By Chris Wilson
Editor-in-Geek
AUTHOR: Paul Benjamin
PENCILS: David Nakayama (with Juan Santacruz on #2)
INKS: Gary Martin (with Raul Fernandez on #2)
COLORS: Wil Quintana, Michelle Madson & A. Street
LETTERING: Dave Sharpe and Chris Eliopoulos
PUBLISHER: Marvel
GENRE: Superhero
FORMAT: Digest
VOLUME: 1
ISSUES: 1-4
PAGES: 96
COLOR: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-0-7851-3040-6
STORY SYNOPSIS
You know the basic history with the gamma rays and all. Benjamin spins it like this: Rick the dillweed, a laboratory assistant, runs out on the field to save a monkey from the impending gamma blanket. Dr. Bruce Banner dashes after, pushing Rick into the iron bunker in the nick of time. Rick is saved but Bruce is not, getting a heavy dose of green gamma goodness. Before the dust settles, Bruce is all Hulked out and smashing things to bits. He finally tires out and transforms back into his original self. With the experiment gone awry and the General wanting to experiment on the Hulk himself, Banner flies the coop, with the eternally grateful Rick right behind. Now the two circle the globe looking for a cure and saving people in the meantime.
STORY REVIEW
I do not find the Hulk a particularly interesting character. I do enjoy the complexities of Banner-Hulk, and the philosophical implications of humans letting our animalistic nature make its way to the surface. Once that overarching theme is essentially stripped away for a kids’ book, we are left with nothing more than action sequences of flip flopping white-coated academics and green smashing. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK is my least favorite of the MA series mostly because the story is all action and no guts – no complexity.
The problem is that I am looking at a kids’ book from an adult perspective. It is entirely possible that students will enjoy HULK for the exact reason I did not. They may find that the non-stop action is exactly what stimulates them, motivates them to read. Enjoyment of reading is the main goal. So while I did not particularly enjoy HULK, I cannot say that children, boys specifically, will have the same reaction I did. That’s perfectly fine. Don’t expect high art, but do expect kids to read it for the action.
ART REVIEW
I did enjoy the art. It was very colorful and realistic. There is a lot of detail and the panels are sequenced well.
AGE RECOMMENDATION
My Rating: Ages 8 and older
Publisher’s Rating: All ages
BE AWARE
It is the Hulk, so there is plenty of smashing, ripping, and the tearing of things.
IN THE CLASSROOM
For those who are looking for non-stop smashing action, then the HULK provides a heavy dose. And the Hulk is portrayed with differing degrees of intellectual understanding. In some scenes he is no more than a muscle-bound bear. In others, he carries on conversations and thinks through actions. Because of the pace, this book may be just what young boys are looking for.
MY RECOMMENDATION:
Appropriate
Not particularly artistic or complex, MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK does provide a series of crushing-smashing-ripping-tearing scenes. It just seems to me there could be more, that in an attempt to make a story child-friendly, they stripped it of everything that makes literature great. Perhaps, I have done just what the title states and misunderstood the monster.
Editor-in-Geek
AUTHOR: Paul Benjamin
PENCILS: David Nakayama (with Juan Santacruz on #2)
INKS: Gary Martin (with Raul Fernandez on #2)
COLORS: Wil Quintana, Michelle Madson & A. Street
LETTERING: Dave Sharpe and Chris Eliopoulos
PUBLISHER: Marvel
GENRE: Superhero
FORMAT: Digest
VOLUME: 1
ISSUES: 1-4
PAGES: 96
COLOR: Full color
ISBN-13: 978-0-7851-3040-6
STORY SYNOPSIS
You know the basic history with the gamma rays and all. Benjamin spins it like this: Rick the dillweed, a laboratory assistant, runs out on the field to save a monkey from the impending gamma blanket. Dr. Bruce Banner dashes after, pushing Rick into the iron bunker in the nick of time. Rick is saved but Bruce is not, getting a heavy dose of green gamma goodness. Before the dust settles, Bruce is all Hulked out and smashing things to bits. He finally tires out and transforms back into his original self. With the experiment gone awry and the General wanting to experiment on the Hulk himself, Banner flies the coop, with the eternally grateful Rick right behind. Now the two circle the globe looking for a cure and saving people in the meantime.
STORY REVIEW
I do not find the Hulk a particularly interesting character. I do enjoy the complexities of Banner-Hulk, and the philosophical implications of humans letting our animalistic nature make its way to the surface. Once that overarching theme is essentially stripped away for a kids’ book, we are left with nothing more than action sequences of flip flopping white-coated academics and green smashing. MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK is my least favorite of the MA series mostly because the story is all action and no guts – no complexity.
The problem is that I am looking at a kids’ book from an adult perspective. It is entirely possible that students will enjoy HULK for the exact reason I did not. They may find that the non-stop action is exactly what stimulates them, motivates them to read. Enjoyment of reading is the main goal. So while I did not particularly enjoy HULK, I cannot say that children, boys specifically, will have the same reaction I did. That’s perfectly fine. Don’t expect high art, but do expect kids to read it for the action.
ART REVIEW
I did enjoy the art. It was very colorful and realistic. There is a lot of detail and the panels are sequenced well.
AGE RECOMMENDATION
My Rating: Ages 8 and older
Publisher’s Rating: All ages
BE AWARE
It is the Hulk, so there is plenty of smashing, ripping, and the tearing of things.
IN THE CLASSROOM
For those who are looking for non-stop smashing action, then the HULK provides a heavy dose. And the Hulk is portrayed with differing degrees of intellectual understanding. In some scenes he is no more than a muscle-bound bear. In others, he carries on conversations and thinks through actions. Because of the pace, this book may be just what young boys are looking for.
MY RECOMMENDATION:
Appropriate
Not particularly artistic or complex, MARVEL ADVENTURES HULK does provide a series of crushing-smashing-ripping-tearing scenes. It just seems to me there could be more, that in an attempt to make a story child-friendly, they stripped it of everything that makes literature great. Perhaps, I have done just what the title states and misunderstood the monster.
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