Hulk Minus One

Ah, Marvel’s Flashback Month, I remember it well. It was the year of our lord 1997, the merry month of May. Virtually every single title they published that month was released as a “Minus One” issue (see also: DC’s Zero Month and One Million Month). A young, naive me figured that this would be the perfect place to jump on as regular reader of all these titles, as I had previously only been concentrating on Spider-Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Heroes Reborn books (yes, I was one of those suckers buying them, they were my jump-on point to American Marvel comics alongside Spider-Man’s “Revelations”, talk about auspicious starts, eh? ;)) and the new series like Thunderbolts, Ka-Zar and Deadpool. Mmm, the great days...

As it turned out, most of the Flashback issues were clunkers or not much more than fill-in stories. Some writers would use the concept of going back to a past before the hero was first published into his own magazine fruitfully, creating an added building block for future stories. One of the most successful efforts was Peter David’s Hulk for that month, entitled “Grave Matters”.


In it, he and Adam Kubert team up with none other than a grave-digging Stan Lee himself to reveal to the already-tortured psyche of the Hulk what exactly happened to Bruce Banner’s father. Even if one has never read about the Hulk and has daddy issues before, I think this story still packs some punch due to the fantastic storytelling and art, not to mention the fabulous ending.

The Hulk has been knocked out in the previous issue after a fight with a tyrannosaur back in the Savage Land. While Wolverine is dragging him to the Xavier Mansion, PAD makes use of his unconsciousness to trigger a flashback to his origins, even though it all happens before that fateful day at the gamma bomb test site. Stuck in a gigantic graveyard, the Hulk encounters a scrawny little man who turns out be Stan “the Man” himself. Stan was used in all the Flashback stories, usually presenting the tale while interrupting the cliffhanger of the previous issue. Here though, he is an actively participating character, using his “Kirby theater” (nice touch) to illustrate the memory that Bruce Banner has been suppressing for a lifetime.


I love Hulk’s questioning “And you’ll... tell it?” with Stan’s reply “Nah! I haven’t told one of your stories in ages!” That’s the kind of playfulness I like in a Peter David comic. And there is playfulness aplenty in Stan’s character, with his ever-changing bandana (featuring a different character’s logo with each changing panel) and his jumping around, breaking the fourth wall with reckless abandon.

Using actual young-Banner actors with hand-held masks to introduce or end a certain scene is a stroke of genius. It adds another layer of surreality to the events, which are portrayed with glee and irreverence while they actually represent one of the most shocking events in Bruce’s life, which certainly must’ve helped lead to the awesome fury of the Hulk. The contrast enriches the story rather than detracting from it. Another bizarre touch is a white cat who’d show up often during Kubert’s run on the book. I am unclear whether the cat was meant to be a specific character (Bruce’s mother? The Leader?!) or whether it was just an artistic quirk he liked to throw in, but it’s fascinating to see the cat all over the issue, on the cover, during the final confrontation, and watching Hulk on the chilling final page. I should try to find out online what the deal was, exactly...


The first “real” flashback scene featuring Bruce and general Ross is a nice example of Kubert’s skill as a storyteller and an artist, neatly revolving the camera around the room, each panel a different viewpoint, creating a circling motion in just 4 panels. Speaking of those 4 panels, Adam Kubert’s work on the Hulk is full of four-panel grids, which I would usually call lazy but in his case he’s able to squeeze as much out of those 4 panels as humanly possible. This makes me really excited about his upcoming work on Action Comics, for which he should be perfectly suited depending on the quality of the plots (here’s hoping!) Kubert is also fond of using sudden extreme close-ups, often with images reflected in glasses or eyeballs, that might not work as well in another medium but reach another desired effect of intensity here. And how about the creepy puppet-face of Bruce’s crazy, wife-murdering father? Now that’s a great image!


The thrust of the story is that Bruce had actually taken his father, who was responsible for the death of his mother, into his own home once he was released from prison, supposedly cured of his insanity. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth, as Brian Banner begins to break down once more, hating his son for being different, seeing monsters in him where there aren’t any... yet. During a climactic scene at Rebecca Banner’s gravesite, the Hulk finally remembers who was responsible for Brian’s death and more importantly, how it may have led to his own dark birth.


Intertwined with Brian’s downfall is another “birth” of sorts: the origin of Thunderbolt Ross’s insistence that Bruce is a “spineless milksop”, as he would call him throughout the years. When Ross, the Hulk’s eternal foe, tells Banner to “Be a man, if not for your late mother’s sake, then yours”, it’s just all the more ironic, considering the numerous times he’s had to face the monster instead. His imminent resurrection at the time was probably one of the reasons for Ross’s strong presence in this tale, which suits me just fine, as he’s always been one of my favourite supporting cast characters. It’s just a pity that they haven’t done altogether much with him since Peter David brought him back from the dead.

In any case, seeing this unfold before his eyes causes the Hulk to wail in frustration and actually break down, making the character tragic and fearsome all over again in one fell swoop. There’s a reason why Peter David’s Hulk run was a seminal body of work and this is one of the best examples why. Sure, he’s had his flaws and foibles along the way, but this was a true high point for the series (and for Flashback month itself).


In the end, Stan and his merry band of actors turn all ghostly as they turn away, musing that “more than ever... Hulk just wants to be left alone.” Using that typical, recognisable catch-phrase and turning it into a chilling chapter-ender with a whole new meaning to it, is yet another stroke of genius. And look at that creepy picture with the headstones on top of giant headstones, and the Hulk in a tiny circle of light, brought to his knees! And the eerie colours, and the perfect lettering (John Workman is a god). This will always remain one of the very best single issue tales I’ve ever read. Many thanks to Peter David, Adam Kubert and Mark Farmer for creating a modern classic up there with something like FF #51, “This Man, This Monster” (yes, I think it’s that good, sue me! :))