World War Hulk
By Jason Mott
July 17, 2007 - 00:05
Marvel Comics
Writer(s): Greg Pak
Penciller(s): John Romita Jr.
Inker(s): Klaus Janson
Cover Artist(s): Christina Strain
World War Hulk #1 
Well, after months of foreplay, World War Hulk is here. After having the good life blown out from under him by the very spaceship that the Illuminati used to eject him into space, the Hulk has finally made it back to Earth with revenge on his mind and a small alien army at his back. The first order of business: smash Blackbolt. Second order of business: smash Iron Man. Third order of business: more smashing. So, the question on everyone’s mind is “Is World War Hulk looking to be all it promised to be or is it just hype?” Well, so far, it’s shaping up to be everything a Hulk fan could ever want. After last year’s epic Civil War saga, a lot of people were a little worried that Marvel couldn’t follow up with another powerhouse storyline, but, right now, they’re well on their way to making this one terrific, smashtastic summer.
Pak and Romita do an outstanding job of building up a sense of grandeur and drama with World War Hulk #1. Everyone’s been waiting for the Hulk to make it back to Earth to see if the drama could live up to the advertisements, and Pak and Romita make it extremely worthwhile by complicating the moral issues as much as possible. Nothing about World War Hulk is very clear cut. The Illuminati thought they were sending the Hulk to a peaceful, uninhabited planet where he could be alone like he always wanted, but good intentions are known to fail. But Tony Stark is man enough to admit that not giving the Hulk a choice in the matter was wrong and deserving of the Hulk’s rage. So who’s in the right? Who’s in the wrong? It’s hard to tell and that makes this issue well worth the money.
And, if you’re not much into the morality of World War Hulk and you just want to see some good, old fashioned Hulk battles, WWH delivers on that too. Janson and Strain really manage to bring home the action in WWH #1. The panels are smooth and the action is beautiful. It’s an issue full of Earth-shattering explosions, cool anti-Hulk battle armors, a few airplanes launching missiles, and even a certain Inhuman ruler getting beat unconscious. Janson and Strain do the Hulk justice with this issue. Hopefully they can maintain it for the rest of the summer and really give the fans what they deserve.
Overall: 9 on 10. A great start. What Hulk fans have been waiting years for.
Related Articles:
World War Hulk #4
World War Hulk #3
World War Hulk #2 0f 5
World War Hulk
World War Hulk: World Breaker
World War Hulk
World War Hulk Coming
World War Hulk Preview