World War Hulk [Paperback]

Greg Pak (Author), John Romita Jr. (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: 4 and up

An epic story of anger unbound! Exiled by a group of Marvel "heroes" to the savage alien planet of Sakaar, the Hulk raged, bled, and conquered through the pages of last year's "Planet Hulk" epic, rising from slave to gladiator to king. Now the Hulk returns to Earth to wreak his terrible vengeance on Iron Man, Reed Richards, Dr. Strange, Black Bolt - and anyone else who gets in the way! Stronger than ever, accompanied by his monstrous Warbound gladiator allies, and possessed by the fiercest and purest rage imaginable, the Hulk may just tear this stupid planet in half! Collects World War Hulk #1-5.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Marvel (May 21, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785125965
• ISBN-13: 978-0785125969
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 0.4 x 10.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #80,322 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A fun, quick read, May 21, 2008

By 

Todd Grotenhuis "tgrotenhuis" (Grand Rapids, MI) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: World War Hulk (Paperback)

World War Hulk is the comic book equivalent of a summer action movie: long on action and fun, but short on plot. If that appeals to you, then grab your popcorn, sit back, and enjoy! Pretty much the same thing happens in all 5 issues: a succession of Marvel's heroes all line up to stop the Hulk, who's madder than he's ever been -- and one by one, they all fail. Up until the last issue, which seemed a little cliched (see spoiler alert below).

The Hulk has always been one of my favorite characters, and it was nice to see him in a big "event" comic which affects other Marvel characters. Then again, it doesn't really affect other characters much, because, by the end, lots of people have been beat up, and lots of property damage has occurred, but nothing else really changes. Nobody dies, nobody's life is changed, and the status quo is pretty much the same at the end as the beginning.

The fact that the Hulk is prepared to wipe out the entire eastern seaboard makes it a little hard to root for him. And the fact that no heroes have any success at stopping him makes the storyline seem a little repetitive -- like it doesn't really matter what anybody tries next, because the result is only going to be the same as with the last hero who tried. That is, until the last issue, when ...[SPOILER ALERT]... the Sentry fights Hulk to a standstill, and the Hulk finally calms down. Sentry is referred to all throughout the book as one of the Hulk's closest friends, and the one character who could always calm Hulk down, which does build up anticipation for the final battle, but to me it also raised another question: Who in the world is the Sentry? I've collected almost 250 Hulk comics, from each decade that the Hulk has been published, including all issues of the then-current "Incredible Hulk" series that ran at the same time as WWH, and I'd never even heard of Sentry before. When did he and Hulk meet? How did they become such close friends? Sentry seemed a little like a deus ex machina, thrown in to give the storyline some resolution. It would have made more sense if the final character who turned the tide had a more familiar history with the Hulk (like Rick Jones, She-Hulk, Leonard Samson, the Bruce Banner persona, or even the recently-resurrected Betty Ross).

Well, these are all criticisms of the story, which is fairly pedestrian. But most people won't buy this for the story. As a simple, straightforward action story, which shows "the Hulk doing what he does best," this book is a lot of fun. He smashes everyone and everything in sight.

The strongest selling-point for this book is the art: I have seen about 40 artists portray the Hulk, and John Romita Jr. is one of the best, and probably my all-time favorite -- and here, he cuts loose like never before. One reason for the paucity of story is the high number of splash pages and oversized panels, which really show off JRJR's beautiful art. He captures such rich emotion in the faces of the characters, and his Hulk displays a primal ferocity which almost makes you feel his anger yourself. Also, the covers by David Finch (if they're reprinted in this volume) are wonderful -- easily equal to the gorgeous covers Ladronn put out for the earlier "Planet Hulk" issues.

If you're interested in a smash-em-up fun-read, or if you're upset with the way Marvel's "Civil War" ended, then you'll probably like this book, because two of the strongest proponents of the "Superhero Registration Act" (Iron Man & Mr. Fantastic) are among the first to get it. If you open it up expecting a prolonged, intense, lavishly-illustrated battle royale, involving all sorts of superhero guest stars, and you don't expect much in the way of plot development, you won't be disappointed.

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Hulk comes home, May 17, 2008

By 

N. Durham "Big Evil" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: World War Hulk (Paperback)

After the tragic events of the spectacular Planet Hulk, Marvel's green goliath returns to Earth with revenge on his mind in World War Hulk. Setting his sights on the ones that tricked him and shot him into space: Tony "Iron Man" Stark, Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards, Doctor Strange, and the Black Bolt, the Hulk takes on all those that stand in his way (including the New Avengers, the rest of the Fantastic Four, and more) as he and his Warbound turn New York City (and Madison Square Garden) into a total warzone. While the overall story of World War Hulk is great fun, the story as a whole just feels short. While there are a number of tie-in's to the event (but thankfully not as many as there were with Civil War), the main World War Hulk story just feels like there is a lot missing, especially the involvement of Hercules, who you will find plays a pretty big role in other featured tie-in's. While it isn't the classic that Planet Hulk was, writer Greg Pak still continues to be the best Hulk writer since Peter David (and Bruce Jones to a lesser degree), and the artwork from the great John Romita Jr. and veteran inker Klaus Janson impresses, even in the cataclysmic final battle between the Hulk and the Sentry, which is the comic art equivalent of an exploding sun. All in all, World War Hulk may be too short, but it is an enjoyable Marvel event, and ends up being more satisfying than Civil War ever ended up being.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Up Until the End, February 22, 2010

By 

M. burns - See all my reviews

This review is from: World War Hulk (Hardcover)

World War Hulk is a good series which sees the Hulk returning to Earth for retribution on those that in his mind betrayed him and their freindship for the good of humanity. What makes this comic really good is that the Hulk is going after some of the "superheroes" that I have always wanted to see get killed/crap beaten out of them, notably Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic. Unfortunately, as is commonplace with Marvel, the series falls apart with a typical Marvel ending. I won't spoil anything but if you have read any Marvel series you already know how they conclude things and how ultimately the story has no impact on the Marvel universe expect to set up another 2-3 series (an example but not related is the killing of Captain America only to say he wasn't killed but transported to an alternate dimension).

Good
- Story (9/10): Strong up until the end. Finally a story that lives up to the Hulk's brutal nature.
- Graphics/Drawings (7-8/10): Most of the comic looks good (but not awesome) but has small areas here and there that look amateur.

Bad
- The ending.
- Nothing major happens.