Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Incredible Hulk

"How do I know I won't keep changing?" an anguished Dr. Bruce Banner asked himself in one issue of the Incredible Hulk comics. "Into that brutal, bestial mockery of a human - that creature which fears nothing - which soon despises reason and worships power! Soon, the sun will set again~ And here I sit helplessly, fearing I may again become the Hulk!"

Poor Dr. Banner's anguish began when he Spider-Man movie performing bomb tests. Seeing teenager Rick Jones driving towards the test site, Banner rushed to stop him and in the process was affected by gamma rays. While Rick Jones was unaffected, Banner began to transform into the Hulk.

Originally, Banner's transformations were triggered by the rise and fall of the sun. Later, his transformation would be triggered by emotions, most notably anger.

Sometimes grey, sometimes green, the Hulk debuted in 1962, but soon faced cancellation. The character did not enjoy a successful solo run until the 1970s. During his solo series, Banner gave his cousin, Jennifer Walters, a transfusion, leading her to become the She-Hulk. This in turn added even 1930's baseball cards guilt to the Hulk's already burdened conscience.

In the 1980s and 1990s, a major arc was introduced that explored the possibility that Dr. Banner had been mentally ill before getting hit with the gamma rays. In an effort to explain his Hulk persona (the one who offered such fun phrases as "Puny humans! Hulk smash!") writers introduced the theory that Banner had been abused as a child. As a result, Banner had suffered from Dissociative Identity Disorder, his mind's way to try to deal with the abuse. The gamma rays merely magnified those problems. During this time, Banner underwent hypnosis as a way to combine the Hulk parts of his personality with the calmer Banner part. The result was a Hulk that was more cunning, powerful, and intelligent than before.

In the 2006 story, "Planet Hulk," the Illuminati, a group of covert superhero leaders, decided that the Hulk was a potential risk to Earth that needed to be eliminated. Thus, they sent him into space to live basketball cards a planet uninhabited by other sentient life. The ship malfunctioned, however, and landed on the planet Sakaar.

Sakaar was a violent planet, which seemed to fit Hulk's personality. After being captured, Hulk became a leader of the rebels and eventually rose to emperor status. But his happiness was short lived, as his rocket exploded, killing his Dark Shadows books lover, Caiera and destroying the planet.

A vengeful Hulk returned to Earth, determined to make the Illuminati pay for what they had done. Tragically, however, Hulk found out that it was one of his own allies that destroyed his ship and he was taken into custody by S.H.I.E.L.D.

Essential storylines:

~ Planet Hulk
~ World War Hulk
~ Illuminati
~ Future Imperfect
~ Crossroads of Eternity

Follow the exploits of rockers DEMON TWEAK and the racing clan HARD DRIVING HEROES, as they battle the evil trickster Loki at classic-comic-booksclassic-comic-books. Also read articles on your favorite classic-comic-booksclassic comic book heroes written by our resident historian VIRGIL THE STORYTELLER.

5 Website Myths That Stop You Attracting More Customers

According to Watchmen movie August 2007 Sensis e-Business Report, 90% of business websites don't bring in more business. How do you make sure you site's not one of them? By understanding and avoiding these five common website myths that stop your website being profitable:

MYTH 1: If you build it, they will come

The idea that "if you build it, they will come" worked for Kevin Costner in the movie "Field of Dreams", but it doesn't work for websites. Yet this is the most persistent and dangerous website myth.

Many people assume that if they put a site up on the web they'll be swamped with customer enquiries and new business. They won't.

Customers don't just magically appear at your site. You must buy games cost-effective ways of generating targeted traffic. And you have to use proven strategies and techniques to convert browsers into customer enquiries and sales.

MYTH 2: Award-winning design is the most important part of a website

Most Haunt of Fear put the majority of their website budget into creating a good-looking design. The content - the part of a website that actually does the selling - is usually an afterthought. Don't underestimate the importance of good website design. But without high quality content your website will fail. Your priorities should be: good design, great content.

MYTH 3: A first page listing in Google is the key to a successful website

Search engine optimisation (SEO) firms would have you think that getting to number one in Google is the key to a successful website. Sure, high search engine rankings help bring traffic to your site. But what's more important, and more profitable, is converting your website visitors into paying customers.

MYTH 4: A website is like an online brochure

Done properly a business website can be an automatic marketing system that delivers customer enquiries and highly qualified sales leads. It can be a 24/7 salesperson that never forgets a sales point, answers every objection and always goes for the close. It can be so much more than just an online brochure.

MYTH 5: Websites don't work

Only 10% of websites bring in more business, so statistically speaking this is correct. But perhaps you're wondering how your site can be amongst the successful ones. The answer is by applying proven online marketing strategies and principles. It won't happen overnight, but it can happen.

By Gross Out Gang Cuninghame text-centrictext-centric

With a career spanning more than 12 years, Charles Cuninghame is one of Australia's most experienced website copywriters. For tips, tricks and insider secrets to get more customer enquiries, sales and profits from your website visit Charles' blog: profitablewebsitemanualThe Profitable Website Manual