“The Hammer Strikes”
Writer: Erik Larsen
Penciller: Jorge Lucas
Inkers: Al Milgrom, Al Vey & Greg Adams
Colorist: Avalon Studios
Letterer: Sharpefont’s Randy Gentile
“Hulk vs. Rain”
Writer/Artist/Colorist/Letterer: James Kochalka
Rating: 
For this week’s installment of Review Corner, I’ll be taking a look at The Incredible Hulk Annual from 2001. I’ve always found some of The Hulk annuals to be extremely entertaining and I feel that they are also a great platform to tell such huge stories that are not only captivating but just plain fun to read, and that’s the case with this 2001 annual. Seeing Hulk and Thor go at it in the main story. From the beginning of their battle, they both get transported to a world full of monsters and I like how the combination of Erik Larsen’s script and Jorge Lucas’ artwork brings back such great memories of the collaboration of Stan “The Man” Lee and Jack “The King” Kirby (And you can definitely see the Kirby elements in Lucas’ art); When it comes down to it, this is a really magnificent Hulk/Thor battle which involves two iconic titans slugging it out, not to mention monsters (Lucas can draw some amazing monsters) so it was terrific to see an untold story from the Silver Age era of Marvel come alive and done with a huge amount of gravitas. This is an annual that should be in anyone’s collection.
The Annual’s second feature “Hulk vs. Rain” sees the jade giant go one-on-one with an enemy he’s never faced (Or hasn’t had the chance to fight)- Rain! Yeah I know, it sounds silly but James Kochalka gives it a cinematic feel so that in some way, we feel sympathy towards The Hulk in his so-called
“battle” with a simple rainstorm. Very charming and it never went off the rails once, not bad for a five-page story.
Next week, I’ll be back with another review from the past or maybe something from the present but thanks for sticking around and I’ll see you all next time.
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