Friday, January 27, 2012

"Is your name not Bruce?...That's going to cause a little confusion."

Here's a trivia question I'm betting you won't get! (Note: I am not actually allowed to bet.) Where can you find the first time that both Stan Lee and Jack Kirby are officially credited as co-creating the Incredible Hulk in the credits of a comic book? Hmmm? Do you think you know that? Think hard! Here, I'll give you some time to ponder it. Don't forget to phrase your answer in the form of an answer!



Ready with your answer? Is it a comic book from Marvel? BZZZZZZ! That's wrong! It's actually a comic book which introduces us to our jolly green giant and a certain caped crusader at the same time! No, I'm not talkin' 'bout Bat-Hulk...


Cover of The Brave and the Bold #68 (October-November 1966), pencils by Mike Sekowsky, inks by Joe Giella


Altho' you and I will both agree that Bat-Hulk is awesome and we demand a New 52 monthly comic based on his crazy bumbling adventures! Like I keep saying, Call me, Mr. Jim-not-Stan Lee! I've got a great pitch for you!

No, I specifically refer you to the oversized and awkwardly titled DC Special Series #27!:


from DC Special Series #27 [Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk] (Fall 1981), script by Len Wein, pencils by José Luis Garcia-Lopez, inks by Dick Giordano, colors by Glynis Wein, letters by John Costanza


...aka Batman vs. The Incredible Hulk, which surely must be one of the most lopsided fighting matches on Crossover-Earth. I don't care how much prep time you give Batman. Unless he has one of those specially-designed Bat-Anti-Gamma-Radiation Converters. Hmmmm...that might just work.

Anyway, altho' Marvel has been historically loath to list creator credits for its characters within their comic books, DC isn't, so the inside front page that introduces us to our two hulk-tagonists ("Hi! I'm Batman!" "And me Hulk!") gives you a quick, Cliffs Notes-style intro to each character. Remember, this is well before both Batman R.I.P. and World War Hulk, so you actually can fit both histories together on one page!



Pretty full coverage, huh? All this thing is missing is Dick Grayson and Rick Jones! And I think we all know who would win that fight, right?

Here's a close-up of the proper respect and credit Jack Kirby deserves on every Hulk (and X-Men, and Avengers, and FF, etc.) comic Marvel publishes:



Although here's my personal origin recap of the hulk:



In the interest of equal time and fair balance, here's what the comic has printed about Batman.



Huh. Hold on a sec...let me fix that for y'all.



If you've never read Batman vs. Hulk, it's well-worth seeking out as a back issue or in any of its various reprintings. Not only does it give us the greatest story ever that stars two, count 'em, two Bruces:



...but also answers the question of every fanguy and gal around: who would win in a fight between Batman and the Hulk? Also, it answers the question of "what goofy nickname would Hulk give to Batman?"



THe Hulk, egged on by some weird green-haired albino character who I'm guessing was created for this special and has never appeared before or since, seems to have Batman caught in the patented Bane-Back-Break™ move. "HULK...WILL...BREAK...YOU!"



But, in the words of John Cutter (or was it Blade?) always bet on black. Or, during this period, blue and grey.



Not only is there a dandy extended let's-fight-before-we-team-up scene for our verdant and chiropteran heroes, there's also the first recorded conversation between Jim Gordon and Thunderbolt Ross! Now that General Ross is the superhero Red Hulk and Gordon is the superhero Blue Bat, it's fun to see where they first crossed paths. Get outta the way with your oh-so-"casual" cameo, Doc Samson! No one likes you! I am sending your name to Andrew Weiss for inclusion in his ongoing series of guys like you! [EDIT on 1/30/12: Because you demanded it: Andrew has responded to the cries of the blogosphere with an actual Doc Samson entry! Click on the above link to read it in all its grassy-green glory!>



Hey, look, it's everybody's favorite as-yet-unbaked monster, Doughboy! Do not eat him, Hulk...he contains uncooked eggs, the consumption of which could cause both salmonella and fewer chickens!



The Hulk's antagonist The Shaper of Worlds gives Batman's nemesis The Joker the power to rearrange reality any way he wants! Witness...Batclown swinging in on a string of sausages! I think we've all been demanding this scene.



It is worth the entire price of admission to see Batman and Hulk dressed as Tweedledum and Tweedledope. Joker, Jarvis Tetch's lawyer will be in touch with your attorneys any day now.



Seriously: I just love José Luis Garcia-Lopez's artwork, and he's really hitting every high point here. Gotta love this nightmarish, Daliesque page:



I especially love this three-panel sequence between Bruce Banner and Alfred Pennyworth that I spotlighted earlier today in 366 Days with Alfred Pennyworth. It's on two tiers in the original comic, but I experimented with putting all three panels on the same tier to see how it looks, and suddenly it became a perfect daily comic strip, complete with the same daily strip "beats" that accompany a non-humor strip. My point, I and I guess I have one, is that even taken out of context by a little stuffed bull, Garcia-Lopez is extraordinary at telling a story ultra-effectively through the comics medium.

(Click picture to Moon Mullinsize)


Honestly, you wanna see a work of art by José Luis Garcia-Lopez? Just flip to the back cover of Batman vs. Hulk.



How great is Batman in this pin-up? He is kicking two different villains simultaneously at the same time he is punching Two-Face. Batman: the quicker-picker-upper!

So, to conclude: Batman vs. Hulk. Everybody wins.




2 comments:

SallyP said...

Egad. I had no idea that this even existed! But you're absolutely right, the artwork is amazing.

Jacob T. Levy said...

Loved this as a kid. As an adult am able to especially appreciate the Dali- Joker connection.

Not clear to me why half of the World's Finest team is convinced that "any creature-- no matter how powerful-- has to have a weak spot."

"The name isn't 'pointy-ears'-- it's The Batman!" There's a problem with *that*, of course. It's good to see the "The" acknowledged, but "The" isn't his first name. "The Batman" is a description or a title, not a name, and it sounds bizarre in the first person.