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Tales to Astonish #83

Sep 1966
Stan Lee, Bill Everett

Tales to Astonish #83 cover

Story Name:

Less Than Monster, More Than Man

Synopsis

Tales to Astonish #83 synopsis by Julio Molina-Muscara
Rating: 4 stars

Hulk creates a cave to protect Betty Ross from the rain and builds a fire to keep her warm. He then leaves to find food, but soldiers spot him and attack.

Hulk grabs both Thunderbolt Ross and Rick Jones and brings them to the cave where he left Betty. She tells her father how the Hulk saved her life from Boomerang. Ross seems to pity the monster. Hulk, confused, leaps away.

Meanwhile, Boomerang tries to steal the Orion missile. During the attack, Glenn Talbot gets hurt. Boomerang fails in his quest.

Finally, the 9th member of the Secret Empire rebels against his partners, and takes control over the evil organization.

--


 

Review / Commentaries

Tales to Astonish #83 Review by (April 2, 2024)
Comments by Julio Molina-Muscara: Betty Ross is affectionate with the Hulk for the first time. And Thunderbolt Ross feels sorry for man monster. In The Incredible Hulk movie of 2008, Hulk protects Betty from the rain in a cave similarly as Hulk does in this comic from 1966. 

Comments by Peter Silvestro: GCD is uncertain on the cover penciller, either Jack Kirby or Bill Everett.

Hulk story: Part two of two parts. We are now told that Gabe Jones wasn’t Number Nine of the Secret Empire (as claimed last issue) but Number Six who overpowered Number Nine (according to CAPTAIN AMERICA #175). Not that anyone was keeping track.  

Subby story: Part four of eight parts. We learn that Subby’s amnesia, from which he recovered in FANTASTIC FOUR #4, is said to make him vulnerable to head injuries. Which means of course that he’s about to get thumped on the head and lose his memories again. First appearance of the Secret Empire’s Number One, who isn’t around for very long.

Review: And now for something completely different. Yes, Hulk fights the army and we’ve seen that a lot of times. And General Ross shouts and blusters. And Rick Jones tries to convince anyone who will listen that Hulk isn’t a menace. We’ve seen all this before. What we haven’t seen before is a poignant encounter between Hulk and Betty, now that she knows (or wonders, based on Rick’s testimony) that Hulk is her beloved Bruce. She sees him in a new light which means that he is inclined to protect her and care for her. It’s a very nice scene and rightly copied for the 2008 film. And for another strange bit: Boomerang, that heavily armed mercenary, discovers how to beat the Hulk and the Army! Wait until both formidable foes are nowhere near you to pull off the heist! OK Boomer! Now if only he were smart enough to wear a less distinctive costume when pulling off a crime….

And the Subby story is drawn by the incomparable Jack Kirby, ideal for a half-issue that is almost all action! And the Secret Empire, destroyed in this issue’s Hulk story, is revived in the Namor half! Maybe these tales should have been presented the other way around! Sorry about all the exclamation points but there’s no other way to write about a Jack Kirby comic!



Tales to Astonish #83 Review by (December 11, 2014)
Comments: In The Incredible Hulk movie of 2008, Hulk protects Betty from the rain in a cave similarly as Hulk does in this comic from 1966.

> Tales to Astonish comic book info and issue index

Elektra

This comic is in the following collection:
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Collecting INCREDIBLE HULK (1962) #1-6, TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #100, INCREDIBLE HULK (1968) #102, and material from TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) #59-99 and #101.

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Bill Everett
Bill Everett
Unknown
Unknown (Cover Penciler)
Bill Everett (Cover Inker)
Stan Goldberg (Cover Colorist)
Additional Credits
Layouts: Jack Kirby. Letterer: Sam Rosen.

Characters

Listed in alphabetical order. All stories.

Betty Ross
Betty Ross
(Elizabeth Ross)
Boomerang
Boomerang
(Frederick Myers)
Glenn Talbot
Glenn Talbot
Hulk
Hulk
(Robert Bruce Banner)
Lady Dorma
Lady Dorma
Rick Jones
Rick Jones
Secret Empire
Secret Empire
Sub-Mariner
Sub-Mariner
(Namor McKenzie)
Thunderbolt Ross
Thunderbolt Ross
(Thaddeus Ross)
Warlord Krang
Warlord Krang
(Krang)


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