Customer Reviews

World War Hulk

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This trade paperback collects Marvel's 2007 five issue "World War Hulk" mini-series. After a grueling stay on the alien planet Sakarr where he ascended from slave to king, Hulk returns to Earth with his allied Sakaar gladiators to punish the Illuminati of Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Doctor Strange and Black Bolt for blasting him into space. Crazy with anger, Hulk orders the 24 hour evacuation of Manhattan while Earth's superheroes attempt to repel him. While sometimes interesting, Pak's plot too often falls into a series of simple battles and features too much of the dull Sentry. Big fans of the Hulk will like this but the $25 list price seems high.

I have been a HULK fan for decades. Although I do not buy HULK comics at the comic store, I often buy HULK trade paperbacks and Graphic Novels with HULK in it.

Highly recommended are HULK and Thing: The Big Change. Planet Hulk. Various Peter David HULK runs. HULK: The End. HULK: Future Imperfect.

This is supposed to be a no-brainer recommendation,but I cannot recommend it for casual comic fans. I think HULK fans will tolerate this limited series, but it can easily be forgettable. First off, the art is not that great. I'm not a fan of John Romita Jr. and I acknowledge he's a living legend, but his drawing style is hit or miss. I'm opting for pass on his art here. The writing should be superb, as it is written by HULK savior Pak. but I cannot see his genius nor can I feel the intensity of HULK's smashing in this series.

World War HULK has a lot of Marvel Universe heroes, but the smashing is at times boring and all too generic. Heroes weren't born and villains weren't terrifying. Hulk smashed but so what? Where was the major characterization or the major significance that resulted or arose? This needed to be major and for 19.99, it didn't deliver.

I do not recommend this book for casual fans and for those who want to try out HULK, try the recommended books above. Don't bother with this one. Marvel comics puts out books much better than this and so spend your money elsewhere.

I don't know what I was expecting from a Hulk event but I wanted more from this. It was a huge slugfest that was one note and makes everyone else besides the Hulk look terrible. The supporting cast, Hulk's Warbound, don't play a large enough roll. John Romita Jr.'s art, which I usually love felt rushed and was lackluster. The coloring on the book was awful. This book was nothing more than 100+ pages of Hulk beating up heroes which seems like every 12 year old Hulk fan's dream. As an old man (32) it left me wanting more.

world war hulk was a good read, interesting for a while and then it kinda took a downturn at the end. however, the x-men tie in is certainly excelent quality writing and art. i consider world war hulk to be exceptional for that reason only, the x-men tie in is phenomonal,but wwh on it's own is like a ballon letting the air out, the begining is really noisy and grabs ya good but the ending kinda trails off into a flat ending.

I wanted to give 3 1/2 stars, but that wasn't an option. I digress, this book has some very nice art and is action packed to the gillets. That being said there's a lack of a deep story that usually goes with the whole Bruce Banner/Hulk split personalities. The end is extremely cool with the Hulk and the Sentry clashing in a blaze of glory. I would recommend this, esspecially if it's for a kid because it'll hold their attention.

This book is really good, has a lot of good fights, the story is basic but is a good final to planet hulk, Jonh Romita JR's art is espectacular, if you compare this book with Pplanet Hulk it is a mistake because planet hulk is a very complex-interesting arc, and world war hulk delivers the final, now i want to read Hulk (red hulk) and find out what happens to our green/red goliath.

Once I saw Hulk and the Warbound set up gladiator fighting in Madison Square Garden I really lost interest. I was hoping that Hulk was going to systematically hunt down the offending Illuminati in the same vein as great revenge movie. The Sentry's presence is built up throughout the story and finally shows up at the end only to become a bigger menace and threat to the Marvel Universe. The Hulk and Sentry fight to a standstill until they both peter out to their weaker alter-egos. The main flaw I found was that it was hard to empathize with any of the characters in the book.