people’s problems. Interspersed with the Hulk smashing things, of course.
The opening story, “Masks”, has Dr. Banner lured from New Orleans (the night after Mardi Gras, just to be different) to the Florida Keys to participate in a wealthy eccentric’s treasure hunt. Of course, the eccentric has ulterior motives, The final story in the volume, “One for My Baby…and One More for the Hulk!” takes place in Las Vegas, as a past-his-prime crooner tries to get out from under the mob with the help of his new green bodyguard.
This is a real nostalgia blast for me, not just because I read many of these stories when they first came out, but because the writers couldn’t use their usual costumed weirdos to move plots, and thus tended towards topical stories. Three Mile Island, snail darters, the last days of the Cold War, Native American struggles, Hare Krishnas…takes me back.
Of course, not all of these stories have aged well. “A Very Personal Hell” by Jim Shooter has the notorious gay panic scene where Bruce Banner is threatened with rape by a lisping stereotype at the “Y.” (He saves himself by informing the would-be rapist that he is, in fact, Bruce Banner, y’know, the Hulk, you wouldn’t like him when he’s mad?)
And sadly, the ambitious color usage in some of the stories is completely ruined in black & white reprint–it looks muddy, and some of the captions are borderline unreadable. Artists like Gene Colan, on the other hand, make it work.
A couple of the stories deal with attempts to cure Banner of turning into the Hulk, or at least lessen the rift between them. The most striking of these is “Master Mind” in which the Hulk persona winds up in Bruce Banner’s body and goes on a rampage–which could be deadly to the much more fragile scientist.
A couple more stand-out stories: “Heaven Is a Very Small Place” with great art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin is a sad tale of the Hulk finding a peaceful place at last, only to have the illusion fade. “Dreams of Iron…Dreams of Steel” has Bruce Banner getting a job at a care facility for children with developmental disablilities (back then the word “retarded” was acceptable, but the shortened form is also hurled as an insult) and the Hulk bonds with an adult graduate of the facility that works at a steel mill.
Recommended with reservations for fans of the 1970s Hulk show and Hulk fans in general–check your library unless you’re a completist who has to own every Hulk story.
This volume continues the run with issues #16-27, which were published 1979-81. It’s a curious mix of the television series and the comics continuity. The usual supporting cast is not seen or mentioned outside of a brief flashback to the Hulk’s origin, and a mention of Doctor Strange in the narration. Nor are there any of the usual supervillains–the closest we get is Rypel, who is more of a Bond villain type that wants to trigger World War Three so his underwater utopia can inherit the Earth. Most of the time, it’s just Robert Bruce Banner wandering from town to town and getting involved with relatively ordinary people’s problems. Interspersed with the Hulk smashing things, of course.
The opening story, “Masks”, has Dr. Banner lured from New Orleans (the night after Mardi Gras, just to be different) to the Florida Keys to participate in a wealthy eccentric’s treasure hunt. Of course, the eccentric has ulterior motives, The final story in the volume, “One for My Baby…and One More for the Hulk!” takes place in Las Vegas, as a past-his-prime crooner tries to get out from under the mob with the help of his new green bodyguard.
This is a real nostalgia blast for me, not just because I read many of these stories when they first came out, but because the writers couldn’t use their usual costumed weirdos to move plots, and thus tended towards topical stories. Three Mile Island, snail darters, the last days of the Cold War, Native American struggles, Hare Krishnas…takes me back.
Of course, not all of these stories have aged well. “A Very Personal Hell” by Jim Shooter has the notorious gay panic scene where Bruce Banner is threatened with rape by a lisping stereotype at the “Y.” (He saves himself by informing the would-be rapist that he is, in fact, Bruce Banner, y’know, the Hulk, you wouldn’t like him when he’s mad?)
And sadly, the ambitious color usage in some of the stories is completely ruined in black & white reprint–it looks muddy, and some of the captions are borderline unreadable. Artists like Gene Colan, on the other hand, make it work.
A couple of the stories deal with attempts to cure Banner of turning into the Hulk, or at least lessen the rift between them. The most striking of these is “Master Mind” in which the Hulk persona winds up in Bruce Banner’s body and goes on a rampage–which could be deadly to the much more fragile scientist.
A couple more stand-out stories: “Heaven Is a Very Small Place” with great art by Herb Trimpe and John Severin is a sad tale of the Hulk finding a peaceful place at last, only to have the illusion fade. “Dreams of Iron…Dreams of Steel” has Bruce Banner getting a job at a care facility for children with developmental disablilities (back then the word “retarded” was acceptable, but the shortened form is also hurled as an insult) and the Hulk bonds with an adult graduate of the facility that works at a steel mill.
Recommended with reservations for fans of the 1970s Hulk show and Hulk fans in general–check your library unless you’re a completist who has to own every Hulk story.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews