News about Spoilery Stuff, plus HULK musings (INCREDIBLE and otherwise)

[thehefner]

There are rare days when I'd like to smack the entire collective of comic book fans out there, even the vast majority of folks at my beloved scans_daily. A loving smack, but a hard smack nonetheless.

Ever since the big super-spoilery news of a certain character's return hit the New York Daily News, coupled with yesterday's DC UNIVERSE # 0, the internets have been aflame with wankery and bitching. Now, I personally do not possess any great specific affinity for the character in question, aside from just a general appreciation for the classic greats.

But the more I read these people complain, the more I find the urge to smack is rising... rising... rising.

I won't go into specifics for right now (unless y'all wanna discuss this in the comments), but I will say this: I hope that what Grant Morrison and Geoff Johns have planned for this character utterly, thoroughly kicks ass. I hope it's up there with the best of what they're both capable when they really try, and I hope it all blows everyone's fucking minds.

Yes, this is a new one for me: I want a comic to be awesome purely out of spite.



Y'know, I really want to be wowed by the brand-new trailer for THE INCREDIBLE HULK. All the elements are there: a pissed-off Hulk smashing things in creative ways, William Hurt with a mustache...

... yes, indeed, all of the elements are there. But I dunno, something about it just ain't clicking.

Part of it may be the specter of Ang Lee's HULK still floating over this whole production. In case you missed it, it seems like Lee's HULK is one of the most reviled superhero movies ever made. It's so widely derided, in fact, that I have felt pressure to keep my opinion to myself. Did I think it was brilliant? Did I love it? Did I hate it? Hell, I still have a hard time articulating my thoughts to myself on this matter, let alone a pissed-off comic geek who just wanted to see things get smashed up real good.

Thankfully, it seems a handful of intellectuals are coming forward to defend and celebrate Ang Lee's HULK, including The AV Club's Natham Rabin for his excellent series, "My Year of Flops" and even the joyless bastards at CHUD.com, who even go so far to call it the "best superhero movie ever, man."*

I don't agree with that, if only because... hell, does it (or the Hulk in general) even count as a superhero movie? As the above essays indicate, the biggest problem is that Lee's HULK is just like the Hulk himself: a misunderstood monster.

People were expecting brainless smashing, only to get a Freudian psychological drama where the only huge action scene is murky, indiscernible, and metaphorical. I'm only now starting to realize how easy it is for someone to hate a film, no matter how good that film is, if they walk into it with different expectations. Expectation is a huge--perhaps vital--part of the film experience for many, it seems.

HULK suffered from not living up to what was expected of him, instead delivering something that--dare I say--may have been too smart for your average person.** I dunno, maybe I'm just a bit too much like Mr. Rabin, a self-proclaimed "card-carrying pompous boob who never leaves home without wearing a neckerchief, cravat, and ascot."

Or maybe I just have a thing for slow-burn psychological tragedies about guys with split personalities brought on by repressed rage and Daddy issues. That could be it too.



*In fairness, that article also features a rebuttal by the most joyless bastard of them all, my abusive hobbit boyfriend Devin Faraci. He only hits me because he loves me.

**Okay, I don't know if I can defend the Hulk Dogs. Especially the Hulk Poodle. That right there might have fit in better with this new INCREDIBLE HULK movie, from the looks of things.

Comments

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

> In case you missed it, it seems like Lee's HULK is one of the most reviled superhero movies ever made.

I'd have thought Daredevil had such a lock on that as to put it out of the question.

SPOILERS AHOY

[kali921.livejournal.com]

I've always defended Ang Lee's Hulk because I felt it was an in-depth exploration of character, it took its time building up to the climax, and it beautifully captured the absolute hell that Bruce Banner went through when he changed. Bruce's life has been shot to hell since he Hulked out. Comic Hulk writers tend to know that. Ang Lee actually remembered to put that in, and although the ending of the film may have seemed a tad abrupt, I loved the scene where he collaspes into Betty's arms.

As for the discussions about Barry, well...on scans_daily it wasn't as wanky as I thought it would be, actually. Although, as usual of late, rabican was nowhere to be found. But then again, if the mods show up and start slapping people around while ignoring the wankdammerungs of the last few months, that's kind of hypocritical.

[lairdofdarkness.livejournal.com]

Ang Lee's hulk had great comic framing onscreen but I didnt get much else out of it. I have enjoyed both Hulk trailers and think I may well go to the cinema to see it rather than DVD wait.

The Cap movie was my introduction to the character (Hey I was very much a DC guy!) and from what I remember (I used to have it on video) it was alright. Not brilliant but not awful. My mind has played tricks on me before!

DD:DC is a far superior movie and the one I always tell people to watch. I am biaised though, Affleck was the bomb in Phantoms after all
Speaking of Which, Phantoms IS Silent Hill on film. Far better than the actual Silent Hill movie (which passed an hour and a bit quite nicely but left little behind)

Now about DC0......I trust in Morrison and I think he will tell a very interesting story with Final Crisis. As for the reveal at the end of this issue, I really dont care. If anyone can change my mind on that, it's Morrison and Johns.

Between FC and SI over at Marvel, this summer is going to be good.

[nymphgalatea.livejournal.com]

I just read the comic in question and have gone into relentlessly optimistic DC fangirl-mode, so forgive me for babbling.

Johns & Morrison are on fire, even though the prose was occassionally a bit overblown. The narration was pitch perfect, the slow turn from being all at one with the universe to the self-realisation of "And now I remember" was wonderfully done.

The final page was wonderful, as was the gathering of soil from places of death (presumably to create an Evil Wonder Woman) but my favourite is of course the pages showing Black Hand and the the new spectrum of Lanterns. Those pages made me gibber incoherently, like any good GL fan should.

In conclusion: Yay, comics!

[swimpenguin.livejournal.com]

Yeah I've made no bones about my love for the first Hulk movie. I liked what Ebert said about it when it first came out: "it's a comic book movie for people who wouldn't be caught dead at a comic book movie." Like the CHUD people said, it's an art house comic book movie. I'll be up for seeing the new Hulk movie, but the look of the Abomination is rubbing me wrong-I'm not very familiar with the original character in the comics, other than a more reptilian look, but he just looks...unrealistic. It's apparently quite hard to do a realistic looking mutated muscular human.