Hulk loves beans!

Defenders #89 (1980)

Written by David Kraft, Ed Hannigan, Mark Gruenwald, Steven Grant
Artwork by Don Perlin
Inks by Pablo Marcos, Colors by George Roussos

Chef’s Note:  We have seen before that Hulk has an affinity for beans so this scene should come as no surprise. That said, I think it significant to note here that Hulk apparently understands the basics of shopping and capitalism: you fill a cart full of the things you want, you THUNK a pile of money down, and then be on your way. Hulk knows all about money!

Chef’s Note:  So the real question then is what kind of beans does Hulk like? Maybe his palate is expansive and he likes them all? Or maybe he’s only encountered one or two kinds? He obviously is enjoying the very large bowl of them in front of him, so perhaps the cans he took from the supermarket can provide a clue?

One gets the sense that maybe Mr. Roussos found all these cans a bit bothersome to deal with and just colored them all orange, tops as well. Generally, aluminum cans sport silver colors for tops – though copper tops are not unheard of, so Mr. Roussos is within his artistic privilege.

That said, we are looking for something with a large field of orange combined with a blue main label. There is also some kind of oblong line-drawing/illustration on the main label (a bean?).

Also, we should keep in mind this is all happening circa 1980, in Montclair, New Jersey.

And too, we should take into account the beans being served themselves. The color is a reddish brown – baked beans? red kidney beans?

I’m going to go with baked beans here, given how common they are in American cuisine, especially the Northeast US. Still, it’s not Van Kamp’s or Heinz or even, after much consideration, B&M.

After further research, I have concluded that Mr. Perlin &/or Roussos were possibly paying a bit of lazy homage to a Bush Brothers can – it’s mostly orange, sports a blue title, and has a mess of beans in an oval shaped bowl below.

Additionally, they produce up to 80% of baked beans for the whole US, so they are most ubiquitous.

Clincher: it has an orange top! Case closed!

Chef’s Note:  Happy National Eat Your Beans Day!