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An Incredible Collection, for an Incredible Story Review by Steven
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As a long time comicbook reader, Planet Hulk was one of those stories that for the longest time kind of escaped me. I had heard of it, but just never got round to reading it, despite the fact I'm actually a pretty big fan of Hulk as a character, so I decided to pick this up. Sitting at 656 pages, this book is heavy, and not one that can be read comfortably, but really, what can you expect from an omnibus collection throwing everything revolving around one story in a single book?
Presented in chronological order, the story reads well, even when moving from the Fantastic Four issues into the main Incredible Hulk comic. That being said, what matters here is the story. Hulk's friends, Black Bolt, Reed Richards, Doctor Strange, and Tony Stark, got together in their dark Illuminati room and decided that Hulk was simply too dangerous to remain on Earth, so they tricked him into going up into space to fight an out of control robot or something, then trapped him in a rocket and shot him into space to a planet that was uninhabited by intelligent life and would bring Hulk the peace he had always sought. Something went wrong, and Hulk found himself on a war torn planet, thrust into the wargames of a tyrant.
"The monster saved them all. And in their fear, they betrayed him. As they always have. As they always will. This is the story of the Green Scar. The Eye of Anger. The World Breaker. Harkanon. Haarg. Holku ... ...Hulk. And how he finally came home."
It's a fantastic story with a flourishing new world rich in its own history and culture that you're only given snippets of because of the story driving forward. This isn't simply a "HULK SMASH!" story, this truly explores the complex nature of Hulk's rage and his ultimate strength, but also how he pursues peace, even among the madness that surrounds him. This is perhaps the only story that has truly understood what Hulk should be as a character.
The book is filled with informational pages adding more weight to the history and culture of the planet Sakaar which makes for fun reading for any comic nerd who just loves to take in as much information as they can. For any fan of comic books, and especially if you're a fan of the Hulk, you really need to pick this up. (Posted on 29/06/2018)