Broken Frontier

When the fine folks at Broken Frontier offered me this biweekly column, I scratched my beard and pondered:  Should I use the space to interview my creative collaborators and air my own deep thoughts on the theory and practice of visual storytelling?  Or let readers set the pace by running an ongoing Q&A session? Or just shamelessly plug my upcoming books? 

Unable to give up any of my ideas (a typical writer’s vice), I’m having it all.  In any given week, this column may feature one to three nifty sections, including Brilliant Musings, Shameless Plugs, and Reader Q&A. With me so far?  Then let’s go!

Brilliant Musings:  Stuff in the Air

Years ago while doing research for a werewolf screenplay, I read that since human beings, like wolves, evolved as hunters, we’re instinctively attracted to movement.  Hence the ability of motion pictures to capture our attention so completely—and the propensity of John Woo movies to entirely blow our minds.

One of Woo’s brilliant tricks—maybe most perfectly realized in “Hard Boiled”—is to always fill the air with stuff.  Birds, feathers, scraps of paper, smoke, flour—every little fragment gives texture and depth and can be beautifully backlit—but most importantly, stuff in the air moves, in a thousand different ways.  And our hunters’ hearts leap at the sight.

The technique becomes especially effective in comics, which lack film’s advantage of depicting motion in real time. Stuff in the air can be a subtle, natural way to make a still drawing explode with movement.  For a great example, look no further than the preview page at the right from “World War Hulk” #1.  The swirling dust and smoke, gorgeously penciled by John Romita, Jr., inked by Klaus Janson, and colored by Christina Strain, bring the page to life, increasing the scene’s drama and tension and almost subliminally whetting our appetite for the mayhem to come.

Which leads us to...

Shameless Plugs:  World War Hulk!

“World War Hulk” #1, written by yours truly with pencils by the legendary John Romita, Jr., hits comic book stores tomorrow on June 13.  The five issue smashfest depicts the Hulk’s quest for vengeance against the so-called “heroes” of Earth who exiled him last year to an alien planet. 

Conveniently enough, June 13 is also the release date of the hardcover of “Planet Hulk,” the epic tale of the Hulk’s adventures on the savage alien planet of Sakaar that directly precedes the events of “World War Hulk.”  You can absolutely enjoy “World War Hulk” without reading “Planet Hulk”—but why deny yourself a book that “Wizard Magazine” calls “the best Hulk story to come along in years”? 

Finally, if you’re in the New York area, don’t miss the June 13 signing of “World War Hulk” #1 and the “Planet Hulk” hardcover at Jim Hanley’s Universe, 4 W. 33rd Street in Manhattan, from 6 to 8 pm.  I’ll be there with John Romita, Jr. and Klaus Janson and a swell time will be had by all.

Reader Q&A

Soon, Broken Frontier will set up a page where readers can submit their own questions for the Reader Q&A section of the column. In the meantime, I’ve invited my friend and fellow filmmaker Michael Kang, the esteemed director of “The Motel” and “West 32nd,” to start the ball rolling.  Mike has a great perspective as a filmmaker and as someone just coming back to reading comics—we’ll start today with just one of his questions (but it’s a biggie!)—check back at BrokenFrontier.com on Thursday for the rest of Mike’s questions and more!

MICHAEL KANG: How come Hulk can use his brain and communicate like a normal guy? I know the Hulk has gone through a lot of transformations over the years, but in Ultimates, he still said things like "Hulk Smash!" But now in this series he seems to be able to talk fine. Is this like the DC Universe of alternate realities?

I kind of like the idea that every series is a post-modern take on the icons of Marvel where they can be recontextualized, but I don't know if this is only how it seems because I am not current with all of the comics in the Marvel Universe.

GREG PAK: These days, Marvel’s characters appear in several separate fictional universes.  The mainstream Marvel Universe is where the Marvel characters we grew up reading reside. The “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” books belong here. 

The Ultimate Universe features updated versions of the characters, often younger and (to drastically oversimplify) edgier than their mainstream counterparts.  Just one example—the Ultimate Hulk sometimes eats people, whereas the Marvel Universe Hulk prefers beans. 

And then there’s Marvel Age, a series of books for younger readers, as well as the Supreme and 1602 Universes and the “The End” books and the occasional out-of-continuity one-shot or series that, as you say, may take a wild new angle on a classic character. 

WARNING—“PLANET HULK” SPOILERS AHEAD!

To address the Hulk-centric part of your question, the Marvel Universe Hulk has indeed been through many changes over the years—from the “Hulk smash” cave-man-speak Hulk of the 1970s to the mindless Hulk of Bill Mantlo’s amazing run to several beloved incarnations from Peter David’s classic books.  

The smart but savage Hulk we’re depicting in “Planet Hulk” and “World War Hulk” picks up where Peter David left off and actually returns the character to his roots—in the very first Stan Lee Hulk stories, our hero was a surly brute who spoke in full sentences. As I see it, the Hulk changes as Banner grows—his specific incarnation depends upon the challenges he’s facing and his current state of emotional development. 

As “Planet Hulk” began, the Hulk was sucked through a strength-depleting wormhole to a savage alien planet where he could be cut—maybe even killed.  He was as furious as ever, but he needed to use his brain and form alliances with his fellow slaves in order to survive.  Hence the smart but savage incarnation.  But the Hulk has developed even more during “Planet Hulk”—bonding with his Warbound gladiator companions launched him on a journey that took him from a raging brawler who cared about no one but himself to a righteous, conquering king seeking vengeance in the name of his people. 

It’s been a wild ride.

       
Extras from the "Planet Hulk" HC, on sale Wednesday, June 13,
in comic book stores everywhere.

Join Greg Pak again on Thursday as he delves into World War Hulk #1.

© 2007 Greg Pak.  All rights reserved.  For more about Greg Pak’s comics and films, visit www.pakbuzz.com.