Incredible Hulk, V.1, No.250

I always go for those double-size collector item when hunting for used comics, and the art by Sal Buscema in this Incredible Hulk issue I found back in January is right in my Bronze-Age wheelhouse. I've recalled fondly upon the Hulk of this era before on this blog, The Incredible Hulk TV show airing on CBS Friday nights, and being just the right age to appreciate this action oriented, fantastic character. Several panels of the art looked so familiar, that I questioned if I'd had the issue as a boy, but didn't recognize the cover. Because I wasn't 100% certain, I didn't tag it under Comics From My Youth here on the Super-DuperToyBox. Still, it would have been about the time I was obsessed with the Hulk and Spider-Man, two childhood favorites.

Though I was somewhat unfamiliar with the Sentinel of the Spaceways at this point, the Silver Surfer costars in Incredible Hulk #250, seeking to tap the seemingly exponential power of the Green Goliath to break free of Galactus' cursed imprisonment on Earth...

In exchange for his cure of his gamma-induced condition, Dr. Bruce Banner assists the Surfer in recreating the conditions that made him the Hulk! For awhile, Banner enjoys domestic bliss, developing a relationship with widower Clare and her daughter Mary Beth, both unaware of his past and the Silver Surfer's ulterior motives.

Driven mad by his ability to gain enough power, the Surfer goes mad, demanding Banner expose him to higher and higher doses of gamma, alerting the townsfolk to their clandestine experiment.

The gamma infuser damaged by the townspeople, and further by Banner's transformation, an angry Silver Surfer swoops in to drag the green behemoth into space! There, the cosmic being saps all of Banner's power, using it to finally break free of Galactus' prisoner force field, but dropping the helpless doctor into the vacuum of space!

Ironically, the Surfer rushes back to Earth in order to save Banner, returning the tortured scientist to his lonely curse, abandoned in the wilderness like so many times before. This was as much a Silver Surfer story as a Hulk story, the two cursed beings of great power, trapped by their respective pasts, bereft of understanding by those they encounter. I dunno if I'd call it great literature, but Incredible Hulk #250 is a fun romp through the Marvel of my childhood!

More Later- Make It FUN!