Startling Stories: Banner

Rating:
Summary: Shades of red and dark green
Review: "Startling Stories: Banner" is a self-contained "non-continuity" Hulk story, meaning that this is not the Incredible Hulk you will find in an ongoing Marvel comic. This is the Hulk taken to a more logical conclusion. The Hulk's rampages cause more than property damage, killing thousands of people each time Bruce Banner loses control. On his trail is Doc Sampson and the US Army, intent on ending his menace.

However, "Startling Stories: Banner" is not an over-the-top blood bath. The story is psychological, dealing with the split personality of the character. The Hulk hates Banner, as the weak thing that lives within him. Bruce Banner feels intense guilt over the death and destruction he causes, yet he is helpless to prevent it. Doc Sampson is charmingly full of bravado, yet sympathetic to Bruce Banner.

Richard Corben's stylized art is suited to the excellent writing. His Hulk, his Doc Sampson, and his Bruce Banner are each a unique interpretation. Corben captures the destruction and depression of the characters well. Facial expressions are used well, as are the scale of the characters.

All in all, a really nice bit of comic art, perfect for those, like myself, who would like to read a well-done Hulk story without all of the baggage of the monthly series.

Rating:
Summary: Shades of red and dark green
Review: "Startling Stories: Banner" is a self-contained "non-continuity" Hulk story, meaning that this is not the Incredible Hulk you will find in an ongoing Marvel comic. This is the Hulk taken to a more logical conclusion. The Hulk's rampages cause more than property damage, killing thousands of people each time Bruce Banner loses control. On his trail is Doc Sampson and the US Army, intent on ending his menace.

However, "Startling Stories: Banner" is not an over-the-top blood bath. The story is psychological, dealing with the split personality of the character. The Hulk hates Banner, as the weak thing that lives within him. Bruce Banner feels intense guilt over the death and destruction he causes, yet he is helpless to prevent it. Doc Sampson is charmingly full of bravado, yet sympathetic to Bruce Banner.

Richard Corben's stylized art is suited to the excellent writing. His Hulk, his Doc Sampson, and his Bruce Banner are each a unique interpretation. Corben captures the destruction and depression of the characters well. Facial expressions are used well, as are the scale of the characters.

All in all, a really nice bit of comic art, perfect for those, like myself, who would like to read a well-done Hulk story without all of the baggage of the monthly series.

Rating:
Summary: THE ESSENCE OF THE HULK/BANNER CONFLICT
Review: Ever wonder what it feels like for Bruce Banner to have the earth's most terrible natural force be the consquence of your natural survival instincts and temper? This story distills it down to it's most basic form. Ever wonder how the Hulk's rampages are explained to the public? Azzarello and Corben give a perfectly credible explanation within these pages. And just why is it that Banner - who should've left the region he's been inhabiting for all these years - is still living in America's South west?

BANNER is a great story for those who find the Banner/Hulk dynamic to be among the most intriguing and tragic in mainstream comics, but want a story outside of the continuity of the monthly title. Corben's art - though by no means a definitive vision of the Hulk - is unique, singular, and bizarre. Azzarello's script does nothing to change the course of the Hulk's history, but it is far better (and RELEVANT) than anything that's been done with the character in years. The depiction of why the Hulk was created and how it feels for Banner to deal with the aftermath of his alter-egos rampages has never been better handled or more revealing than in these pages (especially during the conversation he has with Doc Samson towards the book's conclusion).

Bruce Jones is getting tons of accolades for his current scripting on the regular series, but it would be interesting to see what this creative team could do with the opportunity. 'Cause this series feels less like a one-shot and more like a taste of bigger things to come.

Rating:
Summary: weak art
Review: I found the art in this book to be rather weak. It wasn't bad, but nothing real great. The story on the other hand is a pretty good one. It really goes into the psychology and guilt of Banner. What would it be like if you had a monster inside? And it has a killer ending.

Rating:
Summary: Of Man And Monster
Review: STARTLING STORIES: BANNER is a hard-edged, adrenaline-driven novel about scientist Bruce Banner and the raging gamma-bomb induced monster that rages within him. The story opens with the Hulk in full rampage tearing through an entire city, then moves into the clean-up attempt done later. Doc Samson arrives and the political spin to deny knowledge that the destruction was caused by the Hulk begins. The story picks up with Banner's reaction to all the carnage his alter ego has caused, but the reader sympathizes totally with this man who cannot control the monster within him. As the tale turns more suspenseful, Doc Samson succeeds in tracking down his quarry and capturing him, but the interrelations between Samson, Banner, the Hulk, and General Ross only become deeper and more complex. Ross has a secret fate he's planned for Banner, and he's not telling anyone.

Award-winning author Brian Azzarello is also the author of the monthly comics series 100 BULLETS, BATMAN/DEATHBLOW, and some special John Constantine HELLBLAZER comics. Richard Corben is a noted artist who worked in magazines such as EERIE, CREEPY, and VAMPIRELLA, but his work pops up nearly everywhere. The Hulk needs no introduction: one part nuclear physicist and one part raging monster, the Hulk has been presented in comics, novels, a live-action television series, cartoon series, and is the subject of an upcoming movie.

Azzarello is a gifted writer and it shows in this graphic novel. He stays off the first few pages, letting the action he's written be played out in Corben's panels. Dialogue balloons would have been incredibly out of place during the Hulk's destruction of a city. Choosing to show the rescue efforts after the Hulk has been through the city is amazingly done, cueing up all the readers who have watched various destructions seen of late on CNN. The mood, atmosphere and texture of those panels is so realistic the the reader is weighted with emotion. Not only is the story done fantastically well, but it is a great story. Peter David had an excellent 10-year run (something that just isn't done in comics then or now) on the Hulk, but in four short issues, Azzarello dives into the hearts of the man and the monster and relates a twisted, back-biting tale of what it must truly be like to be hunted and hated and trapped in the body of an unkillable, bloodthirsty monster. Fans have wondered for years at things that Azzarello and Corben cover in mere panels but with the emotional force of a bodyblow. The artist and writer get the reader's attention with what feels like a blow from a 2x4, then keep the hits coming until the story is finished and the reader is exhausted with emotion and suspense.

Fans of Brian Azzarello are going to find a different story here than ones they may be used to in 100 BULLETS and some of the other crime work that he does, but they'll be rewarded with the graphic novel starring the Hulk. Azzarello is at his best when writing about characters in over their heads by circumstances beyond their control. STARTLING STORIES: BANNER is also for fans of the Hulk who don't mind seeing a different interpretation on the character. Corben's fans will love the action-driven panels and the (literally) exploding use of colors. Besides being a great Hulk graphic novel, the book is an excellent story for anyone that likes the medium.

Rating:
Summary: Of Man And Monster
Review: STARTLING STORIES: BANNER is a hard-edged, adrenaline-driven novel about scientist Bruce Banner and the raging gamma-bomb induced monster that rages within him. The story opens with the Hulk in full rampage tearing through an entire city, then moves into the clean-up attempt done later. Doc Samson arrives and the political spin to deny knowledge that the destruction was caused by the Hulk begins. The story picks up with Banner's reaction to all the carnage his alter ego has caused, but the reader sympathizes totally with this man who cannot control the monster within him. As the tale turns more suspenseful, Doc Samson succeeds in tracking down his quarry and capturing him, but the interrelations between Samson, Banner, the Hulk, and General Ross only become deeper and more complex. Ross has a secret fate he's planned for Banner, and he's not telling anyone.

Award-winning author Brian Azzarello is also the author of the monthly comics series 100 BULLETS, BATMAN/DEATHBLOW, and some special John Constantine HELLBLAZER comics. Richard Corben is a noted artist who worked in magazines such as EERIE, CREEPY, and VAMPIRELLA, but his work pops up nearly everywhere. The Hulk needs no introduction: one part nuclear physicist and one part raging monster, the Hulk has been presented in comics, novels, a live-action television series, cartoon series, and is the subject of an upcoming movie.

Azzarello is a gifted writer and it shows in this graphic novel. He stays off the first few pages, letting the action he's written be played out in Corben's panels. Dialogue balloons would have been incredibly out of place during the Hulk's destruction of a city. Choosing to show the rescue efforts after the Hulk has been through the city is amazingly done, cueing up all the readers who have watched various destructions seen of late on CNN. The mood, atmosphere and texture of those panels is so realistic the the reader is weighted with emotion. Not only is the story done fantastically well, but it is a great story. Peter David had an excellent 10-year run (something that just isn't done in comics then or now) on the Hulk, but in four short issues, Azzarello dives into the hearts of the man and the monster and relates a twisted, back-biting tale of what it must truly be like to be hunted and hated and trapped in the body of an unkillable, bloodthirsty monster. Fans have wondered for years at things that Azzarello and Corben cover in mere panels but with the emotional force of a bodyblow. The artist and writer get the reader's attention with what feels like a blow from a 2x4, then keep the hits coming until the story is finished and the reader is exhausted with emotion and suspense.

Fans of Brian Azzarello are going to find a different story here than ones they may be used to in 100 BULLETS and some of the other crime work that he does, but they'll be rewarded with the graphic novel starring the Hulk. Azzarello is at his best when writing about characters in over their heads by circumstances beyond their control. STARTLING STORIES: BANNER is also for fans of the Hulk who don't mind seeing a different interpretation on the character. Corben's fans will love the action-driven panels and the (literally) exploding use of colors. Besides being a great Hulk graphic novel, the book is an excellent story for anyone that likes the medium.

Rating:
Summary: A big dissapointment for this Corben fan.
Review: This is the first time that I can honestly say that I'm dissapointed by the work of Richard Corben. Corben's artwork was definitly not up to par. The faces of Doc Samson and the Hulk were to cartoonish and out of purportion. The Hulk looked like a big ignorant goofball!

The story was [horrid]! Azzarello's story and script was dull and lifeless to say the least. I did not like how Doc Samson was portrayed like a thug. I do not remember him being like that back in my Hulk reading days. I will give this book two stars out of five. The two stars are for the Corben artwork that was interesting to look at, but not for his renderings of Doc Samson and the Hulk. Not worth the read!