dishpan

i pretty much agree with this --

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/05/the-hulk-on-mark-ruffalos-hulk.html

-- in that i feel like hulk can be a compelling character when done right, especially if there is complexity and empathy, and thats what i want to read.

any recommendations based on the below? thanks in advance!

tried and loved:
planet hulk \ world war hulk (pak)
hulk in the ultimates 1 and 2 (millar)

tried and liked:
banner (azzarrello)
gray (loeb and sale)
the end \ future imperfect (peter david)

tried and didnt like:
hulk by john byrne and ron garney vol 1
past perfect by jenkins and john romita jr (really liked the jr jr art though)

tried and hated:
hulk (and red hulk) by loeb and mcguinnes

trying next:
hulk by jason aaron and marc silvestri (i like both of those guys)
incredible hulk by bruce jones vol 1
incredible hulk visionaries by john byrne vol 1
incredible hulk visionaries by peter david vol 1

considering:
a new version of heart of the atom is coming soon. i like harlan ellison but the description sounded like something i would hate haha.


from the things ive read, i think the stuff i like the best is when he is a guest star, and the least is when there are more than one type or color of hulk (although having him separated from banner is pretty cool). i know he has split personality issues but it kind of goes off the rails, at least in the stuff ive seen, which admittedly could be just a bad example. ive also been sticking with the more recent options obviously, since i have a bit of a hard time getting into 60s and 70s stuff.

fujishig

Hmm... you already mentioned the one I was going to suggest (Pak's excellent run). I would highly recommend Peter David's run, since I think it's the definitive Hulk run, but it does get into the split personality/Pantheon stuff late in the run (but with great Dale Keown art).

This is barely related, but I also really enjoyed Incredible Hercules, when Hercules took over the title (along with Amadeus Cho), also written by Pak, coming out of WWH.

madcougar

Have to agree with Fujishig. Peter David's run on Hulk was lengendary. Loved his evolution of the Hulk, too.

dishpan

cool, thanks! i havent read any incredible herc but amadeus cho was in something else i read and i thought he was a great character. i havent found hercules to be that interesting in anything ive seen him in though.

regarding the peter david run -- does it START good, or does it GET good? because i ordered volume 1 and dont really know what to expect. i LOVE his x-factor \ madrox series these days so i am looking forward to this arriving.

fujishig

Yeah, Incredible Herc is pretty different from every other Herc story before it. Lots of humor, for instance.

PAD's Incredible Hulk run probably starts off a little slow (I remember buying the first Visionaries volume and not being blown away), but he builds and builds and builds. I don't think his trademark humor comes in right away, for instance.

Meglos

Hulk guy who's been collecting the issues since 1981 here.

The current run. So far, I've not been enthused with it. Silvestri took off after the third issue and the art has been all over the place in terms of consistency since. Aaron obviously is up on his Hulk history. But his dialogue is sometimes cringingly bad and there's a feeling of been-there-done-that with what little of the run there's been (issue #1 is almost a remake of a PAD issue from '97 [#454 precisely] right down to where a newly separated Hulk is trying to fit in and protect a savage race).

A BIG . For the first half of Jones' run the Hulk is a guest star who would show up every 2 to 4 issues, and when he did appear he had no personality or dialogue. The second half isn't much better, filled with inconsistencies and a feeling that the whole thing is being made up on the fly.


Art is wonderful, but the story, where Banner and the Hulk are separated causing the Hulk to revert from a stupid yet jolly green giant into a mindless non-speaking killing machine, is woeful. Also, Byrne left (or was fired from) the series abruptly. An interim writer named Al Milgrom had to tie up loose ends before Peter David took over. This Visionaries volume only collects the Byrne issues.

You can never go wrong with Peter David when it comes to the Hulk.

dishpan

thank you meglos! whatd you think of his portrayal in the avengers movie? (ive never actually seen the bixby show, which is what that link compares it to).

stingermck

David's run is so good. I loved how Banner just stayed the Hulk all the time.

I have read any Hulk since World War, and wouldnt know where to start now, but sounds like the current series is meh.

Meglos

I haven't seen The Avengers yet. Waitin' for the crowds to die down.

Spiderbite

What issues encompass the Peter David run?

Meglos

From the original run, issues 328; 331-359; 361-388; 390-467. After the series was restarted from a new #1 in the late 90s, PAD returned very briefly and scripted issues 77-87.

Spiderbite

Damn, that's a huge run. Time to break out my gitcorp disc. Thanks for the answer Meglos.

fujishig

Comixology hulk sale right now (one day). Includes planet hulk, wwh, and the PAD issues from his return a few years ago.