HULK SMASH A WHOLE FREAKIN PLANET!! YOU GOT THAT ANG LEE!!??

Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk Review!
That's right...its July 10, 2010 and the movie Hulk directed by Ang Lee came out June 20, 2003 but But I'M STILL CALLING YOU OUT ANG! That movie sucked man..Don't you know..HULK SMASH! Better late than never...I always say! But seriously... speaking of late....where the heck was I when Planet Hulk came out? How did I miss this wonder retelling of Gladiator with a pissed off and even angrier than a hotel employee beating, telephone weapon using Russell Crow! OH...that's right!! I was up to my eyebrows in college crappy text books and papers. But Like I said, “Better late than never”. So please forgive my lateness for this review but I'm sure it’s not the last late review and if you give me too much grief you might make me angry. You don't want to make me angry...you wouldn't like me when I'm angry. I'm just telling you now.. I may be the next "Monster-person of Color" Hulk. That's right, I’m revealing the secret! I am the BROWN HULK and when I eat my Frijoles… PAPPY ES EL MÁS FUERTE QUE EXISTE!!! (Gringo translation: PAPPY IS THE STRONGEST THERE IS!!)...echo, echo, echo!

But I digress…Back to Planet Hulk. Planet Hulk, for me, was one of those comics that once I started reading I just couldn’t put it down. The art work is phenomenal...and even though there were several artists who worked on this arch the artwork had a wonderful consistency to it. The coloring had a dusty rustic feel and the facial expressions where strong and very consistent for each character; which for a book with plenty of monsters is very helpful to the eye. The battle scenes were dynamic and quite larger-than-life with interesting angles even in the tighter shots. Which, I have to say, is one of the many strengths in this book.

Planet Hulk has a lot of wonderfully illustrated, dynamic in scale, panels. The artists were not afraid to show each and every facial expression of both foreground and background characters in any given page (within reason). The Artists do not cheat with a lot of shadowed backgrounds or annoying overly used blur effect. No...they took great pains to make each panel convey what the characters are experiencing in the story without a lot of cheats. It was fun to watch the other characters react to the Hulk’s Smashing Rampages of Joy with bewilderment and awe. The art work was well above average and the artists definitely put the epic “PLANET” in Planet Hulk. But for me, the greatest part of Planet Hulk was not just the artwork but the Story.

Writer Greg Pak does something here with the Hulk that I had not seen done quite as well in days past. He switches the sympathy for the sad Bruce Banner struggling with his inner monster and instead Makes us feel that sympathy and Pathos for the Hulk. I wanted for the first time in a long time for the Hulk to win out and be happy over Bruce Banner. Banner was the monster that Hulk feared would rear his nerdy head! Can you imagine how a pitch like that would be in a Marvel boardroom? “You see…what I want to do is make Hulk afraid of Banner and Have Hulk Fall in love with an Alien.”…(sound of crickets chirping)! But Greg Pak pulls it off. Not only does he pull it off, he gives Hulk/Banner a whole new set of obstacles to work with in future installments and adds a new thread on which to spin future yarns.

But with that being said, this story is really all about the Hulk! And (that's right I started a sentence with And), what I love most about the HULK...as any one of my family members knows by now (since I shouted it out every few pages as I read it) is …HULK SMASH!!!! And in this story arch I get to see plenty of pugilistic pummeling to make my inner Brown Hulk Very Happy! He fights monster, rock creators, Robots, Mech-suited fighters, Alien Men, Women, Children…well maybe not children but cockroach looking creatures which after a day watching most kids play Lord of the Flies at the city park playground is really pretty close. Planet Hulk really does pack in the Smashin! But it’s smashing with a story!

The Character of Hulk really evolves here from a lonely, angry monster to a Monster who fights for all Monsters. We see him change from a selfish Green Beast to a Self-sacrificing King! This book brings out the Super Hero we all knew was in the Hulk but very seldom get to see and I loved it. And what an Ending! I won’t say too much in the way of spoilers but the ending really brought the Hulk Home for me as a real Human…all be it Green Gamma Ray Infected Human but a real human with a Heart.
Take that ANG LEE!! IN YOUR FACE!

Uncle Pappy Wolf gives Planet Hulk 4 1/2 Paws out of 5!

References
http://www.comicvine.com/incredible-hulk-planet-hulk-incredible-hulk-planet-hulk/37-193372/user-reviews/?review_id=9779