Obsessively putting our comics in chronological order since 1985.
| 1978-02-01 00:05:10 |
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Rampaging Hulk #7 (Man-Thing)
Issue(s): Rampaging Hulk #7 (Man-Thing story only)
Cover Date: Feb 78
Title: "Among the great divide!"
Credits:
Steve Gerber - Writer
Jim Starlin - Penciler
Bob Wiacek - Inker
Review/plot:
Steve Gerber returns to the Man-Thing and turns in a story typical of his work on that cancelled series. A 15 year old girl, Andrea, has arrived at the Man-Thing's swamp with her mother, but Andrea turns out to have a unique form of multi-personality disorder that causes her various personalities to manifest as separate physical entities.
After a fight with her mom...
...she goes to a singles bar in Citrusville (much more populated than one might think for that town) and gets into trouble with a local.
The Man-Thing, intrigued by her strong emotions, arrives and essentially crams all of the personalities back into the girl...
...before wandering back into the swamp.
Certainly what one would expect of a Steve Gerber Man-Thing story, and, especially with Jim Starlin art, a worthy back-up feature. It does feature the usual Gerber tics, like a 15 year old girl who is more able to articulate her emotions than most psych majors, and a full text page explaining why Andrea's childhood was traumatic.
My Essentials reprint also includes this nice splash panel, although the Man-Thing doesn't actually meet the Hulk in the story.
Quality Rating: C+
Historical Significance Rating: 1
Chronological Placement Considerations: N/A
References: N/A
Crossover: N/A
Continuity Insert? N
My Reprint: Essential Man-Thing vol. 2
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Comments
It's Man-Thing versus Sybil! Never knew Starlin drew Ol' Carrot Nose, and he does a commendable job here. I too dig the splash page, although it kinda looks like Man-Thing is bored and just wants to "hang out". The creators surely must have enjoyed the freedom to tell more adult-oriented stories these b&w magazine allowed at the time. After all, Starlin couldn't get away with depicting all the crack shown by Andrea's she-demon side, or how Andrea herself was a "developed" young lady. Also liked how Andrea's macho and childish sides hightailed it once they got a glimpse of Man-Thing! Also, kudos to Gerber for the unique take on multiple personality disorder, I wonder if this inspired the later Hulk stories dealing with Bruce Banner's inner struggles?
