DC Special Series #27, September 1981
Late April is the time of year when we are typically revved up and ready for the upcoming summer movie blockbuster season.
Definitely not this year. June perhaps? (Fingers crossed, and all that.)
So here at the blog this week, we present the big blockbusters you will never see on the big screen anyway — crossovers featuring the Incredible Hulk with characters from other universes, starting with…
…Hulk vs. Batman.
This was the second character crossover between Marvel and DC, following the successful pairings of Spider-man and Superman a few years prior. At the time Superman was DC”s most important and recognizable character worldwide, so despite the power inequity, that original pairing made commercial sense. Of course, Batman vs. Spider-man is a fairer fight.
And Hulk vs. Superman? That seems fairer — More on that later.
Meanwhile, despite the improbability of the match-up, Jose Garcia Lopez presents a master class in comic book storytelling in 48 pages.
It’s an astonishing piece of work, by an artist’s artist. Both visual imagination and draftsmanship are superb here. Many of the pages are top of class, and very few are anything less than terrific.
I prefer Lopez inking himself, but Giordano does a terrific job, and despite the mismatch of powers, it’s a fun ride.
But seriously, Batman “vs.” Hulk? (Eventually, of course, as illustrated here, they team up.) It may have been a fun ride, but realistically, it should have been a very short one.
