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Essential Hulk Volume 7 Review

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I’ve certainly read a lot of Hulk comics. More of them than I had originally thought as I have already read the first four Essential Hulk volumes. This one takes us deeper into the Hulk mythos and we really see why he had such a tough life back then. Nothing ever seemed to go the Hulk’s way and you end up feeling bad for the poor guy. He didn’t ask for this and the Hulk just wants to be left alone. His comics can be good or bad depending on the writer since the Hulk is a character that can be difficult to truly understand. I think that the writers did a decent job here.

Naturally, there are a lot of adventures in this collection. The Essential series typically includes over 500 pages worth of adventures so there are well over a dozen comics here. This is actually the final Hulk Essential so far, but it seems like they are released once every three years so perhaps it is still going on. It’s amazing that the Hulk got around 300 issues for his series. Nowadays, it’s hard to see a title reaching that long. After the Amazing Spiderman finished with 700, I doubt that we’ll ever even see a title crack 200 anymore. 100 would still be tough, but I’d say that it is still doable.

As there are only three annuals, I’ll quickly mention those first. The first annual is one that I’ve already read twice as Hulk teams up with Angel and Iceman to take on the new Master Mold. It’s a solid comic to read and the Hulk gets his respect. Master Mold was never really in a position to defeat the powerhouse. Another Annual had the Sasquatch attack the Hulk to find out how tough the Green Goliath was. It’s one of those times where you have to ask Canada what they are thinking. Bruce Banner had just been trying to relax and he didn’t want to fight, but he was forced into a confrontation. That kind of thing seems to happen to him constantly and you can see why Banner is always on edge. This issue was probably the best annual and the fight between the Hulk and Sasquatch was a lot of fun. The issue made it clear that the Hulk is much stronger though. Unfortunately, the ending is pretty tragic as the person that the Hulk was defending ultimately becomes afraid of him and the Hulk leaves without a friend once again. It’s an ending that will make you dislike the Alpha Flight team even more than usual and I do wish that the Avengers would come in to teach them a lesson.

Finally, the third annual is the most dull of the three. A guy attacks the Hulk with some robots that are essentially large chess pieces. You may have to stifle a yawn as Hulk beating up on robots is nothing new and I’m not sure how this became an annual. Using it as a normal sized issue would have certainly been good enough for me. All right, with the annuals out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the individual issues and arcs that were present in this collection!

One of the first arcs had Hulk go to Sampson’s base for treatment. They were making a lot of progress and the Hulk was starting to become a very nice character, but Moonstone decided to sabotage this effort on behalf of The Organization. It wasn’t hard for her to pretend to be an innocent civilian who was being attacked by The Hulk, which started some trouble. The Organization then grew bolder and got Captain America, Quasar, and Falcon into the mix along with Hulk. The four heroes proved to be too much for the villains and that was a nice team up. Captain America certainly looked reasonable. I’m sure that the Falcon would have been likable as well if he hadn’t been knocked out for the duration of the comic.

Quasar is interesting as he is built up to be sort of like Superman when he appears. He follows The Hulk and they have a rematch in the following issue. He is soundly beaten, but Quasar is still a powerful fighter. He has dealt with cosmic beings in the past after all and he even plays a role in The Infinity Gauntlet. I definitely don’t mind the character. It’s unfortunate that he is also against The Hulk, but the gamma being is used to it at this point. At least the Hulk was able to best him in 1 on 1 combat.

Another team up had the Hulk face off against the Machine Man. An organization…perhaps The Organization!, decided to have someone pose as the Machine Man and steal one of Hulk’s new friends. Hulk followed and really did a number on the real Machine Man as the Hulk ripped him to pieces. They ultimately come to terms and defeat the true enemy, but not before having a big fight that lasted through 2-3 issues. It was impressive to see the Machine Man give such a fight and they essentially leveled an entire city. Never let it be said that the Machine Man is a light weight! Naturally, the Hulk has been tricked once again and even more people turned against him, but at least the Hulk finally had an ally on his side as well. His name actually isn’t Manny, but Fred. (Courtesy of Comicvine) Fred helped the Hulk out by pointing a (unloaded) gun at the “villains” before the misunderstanding was wrapped up.

Do you remember the famous city of gold? Well, the Hulk got to go there after some men appear and say that the Hulk is the chosen person of prophecy who will save them all. For once, the Hulk believes that they are attempting to trick him from the start and goes along with them to destroy the city from the inside. It’s not a bad strategy and I was glad that the Hulk was ready because the people were actually trying to trick him. The Hulk ends up fighting these mages along with a villain named Goldbug. The sorcerers are stronger than they appear and Goldbug actually ends up helping the Hulk. While the Goldbug did betray the Hulk early on, he wasn’t a bad villain. I grew to like him and he did save the Hulk from certain death towards the end of the arc. They made for a good team as they squashed the plans of the villains.

Time for the final two arcs! Talbot has decided to end the Hulk once and for all as he builds a powerful suit of armor. The Hulk figures out that the army has decided to keep the body of Jarella for experimentation and decides to rescue her. The lady deserves a proper burial and the Hulk isn’t going to let anybody stand in his way. Talbot is certainly in over his head, but Captain Marvell has arrived to help. I was glad that Marvell helped Hulk ultimately get to Jarella’s world, but he should have been up front with Talbot. He knows that Talbot is effectively going crazy with bitterness and resentment so he should just level with the guy. “Talbot, I’m here to help the Hulk. Don’t try to stop me!” Things ultimately didn’t work out so well because Talbot got the last laugh. Marvell still looks decent, but it’s safe to say that the Hulk had the edge here.

Hulk ends up making it to Jarella’s planet, which was on the verge of being destroyed. As his final mission, the Hulk needed to save her land from the invaders. This wasn’t very difficult for the Hulk and it was a relatively peaceful way to end the saga. It’s still sad that Jarella had to die in the first place, but at least Hulk saw to it that she could be back home. As for how the Hulk will get back to Earth, it’s hard to say. There are definitely many ways to go about it though so that shouldn’t end up being a real problem.

As you can see, this collection was definitely sadder than most of the Marvel comics. I can see why sales fluctuated so much with the Hulk title because it really isn’t for everyone. You feel bad for the Hulk because it almost seems like he is destined to have no friends. He is constantly betrayed by the people that he trusts and the ones who are loyal have a tendency to die or disappear. The Hulk even cries at several points because it all starts to be too much for him. The Hulk is powerful, but he still has emotions and these events can really make him feel bad. If he were smarter and able to talk more like in the current Marvel shows, it would be different. As it is, The Hulk is smart enough to know what is going on, but not smart enough to stop these tragedies from happening to him.

I do like the Hulk a lot here. He may not be the smartest weapon in the tool shed, but he means well and always tries to help people out. Things just don’t always go his way and there are many villains who are constantly trying to frame him. The Hulk’s strength is usually enough for him to take the win and he has always been quite the fighter. Bruce Banner looks less impressive as he is always out of the loop and rarely appears. You could say that the series is really all Hulk, all the time. There are a few supporting characters, but I can’t say that many of them are very interesting.

Rick Jones shows up for a guest star appearance and tries to help the Hulk on TV. I also liked the guy that Hulk met in a bar. I forgot his name, but the kid loved defying the current status quo of the US and he had a lot of ideas. (I think his name was Manny) He was a loyal friend of the Hulk’s. Jim Wilson was another guy who tried to help the Hulk out, but all three of them were ultimately not enough when the going got tough. General Talbot finally cracks in this collection as he blames all of his failures on the Hulk. Naturally, he is just kidding himself as per usual and he ends up just being another enemy to add onto the long list of foes that the Hulk has to deal with. Betty’s role is also very small, but it seems like it was about to get bigger before the comic ended. She is back in town and now that she has divorced Talbot, she is ready to start her life over again. Unfortunately for her, General Ross had a heart attack and isn’t doing well.

Doctor Sampson is looking after him. Sampson is pretty likable here and he does a good job when he was in control of the Gamma Base. As with just about everyone, Sampson is suckered by the villains into thinking that the Hulk is a bad person at one point, which can be annoying. It’s like the whole world is against the Hulk isn’t it? Ah well, at least Sampson did try to help the Hulk for quite a while.

The art’s in black and white, which can make it a little tough to tell just how good it is at times, but I’d say that it works out fairly well. You can always tell what is happening and the action scenes are fun to follow. I believe that the artist may have changed once or twice since we switched comic series once to Captain America and the volume also included 3 annuals. Either way, they were all pretty good and I would give the comic a thumbs up here.

It’s very impressive that the Hulk got a series with around 400 issues. You can tell that he’s been through a lot and I hope that he found a happy ending somewhere during his journey. Right now, he could certainly use a happy event. I have less sympathy for Bruce Banner since he is able to talk to people when he wants too and is more intelligent so his situation isn’t quite as bad. I could see Banner being decently content and at least his mind gets to take a break when the Hulk is in control. With Ross and Talbot temporarily out of the way, the Hulk can finally get some peace and quiet.

Overall, This Hulk collection was a good one. The Hulk is still not quite as exciting as some of Marvel’s other big heroes, but you really do start to feel sympathetic to the big guy. The art is good and we do get some nice guest stars to keep things fresh. There weren’t many big villains to be found here, but they can’t always be around. Plus, Hulk’s villain gallery is a little smaller than the average hero’s. It’s an easy collection to jump into so I certainly recommend this if you’re a big Hulk fan or just want to read some quick Marvel comics. The size of the volume certainly makes it worth the purchase as long as you don’t mind the art being in black and white. This is the final Essential so far so I’m essentially caught up with the Hulk. Hopefully, I am able to read volumes 5 and 6 so that I can say that I have read the whole saga so far. With the Hulk TV show still going on, I won’t have to say good bye to the character for long!

Overall 7/10

The Indestructible Hulk Volume 2 Gods and Monster Review

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I was impressed with the first volume in this series as it can be very difficult to make the Hulk/Bruce Banner into a likable character. The Hulk is back to his nearly mindless self, but he still has enough control to keep from hurting his friends. What really tips the scales for this series is the fact that Bruce Banner is really likable. That has been pulled off before as seen in the Avengers movie, but I still don’t typically like him as a character in the comics. This writer really gets him and it would be cool if Bruce could always look this good. This volume is about as good as the last one, which means that it’s very enjoyable!

The volume is really divided into two story arcs. The first part of the volume sees Bruce Banner lead his team of researchers into the home of the Frost Giants. They are there to steal some of the lifeblood of the planet to use for either a cure or an invention. I forget which at the moment, but you already have to question their mission. This does look like the humans are instigating the battle with the Frost Giants this time right? Well, their journey gets an unexpected twist when the heroes realize that they have time traveled to the past. Thor doesn’t know them and getting back to the present may be difficult. This arc was certainly a lot of fun.

The second half involves a team up with Daredevil. The Hulk is sent on another mission and this time he’s attacking a base that Baron Zemo runs. Daredevil is able to provide some assistance for a while, but the Hulk starts to turn back into his mindless self. Can Daredevil survive this encounter long enough to calm the Hulk down? It’s going to take all of his skills to achieve such a feat! This story was pretty good as well. It’s not quite as fun as the first half and the art is not quite as good, but it’s still a very solid adventure that you will be glad you read.

Bruce Banner definitely looks pretty good as mentioned earlier. My one gripe is that he was pretty rude in the first arc. Thor was really having too much fun to notice or to care, but Bruce just seemed like another person when around him. The Hulk and Thor have always been rivals so maybe that Banner still feels a little aggressive towards the prince of Asgard. Aside from that, he still proves to be a heroic individual. He got to develop a new phone that is difficult to trace and now he is trying to cure a disease that currently has no cure. Banner is definitely making the most out of this opportunity and maybe he will actually get to end the series on a high note. I am guessing that something big will happen to restore Banner back to being on the run, but hopefully this isn’t the case. He deserves a good fate once in a while right?

Thor’s portrayal is certainly very good. This is Thor from the classic days so he still thinks of humans as little more than playthings. He also has a lot of fun when fighting. Thor’s grin never goes away and you can certainly feel how confident he is of victory. This does allow his fighting to get a little sloppy and the Frost Giants get closer to Earth than they should have, but I wouldn’t call it a power inaccuracy since Thor is clearly toying with the villains. I would be pleased if Thor was portrayed like this more often. There is also a scene involving Mjolnir that will prove entertaining for Thor fans. After the Ultimate Avengers film, writers love bringing this situation up to show what should happen? What is the situation in question? You will need to watch the film or read this comic to find out!

Daredevil’s portrayed as he should be. He’s still a very good lawyer who doesn’t bow down to Shield. He may have a moment or two where he feels fear and doesn’t seem to mind admitting it, but I’ll let it slide since just about everyone is afraid of the Hulk. His hand to hand skills are impressive and he does a good job of avoiding the Hulk, but not in a way that will make you wince. I can buy the scenes and that’s the important part. Daredevil could certainly hold his own series if he was always like this, but I also like him as a guest star. That role may suit him more than any other.

That’s really it as far as the main characters go. Maria Hill’s rivalry with Bruce Banner is starting to get a little dangerous as she threw him out of a plane without a parachute. Having the ability to transform into the Hulk at will definitely has its perks like in that scene, but it’s still pretty risky. Baron Zemo appears briefly, but there’s not much to say about him. He certainly can’t hold his own against the Hulk so he dashes away at top speed. I’m guessing that we’ve seen the last of him, but maybe he’ll return.

The plot involving Banner’s suspicious teammates is put on hold for the most part. They’re around during the Thor story, but only one of them gets any real character development. Banner still has to go on many missions as the Hulk so he’s not given a lot of time with them. He keeps mentioning how he selected them for a specific purpose and I’m waiting for one of them to turn traitor, but it hasn’t happened just yet. I suppose that will just mean that I have more plots to look forward to in the future!

The art switches once the arc shifts into the Daredevil adventure. I am definitely a fan of the art from the first half more than the second, but they both look good. The first one is more on the retro side since there is time travel involved while the second one looks more like the first volume. The pages are very detailed and the artist does a good job of not overdoing it while still making the art look unique. There are certainly no Marvel/DC comics that I am aware of, which currently use this style.

Overall, The Indestructible Hulk has done it once more. This comic was very interesting and a blast to read. The series is quickly establishing itself as the definitive Hulk title. Once again, there are really no issues to be found with the series and it is too bad that the comic had such a short run. I shall definitely keep an eye out for the next volumes. I highly recommend this to all comic fans. It is a great action title and the writing is exceptional. You can’t ask for a better combo than that right? It should also be noted that Agent Coulson appears as a guest star. He helps out against the Frost Giants and proves that he is still one of the tougher agents in Shield. That is yet another reason to check out this volume!

Overall 7/10

The Indestructible Hulk Volume 1 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review

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Looks like it’s time to check out the first volume of another recent Marvel series. I remember the Indestructible Hulk getting a lot of praise during the first issues and then it started to fade into obscurity once more. Well, I can certainly say that the positive reception was justified as it’s a pretty great concept and this is easily one of Banner’s best portrayals.

Bruce has finally decided that the Hulk cannot be destroyed. Rather than spend any more time trying to cure himself, he’s going to use his time to make the world a better place. He intends to make a big scientific breakthrough every week and he starts off by making something that will keep our waters clean for the next few years. Things are going well for him and he makes a deal with Maria Hill. S.H.I.E.L.D. will give him some men and equipment so that he can get to work and whenever they need the Hulk, they can launch him at an enemy. It’s a win win situation for both of them so Maria Hill agrees to it.

First off, I definitely like Bruce’s reasoning here. Worrying about the Hulk has taken up all of his time for so long. He should be putting that energy towards something that is more likely to produce results and what better way than to build great inventions? There’s always a suspense for disbelief in the Marvel world when you have so many geniuses running around yet things are very similar to the real world. It’s because they can’t change things too much or the universe will lose its realism. Be that as it may, it’s always good to see some actual inventions being placed so the genius bit isn’t just all hype. I really like where the series is going with track.

That being said, it seems like Bruce will be getting sidetracked from that a lot. He’s already been sent out on several missions so he barely has any time to actually get work done. I suppose that it’s one of the dicey parts about working with such a large organization. There are always more villains to face so the Hulk is always needed. As much as I like a good fight scene, I also look forward to seeing Bruce bust out some more inventions.

Bruce seems a lot more strategic than usual in this volume. He’s pretty confident of himself since he believes that the Hulk can’t be destroyed so he’s not timid or mild mannered anymore. He’s typically confident, but still in a polite way. He gets a little full of himself now like when he thinks that he is intimidating Iron Man. (Stark acts like he is, but I’ll disregard that as a comedy moment that shouldn’t be given a lot of weight.) That can be a bit much, but he’s a pretty likable character overall. That being said, he comes close to wrecking that as he looks pretty terrible in the final issue. As per usual, his emotions tend to cloud his better judgment and stealing a kiss from someone is a sure way to corrupt your character. This is still a good portrayal of him, but another scene like that and I’ll have to reverse that statement. As it is, the Bruce Banner from the Avengers film is probably his best portrayal out there.

The Hulk looks about as tough as he should. His fight against Attuma was a little dicey, but he was not prepared and fighting under water is definitely not his strength. He’s crushed all of his other opponents so far and it’s safe to say that he won’t be getting beat anytime soon. The Hulk is still one of the strongest guys in Marvel and he seems to be pretty intelligent as well. This makes for a deadly combo that few villains can hope to match.

Iron Man guest stars in one of the first issues. That’s probably a good strategy to quickly increase sales and hope that the new readers stick with it. He looks pretty good since he’s in character. He tries to belittle Bruce’s inventions and show him up, but the new and improved Banner isn’t going to let that happen. They have a quick scuffle and I’m confident that Iron Man could defeat him, but it’s a battle that would last for a long time and neither one of them is probably in the mood for that. Iron Man’s black armor definitely grows on you and while it will never beat his true armor, it looks quite sharp.

One of the villains here is Attuma, but he’s more of a plot device than a character this time. He fights the Hulk and he has some motives using the new weapons that he has, but he’s really one dimensional here. He isn’t meant to have any personality, but the writers needed a villain for this comic so we got one. He’s not likable, but he’s not unlikable either. He’s just around. A.I.M. also makes an appearance with their ultimate mech. It only lasts for about a page, but I do like the design. We need more cool robots to fight the Hulk right? Even the Thinker appears and he built a mech using some of the properties that Ultron used in the past. It was a fun reference and its barrier abilities were pretty useful. You never thought that the Hulk would actually lose, but the Thinker gave it his all.

As you can see, the villains were definitely not one of the main focuses here. Banner is the main focus so the villains are here for the comics to have some action, but their role is as minimal as possible. From the supporting characters, Maria Hill is definitely the main one although I don’t think that she will be appearing too much. Once every issue or so to check in with Banner, but that’s about it. She’s pretty likable as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I dare say that she’s less shady than Fury. I don’t think that she’ll betray the Hulk although launching him at Attuma was not very nice. He nearly died since he wasn’t prepared for the attack and that would have been a pretty wasteful move from Maria Hill.

The art is pretty impressive for the talking scenes. The style is pretty unique and I’m pretty fond of it. Its big weakness would probably be in the fight scenes. I think a little too much detail is added so it can be a little harder to follow the action scenes than it should be. Not enough happens or some of the action is obscured by the detail. It still gets a passing grade from me, but the artist will need to work to find a better balance. Keeping the talking scenes interesting with this style, but maybe adding less detail to the fights.

The writing is perfect and it plays a large part in why the series is so good. The issues completely ride on the writing since the fights are not very long. The dialogue must be spot on or else the series would be no good. Hopefully the writers do not change anytime soon since they are keeping the series on its pedestal. Who knows, this could end up being the definitive Hulk series although I don’t think that it lasted too long. Let’s just not make any more mistakes with Bruce like in the final issue.

We can chalk this up as another win for Marvel Now, but it still has some work to do if it wants to reach the New 52’s level of greatness. New Avengers and Hulk definitely get a pass, but I haven’t read many of the other big Marvel Now titles. Avengers sounds pretty iffy at some points and let’s not get started on Spider Man. The Iron Man series has promise. The Marvel Now initiative seems to have paid off with many of the titles and the art is very streamlined. I doubt that it will ever reach the New 52, but it’s good to see it doing so well.

Overall, The Indestructible Hulk is off to a very good start. It’s pretty impressive to see a Hulk series be so fun since he typically can’t hold his own series. I’m not really a Hulk fan and Bruce Banner is only good some of the time. He’s the kind of guy who needs a good writer to make him a fun character since many just make him a depressing/moody scientist who is not likable. There’s none of that here and the comic is good in all areas. (Writing, art, battles, characters, etc) I’m not giving it an 8 since getting to the great level is a really difficult feat, but this is a very fun comic book. I recommend this to all action fans and if you’ve been on the fence about reading a Hulk comic, this is a very good way to start. The next issue is the one where Thor appears if I recall correctly so it’s definitely the right time to get hyped up for volume 2.

Overall 7/10