Greetings from the Odinson,
I have attended five Wizard Worlds now and Wizard World Texas 2008 has by far been my favorite. Over the three-day event I sat in on seventeen panels and learned about what the comic book industry and independent creators thought about past and present projects, and what they have in store for the future. I met the man that defined the Incredible Hulk for a generation of television viewers. I learned what goes into putting together the right pieces for a successful creative team. I saw the effects that the graphic novel is having on Hollywood. I even bumped into a few former professional wrestlers I used to cheer, and jeer, as a kid.
What was really fun about the panels this year is that there were so many good ones that I actually had to make tough choices about which ones to attend. Was I going to discuss the end of Planetary with series artist John Cassaday, or find out how writers like Phil Hester (Firebreather), Terry Moore (Runaways), and Sean McKeever (Teen Titans) pulled painful experiences from their own lives to give voices to the teen heroes they write about. Over the next few weeks I will share some of the experiences and surprises I learned at Wizard World Texas 2008. Let’s start at the beginning.
Friday
Friday started off with a bang (a bit cliché I admit, but it’s true), as former Mr. Universe himself Lou Ferrigno took a retrospective look at his time playing the Incredible Hulk on the classic, and much beloved, TV show that ran from the late seventies on into the eighties and spawned three made-for-TV movies. He talked about the long process of putting the make-up on and shared a humorous story about the one time he left work with it still on (the fact that the Green Goliath was driving a car caused another driver to have a fender-bender). He shared a story about how an over zealous stuntman underestimated the strength Lou possesses, and after being tossed swore to never work with the Hulk star again. He reflected on his life as a child with a hearing disorder that caused him to become very introverted, and how it was reading the adventures of characters like the Hulk and Captain America that helped him break out of his shell and pursue a career in bodybuilding. He wanted to be strong like the heroes he read about.
He was quite successful in this endeavor, winning the Mr. Universe and even challenging the mighty Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Mr. Olympia title, but his true calling came when Hollywood offered him the role he was destined to play. Originally Richard Keil, the actor best known for his portrayal as the monstrous killer known as Jaws in two James Bond movies, was cast to play the Green Goliath, but he lacked the muscular build that fans would expect from the Hulk. Lou filled the role beautifully. Though he wasn’t a classically trained actor, Lou was taken under the wing of his co-star Bill Bixby, a veteran actor of television who starred in such shows as My Favorite Martian and The Magician. Lou talked with heartfelt sincerity when speaking about his friend and mentor who passed away in 1993 due to cancer.
Before Bixby got sick there was a planned fourth TV movie where the Hulk would have had Banner’s brain and talked for the first time in the history of the show. Though that was not meant to be, Lou did go on to voice the character in the Incredible Hulk cartoon that ran from 1996 through 1997. And speaking of voices, it is Lou who gives the Hulk his voice in the latest installment of the big budget Hollywood movies, The Incredible Hulk. This was a fact, which to the joy of everyone in attendance, that he demonstrated with an ear-piercing “Hulk Smash!” An interesting side note to this discussion, Lou revealed that he offered to be the body model for the computers to generate the Hulk for the big screen for the first Hulk movie, but as he puts it “...creatively, they wanted to go in a different direction.”
Other topics touched on were Lou’s portrayal as Hercules and his guest spots on the sitcom King of Queens (which Lou revealed that a lot of those situations were taken from actual experiences in his real life), but the main topic of discussion was the Hulk. When one listens to Lou talk about his career you get the feeling that he really does care about the character that he portrayed. In a world where Hollywood gets it wrong more times than not (for every Iron Man there are five comic movies more like Joel Schumacher’s Batman and Robin) it’s refreshing to see someone from there with the passion Lou has for the Hulk.
One audience member asked Lou who he thought was in better shape now, him or Arnold [Schwarzenegger]. With a jovial grin Lou flexed his left arm exposing a massive and shredded bicep. Then the man that defined the Hulk for a whole generation slyly retorted “What do you think?”
Meeting Lou Ferrigno and listening to him talk was just the start of an amazing weekend of revelations, excitement, and plain fanboy fun. Next week Tony Salvaggio (Psy-Comm) and Jason Henderson (Sword of Dracula) discuss what it takes to assemble a successful creative team. Then they will be joined by Christian Beranek (Dracula vs. King Arthur) to discuss the endurance and popularity of the Dark Prince in pop culture. To finish off the Friday panels, the DC panel reveals plans for the future of the DCU and James Ford and David Bugg discuss the “Dark Side of Super.”
NOTE: If reading about Lou Ferrigno’s experiences with the Hulk gave you a hankering...check out Essential Incredible Hulk.
This is Odinson bidding thee farewell.
