Volumes 45+46: The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk (Parts 1+2)

The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk (Parts 1+2)

Author: Greg Pak  |  Illustrators: Carlo Pagulayan / Aaron Lopresti / Michael Avon Oeming / Alex Nino / Marshall Rogers

"I didn't come here for a whisper. I wanna hear you scream."

The best Hulk stories are the ones that don’t rely on the "Hulk Smash!" clichés as an excuse to litter the page with the detritus of teenage dreams involving explosive violence and bloody carnage.

Planet Hulk avoids that for a while, but eventually crumbles like a cookie in Hulk's hand, and there’s so much "Finally. Hulk knows who to smash," that my brain almost seeped out of my ears trying to get away from what my eyes were forcing it to assimilate. It’s a great shame because the first half of Book I (Vol 45) is bursting with promise, and even delivers upon some of it from time to time.

Prior to the story's beginnings Hulk's world is shaken by the realisation (or confirmation) that his 'friends' each brandish a back-stabbing knife and share a collective fear of his condition. But instead of putting extra effort into helping him cope, they take the cowardly way out and remove him from their space. Stranded now on a world torn apart by a tyrannical ruler, the bulging green menace is forced to rely on his wits and his...er...people skills.

For reasons I won't go into, Hulk is thrust into the role of reluctant leader, which doesn't sit well with him because he's not ever been what your boss at work would call a team player. There's a large cast of characters woven around his situation, and they exist in a world that's well-fleshed out with its own history and culture.

The book's strengths lie in the perspectives, both literal (art direction) and in how to view a hero/villain depending on which side of the fence you happen to lie. In war the enemy is always the villain, but both sides are an enemy. Hulk is a monster but he's our monster. His goals are sympathetic to our goals and they're noble because we are noble. Does that make him more like us or make us more like him?

When those kinds of questions are raised the story excels. Unfortunately, the chaos overshadows them and by Book II (Vol 46), when everything turns to shit for the characters, the story suffers. There's a deeply emotional moment that knocked me for six, but overall by the end of the chaos I felt physically drained by the experience when I should've been more emotionally drained.

The book collects together The Incredible Hulk Vol. 2 #92–105; Giant-Size Hulk Vol. 2 #1; and 'Mastermind Excello' from Amazing Fantasy #15.

Verdict:

Volume 40: House of M

House of M

Author: Brian Michael Bendis  |  Illustrator: Olivier Coipel

"What would you have me do?"

If you read the books in numerical order (as printed on the spine, not the sticker on the front of each issue) then you'll be aware of what happened in Volume 34: Avengers: Disassembled and of what was left unresolved. House of M addresses that particular situation.

The opening four pages are top class stuff, setting the stage for what follows. The location is far from grand; the state of the buildings echo feelings felt not just by the heroes but also the antagonists of the piece, a post-traumatic landscape of loss and decay. The remainder of the story isn't perfect, but it has more highs than lows, and often with Marvel crossovers that's the best you can hope for.

The pre-battle gathering of heroes is the kind of thing that usually makes me cringe, but the weight that assails each one on a personal level gives it an edge that's often lacking. They aren't debating how best to take down a megalomaniacal supervillain in need of reeducation. They're seeking comfort, assurances, wondering if what they need to do can even be done, and if not by them, then by who?

That 'edge' is the product of a feeling that extends beyond the page. Without going into spoiler territory, the situation, as wildly fantastical as it is, has at its core a fragility that every person who reads it will be able to relate to. Everyone wants to be happy in their own way, but dig beneath the surface and you'll discover a wealth of clauses and provisos that must also be met lest the happiness be in name only.

The end might leave you with more questions than when you started, and Marvel retconned some stuff at a later date, but as a book in its own right House of M goes to some remarkably fragile places.

The book collects together House of M #1-8.

Verdict:

Volume 11: The Incredible Hulk: Silent Screams

The Incredible Hulk: Silent Screams

Author: Peter David  |  Illustrator: Dale Keown

"My whole life has been so unbalanced."

The first issue of the arc occasionally goes to some weird places (such as bizarre happenings in a closet), but author Peter David does a fine job in giving us an insight into where the long-gestating relationship between the flawed Bruce Banner and his hulking alter ego is currently at, and why it's crucial for what will follow.

The type of story it develops into uses the comic format wonderfully, pairing feeling and imagery in such a way that they work in tandem upon the reader — a state of affairs that's equal parts thanks to illustrator Dale Keown — one supporting the other in ways that are sometimes understated and all the more powerful because of it.

At this stage in the Banner/Hulk relationship the transformations are mostly under control, coinciding with the day/night cycle; i.e. during the day the Banner persona is the dominant one, whereas at night the Gray Hulk takes over. Green Hulk is repressed by both.

The communication between the personalities of Banner and Gray allows for a number of interesting parallels in both the astral plane and physical world, separately and together. (E.g. while Banner's friends fight to stop a threat in the physical world, he's deep in his psyche fighting for control of his conflicting emotions.) Quite often the dramatic use of colour during those times is excellent.

There's a number of timely light-hearted moments and even a few stupid ones, but overall it's a mature story that'll have the biggest impact upon individuals who understand that maintaining personal relationships is difficult; to take trust to a higher level it's necessary to willingly give a part of yourself, an act that weakens you while also strengthening a different but interdependent side – in short, it changes the individual. Someone with a fractured psyche, someone such as Banner who's fought to attain a kind of (shaky) equilibrium, has every reason to need the trust but fear the change.

The book collects together The Incredible Hulk (Vol 1) #370-377.

Verdict: