This is a great story that celebrates the Hulk's history, and you can easily find this issue for a couple of dollars, the bonus features giving you some extra bang for your buck. Whether you're a long-time Hulk fan or a newbie looking for a place to start, this comic should fit the bill nicely.
Peter David reunites the Hulk with a long-lost figure from his past in "The Closing Circle" from the 30th anniversary issue of The Incredible Hulk. Way, way, way back in The Incredible Hulk #1, (May, 1962), we were introduced to Igor Drenkov, assistant to Dr. Bruce Banner. When Banner was testing the gamma bomb that ended up giving him his powers, he ordered Igor to stop the test so he could rescue a kid that sneaked onto the base for a dare. Igor, however, was a covert Soviet spy, and deliberately let the test proceed so Banner would be killed when the bomb went off. Obviously, things didn't go that way, as the blast ended up transforming Banner into the Hulk. Later in the story, Igor would be apprehended trying to steal Banner's research notes, revealing his espionage activities in the process. The Incredible Hulk #1 (May, 1962) - "The Coming of the Hulk!" Stan Lee (writer), Jack Kirby (pencils), Paul Reinman (inks) As we see when today's comic starts, Igor's had a hard time since the day the Hulk was born. His culpability in Banner's transformation has haunted and tormented him, costing him his sanity and family. Now he wakes up to find himself in a recreation of the test site, and given an opportunity for history to repeat itself. He's torn between stopping the test and preventing the creation of the Hulk, or following his orders and letting Banner "die." He can't make up his mind, and the gamma bomb once again seemingly detonates. At this point, an infuriated Hulk shows up, lashing out at Igor for ruining his life. It turns out the Hulk was the one who abducted Igor and set all this up, marking the anniversary of the fateful test. The People's Protectorate, a team of Russian super-heroes, try to retrieve Igor, but the Hulk's got friends of his own - the Pantheon, a super-powered group that engages in disaster relief and prevention, among other things. Naturally, there's a fight, but things settle down once Igor's countrymen realize what's going on. Igor is certain he'll be damned for what he did to Banner, but then has an epiphany: his actions also created a hero that's saved the world many times over. He tearfully pleads among those assembled - and then directly to us, the readers - to accept this rationalization, the story abruptly ending there. This is quite the emotionally-charged tale, thanks to David's knack for delving deeply into what makes characters tick. After everything Banner has endured and suffered since becoming the Hulk, and all the pain his alter-ego has brought to his loved ones, it would be easy to make Igor a despicable character, deserving to be reviled by us for his actions. David, however, decides to go down a less obvious route, and make Igor tormented by what he's done, and it's hard not to feel sorry for him. Also, the question Igor poses about whether he should get credit for the Hulk's heroic deeds along with guilt over the destruction he's caused makes for some compelling food for thought. There's no attempt to answer said question, leaving it up to us to judge Igor. Some might prefer an ending that had more closure, but me personally, I think it works as is. As is typical for David's work on the Hulk, there are some humorous references to his history here and there to keep this from being too bleak of a read. The Incredible Hulk #393 has a couple of interesting bonus features, including some nice pin-ups by various artists featuring the Hulk fighting other heroes as well as some of his classic foes, and a text summary of the Hulk's history up to that point (useful for new readers). There's also a fun back-up story called "Grudge Match," also penned by David, with art by long-time Hulk artist Herb Trimpe (with inks by Charles Barnett), about this small-time thug who keeps encountering the Hulk throughout his career. And, of course, this being the 1990s, there was also a holofoil edition of the cover as well as a standard version.
This is a great story that celebrates the Hulk's history, and you can easily find this issue for a couple of dollars, the bonus features giving you some extra bang for your buck. Whether you're a long-time Hulk fan or a newbie looking for a place to start, this comic should fit the bill nicely.
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