Broken Frontier

As Planet Hulk rages on, the Green Goliath and his team of gladiators come closer to gaining their freedom.

The heroes back on Earth are on the brink of Civil War, but Marvel’s most fearsome character is already in the throes of battle as a result of their double-crossing actions. Like the film, Gladiator, the Planet Hulk opening arc has its central character thrust into the limelight by placing him in a fight to the death with a formidable bunch of aliens from many worlds. The problem he has is that he isn’t "the strongest one there is" when he arrives because he’s been weakened by mysterious forces after slipping through the wormhole that has brought him to this new, savage planet. But as time goes on, the Hulk is able to adapt to the new environment, and before long this little planetary monarchy will certainly fall…

Incredible Hulk is fast becoming one of comicdom’s must read books. Writer Greg Pak has deftly managed to reintroduce an action-packed smashfest to the title while at the same time weaving historic characters and references while staying true to the central figure. Though the action is probably the highlight for most, it’s the little things like bringing in back-stories for a Brood and Korg that intertwine with former Marvel stories that is the real treat this issue. I like that the Hulk is allowed to use his brains as well as his brawn to adapt to nearly every situation that he is faced with.

Carlo Pagulayan’s version of the Hulk is spot on. He is bruised and battered and fierce and unflinching. Even if he was four feet tall, this is the look that would strike fear in someone where they to come face to face in a dark alley. Pagulayan and Huet also provide greatly detailed backgrounds and energetic action sequences without making it all too busy to bear.

There are a few guest artists that come on for the back-story sequences, and each works perfectly within their respective character’s context. For instance, Mike Oeming is currently doing a lot of mythology writing at Marvel, so with Korg’s telling of how he came across a hammer-wielding god when he was but a young Brick is fantastic.

Incredible Hulk is once again hitting on all cylinders. Each of the first three parts of Planet Hulk have been wonderfully exciting to read and look at, so if you’ve been on the fence about hopping onto the title, I can’t recommend doing so enough. Though it’s still early, this is easily the best the book has been since the historic Peter David run of the 80s and early 90s. And if the final page of this issue is any indication, the book will only get better.