world war hulk

There are three things that you should probably know about the Hulk. The first thing is that when he gets angry he smashes things. The second thing is that he was shot into space by The Illuminati (Dr. Strange, Reed Richards, Black Bolt and Iron Man) in a spaceship and he became king of a gladiator planet and his ship eventually exploded and killed millions of people, including Hulk's queen and her unborn Hulk-baby (phfew!). The third thing is that this makes him angry. And that's pretty much it. If you remember what happens when Hulk gets angry, you know what you're getting into. But, hey! What do I know? I thought we were going to get a knock-down, drag-out Cap and Iron Man fight at the end of Civil War!

Here is part one of my series of reviews of World War Hulk and all the tie-ins so far: (potential minor spoilers ahead)

INCREDIBLE HULK #106

INCREDIBLE HULK #106

Well, as far as World War Hulk (WWH) books go, there isn't much Hulk in this one. Hulk #106 instead focuses on a side story involving Mastermind Excello, She-Hulk, Doc Samson and the Champions that I imagine will intersect with the main WWH book down the line. The lack of Hulk doesn't make this a book to skip, though. An engaging Greg Pak script and the always nice-to-look-at artwork of Gary Frank definitely makes me interested in what will happen to these characters.

WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER

World War Hulk PrologueThis issue consists of three separate stories, all of which take place before the Hulk returns to Earth to wreak green furious havoc.

The first story, by Peter David and three different pencilers is all about Hulk in space. He's on his way back to exact his revenge and keeps himself busy by smashing aliens and pretending they are members of the Illuminati. Throw in some fleshing out of the Samson and She-Hulk relationship and you get a decent enough read, but nothing spectacular.

I always enjoy Chris Giarrusso, so I was glad to see a Mini Marvels story as the second short in WWH Prologue. If you haven't been reading the multiple Power Pack mini-series coming out recently, you've been missing out on some laugh-out-loud-hilarious back-ups. The trend continues in this issue with Hawkeye busting into an Illuminati meeting held in the Avengers kitchen. Of course, they are deciding to shoot Hulk into space and the rest of the Planet Hulk story proceeds, albeit in that truncated Mini Marvels fashion. Great stuff.

The last of the stories is by Greg Pak and Takeshi Miyazawa. It's a reprint from Amazing Fantasy #15. No, not THAT Amazing Fantasy #15! Amazing Fantasy vol. 2, #15. It's more Mastermind Excello, which was fine by me because I had no prior knowledge of this character. Unfortunately, it's the same story that Pak retold in Hulk #106 and therefore didn't really hold my attention. Oh well.

In part two I'll check out World War Hulk #1 (I'll tell you right now that I loved it), Hulk #107 and Heroes for Hire #11.

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