The Blazing Battle You Never Expected!
ATTENTION, CRETINS:
THE HULK.
AND THEY'RE FIGHTING!
Written by Len Wein and featuring the pretty, pretty art of none other than Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez, this was the astonishing epic that could only be contained in the massively oversized treasury format. And needless to say, it is awesome. After all, between the Joker and the Hulk, it features more purple pants than any other comic book you will ever read, and that's even before the Joker gets godlike power and introduces the Hulk and Batman to the exciting world of cubism.
I'd go through it for the usual ISB rundown, but honestly: when it comes to something this awesome, words fail me. Instead, I'll just hit the high point.
Longtime ISB readers will no doubt be aware of the Single Greatest Moment in Comics History, as designated by me at age six, wherein Batman takes out an uzi-toting thug by chucking a car battery at him resulting in a brutal and satisfying "Ka-tunk!" Imagine my joy, then, when the sinister manipulations of the Joker and the Shaper of Worlds force Batman and the Hulk into combat, at which time the Hulk throws a car battery at Batman.
It is, of course, still in the car at the time.
That's right. Batman jumps through the passenger side window, through the car, out the other side window, tackles the frigg'n Hulk, and the rest of us learn a valuable lesson:
Even while dressed as a clown and wearing makeup, Batman is still totally badass. And that's a FACT.
The Many Moods of the Joker
Sinister:
Pensive:
And perhaps the most common, Being Smacked In The Face By Batman:
Man, that guy can draw.
posted by Chris Sims at 6/07/2006 11:59:00 PM
14 Comments:
Between this and WW#1 today, my brain is jelly.
6/08/2006 1:43 AM
Why isn't Garcia-Lopez a bigger name? He should be up there with Byrne and Perez.
6/08/2006 2:13 AM
Actually, this was also put out in a little novel size version: all of the ass-kicking, cut-and-pasted into travel size!
6/08/2006 9:33 AM
Why isn't Garcia-Lopez a bigger name?
Because - and I reserve the right to return to this subject again and again - not enough people read Atari Force.
6/08/2006 9:46 AM
Batman can't just punch the Joker, can he? No, he's got to go five across the eyes, bitchslap style.
Oh snak!
6/08/2006 10:38 AM
Garcia-Lopez in the 80s was the definitive artist for most, if not all, of DC's licensed materials.
You can still find a lot of his art on birthday-related items, and many of the generic types of things licensees produced.
6/08/2006 1:03 PM
I was going to ask if this comic really had more purple pants than the Prince comics you reviewed months ago.
But then I saw the picture of Batman as a clown, and the answer doesn't much matter anymore.
That just looks bizarre.
6/08/2006 1:07 PM
Word, Matthew. And word, Chris. The cat can frickin' render.
And whatever else one can say about John Byrne, the guy's on record asserting Garcia-Lopez is a better draftsman than he. He relates an arguement he got into at a convention with a fan over that very subject: "You are too a better artist, you idiot!"
6/08/2006 9:45 PM
Why isn't Garcia-Lopez a bigger name?
I think in some ways it's BECAUSE he was responsible for so much of the DC marketing material of the late 70's / early 80's - it means that, while a lovely artist, his work defined the Generic DC look of the time. And unlike other artists who might have run into the same trouble, JLG-L never really got to have a major title for which his look became the signature style. While I always liked his work, I never had the same level of affection for his stuff as I did, say, Curt Swan on Superman or Jim Aparo on Batman.
I don't say that it's fair, but I do understand how easy it is to take the man's work for granted.
6/09/2006 1:20 PM
I think also JLGL really wasn't interested in a long, healthy run on a superhero title. The ongoing book he's most associated with is Jonah Hex. This isn't to say he hasn't done capes at all, but as I understand it big superhero projects aren't something he actively seeks out.
6/09/2006 3:17 PM
Wot, no love for the scene where Batman makes the Hulk suck in knockout gas by kicking him in the gut?
6/09/2006 11:53 PM
Of course Batman punched the Hulk so hard it hurt him.
He is--and this is the crucial bit here--Batman.
9/23/2006 11:15 PM
WOW! Show Batman turn into a fat clown and not made him funny was a great art! Love How Garcia ha made the Batclown!
8/27/2007 10:33 PM
This can't succeed in reality, that is what I think.
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