Bruce on Bruce

Horror writer Bruce Jones takes on his namesake, Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, as the new scribe for THE INCREDIBLE HULK and we present some exclusive artwork!

By Arnold T. Blumberg     October 26, 2001

The Incredible Hulk has long been one of the Marvel Universe's core characters, based in the early Stan Lee/Jack Kirby conceit of a hero wearing the body of a monster. An outcast, a creature who destroys everyone and everything around him Dr. Bruce Banner is a man cursed by the monster that lives within him and emerges whenever he is angry (or when the sun goes down or when the crow caws or any one of a dozen other triggers introduced over the years). The Hulk, for all his iconic status, has also been a remarkably changeable character, going through a number of incarnations from dumb, childlike brute to intelligent hybrid to grey-skinned mob enforcer.

Now the Hulk and his scrawny alter ego are about to embark on another adventure, courtesy of newly arrived scribe Bruce Jones. It's a different era for the gamma-irradiated anti-hero, and Jones has some clear ideas about where the Hulk's wanderings will take him as his run on the title begins. Jones' assignment is thanks to Editor Axel Alonso, who also helms the Spider-Man group.

"Axel and I worked on several projects at Vertigo before he made the transition to Marvel," says Jones. "We discovered we had a similar affinity for graphic storytelling and a mutual respect, which makes doing comic work much easier, take my word for it. When Axel was assigned the monthly Hulk, he brought me in. Axel had some fresh ideas for a more realistic, gritty approach to a tried and true subject, and I was enthusiastic about taking the character(s) into new territory while remaining respectful to the legion of faithfuls. It's a challenge, but we both crave challenges."

Given that challenge of balancing the expectations of fans with the desire to craft something new, will this Hulk be familiar to old-timers, a return perhaps to the days when the Incredible One uttered the immortal cry, "Hulk Smash?"

"In the sense that he will occasionally 'smash,' yes," says Jones. "In just about all other ways, no. [Series artist] John Romita Jr. will remain on board, but we definitely intend to take the series in new and, hopefully, exciting directions. We all feel there's a great deal of unmined area to explore within the area of Banner's psyche and, by extension, the Hulk's. We'll never sacrifice advancing the plot for an excuse to see the green guy tromp things. If this means a more deliberately paced book, that's fine."

Jones is certainly in no rush, having secured the assignment on an ongoing basis.

"I'll be doing the Hulk until they run me out of town on a rail," says Jones. He's also overjoyed to be working with Romita Jr., and has high praise for the artist's skill in depicting Marvel's mettlesome monster.

"The thing that always keeps your ego in check in the comics business is your reliance on the person putting pictures to your words. John is a certified genius who does not need to collaborate with anyone in an initial sense; he has such uncanny abilities as a natural storyteller, it often seems he's reading my mind."

"I'll tell you the distinction between a comic artist who is good and one who is great: it's when you get back what you've put on paper and the end result actually exceeds your expectations. [BANNER miniseries artist Richard] Corben is like that. These guys don't merely rise to your needs, they surpass them, delighting you with things about your work you didn't even realize were there. I bow to no man in my admiration for them. I'm just hitching my wagon to John and Axel's stars."

Humility aside, Jones' contribution to the venerable series is likely to be as exciting and original as Romita's artwork, but there are other creators whose work with the purple-panted hero might also catch fire with fans. Jones' run will coincide with the approach and possibly even the arrival of the forthcoming Hulk feature film, to be directed by Ang Lee, but as far as Jones is concerned, his take on the character carries no moviemaking mandate.

"I'm sure there will be peripheral tie-ins, but we're not consciously guided by what Hollywood is doing," says Jones. "Our series will incorporate elements of both the Marvel Universe and the TV show with an emphasis on the latter. Bruce Banner is a fugitive both from the law and sinister elements he doesn't wholly understand. The key word here is 'paranoia.'"

That should warm the hearts of fans who fondly recall the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno Hulk TV series. But what about fans of the recent BANNER miniseries, in which the violence that surrounds the Hulk was dealt with perhaps more honestly than ever before?

"There will be physical violence with our Hulk, which is almost a given considering his temperament. But the 'devastating ' aspects will boomerang back on Banner, affecting him as much as those around him. And the 'devastating' elements will be at least as much in the form of mental and personal scars as physical ones. Our intent is to explore Banner's psyche the way one would with any good protagonist in our unique case, through the symbiotic nature of these opposite's relationship. They are, in some ways, like Siamese twins: both hating and needing the other."

"What fascinates us is the fact there can be no Hulk without Banner and vice-versasome of each existing in the other," says Jones. "Clearly Hulk represents the atavistic side of Banner. But there's more to Hulk than the storming id unleashed, just as there is far more to Banner than this ambiguous, bookish figure on the run. We'll explore both."

"Bruce wants to probe all the aspects of Banner's relationship with his alter ego," says Alonso, echoing Jones' sentiments. "The bad thing about being Dr. Bruce Banner is that you periodically turn into a 700-pound green-skinned monster and wreak havoc. So what's the good thing? Well, let's be honest: it's that you periodically turn into a 700-pound green-skinned monster! The Hulk may be an enormous monkey on Banner's back, but he's also a genie that only Banner can uncork and he will."

Banner using the Hulk as his ace in the hole? That's a new one for many readers whose only experience with a Banner-controlled Hulk stems from those eras when Banner actually retained his own personality while in the Hulk body. This sounds more like a grudging partnership, but that won't be the only alteration to the familiar formula, as Jones plans to eschew continuity in favor of a fresh approach.

"It will certainly appear to be a clean slate in some respects, though Doc Samson comes into the new series pretty early on," admits Jones. "We will visit the past, but it will be an interpretation of the past through our eyes, not necessarily or precisely what's gone before. If this sounds vague, it's because I hate giving away surprises. As for what lies ahead...half of my mind is rife with possibility, the other half doesn't know...which is how I like to work, without a net. I'm a big booster of the spontaneity theory of writing. Except when it doesn't work!"

With Jones scripting the latest chapter in the life of Marvel's hulking hero, there's little danger of that. The story arc, dubbed "Return of the Monster," begins with THE INCREDIBLE HULK #34. Be there, or Hulk will smash!