World Famous Comics: The Incredible Hercules (World War Hulk)
The Incredible Hercules (World War Hulk)
By: Greg Pak Publisher: Marvel Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Marvel Comics Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 152 Publication Date: June 18, 2008 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: When the Hulk returns to Earth for the senses-shattering events of World War Hulk, we can all guess which puny humans will fight against him. But which of Earth's heroes will fight for the Hulk? Don't miss the shocking revelations as Amadeus Cho, the boy genius who took on Reed Richards on behalf of the Hulk in Incredible Hulk #100, confronts She-Hulk and Doc Samson - and precipitates a gamma-powered smash-fest in the wilds of Jersey! Featuring the return of Hulk artist extraordinaire Gary Frank! Collects Incredible Hulk #106-111.
A Fun, Nonessential Read Amadeus Cho is a fun character, and this should almost be his book rather than Hulk's or Hercules's. This might be difficult to follow for those who haven't read World War Hulk, but it's an entertaining read with good art.
Entertaining comicbook fun -- I'd give it a 3.5 "The Incredible Hercules (World War Hulk)" (Marvel Comics, 2008) ------------------------------------------------------ In preparing to have Hercules take over one of Hulk's books, Marvel has Herc crossover into the "World War Hulk" storyline, as a pro-Hulk partisan, fighting against SHIELD and others who would oppose the jolly green giant. The motivations for Hercules' conversion to Hulk's side, and the manipulations of child-genius Amadeus Cho, are a bit flimsy in literary terms, but the story arc has some fun moments -- nobody is taking this too seriously, and indeed the sense of self-reflective humor is one of the best aspects of this series. Hercules, who has been portrayed as an airheaded blowhard in past Marvel books, looks like he's in for some tasty character development this time around. Writer Greg Pak has borrowed a page or two from Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" and Alec Campbell's "Bacchus" series, embuing the lives of mythic figures and immortals with psychological depth and humor -- the portrayals of fellow Olympians Ares and Athena promise to be fun as well. This volume reprints "Incredible Hulk" issues #106-111 -- after that, the book as retitled "The Incredible Hercules," and Pak continues a strong run in the second volume. Recommended! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)
hella sweet. a crucial part of the epic of HULK. a must read for any JADE GIANT fan! buy it or you are not cool.
Even better than the main World War Hulk storyline While Greg Pak's World War Hulk event is a fun ride to be sure, it just seems like there is more to the story that is missing. Well, here it is. Incredible Herc is by and far the best of the World War Hulk tie-in's, and focuses on Hercules and his team of Renegades as the Hulk's war on the superheroes ravages New York City. Most prominent of the characters here is boy-genius Amadeus Cho, who has even bigger plans up his sleeve in regards to the Hulk, Hercules, and S.H.I.E.L.D. as well. After World War Hulk would reach it's conclusion, the Incredible Hulk title would be re-titled Incredible Hercules, which ends up being one of the most surprising titles to come out of Marvel, as well as one of the most enjoyable. Veteran Hulk and Supreme Power artist Gary Frank provides most of the artwork here, and it's just plain awesome as one would expect from him. All in all, if you enjoyed World War Hulk, make sure you pick up Incredible Herc, as it ends up being a great companion piece that is even better than the main WWH storyline.
Adds much needed depth missing in the World War Hulk storyline. So I wasn't blown away by World War Hulk. I love the character and have read the series dating back to Todd McFarlane's grey Hulk days. Heck, I'm such a Hulk fan, I had a PS2 that sat dormant for years only to be brought out when the Hulk: Ultimate Destruction video game was released. I also like Greg Pak's stories -- no one can ever deny the guy has creativity. But something about World War Hulk just didn't do it for me. I guess I was expecting more. After reading this TPB, I have to give Greg Pak some kudos because I realize a significant chunk of his World War Hulk storyline was cut out of the mini-series and placed in this and other crossover titles. Sometimes these crossover events by Marvel and DC come across as cheap scams to force us to purchase peripheral titles we might otherwise ignore, but you're doing yourself a disservice if you don't read the side story in The Incredible Hulk books. You don't HAVE to read it to understand World War Hulk, but think of it as the frosting on the doughnut, the A-1 Sauce on the steak, the secret sauce on the Big Mac, the... okay, I'll shut up now.
Something important to note about this TPB is it reprints issues of Incredible Hulk that were released simultaneously with World War Hulk. Each issue was meant to be a "story behind the story" of the latest issue of WWH. So if you do decide to read this book first, you WILL ruin the ending of World War Hulk. If you want to get complicated, you can try reading a chapter of this book, and then a chapter of WWH, but I recommend you just read the entire WWH book, and then try this and other spin-offs. I attempted Front Line, Gamma Corps, and a few other side stories, but this is by far the superior product, probably because it's written by the actual WWH author, Greg Pak. It also tempts me to buy the Warbound TPB once it's released since Pak also scripted that one.
The story begins with Amadeus Cho who is allegedly the 7th smartest person on the planet. He's the type of genius who can literally size up a situation, fling a pebble into a certain spot, and cause a cataclysmic shutdown. While on the lam, he was once saved by Hulk, and he's eternally grateful. Unlike most people who are frightened by the Hulk's proclamation of war, he believes there is an eternally good side to the Hulk that most cannot see. Meeting She-Hulk's alter-ego Jen Walters shortly after she is forced into human form by Iron Man's nanobots, he tries to convince her to join his side and defend the Hulk, and while she sympathizes with his devotion, she refuses to leave her path of law & order for his plan of rebellion.
It all conveniently ties into a meeting with former members of the Defenders who once attacked the Hulk after mistaking him for a menace when he was only trying to carry She-Hulk's human form to a hospital in time to save her from a burst appendix. Cho comes face-to-face with Hercules and Angel, two former Defenders who still feel regret for that encounter. He manages to win them over to his side and with one last attempt to recruit powerful allies -- they enlist Namora on their side after Namor refuses to believe in their cause -- they begin the journey to NYC and the heart of the carnage.
It's in NYC where Cho finally meets his idol and tries to prove his point to his still unconvinced colleagues that Hulk will never kill someone unless it's in self-defense, no matter what he tells the world. Cho also tries to convince the Hulk, and provokes him into a fit of colossal rage, but you'll need to read this book to find out what happens. The last half of the book runs side-by-side with the events of World War Hulk. The group acts as a sideline participant to many of the big events including fights with Iron Man and Dr. Strange, the construction of a gladiator arena, and the final showdown between Sentry and Hulk. Some of the WWH spin-offs tried to capture this same "sidelines feel" but this is the first one I've read that pulled it off.
If you weren't happy with World War Hulk, I recommend you try this book. It will spell out some of the issues that weren't given as much attention in the event itself. It's also highly recommended for anyone who enjoys Hulk storylines. It has a subtitle of The Incredible Hercules but he doesn't really carry the book until the issues following this story arc. Surprisingly, he makes for a fun character and the future of The Incredible Hercules with Greg Pak writing looks to be a strong title on Marvel's new list of books.
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