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The Incredible Hulk (2009) (Collected Editions)
The Incredible Hulks: Planet Savage
The Hulk has never been welcome in the civilized world. What better place for the savage Hulks than the SavageLand? Get ready for jungle action as Hulk and Skaar invade the prehistoric paradise of Ka-Zar, Lord of the Hidden Jungle. Featuring the showstopping pencils of superstar Dale Eaglesham and the return of a deadly frenemy the Hulk should never have forgotten. In the slaughterhouse of Planet Sakaar's gladiatorial arenas, the Hulk and his Warbound companions swore to stand forever at each other's sides. Now, alongside Ka-Zar and Skaar, that oath faces its final test. Will their great bond end in rout or redemption? Collecting INCREDIBLE HULKS #623-629.
144 pages, Paperback
First published August 3, 2011
About the author
Greg Pak
1,711 books592 followersGreg Pak is an award-winning Korean American comic book writer and filmmaker currently writing "Lawful" for BOOM and "Sam Wilson: Captain America" (with Evan Narcisse) for Marvel. Pak wrote the "Princess Who Saved Herself" children's book and the “Code Monkey Save World” graphic novel based on the songs of Jonathan Coulton and co-wrote (with Fred Van Lente) the acclaimed “Make Comics Like the Pros” how-to book. Pak's other work includes "Planet Hulk," "Darth Vader," "Mech Cadet Yu," "Ronin Island," "Action Comics," and "Magneto Testament."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 10, 2011
Library copy. I like Dale Eaglesham's art and I've liked works by Greg Pak, but I wasn't impressed with their short collaboration. I hold little or no interest in all the supporting characters from Planet Hulk and those appear early on, yes, even Hulk's son and I've long since felt the Hulk needs to go back to basics. I appreciated the gladiator stories Pak did with the Hulk, but I'd like to have seen some closure from it all. Even Jeph Loeb made the Red She-Hulk boring after a while. I preferred the story that wasn't drawn by Eaglesham, but obviously I like his artwork more than the other person who drew the *sigh* "What if Pandora's Box was open?? story.
September 15, 2014
God awful artwork and a fucking horrible mess which can hardly be called a story
May 28, 2020
This volume consists of two stories, one regarding the Savage Land and the last battle with Miek, and the other deals with Betty, Bruce and the old Hulk foe Tyrannus in a love triangle of sorts.
To be honest, I love Pak's Planet Hulk and WWH Hulk events, but the constant retreading of the story line is getting a bit tiresome. Especially since this volume is relatively close to those events. This time, Miek returns for his final battle with the Hulk team - in the Savage Land no less. He is still driven by Hulks "never stop making them pay" motto, which the Hulk himself, has obviously abandoned. The story line itself is not that bad, with appearances by Kazar and others, but I don't know if its worth the constant call back to the previous story lines. In fact to me, it seems to "water down" those stories. To be honest, this feels like a way to go "back to the well" for Pak, instead of doing new things with the Hulk team.
The second story is a love triangle story which has Betty falling for Tryannus, then at the end of the day, falling for Bruce again. This was a mediocre story and the fact that I am having trouble remembering the details of it is a testament to how "meh" it was in my opinion.
The thing that saved this volume is the art. Dave Eaglesham brings his more traditional line work to the book and it looks really damn good. He has an "old school" aesthetic that looks great when drawing action or just drawing the characters themselves - especially Hulk. Extra star for the art alone.
I would recommend this for die hard fans of the Hulk only. Hopefully the mining of previous story lines isn't an issue for you as it was for me.
To be honest, I love Pak's Planet Hulk and WWH Hulk events, but the constant retreading of the story line is getting a bit tiresome. Especially since this volume is relatively close to those events. This time, Miek returns for his final battle with the Hulk team - in the Savage Land no less. He is still driven by Hulks "never stop making them pay" motto, which the Hulk himself, has obviously abandoned. The story line itself is not that bad, with appearances by Kazar and others, but I don't know if its worth the constant call back to the previous story lines. In fact to me, it seems to "water down" those stories. To be honest, this feels like a way to go "back to the well" for Pak, instead of doing new things with the Hulk team.
The second story is a love triangle story which has Betty falling for Tryannus, then at the end of the day, falling for Bruce again. This was a mediocre story and the fact that I am having trouble remembering the details of it is a testament to how "meh" it was in my opinion.
The thing that saved this volume is the art. Dave Eaglesham brings his more traditional line work to the book and it looks really damn good. He has an "old school" aesthetic that looks great when drawing action or just drawing the characters themselves - especially Hulk. Extra star for the art alone.
I would recommend this for die hard fans of the Hulk only. Hopefully the mining of previous story lines isn't an issue for you as it was for me.
May 19, 2023
I don’t know why the Savage Land trips writers up so much. Seems like a no-brainer to me: dinosaurs, aliens, and superheroes. Mix ‘em together for awesome! Yet…
So there are two distinct stories here, the first being a bit of an epilogue to Planet Hulk, taking place in the Savage Land. I just found it tedious, tbh. Some body horror, a little genocide, a whole lot of running back and forth flailing one’s hands in the air like a muppet. It feels like a 7-year-old is telling the story. “The Hulk gets kidnapped and then he gets away and then he gets kidnapped again and he gets away, but, oh yeah I forgot, the alien laid eggs in him, but he gets away and then gets kidnapped and plus he’s eaten by a dinosaur, and the alien used to be a boy but now he’s a girl and Ka-Zar is there with his sabretooth tiger and it’s so coool!” It’s a 4-page tale stretched out interminably.
The second story is better, riffing on James Bond, as the immortal Tyrannus steals Pandora’s Box from a Roman museum. It’s an old-school Hulk story, that doesn’t depend on convoluted continuity for the hook. Weirdly, the Savage Land bit is 3 issues while the Rome stuff is 4, yet the former feels twice as long as the latter. There are things which are brought up only to be dropped, so certain characters feel less integrated and function as mere plot devices, which undercuts the story.
These tales have all the right elements, just utilized in an unimpressive way.
So there are two distinct stories here, the first being a bit of an epilogue to Planet Hulk, taking place in the Savage Land. I just found it tedious, tbh. Some body horror, a little genocide, a whole lot of running back and forth flailing one’s hands in the air like a muppet. It feels like a 7-year-old is telling the story. “The Hulk gets kidnapped and then he gets away and then he gets kidnapped again and he gets away, but, oh yeah I forgot, the alien laid eggs in him, but he gets away and then gets kidnapped and plus he’s eaten by a dinosaur, and the alien used to be a boy but now he’s a girl and Ka-Zar is there with his sabretooth tiger and it’s so coool!” It’s a 4-page tale stretched out interminably.
The second story is better, riffing on James Bond, as the immortal Tyrannus steals Pandora’s Box from a Roman museum. It’s an old-school Hulk story, that doesn’t depend on convoluted continuity for the hook. Weirdly, the Savage Land bit is 3 issues while the Rome stuff is 4, yet the former feels twice as long as the latter. There are things which are brought up only to be dropped, so certain characters feel less integrated and function as mere plot devices, which undercuts the story.
These tales have all the right elements, just utilized in an unimpressive way.
October 9, 2022
The first half of the story feels like it's the end of the Incredible Hulks. It's a good story of the Warbound, linking back to plots from years past in Pak's magnum opus. But it also feels like it's a bit by the numbers: like Pak had a plot ending in mind and pushed his characters through it. Even moreso because all of the Hulks are really unceremoniously removed by the end.
The second half of the story is a neat espionage/heist story that also has some great closure on the whole Betty/Red-SheHulk storyline.
Overall, both stories are pretty strong, but they feel like they're from different books and that definitely damages the long-term storytelling (which frankly has been all-over the place in this latter-day Pak run).
The second half of the story is a neat espionage/heist story that also has some great closure on the whole Betty/Red-SheHulk storyline.
Overall, both stories are pretty strong, but they feel like they're from different books and that definitely damages the long-term storytelling (which frankly has been all-over the place in this latter-day Pak run).
December 16, 2025
Pak takes Hulk and co. to the Savage Land and Rome on some James Bond Hijinks to mixed effect. Zaniness takes president over the the usally tight character work Pak excells at, resulting in a couple of fairly fun but ultimately inconcequential arcs that feel more like filler than anything else.
June 10, 2026
4 stars vs. 5 stars? Artwork was phenomenal. The story was kind of weak. There are 2 stories here; the one involving Mieke, the Warbound, and Ka-Zar in the Savage Land was weak.
The second story, "The Spy who Smashed Me," was great.
The second story, "The Spy who Smashed Me," was great.
August 1, 2017
This had two distinct stories in it, and I actually liked and understood both without much preamble and having no knowledge of previous events or volumes.
June 4, 2015
Having survived (barely) his battles with the Chaos King and Zeus, the Hulk reunites with his Warbound for a trip to the Savage Land to settle a score. Meanwhile, Betty Ross takes off to Rome and winds up in the arms of the Hulk’s literally oldest living nemesis…
The “Hulk Family” status quo begins to dissipate here, as Greg Pak retreats to some more familiar trappings from his first storyarc. The Hulk has visited the Savage Land and teamed with/battled its lord, Ka-Zar, on a number of occasions. The place, with its isolation from humanity and “survival of the fittest” way of life, seems like an ideal place for the Hulk, particularly in his current incarnation, to run off to. The return of more of Pak’s original supporting cast: Elloe Kaifi and No-Name of the Brood, in addition to Korg the Kronan and Skaar the Son of Hulk, brings with it the company of familiarity as well as the usual amount of emotional depth. One of the most intense scenes takes place right at the very beginning, with the interaction between two of Bruce Banner’s former love interests; Betty Ross and Kate Waynesboro. Until this point, they had never even met one another. It’s equally fascinating that both women are now superpowered, and that Kate in particular has an appearance and abilities more in line with the Hulk’s second wife, Caiera the Oldstrong.
For a story picking up the pieces from both PLANET HULK and WORLD WAR HULK, it’s comparatively short, but really tells everything that it needs to tell. The final confrontation between the Hulk and Miek the Unhived (or Miek the Betrayer) forces the Hulk to deal with the ramifications of yet another monster of his own creation. Miek learned the lessons of the harsh brutalities the Hulk endured on Sakaar and took them to heart, but what he embodied was all of the Hulk’s darker impulses with none of the redeeming qualities that kept him from going over the edge. The Hulk never envisioned himself as a role model or hero; he was always the monster in his mind. It was his friends and family who recognized his good qualities, and although he preferred to keep them at a distance (mainly to ensure their safety from his rages), they nevertheless kept the monster from completely overshadowing the hero. Miek never understood the true nature of the Hulk, and consumed by his own anger and hatred, reflects only the worst in him, another dark mirror the Hulk was forced to shatter.
The second part of this collection, with the deceptively offbeat title “The Spy Who Smashed Me”, actually carries a great deal of weight. What starts out as a James Bond parody becomes a love triangle between Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and Tyrannus. Pak even manages to do the impossible and make Tyrannus a worthy villain by exploiting the character’s mostly untapped potential. An immortal former Roman emperor, strikingly handsome and naturally pompous and vain, Tyrannus makes a good romantic foil for both the bestial Hulk and the nerdy Bruce Banner, and easily seduces the lovely Betty away from him by giving free reign to her explosive Red She-Hulk persona. The concept harkens back to Tyrannus’ very first appearance in the original six-issue Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko run on INCREDIBLE HULK, in which he kidnapped Betty by posing as a romantic suitor. Betty, in turn, did not discourage Tyrannus’ attentions in the hopes that it would stir some feelings in Bruce, which, consequently it did; in the form of the Hulk.
Even at this point in his run, with the beginning of the end becoming more apparent, Greg Pak is still capable of delivering epic stories showing new character development along with affectionate nods to the past. Whether he faces the demons of the Chaos War, the monsters and gods of ancient Greece or the dinosaurs of the Savage Land, the result is still the same; the Hulk is still the Hulk, the strongest one there is.
The “Hulk Family” status quo begins to dissipate here, as Greg Pak retreats to some more familiar trappings from his first storyarc. The Hulk has visited the Savage Land and teamed with/battled its lord, Ka-Zar, on a number of occasions. The place, with its isolation from humanity and “survival of the fittest” way of life, seems like an ideal place for the Hulk, particularly in his current incarnation, to run off to. The return of more of Pak’s original supporting cast: Elloe Kaifi and No-Name of the Brood, in addition to Korg the Kronan and Skaar the Son of Hulk, brings with it the company of familiarity as well as the usual amount of emotional depth. One of the most intense scenes takes place right at the very beginning, with the interaction between two of Bruce Banner’s former love interests; Betty Ross and Kate Waynesboro. Until this point, they had never even met one another. It’s equally fascinating that both women are now superpowered, and that Kate in particular has an appearance and abilities more in line with the Hulk’s second wife, Caiera the Oldstrong.
For a story picking up the pieces from both PLANET HULK and WORLD WAR HULK, it’s comparatively short, but really tells everything that it needs to tell. The final confrontation between the Hulk and Miek the Unhived (or Miek the Betrayer) forces the Hulk to deal with the ramifications of yet another monster of his own creation. Miek learned the lessons of the harsh brutalities the Hulk endured on Sakaar and took them to heart, but what he embodied was all of the Hulk’s darker impulses with none of the redeeming qualities that kept him from going over the edge. The Hulk never envisioned himself as a role model or hero; he was always the monster in his mind. It was his friends and family who recognized his good qualities, and although he preferred to keep them at a distance (mainly to ensure their safety from his rages), they nevertheless kept the monster from completely overshadowing the hero. Miek never understood the true nature of the Hulk, and consumed by his own anger and hatred, reflects only the worst in him, another dark mirror the Hulk was forced to shatter.
The second part of this collection, with the deceptively offbeat title “The Spy Who Smashed Me”, actually carries a great deal of weight. What starts out as a James Bond parody becomes a love triangle between Bruce Banner, Betty Ross, and Tyrannus. Pak even manages to do the impossible and make Tyrannus a worthy villain by exploiting the character’s mostly untapped potential. An immortal former Roman emperor, strikingly handsome and naturally pompous and vain, Tyrannus makes a good romantic foil for both the bestial Hulk and the nerdy Bruce Banner, and easily seduces the lovely Betty away from him by giving free reign to her explosive Red She-Hulk persona. The concept harkens back to Tyrannus’ very first appearance in the original six-issue Stan Lee/Jack Kirby/Steve Ditko run on INCREDIBLE HULK, in which he kidnapped Betty by posing as a romantic suitor. Betty, in turn, did not discourage Tyrannus’ attentions in the hopes that it would stir some feelings in Bruce, which, consequently it did; in the form of the Hulk.
Even at this point in his run, with the beginning of the end becoming more apparent, Greg Pak is still capable of delivering epic stories showing new character development along with affectionate nods to the past. Whether he faces the demons of the Chaos War, the monsters and gods of ancient Greece or the dinosaurs of the Savage Land, the result is still the same; the Hulk is still the Hulk, the strongest one there is.
May 28, 2012
Here we are with another volume of writer Greg Pak's most recent Hulk run. This time, the team of Hulks travel to the Savage Land to help out Ka-Zar with a threat that turns out to be tied to the planet Sakaar and the "Planet Hulk" story arc from earlier Pak Hulk fare, and then we focus more on Bruce (Hulk) and Betty (Red She-Hulk) in a sort of James-Bond-meets-The-Da-Vinci-Code story arc.
"Planet Hulk" was a great story, but am I the only one who thinks that all the ties to it in Pak's Hulk run are getting a little stale? I know it's a major part of what the Hulk is around the time of these stories, but we've had a bit of it in every volume since. Just an observation.
The other story arc, as I said, focuses on Bruce and Betty. It's a lot of fun, as "number on Hulk fan" and boy genius Amadeus Cho guides the Hulk to getting Betty (Red She-Hulk and Bruce's wife/ex-wife) back and thwarting the menace of an old Hulk foe in Tyrannus. The story is geniunely funny at points, and tugs at the ol' heartstrings as Bruce and Betty transform from human to Hulk forms and try to figure out their love and/or hate for each other.
The art here, again, is good and solid. Dale Eaglesham and Tom Grummett put forth good efforts here and there's an absolutely stunning cover from Frank Cho in this one. Nice to look at all around.
Recommended for the Hulk geek, fans of Planet Hulk and Greg Pak, and those maybe seeking a bit of a new twist on the Hulk (with the latter story arc).
"Planet Hulk" was a great story, but am I the only one who thinks that all the ties to it in Pak's Hulk run are getting a little stale? I know it's a major part of what the Hulk is around the time of these stories, but we've had a bit of it in every volume since. Just an observation.
The other story arc, as I said, focuses on Bruce and Betty. It's a lot of fun, as "number on Hulk fan" and boy genius Amadeus Cho guides the Hulk to getting Betty (Red She-Hulk and Bruce's wife/ex-wife) back and thwarting the menace of an old Hulk foe in Tyrannus. The story is geniunely funny at points, and tugs at the ol' heartstrings as Bruce and Betty transform from human to Hulk forms and try to figure out their love and/or hate for each other.
The art here, again, is good and solid. Dale Eaglesham and Tom Grummett put forth good efforts here and there's an absolutely stunning cover from Frank Cho in this one. Nice to look at all around.
Recommended for the Hulk geek, fans of Planet Hulk and Greg Pak, and those maybe seeking a bit of a new twist on the Hulk (with the latter story arc).
January 31, 2015
Another horrible downgrade for the story of the Hulk.
November 9, 2013
good story. enjoyed the art.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews