Incredible Hulk #611 - Marvel

This is a fitting conclusion to this title . . at least from my point of view, because it'll be the last one I pick up. I still have Hulk issues #24 and #25 coming up, but . . when I'm done with that . . I'm done with the Hulk. This was kind of a stretch for me anyways . . as far as following the characters. But I had picked up the new Hulk series from the beginning. And with this whole Hulk-War thing . . and the cross-over with this series . . I thought I'd follow it for a while and see what happens. But, I'm getting bored, and . . I need to cut back on some titles. So . . that's how I made the decision. However, that's not to say that I haven't enjoyed Greg Pak's stories. And I love Paul Pelletier's work. I think he's hugely underrated. It's been interesting watching them put together a 'Hulk-family' here. It also looks like Greg is going to be taking the Hulk in some new directions. After Bruce absorbs all of the Gamma-Radiation, to save the 'Hulked-Out' heroes, we find out that he's even stronger than before. So they bring in Skaar to take him out. After all, that's what Bruce has been training him for this whole time. But . . there's a complication. The Hulk is truly a monster, but . . he's also a very smart monster. He still has a lot of Bruce's intellect. He appears to no longer be the 'rampaging Hulk' of yesteryear. Like I said, it should be an interesting story, but . . I can no longer justify picking up these titles every month. I've enjoyed the ride, and I might be looking in on it every now and then. But it won't be consistently. But if I do pick it up . . I'll let you know what I think.

Incredible Hulk #610 - Marvel

We've had some great 'ah-ha' moments in the last few chapters of this story. We found out that the Red Hulk was actually General Ross. Actually not a big surprise. Although they did their best to steer us away from that assumption. Also, the Red She-Hulk is actually Betty. When we thought she died of cancer, her father had her put on ice . . literally. Until he came into contact with the Leader and MODOK and they performed some experiments on her. But at the end of last issue Skaar had stabbed her. Hey, it wasn't his fault. He didn't know who she was, and he was trying to save Bruce. She appears to be dying . . refusing to switch back to her other form. That is until Leonard Samson shows up, which really pisses her off. And you know what happens when any of the Hulks get pissed off. So anyways, in all of this confusion . . the attack of the Gamma radiated heroes, Bruce releases 4 of the 8 brilliant minds from their mind-jails, as created by the Leader. They figure out a way to reverse the effects of the Cathexis ray, as it will cause all of the recipients to go brain-dead within 24 hours. But the problem is, in order to suck off that much energy . . as it's also been combined with gamma-rays, they don't know if the ray can contain that much energy without exploding. So Bruce has to sacrifice himself. 'It was the only way, Reed. My body's the only thing on the planet that can absorb all this energy.' But once he absorbs it, you know what's going to happen . . right? The Hulk is back. But right before that happens we see Leonard sacrifice himself also, as even with Bruce's help the machine is coming apart. Anyways, with the Hulk back, the only one that seems really happy is Skaar. Remember, his mission is to kill the Hulk. He pulls out his knife, and with a big smile across his face says . . 'Finally!' He's finally going to get to do what he's been trained to do. What a cliff-hanger ending. We see the re-emergence of the Hulk, literally on the second to last page of the story. Aarrgghh! Where's the next chapter? Give it to me! NOW!! This was a fantastic issue by Greg Pak and Paul Pelletier. Now that everything has been revealed . . it's all been revealed . . right? . . now we get to see just how they're going to wrap all of this up. Unfortunately I don't want to buy all the World War Hulks cross-overs next month. There's 4 of them, where the Hulked out Heroes battle one another . . Spider-man vs Thor, pts 1 & 2 . . and Wolverine vs Captain America, pts 1 & 2. So I'm going to try to go without, and see if I can still comprehend the story. Unless of course I can find them on E-bay . . cheap. I guess we'll have to wait and see. In the meantime I can't wait for Hulk #23, and issue #611 of this book. They should both be great chapters. But come on . . you knew what was going to happen by the cover . . right?

HULK #22 - Marvel

Almost this entire issue is spent with the Red Hulk battling all the various Hulked-Out-Heroes. There's a little bit of personal analysis on his part, but . . nothing really that we haven't heard before. We do see however that Doc Samson has apparently outlived his usefulness to the Intelligencia. It was his Cathaxis Ray that turned all of these heroes into Hulks. And the Leader is confident that the combination of Gamma radiation and Cosmic rays will burn them out and they'll all die. We'll see how that works out for him. Also Samson is worried about the psychological affects of sending the Red She Hulk in to kill the Red Hulk. 'Her psyche is to fragile. If she were to actually murder him . . .' The problem is, somewhere along the line the Leader fell in love with her. He'll never admit it, but . . it's clouded his decisions. Now we all know that the Red She Hulk is actually Betty. We found that out in Incredible Hulk #609. But we don't know who the Red Hulk is. But obviously it's somebody close to her. That leaves 2 people . . Talbot, or her father. Supposedly her father is dead, but . . deaths have been faked before. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Anyways, they get in a battle and as happens with the Red Hulk when he gets mad, he starts to overheat. He really has no way to release the energy, other than calming down. But the Red She Hulk decides that she's going to siphon off that energy instead . . and everything else that he's got. She figures that when his power has been dispersed she'll kill him. But when she looks, she sees her father's face. The Red Hulk is actually General Ross. Not a huge surprise, but . . we'll find out more next issue when they give us the origin of the Red Hulk. Jeph Loeb has done a great job with this series. It's hard to believe that he's kept this under wraps for 22 issues. I know there were hints and clues out there, but . . they were all rather vague. And usually ended up pointing towards 2 or 3 people, rather than just one. But now . . the cat's out of the bag . . as it were. But I don't think this is anywhere near the end of the story. In fact, I'm sure Jeph considers this . . only the beginning . . a 22 issue introduction. Now the fun can start. By the way, terrific job on the art by Ed McGuinness. But I expected nothing less.

Incredible Hulk #609 - Marvel

This issue we bounce back and forth between the real world, and the fantasy world that the Leader has locked all of these great minds into. In the fantasy world, Bruce has everything that he ever hoped for. He's recognized academically, as well has having a loving family with Betty and their 2 kids. Things seem a little bit off, but . . he's happy with what he has, so . . he's not fighting it very much. That is until Doom brings it to his attention that apparently everyone else that stuck in here seems to be getting dumber. In the end, Bruce creates the device to get them out, but he has a tough time making the choice of leaving or staying. In the end, he decides he loves the real Betty more than the one in this world. And out in the real world, A-Bomb and Skaar are trying to stand up to the Hulked-Out-Heroes. Well, that and Talbot has created an army of Hulked-Out-Soldiers which he intends on using to follow through with a coup on the government. I didn't realize that he was that ambitious. Anyways, Rick needs Bruce's help so he eventually makes his way to where the Leader is holding them. He arrives just as Bruce has broken free of the brain-draining device. And he still has enough fortitude to defeat Doom shortly thereafter. But the Savage Red She-Hulk is not far behind Rick. And Skaar is right behind her. In trying to protect his father he shoves his blade through the gut of the Red She-Hulk. And as she lays dying it's revealed that it's actually . . Betty. I have to say . . I didn't see that one coming. Now we need to see a story on how this happened, and how she was talked in to, or coerced into doing this. I thought this was an interesting story by Greg Pak. And the art by Paul Pelletier was fantastic. I'm not sure how long I'll keep following this story, but . . for now . . it's holding my interest.

Fall of the Hulks - Red Hulk #4 - Marvel

To me, this seemed like the most ingenious part of Bruce's plan. Back at the Leader's headquarters, Sam keeps going through scenario after scenario, but in each one of them, just when they think they've been assured victory, the Hulk comes back and kills him. He's gone through this over 400 times, and it happens each and every time. The systems seem to be working fine, but . . we don't know for sure, but it looks like the Red Hulk may have mucked with the programming. Anyways, without a clear outcome here, they decide to go in search of Lyra's time machine. You remember, the one hidden out in the desert. Well, the reason they want it is because they want to look a year into the future and see what the outcome of their struggle is. What they find is an image that's very thorough and convincing that they will achieve everything that they hope for. The world will truly be their oyster. However, what they don't know is that this whole thing was programmed by Bruce. He and the Red Hulk played them, knowing that they wouldn't enter into any battle without assurances that they would be successful. And the purpose of his little ruse . .'We just planted a self-destruct device . . overconfidence.' I thought it was brilliantly played by Bruce. I just got on Jeff Parker for his story in Hulked Out Heroes, but . . I thought he did a great job with this one. I liked the way he had Bruce, rather than attacking the Intelligencia head-on, picking away at them from the sides and the edges. Overall I thought it was a good issue, and an interesting part of this Fall of the Hulks story-line. I also enjoyed Carlos Rodriguez' art. Now I'm really looking forward to Hulk and Incredible Hulk in May.

Hulked Out Heroes #2 - Marvel

Last issue ended with Deadpool . . er, Hulkpool . . about to mess up a very important moment in the history of Captain America and Bucky. This issue . . he completely screws it up. But it's not entirely his fault. It's also Bob's fault . . his HYDRA lackey who's trying to operate the time machine. And then when Bob tries to bring Hulkpool into the present, he completely messes up every important moment in the age of heroes . . the pivotal moments which set them upon a course as heroes and icons. But . . no more! Of course after he screws up the first one or two we realize that he's now operating in a separate time-line. But since Bob can't figure out how to work this machine, he certainly can't figure that part out. It isn't until it's pointed out to him by an AIM agent . . his timeline has also changed and HYDRA is no more . . that's when he realizes how bad he messed things up. So . . he gets Hulkpool back, and they both leave. I thought Jeff Parker wrote kind of a disappointing story. In my opinion, anyways. We don't get to see any of the other Hulked out heroes . . except in the Hulk #22 preview . . but none in the story. Like I said last time, I'm not sure why this wasn't done as a Deadpool mini-series. That would've at least made sense. Anyways, to me, the best part of this book was Humberto Ramos' art. I like his stuff, and he got to draw some pretty neat panels for this issue. Ok . . I'll admit it. I was duped into picking up this series. It's my own fault. But, hey . . everyone's a sucker now and then. Right?

World War Hulk: Hulked Out Heroes #1 - Marvel

This is yet another one that I was planning on passing on. I try not to get drawn in to everything. But . . as fortune would have it, I again found another variant on E-bay for 99 cents. When that happens . . how can I say no? So . . here we are. But, I have to say, I was kind of disappointed in this one. I thought we'd see all the various Hulked Out Heroes in this issue . . banging heads, and taking names . . but his one revolves mostly around Deadpool . . er, sorry . . Hulkpool. He's got his AIM friend, Bob with him, and his plan is to use Thundra's time device . . you know, the one that the Red Hulk buried in that rock in the desert . . and use it to go back in time and kill himself. I know . . not a very well thought out plan. Anyways, Bob tries to help him out, but he's not familiar with the device . . so, things go awry. First Hulkpool ends up in 1717, where Dr Doom had sent the FF one time to retrieve Blackbeard's treasure. He ends up teaming up with Thingbeard for a short time, and they're the scourge of the seas. Until Bob attempts to retrieve them. From there they end up in prehistoric times with Dino and Moon Boy. Bob's next retrieval sends them into the Wild West, circa 1873, where Hawkeye has been sent back in time and is doing target practice with the Two-Gun Kid. But Bob's afraid that he's going to mess up the time-stream so he tries to send all of them back to their respective times. Which he appears to have accomplished, but . . Hulkpool ends up in 1945 and inadvertantly stops Captain America from rescuing Bucky from his fateful trip on the missle. Next issue is titles . . "Goodbye, History!" Anyways, it was an interesting issue. It was filled with the usual humor that surrounds Deadpool. But . . it wasn't at all what I expected. I thought the story by Jeff Parker was just a little bit . . scattered. I'm not sure what the purpose of all this is. And I don't understand why this wouldn't have been presented in a Deadpool mini. It's not like there isn't already 5 or 6 Deadpool titles coming out next month. So, it left me a little confused . . not just about the story, but also about it's motivations. Although I will say that Humberto Ramos' art was fantastic . . as usual. To me that was easily the best part of the story. I'll probably end up picking up #2 . . just because I'm a completest . . which is why I try not to even get started on things sometimes. So . . we'll see what happens. But I don't know what this has to do with the World War Hulks storyline. Other than that he was transformed through the Red Hulks energy. But I can't see what that has to do with the rest of the storyline. Oh well . . it is what it is.

World War Hulks #1 - Marvel

I said I was going to stay away from this book. That I wasn't going to get dragged in to even more titles. But then . . it appealed to me on another level, beside curiosity . . my cheapness. I had bought a couple of books from a guy on E-Bay, and got this one for 99 cents. How could I possibly pass that up? Even splitting the shipping between the books I bought, this one was only $1.99. I'm sorry I couldn't pass up a deal like that. As with the X-Nation mini series, this book is set up to fill us in on the developments of the other characters affected by the main story . . World War Hulks. This book bring us stories about A-Bomb and Marlo, Glenn Talbot and Bruce's wife Betty, Leonard Samson and the Red She-Hulk, and Deadpool (?). Although, Deadpool isn't actually involved until he goes on a raid of the hellicarrier with the Red Hulk and becomes a part of the Hulked Out Heroes. Consequently his story leads directly into that title. The book was ok. I don't think that there was really any information shared that we hadn't already heard . . or suspected. But in my mind, it definitely puts Glenn as the front-runner for the identity of the Red Hulk. I might be reading more into it than I care to admit, but . . it seems like all arrows are pointing in his direction right now. Anyways, it's filled with a slew of talent. The writers include Jeff Parker, Harrison Wilcox, Scott Reed and Paul Tobin. The artists include Zach Howard, Ben Oliver, Aluir Amancio, Ramon Rosanas, Ryan Stegman and Ig Guara. They're mostly new talents, but . . I think that's the point. It was an interesting book. But . . I was glad that I only paid 99 cents for it.

Red Hulk #3 - Marvel

So far . . I've enjoyed most of this Fall of the Hulks storyline. Although they're starting to add some periphery titles that they want the reader to buy. You know . . in order to get the whole story. But I say . . don't do it. Even now I'm questioning why the Red Hulk has this mini-series. On the Hulk title, that's basically been about the Red Hulk since issue #1. So why does he need this mini-series to tell more of his story? Well . . I know why . . to sell more books. It was kind of a rhetorical question. But it does seem kind of devious. Anyways, having said that . . I actually enjoyed this issue. In Jeff Parker's story this issue Bruce is trying to figure out if the Intelligencia did, if anything, to Rick to program him to be a problem for he and the Red Hulk's plans. So A-Bomb goes and attacks the Red Hulk, acting like his mind is reverting because of what's been done to his body. But really, it's all just a ruse to try to get the Red Hulk to talk about some of the information that he knows about his construction by AIM. As it turns out Doc Samson did give him a little programming. At the worst possible moment Rick has been order to kill Bruce. Bruce's plan is to figure out what the trigger is, activate it, and then try to talk Rick through it. To make him realize what he's doing and choose to opt out of the programming of his own accord. Needless to say the plan works, and they feel like they can celebrate a small victory over the Leader. I thought it was an interesting story. The focus of the conflict and the resolution really rested on the relationship between Bruce and Rick. The Red Hulk was really just here to serve as a catalyst. But obviously this story takes place before Hulk #21 and Incredible #608. Although I'm not really sure why it came out afterwards. And therein lies my only complaint about this whole story-line. The scheduling of the books doesn't seem to be all that organized. It seems like as long as you read the books from the same month together, it doesn't really matter what order you read them in. The story doesn't really flow from issue to issue. To me, that just seems like a mistake. But that's just my opinion. Anyways, I did enjoy this issue. The art was by Carlos Rodriguez and Fernando Blanco.

Hulk #21 - Marvel

Well . . in Incredible Hulk #608 we got the story from Bruce's point of view. This issue fills us in on what the Red Hulk was up to at the time. We start out showing how the plan all came together . . how the Red Hulk contacted Bruce to ask for his help. To give Bruce a reason to trust him, he had to show him who he really was. We don't see that part of the story, but Red Hulk is surprised that Bruce wasn't more shocked. 'He barely changed is expression. All he said was . . where's Betty?' Which is how the Red Hulk pulled Bruce in . . he told him that he knew where they were keeping Betty. Anyways, they split up, and I think the Red Hulk's part in the plan is to release Jen and Betty. But he finds that Jen is nowhere to be found, and Doc Samson has been waiting for the Red Hulk to show up. He uses the Thinker's Gammaroid and the Robot Hulk to bring the Red Hulk down. After which he attaches him to the Cathexis Ray to drain off all of his energy. This in turn they use on the captured members of the X-Men and the Fantastic Four to turn them into Hulked-out heroes. They were the third part of Bruce's plan, but shortly after breaking in to the hellicarrier they were captured in the Intelligencia's trap. I was wrong in the last post. I assumed that they had flooded the East coast with their changing ray. But apparently they had some very specific targets. That included a lot of 'heroes' and 'good-guys', but . . it also included AIM volunteers and AI Marines to create their own army of Hulks. Fortunately the Red Hulk was thinking ahead and brought a back-up plan . . Deadpool. Unfortunately . . he's also Hulked-out. So now the Red Hulk is afraid that this whole time he's been played. That by acting the way he has he's fallen right into the Leader's plans. He's done everything exactly as they'd expected him to do, and now . . 'This country . . which I gave an oath to serve . . will fall into a military coup which I designed. The Intelligencia has won.' But don't worry. We aren't even near the end of this story yet. We still have about 3 months, and 12 or so issues to go before we get anywhere near the end of all of this. Like I keep saying, Jeph Loeb has done an incredible job of keeping the important details of this story-line under wraps. Anymore it's almost impossible to second guess what his plans may be here. I guess we're just going to have to ride it out and wait. I also enjoyed Ed McGuinness' art. It was fantastic, as usual. My only complaint is that I wish we'd get some less-vague clues. Throw us a bone. Please!

Incredible Hulk #608 - Marvel

Well . . with this issue, it looks like things have gone from bad to worse. And, unfortunately . . it appears that I'm going to be forced to buy another addendum to this story . . World War Hulks #1. As you know, I try to keep out of these big myopic storylines of Marvel's as they usually don't really amount to any kind of significant change. They just take up time and space and force me to buy a bunch of books that I later regret. However, since I'm already reading the Hulk, I figured that I'd at least buy the Incredible title through this run, so I'm not as lost. Which unfortunately has lead me into the Red Hulk mini-series. And now, after the Alpha and Gamma issues, one of it's first addendum's. However, I'm going to try not to get sucked into the Hulked Out Heroes 2-issue mini. I gotta draw the line someplace. Right? Anyways, Bruce attempts to rescue Betty, but appears unsuccessful. However . . it's really all just a ruse. Bruce's rescue attempt is actually being performed by Amadeus Cho, while he himself is attacking the Leader. He's also somehow talked Lyra into helping him out. But in the process may have alienated Skaar. 'What's going on? You already know . . lies! I've deceived all of you. Used all of you. My best friends . . the heroes I most admire in the world . . and my only son. Because if any of you knew all the different angles I'm playing . . you'd never trust me again. But I've wrapped my brain around this a billion times . . and this is the only way . . the only possible chance I have to save the world . . and my wife.' But then things really go to hell. We don't know that it was the Red Hulk's fault, but . . it appears to be. He was supposed to be the final piece in stopping the Intelligencia. But instead they've activated their ultimate weapon and turned everyone on the East Coast . . civilians and heroes alike, into Hulked out versions of themselves. However, somewhere along the line . . we find out on the final page that Bruce is actually hooked up to the Leader's brain machine. The question is . . when did that happen, and how much of this story was just a dream? And . . I'm thinking, this may all still be part of Bruce's plans. Only he would have a big enough ego to think that once connected to the Leader's machine that he'd be able to recognize the dream-scape and affect it from within. I'm just guessing, but . . I could see that happening. I really enjoyed Greg Pak's story this issue. And as always I continue to be impressed by Paul Pelletier's pencils. This guy definitely does not get the credit that he deserves. We also get a back-up tale of the Red She-Hulk's first mission. You know, when they attacked X-Force. It kind of fills in a few holes, and . . we get to see Red She-Hulk and Domino naked. Well . . sort of. It's by Harrison Wilcox and Ryan Stegman.

Red Hulk #2 - Marvel

This issue gives us everything we ever wanted to know . . whether we knew it or not . . about Thundra. I'm sorry. I don't mean for that to sound overly negative. To tell you the truth . . I really didn't know all that much about this character. Anyways, if you know all of this . . I'm sorry, but . . Thundra comes from the future. And a world who's race is dying. So . . she came back in time for a DNA sample from the strongest man she could think of . . the Hulk. Which leads us up to the ending of the previous issue . . in which the Red Hulk reveals to Bruce that he has a daughter, Lyra. Apparently, after Thundra retrieved her sample, the time machine failed her when she tried to return to the future. Which is how she came to be stuck in our time and helping out the likes of the Intelligencia. Now it appears that the Leader and his ilk are trying to retain here services. Probably just for her sheer power. So while they could probably easily send her back to her own time . . instead they're trying to negotiate with her. And, for some reason . . the Red Hulk is trying to help her return. Probably for the exact opposite of the Leader . . he's trying to remove his 'big hitters'. Anyways, through the course of this issue, along with Thundra and Lyra's story, we get a little more insight into the Leader's plans, and . . that of the Red Hulk. I thought it was an ok book, but . . I didn't feel like it really progressed the story-line at all. Actually, it just seemed like more of an informational journey. Jeff Parker wrote it, with Carlos Rodriquez doing the art. So . . I'll most likely stick with this one through it's short run. I am interested in the story. But . . afterwards I'll probably go back to my one HULK issue purchase.

Hulk #20 - Marvel

I'm doing these in reverse order, but . . it doesn't really matter. If you're picky about continuity though, you should read this issue before Incredible Hulk #607. I know . . I keep saying that I'm not going to get sucked into the 'epic' story-lines. But . . I really like this title. I think Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness have done a terrific job. The problem though is that everything that's been happening throughout these 20 issues have all been leading to this. So while everything has been mysterious and cryptic . . it's all been necessary to lead us up to these events. And since I'd probably be picking up the Red-Hulk mini-series anyways, I just figured I'd pick up these cross-over issues of the Incredible Hulk also. However, I will not be picking up the Savage She-Hulks mini. I have to draw the line somewhere. Right? Plus I'm sure I'll get the gist of the story from these other 3 titles. They do have the recap in the front and the back of every issue, so . . I think I can piece it together. Anyways, this issue we find out that the Intelligencia, the group that's trying to gather up the 8 smartest men in the world, are playing both the Red-Hulk and Bruce Banner. Apparently the Red-Hulk was instrumental in putting this group, and it's plans, together in the first place. But then they decided they didn't need him and kicked him out. Now he's gone to the one person they would least expect him to ask for help from . . Bruce. However they both play into the Intelligencia's plans this issue when they decide to go after T'Challa and Hank in Wakanda. They're both there celebrating Ororo's birthday. They've already got Doom and Reed, so this would bring them up to 4 of 8. Their collection is half complete. And the way that the X-Men and Red-Hulk play into their hands this issue . . basically allowing them to make off with their targets . . Jeph did a great job of orchestrating this cluster. And we find out that because of their alliance, the Intelligencia expects that the animosity between Bruce and the Red-Hulk will eventually turn their greatest enemy into their greatest ally. Plans within plans . . wheels within wheels. So far I'm enjoying this story, even if I don't really know exactly what's going on . . yet.

Incredible Hulk #607 - Marvel

Stop! If you're reading this post, read the Hulk #20 post first. I read and posted these 2 books backwards, but it wasn't until after I had read them both that I realized what I had done. Oops! Sorry! It happens. Anyways, in the Hulk, the Intelligencia have obtained T'Challa and Hank. So they now have 4 of their 8 smartest men. But I'm wondering, since they've discounted Tony because of what he's going through right now . . who will make up the other four? I can think of Hank Pym and Bruce Banner, but I'm at a loss for the other 2. Unless they're bad guys. Anyways, this issue Dr Pym has taken the bait and uses one of the infinite mansions doors to bring him right to the Intelligencia's doorstep. They parlay back and forth with technological genius and gadgets, but eventually the Intelligencia escape, without Dr Pym being able to follow. Plus he has bigger threats to worry about . . the She-Hulk is attacking the Avengers right now. Dr Pym goes back to help them, and that's when Bruce and Skaar show up. He knew that they'd go after Dr Pym next, and he's come to intercept. But the She-Hulk shoots Dr Pym with a ray that does to him pretty much what the Intelligencia did to Doom . . they're trying to drain his brain functions. However, in Dr Pym's case it's also sent him into seizures. So the side-effects are . . it could kill him. Bruce forms a temporary alliance with the She-Hulk, so he can help Pym. But Henry's suspects that there's something up. He calls in the rest of the Avengers. A melee ensues, but the point is . . when Bruce stabilizes Pym, the She-Hulk grabs him up and takes off. Afterwards, Bruce has to try to convince the Avengers that he's actually trying to fix this situation. So he fills them in on the whole story. He appeals to the 'loves' that they have all lost and tells them that Betty is still alive. He's got a tracker on her DNA. The issue ends with the whole group ready to attack and retrieve. I thought this was an interesting issue. The Intelligencia are up to 5 now . . but I'm not sure where they go from here. Greg Pak did a good job with the story, and I absolutely loved Paul Pelletier's art. It looked fantastic. Probably some of the best I've ever seen from this guy. And I already thought he was good. So now we've got about 5 issues, and a month's time, to go in this story-line. I've enjoyed it so far. I just hope that the ending pays off. I just don't know that we're going to get answers to all our unanswered questions here. Some . . but not all.

Red Hulk #1 - Marvel

This issue actually takes place before Incredible Hulk #606. Which I read last week. This one basically brings us up to speed on this Cosmic Hulk . . the robot that the Leader and MODOK have absconded for their own purposes. However . . I'm thinking that may come back to bite them in the ass, sooner or later, as Galactus is the one that originally designed and built this things. Well . . not the Hulk-bot, but the program that's dwelling inside of it . . the vessel cosmos automaton. Basically, it's a data-loop that looks for intelligent life to build it a host-body. The Mad Thinker is the one who actually built this one. However, after doing it, he didn't remember why or how he did it. So he was distrustful and locked it away. Anyways, I'm thinking Galactus may come after his program sooner or later, because . . when we're getting caught up on the history of this thing, we find out that this was originally designed to be a herald of sorts for Galactus. However, he had problems with it because it was often pirated and re-purposed for whomever found it. And more often than not it was sent back against it's creator. So I'm thinking, I'm sure Galactus has to be aware that it's active again. I'm thinking that it's only a matter of time before he comes after his property. Anyways, we also get a view of how MODOK keeps himself alive and fit . . through the re-purposing of the organs of an unlimited cadre of clones. Later when Bruce, A-Bomb and the Red-Hulk are trying to come up with a plan on what to do about this thing. the Red-Hulk suggests that besides his son Skaar, they probably need to call in Bruce's other sibling . . his daughter, the all-new Savage She-Hulk. I'm sure this is going to be an interesting family reunion. This book was ok. Jeff Parker supplied us with a whole lot of information this issue. Maybe that's why I had a hard time getting in to it. It seemed more like an entry into the History of the Marvel Universe, than a story about the Red-Hulk. This is his solo-book, afterall. Right? But this issue was kind of put together as a history lesson . . retroactive continuity. Carlos Rodriguez did a decent job with the art. I guess I just expected more from the first issue of a series. But . . we are right in the middle of a major epic unfolding, so . . I guess we get what we get right now. We'll see what happens next time.

HULK #19 - Marvel

Ok, apparently I missed Fall of the Hulks: Alpha. So this one brought me up to speed on the alliance with MODOK, the Leader and the group that's now called the Intelligencia. Basically, it's the Frightful Four . . the Leader, Claw, Lyra instead of Thundra, and the Trapster . . along with MODOK, Leonard Samson and the Red She-Hulk. Apparently, General Ross was in on this also until he was killed last issue. And, the Red-Hulk is the one who put this whole group together. Until he was betrayed and kicked out. So anyways . . the plan that they're executing right now is to take out the 8 smartest men in the world . . remove them from the playing board. That will allow them to launch their real plan without interference. Which is why they sent the Robot Hulk after Doom in Incredible Hulk #606. This issue . . they go after Reed Richards. Each member of the Frightful Four take out one of the members of the FF. Unfortunately, the Trapster goes after Ben Grimm. That fight doesn't last very long. But then Ben finds himself facing the door to the Negative Zone that the Leader opened up. He's handles this before, but never alone. Luckily . . and unluckily . . the Red-Hulk shows up. He doesn't tell Ben what's going on, but he does tell him that this has all been a distraction. When everything finally settles down they find out that Reed has been abducted. Again this book is narrated through the Red-Hulk's head. Where we find out that he's not actually trying to stop the Intelligencia. He wants their plan to succeed. But . . I think he knows where the weak point is . . the point where he'll step in and take over . . without having to do the work. So why did he save the rest of the FF? Ben asks him the same question. Before leaping out of the building the Red-Hulks tells him . . 'I have my reasons. There'll be a time, soon. Sooner than you'll like or be comfortable with . . when you're going to wish I didn't pull you out of the zone. That I let you die in there. That's how bad it's going to get . .' And then he goes back to the cave where he's been meeting up with Banner. I know Bruce is a lot smarter than this Red-Hulk so I have to imagine that he knows that Rulk's got alterior motives to their alliance. It'll be interesting to see how Bruce manipulates the whole thing. I imagine that the first 18 issues have lead up to all of this. That's why Jeph Loeb has been so enigmatic about giving us to much information. Which, to me, makes this one of the best issues in this series to date. I think we got more information out of this one issue than we have for the whole time leading up to this. That's not to say I didn't like the other issues. They just left me with a lot more questions than answers. Plus . . I absolutely love Ed McGuiness' art.

Incredible Hulk #606 - Marvel

Honestly . . I wasn't going to pick up this issue, but . . I'm afraid that if I only pick up the one Hulk title, I'll probably be lost. Plus, I noticed that Paul Pelletier does the art this issue. I love his style. Even way back in the old Ex-Mutants books I thought the guy had potential. But his art in this issue was leaps and bounds from those old books. This whole issue looked fantastic. Plus . . I'll probably pick up the Red-Hulk book, so . . if I'm going to pick up 2, I might as well get the third. Anyways, this book is all about Bruce's endeavor to teach his son, Skaar, to be a hero. The story starts out in Times Square as Skaar, and the Fantastic Four, are facing a hero's welcome. However, Bruce is ambiguous. He remembers when he got a hero's welcome as the Hulk for saving the world. He knows that the adulation is fleeting. Plus . . Betty always kept him grounded. And with her not around . . . but, then he thinks he sees her in the crowd. Shortly after a Watcher shows up. He's tries to dig into the mystery, but then he's transported to the Red Hulk. They talk and banter a bit, and then he's transported to Latervia. This is where we get to the real meat of the story. In Latervia, Doom is being attacked by a Hulk robot. It's been given the power cosmic and sent to test him by MODOK and the Leader. Skaar shows up and also attacks Doom because he doesn't know that this isn't his real father. Doom siphons off the power behind the robot, and then uses his magiks to change Skaar into his child-form. By that time Bruce shows up. But, as Doom begins to attack him, he finds out that the Leader also put a little virus in with the Cosmic power, knowing that Doom wouldn't be able to resist garnering it. Basically . . it gradually turns Doom dumb. As he's attacking Bruce . . he forgets the spell. Which leaves Bruce to talk to his real son. He finds out that as much as Bruce has been keeping an eye on him, so to has Skaar been watching his father. The boy hates Skaar for what he did back on that planet, but he hates his father even worse for luring him here. And he knows that he's only doing it to somehow try to save, or bring back, Betty. And then . . they're off to save the Avengers. I really like Greg Pak's story here. I didn't understand everything that was going on, but . . the meat of the story, the relationship between Bruce and Skaar, was there. And despite everything else, it seems like that's what this issue was all about. It was entertaining. I think that this will be an interesting story-line.

Fall of the HULKs: Gamma - Marvel

This book I just picked up for the heck of it. I'm not sure that I'll be following this storyline, but I thought I'd pick up the first book and see what it's all about. Plus, since I do read the HULK regularly, I thought it might give me some insight as to what will be going on in that book . . or maybe some answers. The main part of this book was spent on Thunderbolt Ross' funeral. It appears that he had put on the Redeemer Armor and tried to beat the Red Hulk. He almost did to . . until he played his hand to early and showed the Red Hulk who he was. This got the Red Hulk mad enough that he killed him. At least that's what we're being told by Leonard Samson. Me? I don't believe it. In the last issue of the HULK, Red Hulk decided that he needed to shake things up . . to do something unexpected. So . . he went to Bruce Banner for help. We also find out in this issue that the Red Hulk was part of a concentrated effort. He was never working solo. This group includes MODOK, the Red She-Hulk, Lyra, the Leader, and . . Leonard Samson and General Ross. Not to mention a few other villains. Plus, the way that Bruce and the Red Hulk are talking at the end of the book, I don't think that the General is dead because . . I still think that he may be the Red Hulk. I know I'm probably way off base, but . . that's what I think. Oh yeah . . we also find out that Betty's not actually dead. After the funeral she and Glenn go to visit her father's grave. I thought this was an interesting book. I'm not exactly sure what this whole thing is all about, but . . I guess we'll be finding out more in the months to come. Plus, if you think about it, there are an awful lot of Hulks running around out there right now. Who'd have thought that it would have ever come to that? Anyways, this book is by Jeph Loeb and John Romita Jr. Maybe I'll see what the next issue holds before I decide not to follow this story-line. We'll see!

HULK #18 - Marvel

Over the last couple of issues we've found out that Doc Samson is playing a pretty big role in all the stuff that's been happening here. I don't necessarily think that he's the Red Hulk. But . . as we see this issue, he's got his own inner demons that he's battling. And it appears that now . . now that he's decided to cast off his the altruistic part of his personality . . now he's decided to just call himself Leonard. That's pretty much what this whole issue was about . . Leonard, sitting through a psychiatric session . . going over his feelings about his evolution, his fights with the HULK, his unrequited love for Betty Ross and numerous other deeds and accomplishments. The twist is . . at the end, we find out that he's really just talking to himself. This whole little scenario has been playing out in his own head. A head, and personality, that's become quite egotistical and narcissistic. And . . somehow, and for some reason he's being manipulated by MODOK. I really don't know what that's all about. Anyways, Jeph Loeb is weaving a fantastic tale through this book. He's kept us in the dark for 18 issues now, and it doesn't look like we're going to be seeing daylight any time soon. He's given us just enough hints to try to piece things together, but basically it's like we're trying to put a puzzle together in the dark. We can feel the pieces fitting together, but . . we have no idea what the overall picture is. Whilce Portacio fills in on the art this issue. Of course he did a great job. This book is interesting. It's frustrating. But it's interesting.

HULK #17 - Marvel

I like this book. I really do. I think Jeph Loeb is a fantastic writer, and I really love Ian Churchill's work. But the frustrating thing about this book is . . here we are 17 issues into it, and . . we still don't know who the Red Hulk is. We've been able to cancel out a lot of our suspicions. But the only real hints we get are vague . . to say the least. And now we have another mystery . . who is the Red She-Hulk? Anyways, last issue, and this one, we find out that Doc Samson, who works for the same people that the Red-Hulk does has double-crossed them . . and him. We don't really know why. The only thing I can think is that he also doesn't know the Red Hulk's secret. Maybe he thought that if he got to Domino first that he'd be able to drag it out of her. The Red Hulk thinks that he's doing it at their request because they want to show him that they can lead him around by the nose. Yes he's very powerful, but . . they still control him. And . . I think they want to show him that he's expendable. The whole issue the Red Hulk is comparing what he's been going through to that of what Bruce went through when the world first found out that he was the Hulk. The loneliness, the isolation . . I think it's all starting to get to him. This issue started out with Thundra being the only one on his side . . truly there to help him. However, after a little speech by Elektra at the end of the book . . the Red Hulk is going to make good on his promises to the Crimson Dynamo, Deadpool and the Punisher. 'Whatever else you think of your "team", you need all the friends you can get. Or at least less enemies to be gumming up your plans. For now, I'll take an IOU. Having "the strongest there is" on my side someday . . is worth more than what you owe me.' And at the end he makes a decision. 'Everything I've worked for since Banner's Hulk declared war on the world will have to be brought down. I'm going to have to forge an alliance with the last person anyone will expect . . since I can't do it alone.' I think he's going to team up with . . the Hulk. Anyways, I think it was a good book. It brought a lot to light. Not enough to figure out the 'secret', but . . it gave us an insight into the character of the person behind the Red Hulk. That's better than nothing . . I guess.