Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk [Paperback]

Jeph Loeb (Author), Ed McGuinness (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Loeb, Marvel’s go-to guy for massive superhero chaos, is the ideal philosophical match for the Hulk. Just as the Hulk’s strength grows more catastrophic the angrier he gets, Loeb’s stories escalate in destruction and guest stars (Iron Man, Thor, and Wolverine, to name just a fraction) with each page. McGuinness’ art is likewise suitable to the scale of the action, given its immense and solid figures, which possess a rounded and bulbous cartoonishness that refreshingly does not conform to the modern manga-suggestive standard. Loeb ostensibly hangs his tale on a mystery, as with his Batman stories Hush (2003) and Long Halloween (2007), as the heroes pursue the identity of the Hulk’s murderous red doppelgänger. What you don’t get here is a solution, as the mystery gimmick must support the numerous battles that are contained in forthcoming entries. What you do get is large-scale superhero action that will please those looking for a widescreen extravaganza without too much story but with loads and loads of energy. Grades 6-12. --Jesse Karp

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (February 25, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785128824
• ISBN-13: 978-0785128823
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.3 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh, Jeph., April 7, 2009

By 

M. J. Sanford (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk (Paperback)

How far you've fallen...
Did someone else write this, and Loeb just put his name on it? It is PHENOMENALLY awful. I guess a few years of writing for TV have caused brain damage. The dialog and characterizations are especially bad. I don't mind the "far out" story, since we've seen the Hulk travel to all kinds of crazy worlds, and this is a comic, after all. But it's really terrible. Check out a copy from your local library and TRY to get through it. I dare you.

10 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great If You Like ED McGuinness; Poison If You Don't., January 21, 2009

By 

Jimmy Hanzo (Jupiter) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk (v. 1) (Hardcover)

The story in this book is non-existant. That's because Jeph Loeb is a flat out terrible writer who can only seem to write three kinds of story-- overly sentimental tripe where everyone acts out of character (Superman for All Seasons, Daredevil: Yellow) which focuses on relationships from a childish and one-dimensional point of view, murder mysteries which take twists and turns but are ultimately nonsensical and have let-down endings (Batman: Long Halloween, Batman: Hush) and the comic book equivalent of Jerry Bruckheimer films-- all flash and loud fights with "shock" moments (Superman/Batman, Ultimates 3). He's a writer with a relatively limited pallette of plots and character types and it all because pretty old, pretty fast.

Red Hulk falls in the latter category, BTW. It starts with Red Hulk using a gun to kill the Abomination, which is an awful cop-out. The last time we saw him, Banner had just slept with his wife and was involved in her death; instead of picking up that interesting angle, they just kill him as a shock and to pump with the new Red Hulk, or Rulk as he's been recently called. From here, we go on a "rollercoaster" of aimless action sequences strung together with a half-baked plot to hold them all together.

I once read that Jackie Chan used to film his fights first, then have a writer to create a story to weave them together. That's how this feels. It's like Jeph figured out which fights he'd like Ed to draw and then concocted this lame story to pull them all together.

That said, I gave this 3 stars for the ever-incredible work of Ed McGuinness. There's no way around it-- this thing is an art book.

Meaning, the only reason to buy it is if you enjoy Ed McGuinness' wonderful art; a mix of Bruce Timm, Manga and Masters of the Universe. Some criticize the art because it's too cartoony looking, so that'll just depend on your personal taste. In reality, the work isn't any less realistic than Jim Lee's or John Byrne's work-- check out an actual photo of a real human being and do some side by side comparisons. You'll find that the vast majority of comic book artists distort and exaggerate the human form as much as Ed does.

But personal taste is personal taste-- if you like Ed and don't care about story, this is a sure thing.

Too bad they didn't keep Pak on this title; Ed's art would have had a story that could keep up with it. This ain't no Planet Hulk.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's cool, but..., September 21, 2009

By 

Joe Ruck "The Movie Nut" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk (Paperback)

Great art and action scenes, not much of a story though, kinda shallow. But for what it is, i enjoyed it. Dont expect a "Planet Hulk" or "World War Hulk" type of experience and you'll be fine.