Incredible Hulk 6

In this issue:

No Jack Kirby stories in this issue.

Proof that in the early days, The Hulk was somewhat intelligent, The Metal Master was beaten by WIT, not brawn. The Hulk confronts the Metal Master with a plastic replica of a gun PAINTED to look like metal. After trying to control the hulk's gun telepathically and failing, The Metal Master flees the Earth and the Hulk is pardoned by the President Of The United States as a gesture of goodwill.

In this particular issue, his transformation device malfunctions and leaves him only partially transformed with the Hulk's body and Banners face! He dons a mask and goes to confront the Metal Master and loses the first round. A soldier examining the dazed hulk discovers the mask and yanks it off, but the hulk's face is the same underneath the mask.The complete transformation was just a little slow this time and after trying to change back to Banner the machine seems not to work and the Hulk flies into a rage and detroys most of his lab before changing back to Banner. At first the machine caused instantaneous transformations but after being used a few times, the transformations took longer than expected.

I remember the reprint in which this story appeared. It was in one of those paperback reprints of the first issues of the Hulk wayyy back in 1978 or 79. Also during the time of the Hulk TV series in 78 there was an oversize paperback that showed this Ditko illustrated tale.

The paperback comics were a treat because it was good to see them on high quality paper. I only wish that the CD roms of comics would take off because I loved the Marvel's first hundred or so silver age comics on CD.

I often wonder what the Hulk would have evolved into had Kirby drawn it for 100 issues.

Or even Steve Ditko. He made his mark on the character in this issue and with all the imatators around I'm very surprised there were no Ditko clone artists that tried to mimic his work.

It's too bad that Marvel won't agressively put this material on CD Rom. If I had the time and resources I'd put all my comics on CD to preserve and read them for years. Newsprint just doesn't stand the test of time.

It's ironic that back when Marvel published Origins of Marvel Comics in 1974 that there wasn't a boom of trade paperback comics back then. They were far and few between compared to what is on the shelves of a local Waldenbooks today. You can't pass the bookstore without seeing them.

The Metal Master later returned to face Rom: Spaceknight in the early 1980s. Rom had to battle a group of giant metal spiders created by the Metal Master. It was a fun issue. After all, how can you go wrong with an army of giant robot spiders?

I think this is an underrated issue in terms of importance. It is the only Ditko Hulk, we have the origin and first appearance of the Metal Master, and the Teen Brigade begins. Art-wise, I prefer Ditko to Kirby. In this issue Hulk comes into his own as a force in comicdom, he is off and running. Unfortunately due to lack of public interest, this was his last issue for a number of years as we all know. But … of the first six (and most important Hulks ever), this issue, number 6, is my favorite.

Brilliant story. I live in the UK so this issue has been reprinted in a Marvel Pocketbook, along with the other first issues.

this wasn''t the only ditko Hulk — when Hulk came back within a year or so in Tales to Astonish Ditko was at the hellm. Ditko introduced the device of Banner becoming the Hulk through rage or stress — “when David Banner becomes angry or outraged” as they said in the TeeVee show.

You can see the Ditko imprint all over those HUlk stories, which set the Hulk in stone — the misunderstood loner trying to resist instituionalized forces trying to bring him down (General Ross), the principled man who has yet to realizes his principles are misguided (Talbot), the woman who loves the Hero but suffers from the alienation that is brought on by the Hero's uncompromising condition — the twist here is that the treatment of said condition is ambivalent — surely it's not a good thing for Banner to Hulk out? yet when he Hulks out he is strong, and he saves the day. Ross might persecute him but there is a sense that Ditko looks down on Banner too (as he might look down on himself); the Hulk is the heroic figure, Banner can't come to terms with him.

That Hulk transformation — you can see it in how the Question transforms, how the Creeper transforms, how Shade, well, changes. All three become grotesqueries — it's as if Ditko feels that our heroism springs from the same place as our dark side — and of course all of us who respond to these characters must feel the same way too.

which fits in with Ditko's notorious embrace of Objectivism — Do what you want to do, follow your (animal) instincts, no matter how much of a monster that might make you seem to other people. And those who feel they are principled in trying to stop you “for the common good” are really just trying to bring you down because your independence threatens them (as Spider-man's “freedom” threatens Johah Jameson).

i dig,its too bad that steves obsession with that AYN RAND crap ended up marring what was initially a great body of work,you can see an early example of this philosophy in TALES TO ASTONISH#7 where two statues appear ,both representing his ideal,one is good,one is evil,good conquers evil………………….man,sometimes these old monster stories have as much escapism as the super heroes,ya dig?

............. TURRRRRRRRD THE THING THAT COULD NOT DIE!!!!!! :: 20 November 2006

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