Customer Reviews

Hulk, Vol. 1: Red Hulk

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(10)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

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 muddled, ill-conceived storylines such as Ultimates 3, Wolverine: Evolution, and of course, Red Hulk.

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 the Golden Gate 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. There can be little doubt we can expect more crudely written stories crafted around showcasing an artist's skills in comics to come. 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.

I thoroughly enjoyed Planet Hulk and World War Hulk was an adequate attempt at closure towards Hulk's expulsion from Earth. However, I was a little disappointed with the first volume of the new Hulk book. Especially considering my love of Jeph Loeb's work on Batman and his Colors series. Seemed to do away with any remnants of Hulk's superior intellect from Planet Hulk or his supreme power from the aftermath. Guess I missed the boat on this one.

I really love the majority of jeph loeb and ed mcguiness' work, and I thought..."well the reviews aren't that good but it might still be ok"...nope.

This book stinks, the story is horribly conceived and uninteresting.

I'll give it two stars because Ed McGuiness is a great artist, but it's still his fault because at one point he should have thought..."wait a minute I'm drawing a red hulk...what is this crap!?"

Greg Pak's Planet Hulk was outstanding, world war hulk was really good, read those...and let this book become one of those few marvel books we all like to forget happened.

Loeb's tenure as a writer on this series has been nothing short of a disaster. He, along with the artist, are pandering to the "ooo...cool...explosions" crowd. You know them...the ones who think Michael Bay is the epitome of film directors "'cause he makes stuff 'splode".

This is a terrible waste of ink and paper, and will be a waste of your money if you buy it.

This much anticipated Hulk story turned out to be embarrassingly dull, and has been widely maligned by fans. Loeb's run, while brilliantly illustrated by Ed McGuiness, has consisted of endless fights with minimal dialogue and no story to speak of. A definite miss: read Peter David or Greg Pak's stories to see what Hulk is really about.

In the wake of World War Hulk, Bruce Banner has been out of action. Or has he? That's the premise of Jeph Loeb's newly launched Hulk title, which finds a new, red colored Hulk on the scene. It isn't Banner, and in fact, we never learn who exactly this new Hulk is in this first collected volume Red Hulk, but we do get to see him take on Iron Man, Thor, and finally the original deal himself. This may all sound well and good on paper, but Loeb's story is atrocious. Everything from the pacing to the dialogue is just unbelievably bad. Is this really the same guy who brought us those classic Batman titles and the color-themed Marvel hero mini's? You'd never know it when reading Hulk, that's for sure. His Superman/Batman collaborator Ed McGuiness provides the artwork, and even if you've only ever seen his work with a take it or leave it point of view, you'll most likely leave it when you see how it mixes looking rushed and overly cartoony. All in all, no matter how big of a Hulk fan or a fan of Loeb's work, avoid this new Hulk title at all costs.

This is one of the worst stories ever written. With no logic or thought. The characters don't match up with ANY incarnation we've seen of these characters. It doesn't match up AT ALL at the events of WWH that it follows.

Rulk is one of the worst characters ever created. He might as well punch out god at this point at how he's over powered.

This is just terrible. But what's to be excpect from Jeph Loeb wo is the Michael Bay of comics.

Also I'm no where near a fan of Mcguiness. His art is like a more cartoony Liefeld. Why he's so well liked I have no idea.