The ups and downs of the incredible hulk

After years of just being an acquaintance of the Hulk books,I finally decided to order it around the time Planet Hulk ended, thinking it was going to be a good idea, I was exited.

I was incredibly wrong.

Feel free to use this thread to express YOUR hulk ups and downs





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dpool666 wrote:
Feel free to use this thread to express YOUR hulk ups and downs.

I think Hulk sucks. I normally don't have such blunt feelings about any characters but Hulk is a remarkable exception. He sucks and has little that would interest me that i can't find somewhere else. It feels like I'm reading pro wrestling but without the witty banter. I dislike the whole "the angrier I get the stronger I get" deal because it takes too much suspense out from the story. Sure, the good guys win, but often times, it is through one means or another, especially when outmatched. With Hulk, he simply rages through things. Get turned into a statue? Rage it off and rage the bad guy out of existence. Have to fight a large group of baddies? Rage them out of existence. A thunder clap here and a ground smash there is not clever and has long stopped being impressive. The character's existence also seems pretty silly (if he doesn't want to be the Hulk, just find someone who will end him. There are people who can end him or do away with him). The worst part I think is that the character doesn't seem to have a pupose anymore. "Seperate himself from the Hulk"--been there done that and it did not end well. "Save people"---the only time the Hulk was interesting was when he showed the ability to interact with people normally. Sure, he was afraid of becoming unhinged but the fact that he was more than just a rampaging animal made him worth bothering with. "Being left alone"---this has been the main deal with Hulk for sometime. Again, let Dr. Strange send him to some utopian paradise with no one around. There are so many simple solutions to the problem that is Hulk to the point it's pretty annoying. So yeah, I don't get the point of the Hulk anymore. He was fun when I was a kid but in retrospect, he seems like a waste of time. And seeing people job to him and lose when they would normally otherwise put up a good fight reminds me of why I can't deal with pro wrestling -- the silliness of it keeps slapping you in the face like you're being pig-blapped. It keeps distracting you from enjoying the story. You have a hard time engaging yourself in it.

I'm sure people will pitch a fit, but that's how I feel. I went from being a hardcore fan to not caring over the years. That said, Hulk is good for video games, mostly because it's fun to knock things over and beat up people. I expect more than that from comics, however. And don't get me started on Red Hulk. I can't even consider him to be a true character. He seems far to much like ajoke to be real. Spider-pig is a much more interesting character than him.

true. true.

I think the Hulk has had his ups and downs. I thought Planet Hulk was outstanding but World War Hulk felt rushed and just not good at all. I would recommend to anyone Peter David's run on the Hulk. It was amazing. I think the concept of the Hulk was/is an amazing one though. He's basically Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde as a misunderstood superhero. I've read some of the older silver age Hulk stories and he's was interesting. I think the general problem is what to do with the character.

I liked Planet Hulk & WWHulk, but then I fizzled out with the launch of another event that just didn't interest me. Fall of the Hulks. Which my interest was quelled by mediocre writing coming not from just Loeb, Pak as well.

He's an alright character, writers just need to keep him transcended past his gimmick, which is anger and strength; this Jekyll/Hyde dynamic that gets very boring to see Bruce whine about over and over. Get over it.

I started with the first red hulk book, and it was a train-wreck from there on.


I kept hoping that the next issue was going to get better, but it NEVER DID.


Notify me when the hulk gets his Good Comic Book Shot.

sorry, had to repost

I think Hulk, more than most popular characters, needs the right writer to make him interesting. Hulk in the hands of the wrong writer can be turned into just a "Hulk Smash!" buffoon. There have been a few writers though that have really hit the mark with Hulk. Peter David and Greg Pak come to mind.

Planet Hulk was probably my favorite Hulk story of all time, and WWH wasn't as good but it was still pretty solid. Sadly, Loeb took over the Hulk franchise and it descended back into nonsense but its somewhat starting to get back on track now that Greg Pak is contributing more. To make Hulk interesting you have to explore the Jekyll and Hyde aspect of the character, and really get inside the head of Bruce Banner himself. Pak has done that really effectively recently.

And while Loeb butchered the Hulk franchise when he took over and made Red Hulk a borderline offensive character, surprisingly even he has improved recently in Fall of Hulks. Loeb is actually doing some character work on Red Hulk that has made him somewhat engaging (like his affection for Thundra and teamup with Banner). So its like that old adage: there aren't any bad characters, just bad writers.

^ See, I don't mind the inner-monologue of Banner, but how many stories are we going to see him "crying" over smashed milk. You become a monster, if you're that upset for that long, kill yourself. Just kidding. Just something different that hasn't been gone over is, of course, a plus. That's why Planet Hulk was so damned good, they actually got into Hulk's head for once, and it was refreshing.

BlueMaxx wrote:^ See, I don't mind the inner-monologue of Banner, but how many stories are we going to see him "crying" over smashed milk. You become a monster, if you're that upset for that long, kill yourself. Just kidding. Just something different that hasn't been gone over is, of course, a plus. That's why Planet Hulk was so damned good, they actually got into Hulk's head for once, and it was refreshing.

Well Banner lately has actually become really badass. He's done crying and taking shit from people, he's taking matters into his own hands now. So I think that's been a really interesting take.

Agreed on Planet Hulk though. We rarely get to get inside Hulk's head. I hate that Hulk lost his gladiator skills and intelligence after WWH. They were making so much progress with the character then it all got derailed by Loeb's run.

^ I hear that. I know that his staying Hulk had made him more focused, "smart," but I assumed that he'd flexed "that muscle" to where he could gain intelligable acuteness with ease. Sort of the happy-medium of Gray Hulk and keeping the foreshadowing of Maestro. Nope. Maybe they'll get back to that?

I agree with Bigtymin504 about the Hulk needing the right writer. You need someone that can give the character something interesting to do and I just don't think we're getting it right now with Loeb. Greg Pak did an amazing job with the character. Do did Peter David in the 90's. This character really needs a good writer more than other characters in my opinion.

jaydee74 wrote:This character really needs a good writer more than other characters in my opinion.

Because his theme is so linear and simplistic, it takes great storytelling to pull out the coolness of the character.

BlueMaxx wrote:

jaydee74 wrote:This character really needs a good writer more than other characters in my opinion.

Because his theme is so linear and simplistic, it takes great storytelling to pull out the coolness of the character.

I guess it does.

^ Man, for some reason, Jaydee, I thought you were DickGrayson. Heh.

BlueMaxx wrote:^ Man, for some reason, Jaydee, I thought you were DickGrayson. Heh.

The PoPper, DickGrayson, that is. Heh. He was all about Nightwing.

BlueMaxx wrote:The PoPper, DickGrayson, that is. Heh. He was all about Nightwing.

Ah. I do like the character of Dick Grayson. It's his 70th anniversary this year.

Didn't know that.

It's a pretty good drawing of Dick. Each time I see it I stop and stare at it. Who drew it?

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:I think Hulk sucks. I normally don't have such blunt feelings about any characters but Hulk is a remarkable exception. He sucks and has little that would interest me that i can't find somewhere else. It feels like I'm reading pro wrestling but without the witty banter. I dislike the whole "the angrier I get the stronger I get" deal because it takes too much suspense out from the story. Sure, the good guys win, but often times, it is through one means or another, especially when outmatched. With Hulk, he simply rages through things. Get turned into a statue? Rage it off and rage the bad guy out of existence. Have to fight a large group of baddies? Rage them out of existence. A thunder clap here and a ground smash there is not clever and has long stopped being impressive. The character's existence also seems pretty silly (if he doesn't want to be the Hulk, just find someone who will end him. There are people who can end him or do away with him). The worst part I think is that the character doesn't seem to have a pupose anymore. "Seperate himself from the Hulk"--been there done that and it did not end well. "Save people"---the only time the Hulk was interesting was when he showed the ability to interact with people normally. Sure, he was afraid of becoming unhinged but the fact that he was more than just a rampaging animal made him worth bothering with. "Being left alone"---this has been the main deal with Hulk for sometime. Again, let Dr. Strange send him to some utopian paradise with no one around. There are so many simple solutions to the problem that is Hulk to the point it's pretty annoying. So yeah, I don't get the point of the Hulk anymore. He was fun when I was a kid but in retrospect, he seems like a waste of time. And seeing people job to him and lose when they would normally otherwise put up a good fight reminds me of why I can't deal with pro wrestling -- the silliness of it keeps slapping you in the face like you're being pig-blapped. It keeps distracting you from enjoying the story. You have a hard time engaging yourself in it.

I'm sure people will pitch a fit, but that's how I feel. I went from being a hardcore fan to not caring over the years. That said, Hulk is good for video games, mostly because it's fun to knock things over and beat up people. I expect more than that from comics, however. And don't get me started on Red Hulk. I can't even consider him to be a true character. He seems far to much like ajoke to be real. Spider-pig is a much more interesting character than him.

Agreed. Not to mention Hulk being a hero makes no sense either. What's there for Banner to bitch about if Hulk is doing good deeds?

But alas, discussions about the Hulk tend to get mindnumbingly painful, so I'll leave it at that.

BlueMaxx wrote:Didn't know that.

Yup. Detective Comics #38, 1940

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:It's a pretty good drawing of Dick. Each time I see it I stop and stare at it. Who drew it?

I think it's George Perez.

LordD3r3k wrote:

Dr. Wade Fucking McNasty wrote:I think Hulk sucks. I normally don't have such blunt feelings about any characters but Hulk is a remarkable exception. He sucks and has little that would interest me that i can't find somewhere else. It feels like I'm reading pro wrestling but without the witty banter. I dislike the whole "the angrier I get the stronger I get" deal because it takes too much suspense out from the story. Sure, the good guys win, but often times, it is through one means or another, especially when outmatched. With Hulk, he simply rages through things. Get turned into a statue? Rage it off and rage the bad guy out of existence. Have to fight a large group of baddies? Rage them out of existence. A thunder clap here and a ground smash there is not clever and has long stopped being impressive. The character's existence also seems pretty silly (if he doesn't want to be the Hulk, just find someone who will end him. There are people who can end him or do away with him). The worst part I think is that the character doesn't seem to have a pupose anymore. "Seperate himself from the Hulk"--been there done that and it did not end well. "Save people"---the only time the Hulk was interesting was when he showed the ability to interact with people normally. Sure, he was afraid of becoming unhinged but the fact that he was more than just a rampaging animal made him worth bothering with. "Being left alone"---this has been the main deal with Hulk for sometime. Again, let Dr. Strange send him to some utopian paradise with no one around. There are so many simple solutions to the problem that is Hulk to the point it's pretty annoying. So yeah, I don't get the point of the Hulk anymore. He was fun when I was a kid but in retrospect, he seems like a waste of time. And seeing people job to him and lose when they would normally otherwise put up a good fight reminds me of why I can't deal with pro wrestling -- the silliness of it keeps slapping you in the face like you're being pig-blapped. It keeps distracting you from enjoying the story. You have a hard time engaging yourself in it.

I'm sure people will pitch a fit, but that's how I feel. I went from being a hardcore fan to not caring over the years. That said, Hulk is good for video games, mostly because it's fun to knock things over and beat up people. I expect more than that from comics, however. And don't get me started on Red Hulk. I can't even consider him to be a true character. He seems far to much like ajoke to be real. Spider-pig is a much more interesting character than him.

Agreed. Not to mention Hulk being a hero makes no sense either. What's there for Banner to bitch about if Hulk is doing good deeds?

But alas, discussions about the Hulk tend to get mindnumbingly painful, so I'll leave it at that.

I think Hulk works best as the misunderstood monster. Not 100% good and not 100% evil.