Is He Man or Monster or--Is He Both?

Children's Literature - Michael Jung

Paul Benjamin and David Nakayama re-tell Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's 1962 Hulk origin story in this library-bound issue of Marvel Age's new Hulk magazine—created for younger readers. All the classic elements are in place—scientist Dr. Bruce Banner creates a gamma bomb for the military but is caught in the bomb's blast while trying to save Rick Jones, a teenager who wanders onto the test site. Altered by the gamma rays, Banner now transforms into a giant green monster whenever he gets angry. In this modernized version, however, Rick Jones is Banner's intern who runs onto the test site to save a lab monkey—forcing Banner to sacrifice himself for both of them. The monkey later becomes Banner/Hulk's animal sidekick, something that may amuse or annoy readers. This new origin also eliminates references to the Cold War, which was central to Lee and Kirby's original story, and depicts the Hulk as originally green-skinned (the 1962 story showed him as gray-skinned, although printing problems would later make Lee decide to color him green). Nevertheless, Hulk: Is He Man or Monster or—Is He Both? succeeds in providing readers with a fun introduction to Marvel's famous monster-hero. Reviewer: Michael Jung