Hulk: Gray

I’m going back to read what I wrote about Cap: White and DD: Yellow, because I’m worried that I’ll repeat myself.

Okay.  Hulk is weaker than both DD and Cap.  Let me count the ways.

Stupid Hulk is boring Hulk.  I haven’t read many stories where Hulk is the protagonist, but the ones that I’ve liked involve smart Hulk.  It’s hard to write a good story where your main character acts like a two-year old throwing temper tantrums. Sure, they might not know any better, but that doesn’t make it fun to watch.  Same thing here. Hulk smashes some things and doesn’t understand why Betty is scared of him. I don’t blame him for his actions, but neither am I sympathetic to him. And it certainly isn’t interesting to me.

The supporting characters annoy me.  Thunderbolt Ross is a raging blowhard.  I think Rick Jones has served as a hostage/plot device more often than Lois Lane, who has at least evolved into a useful character over the years.  Betty plays the role of the traditional comic book girlfriend.

Jeph Loeb chooses to overlay the story with a dialogue between Bruce and Leonard Samson this time around, instead of his customary inner monologue.  The addition of another voice muddles the storytelling to an extent that surprised me.

It took six full issues to Loeb to get to his revelatory thesis: With her declaration to Ross that, “Daddy, you’re as horrible as that Hulk!”  Betty reveals that she loved Bruce because “she saw the monster as something familiar, as something - someone - she could love.” She’s got daddy issues, is what Bruce concludes.  Sure, fine. But I really didn’t need an uninspired rehash of his origin story to get the message.

Tim Sale’s Hulk is truly ugly, and not in a good way.  

Don't like the bad teeth.  And the weird feet.

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? No

Rating: Fine