Planet Hulk
This past week's book holds an interesting place in my heart. I've never been a huge fan of the Hulk or Bruce Banner. They never captured my imagination as characters. Planet Hulk not only changed that but serves to show just how in depth you can go creating a fresh story and a whole new world for one of Marvel's most well known characters.
The funniest thing about Planet Hulk is this... I kept hearing amazing things about it, but never got into it. Obviously, my hand was forced eventually as I tried the special that started World War Hulk. Basically, my comic guy Dave got me the hardcover, I started reading and was automatically pulled in.
In the story, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Iron Man and Black Bolt (aka the Illuminati) have determined that Bruce Banner and the Hulk are no longer safe on the earth. They decide to shoot him off to space placing him on a safe and peaceful planet where he wont be hurt or hurt anyone. Sadly the plan never works out and the Hulk soon finds himself on Sakaar.
Sakaar is a planet filled with war, new species, a few classic creatures from Marvel's past and plenty of deadly environments to look out for. We are quickly introduced to how this planet works as slaves seem to keep things moving and the higher class enjoys the occasional battle royal.
This series was also my first exposure to Greg Pak's work and it obviously didn't disappoint at all. His obscure character knowledge of the Marvel Universe was great as we had everything from the Brood to Korg (whose species once faced off against Thor).
The hardcover is packed with character bios, a cover gallery, an almanac to Sakaar, and even the first appearance of Amadeus Cho who has become a great addition to the universe in both the Incredible Herc and Mighty Avengers.
The series showed an intelligent and battle worn Hulk which redefined the character for the current Marvel era. Banner didn't show up until towards the end of the series. Along the way there was a lot of unpredictable moments and plenty of themes that are used brilliantly to drive the story to it's logical conclusions. The Hulk finally finds peace as well which becomes all the more tragic as certain events take over towards the end of the story setting the Hulk on his return path to Earth.
At the end of the day this is a Hulk story that should be in anyone's collection and has Greg joining writers like Stan Lee and Peter David at the top of the Hulk's best writer list. Definitely a buy and a must read!
Eric Ratcliffe is a young writer/pop culture journalist/interviewer currently working on pitching a project named the Hunter chronicles. When not reading his weekly stack Eric can be found watching dvd's, playing on his 360 (gamertag: Zack Hunter) or just surfing online trying to find a scoop or two. Brand new to the Comic Related family, Eric is a fun new voice. Eric shops at TJ's Collectibles. Visit them on the web at www.tjcollect.com!
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