Jack Zodiac
03-21-2007, 01:07 PM
Vague spoilers ahead.
I used to get all of my Marvel books back at my old store in Pennsylvania, and I hadn't picked up any of my Marvel books outside of a handful in about a year, so when I went back last week I picked up every issue of The Incredible Hulk starting from "Exile" part one up until the last issue...
For a long time, I just haven't liked the character. It had been a while since anybody had done anything fresh, or original, with him. David's run was incredible because of his deep look into Bruce's psyche and the many faces of the Hulk, but ever since then, he's been pretty shabbily handled. No direction, nothing new or even interesting at least, and several years under Bruce Jones which almost completely ruined the book for me.
What Pak's done here, even if it was in some small part directed by Civil War is quite possibly one of the most amazing Hulk stories ever. This story could never have happened on Earth, and the circumstances around his exile to Sakaar make it even better. All he's ever wanted was solitude, everything he touches turns to !@#$, his friends do what they think is best for him, and it blows up in their faces. Despite all of this, he finds himself in a place, surrounded by people, where he can be himself and still find peace, through rage, through violence, and through heroism- overcoming all of his problems and finally finding peace.
And then it all blows up in his face again.
My only complaint is that it didn't last longer. "Planet Hulk," I mean, because it's hard anymore to do inventive stories like that while he's limited to the Marvel Universe, especially in a setting like Earth during Civil War. Sure, the story, overall, lasted more than a year, but the peace, the quite, well-deserved life Hulk (and Banner) found only lasted a couple of issues, and losing it all so quickly... it doesn't have the great of an impact on me, but still... I know where it's going and I understand it a lot better now.
Earth's !@#$ed.
I used to get all of my Marvel books back at my old store in Pennsylvania, and I hadn't picked up any of my Marvel books outside of a handful in about a year, so when I went back last week I picked up every issue of The Incredible Hulk starting from "Exile" part one up until the last issue...
For a long time, I just haven't liked the character. It had been a while since anybody had done anything fresh, or original, with him. David's run was incredible because of his deep look into Bruce's psyche and the many faces of the Hulk, but ever since then, he's been pretty shabbily handled. No direction, nothing new or even interesting at least, and several years under Bruce Jones which almost completely ruined the book for me.
What Pak's done here, even if it was in some small part directed by Civil War is quite possibly one of the most amazing Hulk stories ever. This story could never have happened on Earth, and the circumstances around his exile to Sakaar make it even better. All he's ever wanted was solitude, everything he touches turns to !@#$, his friends do what they think is best for him, and it blows up in their faces. Despite all of this, he finds himself in a place, surrounded by people, where he can be himself and still find peace, through rage, through violence, and through heroism- overcoming all of his problems and finally finding peace.
And then it all blows up in his face again.
My only complaint is that it didn't last longer. "Planet Hulk," I mean, because it's hard anymore to do inventive stories like that while he's limited to the Marvel Universe, especially in a setting like Earth during Civil War. Sure, the story, overall, lasted more than a year, but the peace, the quite, well-deserved life Hulk (and Banner) found only lasted a couple of issues, and losing it all so quickly... it doesn't have the great of an impact on me, but still... I know where it's going and I understand it a lot better now.
Earth's !@#$ed.