Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk

I never read the Hulk growing up. I didn't even read the hulk when I started to get into comics in my early 20s. I did start to read the hulk when Planet Hulk came out, and I have to say it's one of the best comic book stories I've ever read. So many comics these days are stereotypical, with the same old themes of the same old villains and monsters escaping and going on rampages while super-heroes go through the same old soap-opera issues. Haven't you ever wished for a grand epic tale where one of our heroes get caught up in a struggle to save a planet and emerges the hero? True, that's an old plot-line, but somehow people keep finding ways to make it fresh. Like here for instance... When the Hulk finishes a mission to save the world once again, he is betrayed by his best friends, and launched into space, to a peaceful empty planet where he can never hurt anyone again. But of course, the plan goes horribly awry and instead the hulk is shot through a portal to a nightmare world more like the planet from the old game Out of This World, where giant monsters of every shape and size endanger everyone, an evil king oppresses his people like the worst of the Roman Emperors, and strength is prized above all else. On first arriving, Hulk is surprised by how weak he is, and is quickly captured. The inhabitants of the planet are impressed by his strength, but of course they don't know what we and the Hulk know, that the more you beat up the Hulk, the stronger he gets. And he is pretty much IMPOSSIBLE to kill. What this amounts to early on is a series of crazy fights like something straight out of Saturday morning cartoon, as lots of gruesome monsters are pitted against the Hulk, and every time it looks like he's done-for, he gets mad and smashes them into goo. Unfortunately he makes some enemies in the process when he ticks off the king by trying to kill him, thus getting Hulk thrown into a place of even more fearsome monsters (Hulk never did know when to back down and play nice). Naturally Hulk can't be killed by the monsters there either, but he DOES gain some friends (despite his very angry attitude) simply because he's so dang strong everyone knows they stand a better chance of living with him, and he ends up saving everyone's life over and over. And when the survivors of a brutal gladiatorial "training" all team up with Hulk as the leader, things just get better and better as they survive round after round of brutal attacks in various arenas, Hulk fights his old friend the Silver Surfer who has also been captured, and finally everyone escapes and starts a rebellion against the Red King and his armies. Once again, stories like this have been told before, many times. But not like this. This series is a complete world with its own races, ecology, social and political system, and species' hatred and rivalry. What would be a nightmare for any other hero instead ends up more like a rollicking good time for the Hulk, as he finally gets to bust loose without worrying about hurting anyone. Because no matter how much death and destruction he causes, on this planet he's so much nicer than everyone else he DEFINITELY looks like a hero. I don't know how great writers manage to produce balance, but Greg Pak definitely does here. What could be ridiculous or overly dark is instead constantly kept at the Saturday cartoon level, but with a strong maturity and depth of feeling you wouldn't expect. The first time I read Planet Hulk I laughed out loud many times, and especially at some of the things that the insect Miek would say. There are so many things in the story that are a great parody of superhero stories and they add greatly to the entertainment (from Hulk getting slugged in the middle of a signature line to the Brood putting on a puppet show for children), but still somehow increase the humanity of the story. The artwork in Planet Hulk is also consistently excellent, with lots of color and vibrancy, strongly drawn characters with a slightly cartoony style, and a marvelous flow and sense of movement in the action sequences (and this book is mostly action). So many times in comics monsters are killed right and left and no one sheds a tear for their suffering, but the writer here takes the more enlightened view that "there is no such thing as an evil race". This is most obvious in the alliance forged between the different species toward the beginning, but it echoes in everything, as we seen touching moments from pretty much every player in the story (what broke my heart was when Hulk's warrior enemy held a child in her arms and soothed it...right before it disintegrated in her arms). And as everyone comes together to fight against evil and pursue peace it just draws you more and more into the story. In the end, everyone finds it in their hearts to forgive and embrace as brothers... But remember please, this is a story of the Hulk. And his stories are always tragedies more than anything else. Along the path to victory many many die, and some of their deaths are quite tragic. What really makes the tragedy stronger than you would imagine is how the overall theme of personal and emotional strength is woven through the story. Again and again we see that on this world only the strong survive, and the Hulk is looked up to because he is strongest of all. But when characters see their entire races decimated before them and survive only because they are the strongest we have to wonder if they might wish they had not been so strong and lived to see such tragedy. In the final closing chapters is the greatest tragedy of all, as the Hulk stops all the fighting with his strength, unites everyone, starts to build a utopia, and then has it all taken away from him in a moment of mindless destruction. No matter how strong you are, you don't have the power to change destiny, and you don't have the power to protect the ones you love. That is the greatest lesson that Planet Hulk has to teach. So many times we've seen the Hulk portrayed as some kind of mindless monster, just a raging ball of fury without a brain. But what everyone keeps forgetting is that the Hulk is a HERO, he saves the world and helps the good guys. He's gotten a really bad rap, and it's largely because everyone is afraid of him. What's great about this story is that he played as the hero the entire way, despite the fact that he has long since given up on the idea. People keep thanking him, calling him their friend, despite his insistence that he isn't ANYONE'S friend. And yet, when push comes to shove he keeps putting out for everyone else, protecting them, not allowing people to be consumed by their hatred, and even using his self as a shield to prevent others from killing each other. Maybe it's because no matter what, they can't REALLY hurt him, or maybe it's because deep down he really IS a hero. The strongest hero there is.

Nearly zero context is needed to start Planet Hulk apart from what is told: Hulk is sent far out into space by the other heroes just for how dangerous he is. Instead of a place he can live peacefully alone, he's been thrown off course to a harsh gladiator-esque planet with a tyrant ruler, faced with becoming one of two figures in the planet's two prophecies: The Sakaarson to free the people of Sakaar, or the World Breaker who brings destruction to the planet. You get the full story from the 14 Incredible Hulk issues, a short conflict between Banner and Hulk in Giant-sized Hulk #1, and a bridging mini story from Amazing Fantasy #15 that tells you a bit about what's going on back home. You also get a full breakdown of every part of Sakaar, maps and descriptions for those that want to dig deep to see beyond what was shown in the story. The book is also of good quality: it's paperback so you're going to have some issues with the cover bending and creasing over extended use, but the pages still look and feel great. If there's one complaint, it's that the shipping excludes any protection for the book inside the box or sleeve it's sent in (the case for all book orders on amazon). There's a chance in shipping the book can get jostled in the box, leading to preemptive creasing or general book bend that takes a bit to flatten out. Regardless, as a newer comic reader this has already shot up as one of my favorite stories so far. I can't wait to revisit this as this is just long enough to tell an interesting and thought provoking story while being short enough you could read it in a couple short sittings. I highly recommend this if you are even slightly interested in the Hulk or his character.

I have been wanting to read this story for a long time. So it was enjoyable.

This is the first time I’ve ever really read Hulk comics (or marvel at all for that matter). I’ve always liked the darkness of DC, Image, EC type comics. This story sort of changed my mind about Marvel. It is a good, gritty story with fantastic art work. I also managed to get the Immortal Hulk Omnibus during this recent sale, which I’m very excited to start reading. Hulk the character is much more complex than I was first thinking he would be. Perrhaps I missed something but in this story, he is mildly intelligent, doesn’t speak like a giant brutish idiot like I imagined he would. He’s very concise with his speech. All in all, great comic

One of the greatest Incredible Hulk story arcs of all time especially from what I've read and experienced. Greg Pak's writing is outstanding the overall artwork is sensational and visually pleasing. Absolute read for any fan of the Incredible Hulk character.

This story will remind you of Gladiator, John Carter, and probably other things. Its not very original for the most part (though it still drips with creativity). There reason I gave it 4/5 was simply because there are one too many clichés. Otherwise its a 5/5. The art is great, though some of the panels are really small or jumbled. The characters/races are interesting visually and relatable. You will fall in love with some of the main characters...their personalities are fleshed out really well. Some of them are more interesting than Hulk in my opinion. He is pretty one-dimensional at times, and a hypocrite at times too. If Bruce Banner would have been in it more I think his character would have been a lot better, but this is basically 100% Hulk the whole story. Id say the best part of this book is the character development/relationships. The art, action, story, general dialogue, etc are all definitely good but not quite as special. This book is a good value for how many issues there are, and how much is packed into every issue.

I just finished reading my spectacular HC edition of this story and I just loved it! Not only was this one of the best Hulk stories I've ever read, the story is a great read for any sci-fi fan, such as myself. The story is well-written, it introduces a wealth of new characters, is beautifully illustrated, and it has action that just won't quit. What's more, it sets up for the sure-to-be-a-smash summer event of 2007 - World War Hulk. I'll impatiently wait for the collected edition of that story, as well, as I can't wait to see Hulk get some revenge on the people who shot him off into space. I think Future Imperfect remains my all-time favorite Hulk story, but this story comes pretty close to it, and I'll bet some of my friends will like this one better. If you have any comic-reading friends who are not Hulk fans, lend them this book! There's no way they couldn't be a Hulk fan after reading this great collection. You don't need to have any prior knowledge of this title or main character to really enjoy reading this book. If I could give it six stars, I would! This story was way, way better than any of the DC Comics storylines that were running around the same time, and well worth the money! Between this and Annihilation, Marvel has really been pleasing its sci-fi-loving fans, lately!

let me start by saying that i have only loosely followed the hulks career. I bought a few hulk comics her and there and always found it interesting when he would turn a new color(Grey/green) or get a new personality for an old color. but i began hearing about this book from a few friends and i decided to check it out.....and i am so glad i did! The story in this book is top notch. It really is. the writes created a great new world for the hulk to play in, except theres on catch; hulk is not "strongest one there is". At least not at first. With out trying to give away to much about the story you find out that when hulk arrives on the planet he entered some kind of "power draining portal" which left him much much weaker. for instance early on he can actually be made to bleed, which is not an easy thing to do. In fact Hulk is even made into a slave and sold as a gladiator. Anyway over the course of the story we meet another very powerful hero from the marvel universe that has also been weakened and trapped on this world. I wont give away who it is but i think you will be pleasantly surprised when he hits the Hulk in the face with a Mace. The hulk eventually makes friends with some fellow slaves and goes on to do some great things on this new world, but ill let you read about that on your own. Now we all know that story isn't every thing in a comic book, the art is great as well. The colors are strong and vibrant and the hulk truly looks angry in the book. The reason i gave this book a 5 star rating was because i found it very hard to put down. i just had to see what happened to the hulk next and the book never disappointed me. do your self a favor and just give it a shot.

Llego en el tiempo marcado y en excelentes condiciones, es uno de mis arcos favoritos del universo marvel, totalmente recomendado.

Der Hulk war schon immer einer meiner absoluten Lieblingscharaktere von Marvel, aus mehreren Gründen. 1. Er ist der Stärkste. *SPOILER FÜR WORLD WAR HULK* Nicht mal der Sentry kriegt ihn klein, wenn er echt stinkig ist. 2. Er ist von vielen ungeliebt und missverstanden wie Frankensteins Monster. 3. Er ist Dr. Jekyll und Mr. Hyde. 4. Wenn er liebt, ist er oft wie King Kong. Nur stärker :-) Die vorliegende Geschichte (geschrieben in englisch) passiert meines Wissens parallel zu den Geschehnissen während Civil War, als alle anderen Marvel-Helden sich gegenseitig den Schädel einschlagen. Vermutlich wurde der Hulk deswegen rechtzeitig ins All geschossen (Prelude zu Planet Hulk), damit er sich nicht für eine der beiden Seiten und so den Krieg entscheiden kann. Kurzer Abriss der Geschichte, ohne viel zu verraten: Der Hulk wird zum Schutz der Erde und angeblich auch zu seinem Besten von den Marvel-Illuminati auf einen anderen, unbewohnten Planeten geschossen. Natürlich passiert irgendein Fehler, und er landet auf einem bewohnten Planeten, dem ein unbeliebter Diktator vorsteht. Anfänglich ist der Hulk durch die Reise geschwächt, aber bald läuft er zu Hochform auf, findet Verbündete und ... was soll ich sagen? Hulk smash! Mehr zu verraten wäre unfair, deshalb zum Rest. Die gebundene Ausgabe ist sehr schön anzusehen und stabil. Sie ist ihr Geld wert. Die Geschichte ist spannend, und man findet darin alle Werte und Untugenden, die im Marvel-Universum wichtig sind. Freundschaft, Liebe und Ehre, Verrat, Hass und Mordlust, usw. Greg Pak erzählt uns nicht, wie uneingeschränkt liebenswert der Hulk ist, und das wäre wohl auch nicht glaubwürdig. Aber er zeigt ihn uns als jemanden, mit dem man sich identifizieren kann. Und die Zeichner leisten einfach Großartiges. Ich empfehle das Buch jedem Hulk-Fan und jedem Marvel-Fan, der im Hulk bisher nur einen tumben Riesen mit unendlicher Kraft und Aggression sah.

Amazing storyline. My favourite Hulk story along with the direct follow up World War Hulk. Great characters, great action, great character development. Really can't go wrong with this one especially if you are a Hulk fan.

Ce volume est pas mal, mais sans plus. Les aventures de ce Hulk sur une autre planete sont sympathiques, mais ne présentent pas la profondeur des quelques tomes écrits par Bruce Jones, ni le simple divertissement des épisodes de Peter Davis. C'est de l'aventure pour l'aventure, et il ne faut pas en attendre plus. Tome dispensable, donc, sans être mauvais pour autant.

Very good Quality