I was already a fan of the Hulk and JB. When I heard he'd be doing story and art for the book, I was thrilled. Those too few issues were magic. It was heartbreaking to me when they came to an end. Reading about what could have been, while interesting, doesn't make me feel any better about it!

Yes, that Samson whalloping the Hulk ranks right up there with Layton's Iron Man laying the smackdown on the Green Goliath. Some really great stuff there guys.

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/2009/02/16/a-year-o f-cool-comic-book-moments-day-47/

Did anyone stick around for the Al Milgrom run immediately after JB's departure?  I seem to recall buying the first 2 issues of AM's run before bailing, but my memory is pretty foggy.  It seems Milgrom has always had some fairly harsh detractors, at least from an artistic standpoint (which I believe to be unfair), but how were his stories?  From what I remember from his days on SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, he seemed like a solid, dependable writer.

garry:  i can't remember the numbering, but it was the cover of Fantastic Four where Reed was up above New York City, supposedly fighting the tentacles of Dr. Octopus. 

Supposedly? That's exactly what he was fighting. Great issue...and my first Fantastic Four issue!

Octavius was allowed to have his "arms" because Reed wanted some type of special procedure done with Sue, that might have required his tentacles.  but, Banner and Octavius had words and one thing led to another.  and then.....BAM!!

That's not at all why Octavius had his arms. It had nothing to do with any procedure. Reed's intention was to bring him their sans arms bc of his knowledge in radiation, but Octavius snapped en route and subconsciously called his arms to him (not even realizing at the time that's what he was doing).


i always wondered about that scene and how cool it would have been if that would be the norm for the Hulk.   to do that, in control, every issue.  to have Banner and Hulk written like that all the time.

That's exactly how he was written at the time. He had been able to do that for the last couple of years. It wasn't in any way unique to this story. And that Banner in control storyline was much different than the "dark side of Banner but Banner in control" Hulk storyline JB had planned.

Did anyone stick around for the Al Milgrom run immediately after JB's departure?  I seem to recall buying the first 2 issues of AM's run before bailing, but my memory is pretty foggy.  It seems Milgrom has always had some fairly harsh detractors, at least from an artistic standpoint (which I believe to be unfair), but how were his stories?  From what I remember from his days on SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, he seemed like a solid, dependable writer.

I thought it was fine. Not as good as JB's writing, nor what was planned, but certainly serviceable. Interesting that you bring up Al's detractors on the artistic side. I never really understood that. I thought he was a fine artist. However, I always liked his pencils and his covers where he inked himself better than when other artists inked him. He had a rougher look that I think enhanced his art, and many artist (Mooney, Sinnot) smoothed things out quite a bit and that wasn't to his benefit IMO.

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I stuck around for a while. Once Gen. Ross became Zzaxx and Rick
became a long haired Hulk I had to drop it. The premise had potential,
but it wasn't well executed and came off a bit silly.

Al Milgrom was hard to stomach after JB departed, and most of that was pure bitterness and resentment on my part--which poor Al caught instead of JB, who'd run out on the title!

Today I recognize Milgrom as a hell of a pro and one a handful of the best inkers of all time.

Milgrom over Steve Rude, from one of the truly great one-shot stories of the last 20 years, INCREDIBLE HULK VS SUPERMAN.

I'd have died to see this Hulk.

Which does bring up the point once again: Would JB's changed-back-to-original Hulk have become the standard for the character, even today?

I guess the proof would have to be in how many stories JB could have done, and how popular they would have been. I daresay that JB might not have made "Time Magazine" for Superman's anniversary, but I can imagine an alternate reality where JB lasted a lot longer and had a lot more acclaim for his Hulk.

Heck, you could take it even further: how would life have been different for John Byrne? Would the Hulk have pushed him into a strata at Marvel even Jim Shooter couldn't touch? Would JB have become EiC eventually? Would Marvel Comics as a whole have traveled through the 1990s essentially unsullied by McFarlane and Co and all that that implies?

Would comic books be different today if JB had remained at Marvel? Would today's comics be the House That Byrne Built?

It's kind of wild to consider!