Product Description

Superstars Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness will change the way you see the Hulk! In this startling origin epic, the breathtaking events that ended World War Hulk rocket into this brand-new saga. When one of the Hulk's oldest cast members is murdered, everyone turns to the team of Iron Man, She-Hulk, and Leonard Samson to solve the grizzly case. All the evidence points to the Hulk as the killer, but all is not as it seems! Plus, Hulk goes toe-to-toe with Wolverine in "PUNY LITTLE MAN." Collects Hulk #1-6 and Wolverine #50 back-up.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #152603 in Books
• Published on: 2009-03-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 176 pages

Customer Reviews

When Writers Accomodate Artists
There was a point in time when the writings of Jeph Loeb were engrossing, fun, and deserving of high praise. But as a new crop of talented writers such as Mark Millar and Geoff Johns redefine comics storytelling for a new generation, Loeb seems to be regressing to tales with poor pacing and hackneyed dialogue. The man who received critical acclaim at the dawn of the millennium for works such as Superman for All Seasons and Batman: The Long Halloween now offers up this muddled, ill-conceived storyline unworthy of the Green Goliath.

To state that this was an awful story is giving it too much credit. Frankly, there is NO story. Loeb, in the span of the 6 issues collected in this volume, manages to offer artist Ed McGuinness a two-page spread every few pages that showcases the red or green Hulk punching someone. I finished this "collection" in under 25 minutes and was left amazed at how poorly executed this sad chapter in Hulk's life was. The mysterious Red Hulk might have potential as a major villain, but it is NOT showcased here. What follows in the course of this book are pages with very minimal dialogue and a lot of splash pages meant to highlight McGuinness' ability to draw outrageously muscled characters. This type of pandering to an artist is a reoccurring trend with Loeb, but this is probably the most egregious example. At one point, 7 whole pages are dedicated to the Hulk climbing up a bridge after being tossed into the water below! I can't imagine the frustration that readers felt collecting the individual monthly issues, as it couldn't have been more than a 5 minute read.

Other Marvel superheroes are present in abundance in this tale but do absolutely nothing except prattle on about how the Red Hulk must be stopped or act as punching bags for him. Again, nothing resembling a cognizant, worth-while addition to the Hulk mythos is found in this amateurish tale. The only reason that I even gave it 2 stars is because of the striking art of Ed McGuinness. If ever there was an artist meant to draw the Hulk, it would be him. But stellar art cannot save this poorly executed farce from the mind of a writer who, for some reason, is Marvel's current "go-to" writer. Loeb's next major story involves Spider-Man and a team-up with former Gen 13 artist Jeffrey Scott Campbell. No doubt another crudely written story crafted around showcasing an artist's skills will be the norm once again. For far better Hulk books, check out Planet Hulk, World War Hulk, or some classic stories featured in the Peter David Incredible Hulk Visionaries collections.

Good clean fun
Excellent fun and Ed McGuiness produces big, colourful, chunky characters. There are also guest stars galore (Thor, Iron man, She hulk) as the red hulk cuts a path through the marvel universe, eventually butting heads with the green goliath. Whilst this volume is self contained, we'll need to keep on reading to find out more about the new hulk so don't expect to find any answers here. The story itself is quite linear and straight forward (just what Jeph Loeb is good at)so don't expect any deep plotlines. There is also a really short back-up tale featuring wolverine as well as a gallery of the varient covers for the first 6 issues. Simple yet fun.

Good Green Fun!
Having been a fan and avid reader of the 'mean grean' in my younger days I found myself hankering once more for some Gamma Irradiated escapism. I eventually succumbed to temptation with this and was glad I did!
Although a collection of 6 issues of the monthly title, it works well as a book/graphic novel. Far better in fact than the next volume in the series which I bought from Amazon at the same time (see separate review). It was pretty perfect as a 're-entry point' for someone like me who hadn't read a Hulk Comic for years and therefore knew most of the main characters but had little knowledge of recent events in the Marvel Universe.
It's a great premise, with the mystery of the red hulk (I refuse to refer to him as 'RULK', whoever let that idea through?), his origins and his purpose defintately capturing the imagination and the many questions and surprises generated by this volume only fuelled my desire to read the next installment, which is what it is of course meant to do.
I was raised on the likes of John Byrne, Peter David Dale Keown, Gary Frank etc and so if I was nitpicking I could say that the art, while of high quality feels a bit too cartoony and therefore not quite as emotive as it could be. Also, in some cases it feels that while Jeff Loebb makes 'nods' to history (having Clay Quartermain an agent of shield for example or the grey hulk appearing in the next volume) they sometimes feel like token jestures because of their context (none of Clay's past involvement with the hulk is mentioned). So while not quite perfect, great nonetheless.