RULK ANNOUNCEMENT : RED HULK BLOG CLOSES!
When it rains it pours. I have been forced to cease this blog. I cannot go into the details regarding whom or why.
Thanks for all the fun guys.. and LONG LIVE MARVEL AND LONG LIVE THE RED HULK! 🙂
-AJ
RULK REPORT : Is this the END of RED HULK?
Marvel’s solicitations for September 2012 was just released to the public apparently revealing a startling fact: There were no Red “HULK” issue solicitations to be found… which begs one to ask the question “Is this the end of the Red Hulk?”
And that is exactly what the last caption asks in the August 2012 solicitation of HULK Issue # 57:
“The stunning conclusion to MAYAN RULE!!! What horrible fate awaits the human race? IS THIS THE END OF RED HULK???”
Adding fuel to the fire is Jeff Parker’s answer to the following question in a Marvel interview released yesterday:
MARVEL : If, somehow, the Red Hulk survives “Mayan Rule” where are you hoping to take him next?
JEFF PARKER : Classified!
So is our beloved Red HULK series being cancelled? Is Marvel simply skipping a month before releasing issue # 58? Is there just an error in the solicitation? Will the Red HULK solo series be rebooted if it’s cancelled? Will the Red Hulk still be with the Avengers, or does that cover featuring the Rulk with a broken arm suggest otherwise? Time will tell Red Hulk fans!
NEW RULK : AMAZING SPIDERMAN #687, AVENGERS #27, AvX VERSUS #3 and AVENGING SPIDER-MAN Hardcover!
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Issue # 687
Writer: Dan Slott
Penciller: Stefano Caselli
In Stores: June 13, 2012
Imprint: MARVEL UNIVERSE
Rating: T+
Format: Comic
UPC: 5960604716-68711
Price: $3.99
The Story:
ENDS OF THE PART SIX. Doctor Octopus has a new Sinister Six: the Avengers! Can Spider-Man sacrifice one life to save the entire planet?
AVENGERS Issue # 27
Writer: Brian Michael Bendis
Penciller: Walter Simonson
In Stores: June 13, 2012
Imprint: MARVEL UNIVERSE
Rating: T+
Format: Comic
UPC: 5960607015-02711
Price: $3.99
The Story:
The Runaways are here! Giant-Man and Victor, Reptil and Chase, Lightspeed and Karolina. What happens when these two super-charged teams collide?
AVENGERS VS X-MEN: VERSUS Issue # 3
Variant Cover Shown
Writer: Chris Yost
Writer: Jeph Loeb
Penciller: Ed Mcguinness
Artist: Terry Dodson
In Stores: June 13, 2012
Format: Comic
UPC: 5960607800-00311
Price: $3.99
The Story:
All fights, All the time! Black Widow vs. Magik! Colossus vs. Thing!
AVENGING SPIDER-MAN: My Friends Can Beat Up Your Friends (HARDCOVER)
Writer: Zeb Wells
Penciller: Joe Madureira
Artist: Leinil Francis Yu, Greg Land
In Stores: June 13, 2012
ISBN #: 978-0-7851-5778-6
Format: Hardcover
Price: $24.99
The Story:
This is what you’ve been waiting for! The return of legendary artist Joe Madureira (X-MEN, Battle Chasers) and fan-favorite Spidey writer Zeb Wells in a brand-new Spider-series that teams the wall-crawler with some of the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe! First, Spider-Man and his Avengers teammate Red Hulk take on a Moloid army during the New York City Marathon &emdash; but when Red Hulk falls, only Spider-Man stands in the way of the Subterranean invasion of Manhattan! Then, Hawkeye drops in for an action-packed extravaganza! And finally, Spider-Man teams up with Captain America &emdash; and it may hurt a lot! Collecting AVENGING SPIDER-MAN #1-5.
RULK REPORT : Marvel’s “Hulk Week” presents Q & A with writer Jeff Parker!
In celebration of The Incredible Hulk’s 50th Anniversary (as well as General Ross’s), Marvel is launching a “Hulk Week” string of interviews featuring creators involved with the smashing goliath. Today Marvel’s Tim Stevens interviews acclaimed Red Hulk writer Jeff Parker (found HERE)!
Without further ado, here is the interview:
Marvel.com: The Hulk is celebrating his 50th birthday this year. Can you recall your first exposure to the character?
Jeff Parker: Hulk just seemed to be always there. Kids can relate to him easily, that wanting to lash out and affect everything around them. I think that’s still how we relate to him years later.
Marvel.com: Looking back over the years, do you have a favorite era or incarnation of the Hulk?
Jeff Parker: I like early Hulk, when he’s a bit sinister and you don’t get the idea he’s dumb, he’s just being quiet deliberately.
Marvel.com: Do you draw on any depiction or characterization of The Hulk and General Ross for your work?
Jeff Parker: Yes, that early Hulk I just mentioned. That seems a good intersection point for the two men. Thinking and angry!
Marvel.com: How do you view Ross’s place in the Hulk’s history?
Jeff Parker: Ross still doesn’t like Banner; they just aren’t the kind of people who would ever be friends. But he definitely understands him as The Hulk now that he’s been living through the situation. He always thought that incredible power would be the key to control, but it’s very far from it.
Marvel.com: Looking specifically at your book, you are in the midst of the “Mayan Rule” arc. What does anyone looking to pick up the book right now need to know to be able to jump right in?
Jeff Parker: You need to know that longtime Hulk pal Rick Jones was turned into A-Bomb, the next incarnation of The Abomination, and that these Mayan figures tricked him into releasing them from an underground prison. You also might want to know that Alpha Flight are Canadian [heroes], but you don’t need much more background than that.
Marvel.com: How do you see this arc, and your run to date, changing Ross? What kind of personal evolution, if any, is he going through?
Jeff Parker: He always saw himself as the front line for humanity, keeping back the freaks and super weirdoes. And now he’s starting to see himself as one of them, even if he can’t get along with many of his fellow powered folk.
Marvel.com: If, somehow, the Red Hulk survives “Mayan Rule” where are you hoping to take him next?
Jeff Parker: Classified!
RULK REPORT : Marvel Senior Editior Mark Paniccia discusses his history with The Incredible Hulk and the RED HULK!
In celebration of The Incredible Hulk’s 50th Anniversary (as well as General Ross’s), Marvel is launching a “Hulk Week” string of interviews featuring creators involved with the smashing goliath. Marvel Senior Editor Mark Paniccia sat down with Marvel’s Ben Morse first to discuss his personal history with the Green Goliath, as well as the Red Hulk! Here are some highlights:
PANICCIA: “…the Red Hulk saga was very cool. It was something I had completely different plans for, even seeded a new character to become this new Hulk, but Joe convinced me it should be [General Ross] and he was right. I had a great conversation with Jeph Loeb and he took it from there with Ed McGuinness. Then we started building a plan with Greg Pak so we could have two books going concurrently, then dovetail into what became World War Hulks.
Working with Jeph on HULK was something I’ll never forget. We became really good friends over the process and I remember going through some tough times with something and the guy was always there for me. And we had a lot of good times, too. We got away with some pretty fun stuff like punching The Watcher and introducing the Offenders. Sigh…now I want to do a book with them.
The HULK stuff that followed with the other Jeff—Parker—and artist Gabriel Hardman was a great follow-up experience from Mr. Loeb and Mr. McGuinness. Parker took that torch and ran all the way up several mountain tops with it. I would smile ear to ear when I got his scripts. I knew where he was going but never knew how he’d get there so there was always this indescribable excitement when I’d get that e-mail from him with a word attachment. I’d throw something at him like “Planet Red Hulk” and he’d be like, “Ok, that’ll work with what I’m doing. I’ll have it over in a few days. It’s perfect for this new idea I have” and I’d get this real blast of a script. Parker scripts are so fun to read we’ll have to publish one sometime.”
To read the entire Marvel interview with Mark Paniccia, click HERE.
RULK REVIEW : HULK Issue # 53 by talents Jeff Parker and Dale Eaglesham!
Rick Jones is always getting into trouble. The same young man who was responsible for unleashing the world-breaking Incredible Hulk upon the Earth (and paving the way for the genesis of every Hulk currently in existence) is now responsible for freeing some evil, dormant Mayan Gods who might just bring our age to a burning apocalypse… or some other fate equivalent in nastiness. Yes, someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. should strongly consider locking this Jones boy up and throwing away the key! Yet along with the Red Hulk, Machine Man and the Alpha Flight team, Rick (transformed into A-Bomb) instead tries to remedy the fate befalling us due to his ineptitude… and put a stop to the Mayan doom he brought upon the world.
Writer Jeff Parker sets up an interesting story-arc in HULK Issue # 53 “Mayan Rule, Part One: Bloodletting“. Taking advantage of the timely concerns held by some that the end of the world is coming based on the Mayan calendar, Parker craftily strikes while the iron is hot when public awareness is at its peak (regarding this real world upcoming Mayan cataclysmic event.) Chock full of magic, bloodletting, human sacrifices, mystical mind control and a heaping load of superheroes, there is plenty of excitement to be had… which reads more like a Marvel “The Next Big Thing” Event (than a character book that focuses on the chronicles of the Red Hulk.)
Yet there in lies one of this issue’s problems. Ross and his red alter ego takes a major backseat to the events and the characters that surround him. Replacing the main Hulk logo with an “Alpha Flight” title might even seem more applicable here. And while Jeff Parker remains the ultimate weaver of well constructed stories, the way the events leading into this issue’s present day can be uncharacteristically confusing. In this order… the story contains a flashback, followed by a later flashback, followed by the A-Bomb in real time describing too briefly the events that occurred prior to both flashbacks… all based on an old A-Bomb backup story one may have trouble recalling told back in HULK Issue # 31. You won’t be alone if you find yourself skipping back a few panels asking yourself “what did I just read?”
Artist Dale Eaglesham is quite a talent. While he seems to alternate back and forth from a properly drawn Rulk (one without eyebrows) to a Red Hulk with scraggily gray hairs above his eyes, the powerful frame he gives the crimson beast is quite delightful and imposing. Dale also gives the Red Hulk a military cut of hair that really suits the Ross alter ego, and looks extremely sharp.
Dale Eaglesham definitely seems to be born to draw Alpha Flight. The way Dale draws these underappreciated characters is outstanding, and he may just well hold the prestigious honor of drawing the best Sasquatch and Puck to ever grace a comic book page. And who could not love the double page splash of this team, accompanied by the Rulk and crew as they ascend upon the mysterious new Canadian Mayan temple?
The unique borders Eaglesham adorns around various panels of this book is spectacular. They resemble Mayan aged-old hieroglyphics which demand recognition for its sheer creativity, as well as the fascinating cover for this issue.
Sadly however, in an unfortunate move, the solicitation trumpeting the next installment’s cover (issue # 54 hitting stands in two weeks) prematurely revealed this issue’s shocking ending, ultimately dulling the blow of Jeff Parker’s otherwise dramatic and climactic punch.
3.5 out of 5 Stars
-A.J.
A general falls. A red monster rises. Stay tuned.
Follow the RED HULK BLOG on Twitter @ RedHulkBlog
NEW RULK : HULK Issue # 53 and AVENGERS vs X-MEN Issue # 5 is out today!
HULK Issue # 53
Writer: Jeff Parker
Penciller (cover): Dale Eaglesham
Orig. Published: June 06, 2012
Imprint: MARVEL UNIVERSE
Rating: T+
Format: Comic
UPC: 5960605992-05311
Price: $2.99
The Story:
The Mayan Gods are here! Guest starring Alpha Flight, Machine Man, She-Hulks, A-Bomb!
AVENGERS VS XMEN Issue # 5
Writer: Matt Fraction
Penciller (cover): Jim Cheung
Artist: John Romita Jr.
Orig. Published: June 06, 2012
Format: Comic
UPC: 5960607748-00511
Price: $3.99
The Story:
The fiery conclusion of Act One is here! Clashing on a lunar battlefield, the tide of the conflict will be turned…
RULK REVIEW : “Nightmare in Red” Season 2, Episode 9 of AVENGERS : Earth’s Mightiest Heroes – Red Hulk’s Television debut!
History has been made Rulk fans!
“Nightmare in Red” marks the thrilling television debut of the monstrous Red Hulk, which is the 9th episode of the second season of the immensely popular animated series AVENGERS : Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. While this landmark episode will not air in the United States until Sunday, June 24th, the crimson giant’s debut has already premiered in other countries (as well as streamed online), enabling this advance review… which does indeed contain spoilers to a degree that varies depending on the reader’s previous knowledge of the Red Hulk’s true identity and lore. So how did the Red Hulk’s television premiere measure up?
The episode begins with an airborne General “Thunderbolt” Ross and Major Glenn Talbot arriving on the landing pad of a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier. The decorated officers have flown there to argue their case with Maria Hill that the U.S. Military needs the sample of Hulk’s blood, currently stored in a secure chamber of the helicarrier, in their effort to militarize it. They also express their utter disdain for allowing the Avengers to harbor a monster such as the “Hulk” under the protection and guise of a heroic teammate.
During this heated exchange, unbeknownst to Hill, the blood sample of the Hulk is stolen… and later mixed with an unknown reddish component and ultimately injected into the arm a mysterious person on board: his identity hidden by shadows. The injection transforms the figure into the raging Red Hulk, who begins to dismantle the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier and his crew.
It’s soon obvious that the Rulk is not the one calling the shots however and there is a master plan afoot to capture Bruce Banner. But the Red Hulk has a plan of his own… a plan to finally defeat the Incredible Hulk and prove he is no longer the strongest one there is.
There has been a lot of creative changes made to Red Hulk’s origin in “Nightmare in Red”. Some are due to time constraints. Others are due to the nature of being a children’s television show. Yet some key changes were made simply because the show’s creators are trying to tell a larger tale over a great deal of episodes (like the looming Skrull invasion) versus many self-contained more origin accurate stories told in one or two part episodes. The show’s writers opted to take a creative license (or uncreative license) and made changes to the Red Hulk continuity to make the character fit within the series current “big picture”. The result is an initial level of frustration, like when the realization is made that neither Leader, M.O.D.O.K, nor any member of the Intellegencia seem to be involved with the Red Hulk’s creation. This really doesn’t do the character justice.
Not all of the Red Hulk comic history was discarded for the sake of this television series’ continuity however. The SHIELD Helicarrier attack and the assault on Agent Quartermain was ripped from the pages of HULK Issue #2. Doc Samson appears to be playing a role in duality again… and the theme “Who is the Red Hulk” is honored here, never revealing that General Ross is the Rulk in this episode (which pretty much all but guarantees this is not the last we’ve seen of crimson giant this season.)
And while his absorbing powers are nowhere to be found, the Rulk’s radioactive heat core is on display numerous times. The Red Hulk also has a scene where he expresses an oh so enjoyable sinister, arrogant laugh (that gets to the core of why we find the red villain so enjoyable.)
As with the AVENGERS : EMH series as a whole, the animation suffers from a subpar quality, yet it’s offset by some terrific voice acting and enjoyable action scenes that are pretty well choreographed.
Even with all the disappointing origin changes, it was extremely exciting to finally see the Red Hulk grace the small screen. Let’s hope the Rulk’s next appearance is even better.. and more faithful to the character we’ve grown to love!
3.5 out of 5 Stars
-A.J.
A general falls. A red monster rises. Stay tuned.
Follow the RED HULK BLOG on Twitter @ RedHulkBlog
RULK REVIEW : HULK SMASH AVENGERS Issue # 5
“That’s all you got? COME ON! I’m not that’s green MAN-CHILD you’re used to bullying!” – Rulk
In the one-shot HULK SMASH AVENGERS Issue # 5, the spotlight shines on a villainous Red Hulk in the final installment of a five issue smash fest that celebrates new yet era-inspired “Hulk versus Avengers” tales uniquely told within different timelines of the Marvel Universe. Designed to take place between the events of the Red Hulk demolishing the new S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier [HULK Issue #2] and the battle between Rulk and the A-Bomb in the desert of Death Valley, Nevada [HULK Issue #3], the story revolves around Iron Man’s belief that uncovering the identity of the crimson giant will be the key to his defeat… and the imprisoned Bruce Banner holds that very key. And as the mysterious, seemingly unstoppable, crimson Hulk keeps hitting and pilfering S.H.I.E.L.D. installations, Iron Man understands he needs answers… right now.
This issue’s script penned by writer Fred Van Lente portrays a spot-on villainous Red Hulk. Lente superbly symbiotically captures the quintessential Jeph Loeb Red Hulk… a brash personality that is constituted more of “bad-assed” than “bad”. The story is balanced well, moving back and forth from a suspicious, tense yet restrained conversation between Bruce Banner and Iron Man to a rip-roaring battle between the Red Hulk and the Avengers.
Lente’s writing works in spite of Michael Avon Oeming’s disappointing art. While Oeming is very capable of designing interesting layouts, his caricature drawing ability needs improved structure and polish before achieving a favorable level of his professional skill set. However, interesting new revelations woven into this story offsets the issue’s shortcoming, especially when we learn that the Red Hulk has been hitting and stealing various goods from S.H.I.E.L.D. and obviously supplying it to the Intellegencia, in an effort to reach their mutual goals.
The only thing frustrating other than the art is precisely fitting this story in the Red Hulk continuity. The only logical place this addendum can fit is between the Helicarrier attack (where Tony Stark realizes the new Hulk is red) and the battle with A-Bomb (that ruptures the ground unleashing the Banner Hulk from captivity). The problem is both the conclusion of issue #2 and opening of issue #3 suggests Rulk’s rumble with A-Bomb and Iron Man dealing with the Helicarrier wreckage occurs at the same time. The ability to overlook this error in continuity will be the deciding factor if fans ultimately adopt this one-shot event and integrate it into the timeline of their favorite Red Hulk lore.
2.5 out of 5 Stars
-A.J.
A general falls. A red monster rises. Stay tuned.
Follow the RED HULK BLOG on Twitter @ RedHulkBlog
In joyful celebration of the landmark 50th issue of writer Jeff Parker's critically acclaimed HULK Comic, superstar Jeff Parker has graciously and enthusiastically agreed to answer questions from the people who count the most: the loyal fans! Click here to 
REDHULKBLOG.com 