Tales to Astonish #87, Story B

Featuring: Hulk
Release: October 11, 1966
Cover: January 1967
12 cents
Story: Smilin’ Stan Lee
Art: Big John Buscema
Inks: Mighty Mickey D.
Lettering: Adorable Artie S.
10 pages

Previous	#604	Next
Tales to Astonish #87	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #88, Story B
Tales to Astonish #87	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #88

“Have you gone mad?”
“I hope so! It’s what I’m counting on!”

Every issue has a nickname for these creators. I claim the most enduring for Lee is Stan (The Man) Lee. Though I might guess that in our reading so far, Smilin’ Stan Lee is the most common nickname.

This is only John Buscema’s second month in his return to Marvel, and Stan has already found the nickname that will stick. Big John Buscema is the one I most associate with him.

Adorable Artie is also one of the more common ones. Stan loves his alliteration.

We left Hulk in Manhattan battling the Leader’s Hulk-Killer Humanoid. The Secret Empire is defeated. Boomerang is still up to stuff.

I’ve said Buscema is one of my all-time favorite comic artists, particularly when it comes to depicting action, but this page is not clearly laid out to me. Apparently the Humanoid won the fight.

I do appreciate the time-lapse panel, with a sequence in a single panel. Ditko had done a lot of that, as had Wood. But we’ve seen it less with the new crop of artists.

This is cool because Hulk is hitting the Humanoid so hard that it keeps deforming, but apparently reshaping itself after.

Hulk still displays pretty strong critical thinking skills, deducing the Humanoid made his body hollow.

I admit that I made fun of Boomerang’s old costume a bit. He must have heard me as he has a new one that he’s very proud of.

I’ll keep my comments to myself this time and let him enjoy his “blouse”.

Despite his apparent intelligence, Hulk still seems confused by his own relationship to Banner.

It will take both brains and brawn to defeat the Humanoid.

When Hulk changes back to Banner in the fight, he knows he has to get mad and make his pulse rate increase to become Hulk again.

Buscema still doesn’t want to try to illustrate the transformation. He has him be Bruce one panel then Hulk the next. And he’s the Hulk in the panel when the dialogue still belongs to Bruce.

Boomerang witnessed this transformation and now knows Hulk’s secret identity. Along with Rick, the president, Betty, Major Talbot, General Ross, Spider-Man, and probably most of the US military.

I expect all these people to die or get amnesia soon.

Namor’s story finally reached a good pausing point, and this could be an okay pausing point for Hulk. Even though he’s an unconscious prisoner of the US military while Boomerang is scheming to defeat him.

But I think if we push forward one more issue into Hulk’s story, we’ll be able to put a nice bow on the Boomerang saga, and thus everything related to the Secret Empire.

So let’s do that. Let’s pick up the next issue, flip past the Namor story, and read one more Hulk story. And then breathe.

Mails to Astonish:

Rating: ★★★☆☆, 53/100
Significance: ★★★☆☆

Characters:

• Hulk/Bruce Banner
• Humanoid/Hulk-Killer
• General Thunderbolt Ross
• Betty Ross
• Major Talbot
• Gorki
• Rick Jones
• Boomerang

Story notes:

• Betty reminds everyone that Hulk is Bruce.
• Ross blames Hulk for sabotaging the Orion Missile.
• Guard interrogating Gorki realizes he was not in league with Hulk.
• Army ready to use Proton Gun on Hulk and Humanoid.
• Talbot briefly considers letting Banner die, but remembers his duty as a soldier.
• Boomerang watches Hulk’s battle with the Humanoid to gloat.
• Rick tries to convince Hulk to retreat but is attacked by the Humanoid. Hulk transforms back into Banner.
• Talbot wants to use the Proton Gun, but Bruce thinks it’s too dangerous and has a plan.
• Banner tries getting his pulse rate high enough to turn into Hulk, hoping Hulk can remember the plan.
• Banner conceived plan to short circuit Humanoid but needed Hulk to carry it out.
• Humanoid defeated but Hulk unconscious.
• Boomerang oversaw Hulk’s transformation and learned the Hulk’s secret.

Previous	#604	Next
Tales to Astonish #87	Reading order	Tales to Astonish #88, Story B
Tales to Astonish #87	Tales to Astonish	Tales to Astonish #88