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Hulk (2021)
Hulk, Vol. 1: Smashtronaut!
Look to the stars as the next exciting era of HULK begins! The gamma-powered creative team of Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley takes on the Hulk - and the results are sure to be incredible! The Hulk's uncontrollable rage has reached a new level - and nobody, including the Avengers, is prepared to handle it. But is it really the Hulk that people should fear, or is another factor at play? Bruce Banner thinks he finally has total control of his emerald alter ego - and in fact, he might. But variables can happen at any time, and this one is something even his brilliant mind couldn't have imagined. Now, as Bruce hurtles deep into outer space on a dangerous quest, he's about to find out that the Hulk isn't alone! Collecting HULK (2021) #1-6 and material from FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2021 (AVENGERS/HULK).
152 pages, Paperback
Published May 31, 2022
55 people are currently reading
156 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
February 14, 2024
Maybe this will get better but as of right now, I'm just not as impressed as I was hoping.
Banner has split himself into 3 parts. He's on the run from the Avengers/humanity and has rocketed himself into the cosmos using Hulk's body as a spaceship that he pilots from (I guess) the mind.
Said Hulkship is running on anger-fuel, and as he needs more power Banner subjects the mental version of Hulk to an ever-changing cadre of his enemies.
It's ok. Take a moment to let that one sink in.
He falls through a wormhole (or whatever) and meets up with a version of himself that hadn't become the Hulk but still managed to leave a scorched earth scenario in his wake due to futzing around with gamma radiation.
Tears and hugs.
Not an encouraging start but also not unreadable.
Banner has split himself into 3 parts. He's on the run from the Avengers/humanity and has rocketed himself into the cosmos using Hulk's body as a spaceship that he pilots from (I guess) the mind.
Said Hulkship is running on anger-fuel, and as he needs more power Banner subjects the mental version of Hulk to an ever-changing cadre of his enemies.
It's ok. Take a moment to let that one sink in.
He falls through a wormhole (or whatever) and meets up with a version of himself that hadn't become the Hulk but still managed to leave a scorched earth scenario in his wake due to futzing around with gamma radiation.
Tears and hugs.
Not an encouraging start but also not unreadable.
July 31, 2022
Boy, this is a way out there, sci-fi take on the Hulk that I don't think many readers will enjoy. Banner is treating his body as a starship piloted by Banner and fueled by the Hulk's rage. It's really high concept as the art depicts it all as Banner operating a spaceship versus just saying Banner's mind is now in control of the Hulk's body. I wasn't certain at all was going on until the 3rd issue in. He winds up in an alternate future which is basically there just so Hulk can cut loose in the last issue and drop one of those bombshells that Cates is known for. I have a feeling the whole Starship Hulk angle will be toned down once they get readers' feedback because it's stupid.
Ryan Ottley is killing it on art. His big, bombastic style is perfect for this type of superhero comic.
Ryan Ottley is killing it on art. His big, bombastic style is perfect for this type of superhero comic.
April 29, 2025
"Hey, real quick. Is . . . anyone else very confused?" -- Spider-Man, speaking for the readers
Hulk, Vol. 1: Smashtronaut! features lots of crunchy action scenes, a catchy subtitle . . . but not much else to recommend it. The narrative features our title character as (I think) a trifecta of Bruce Banner, his monstrous alter ego, and also an armor-clad spaceship Hulk vessel all being able to exist in the same time and place. Amidst the usual psychological melodrama are the showdowns including giant-sized Wolverine, zombified versions of the Fantastic Four and Avengers, and a hideously enlarged and/or mutated Spider-Man. While this all sounds like a good starting point said sequences are brief and never really develop to their full potential. Also, there's a certain ick factor involved - including a thoroughly unpleasant scene with a graphic decapitation of an X-Men founding member - but I have to admit that the final page, which teases the smash-up storyline for the next volume, was clever.
Hulk, Vol. 1: Smashtronaut! features lots of crunchy action scenes, a catchy subtitle . . . but not much else to recommend it. The narrative features our title character as (I think) a trifecta of Bruce Banner, his monstrous alter ego, and also an armor-clad spaceship Hulk vessel all being able to exist in the same time and place. Amidst the usual psychological melodrama are the showdowns including giant-sized Wolverine, zombified versions of the Fantastic Four and Avengers, and a hideously enlarged and/or mutated Spider-Man. While this all sounds like a good starting point said sequences are brief and never really develop to their full potential. Also, there's a certain ick factor involved - including a thoroughly unpleasant scene with a graphic decapitation of an X-Men founding member - but I have to admit that the final page, which teases the smash-up storyline for the next volume, was clever.
July 31, 2022
This is way too out there, it feels like one of those out of continuity one-shots stretched to six issues, there's barely any story here, it's the same old alternate universe story that Marvel publishes every year. Ottley's art is pretty awesome, but Cates needs a proper editor to revise his works, he needs to pump the breaks and start simplifying his stories instead of regurgitating every crazy idea that pops into his mind, Starship Hulk? Yeah, not for me.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Marvel's editing department is basically dead.
I've said this before, and I'll say it again, Marvel's editing department is basically dead.
April 23, 2022
This was so good omg!
Hulk is a starship now and how it happens is revealed here and something happened in Texas that leads him to escape this universe and into another one and he meets another Bruce Banner there but what he finds is the nightmare gamma world it has become and the consequences of that and then fighting various gamma-mutated hulks and abominations there including a spider-hulk! Meanwhile Bruce is using a new technique to be in control of the Hulk and his rage levels increase in some interesting way but what happens when a new personality emerges and whatever is Stage 10? And what will happen when Titan is revealed and so many more secrets, fight, chaos, mayhem and a war with an old friend soon...
What a volume omg! I loved this one. Its probably one of my favorite runs already and we are just 6 issues in. Cates fills the volume with so much mayhem and action and showcasing Banner's headspace and creatures mystery with two plot lines like the one with Texas and then the one with Hulk Planet. I love this advance planning though I suspect the maker might be involved here too (like some Richards mentioned) but omg that just shows how awesome the writing is and Ottley's art is insanely good, he gets to draw such amazign thing from Marvel Zombies to cosmic entities and even more teases and that last page wow!
One of the best volumes coming out of 2022 and what seems to be the start of something new and exciting run!
Hulk is a starship now and how it happens is revealed here and something happened in Texas that leads him to escape this universe and into another one and he meets another Bruce Banner there but what he finds is the nightmare gamma world it has become and the consequences of that and then fighting various gamma-mutated hulks and abominations there including a spider-hulk! Meanwhile Bruce is using a new technique to be in control of the Hulk and his rage levels increase in some interesting way but what happens when a new personality emerges and whatever is Stage 10? And what will happen when Titan is revealed and so many more secrets, fight, chaos, mayhem and a war with an old friend soon...
What a volume omg! I loved this one. Its probably one of my favorite runs already and we are just 6 issues in. Cates fills the volume with so much mayhem and action and showcasing Banner's headspace and creatures mystery with two plot lines like the one with Texas and then the one with Hulk Planet. I love this advance planning though I suspect the maker might be involved here too (like some Richards mentioned) but omg that just shows how awesome the writing is and Ottley's art is insanely good, he gets to draw such amazign thing from Marvel Zombies to cosmic entities and even more teases and that last page wow!
One of the best volumes coming out of 2022 and what seems to be the start of something new and exciting run!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2022
Honestly, anything after Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk run is going to be a hard sell, and Donny Cates essentially throwing all that aside to return the Banner/Hulk relationship to a more antagonistic one wasn't really the best way to go.
There are definitely hints that he has plans to explain why at some point by alluding to a dark event in the past that we haven't seen on the page, but it absolutely feels like he just wants to tell his story without addressing what's happened most recently, which feels like a departure for Cates since he's usually pretty good at playing within continuity rules.
The story itself is fine, it's the Hulk hitting things, then hitting some things in a different dimension. There are some interesting designs at play, and the introduction of the Titan looks like it'll be fun going forward, but it definitely isn't reinventing the SMASH like Ewing did before him.
Ryan Ottley's artwork is a high point - he's no stranger to big bloody battles after 100+ issues of Invincible, and those skills are well on display here. If you want bombastic action, Ottley is a perfect choice, and he proves it with every page here.
Not a bad start when read in seclusion, but as a part of the Marvel Universe as a whole, Cates' first arc of Hulk doesn't do anything you haven't seen before. Then again, I wasn't a fan of his first Thor arc and that's improved massively, so maybe this will do the same.
There are definitely hints that he has plans to explain why at some point by alluding to a dark event in the past that we haven't seen on the page, but it absolutely feels like he just wants to tell his story without addressing what's happened most recently, which feels like a departure for Cates since he's usually pretty good at playing within continuity rules.
The story itself is fine, it's the Hulk hitting things, then hitting some things in a different dimension. There are some interesting designs at play, and the introduction of the Titan looks like it'll be fun going forward, but it definitely isn't reinventing the SMASH like Ewing did before him.
Ryan Ottley's artwork is a high point - he's no stranger to big bloody battles after 100+ issues of Invincible, and those skills are well on display here. If you want bombastic action, Ottley is a perfect choice, and he proves it with every page here.
Not a bad start when read in seclusion, but as a part of the Marvel Universe as a whole, Cates' first arc of Hulk doesn't do anything you haven't seen before. Then again, I wasn't a fan of his first Thor arc and that's improved massively, so maybe this will do the same.
October 6, 2022
My favorite kind of Hulk story. Strip out most of the psychobabble and just have Hulk flattening everything he sees. Even though this is a very basic Hulk premise, Cates has managed to add some very unusual twists to the mix.
September 23, 2022
Not what I was expecting. I enjoy a Hulk Smashing as much (probobly more) the next person. There is a very dark psychological edge to this book. The more cartoony art style might try yo take the edge off it but this is a very dark story.
The Hulk has gone too far. How far will Bruce Banner go to control him and what will he learn about himself?
The smashfest style of plentiful action mske this book a very quick read but the story is a lit darker that any of the Hulk/Banner's actions. A lot of things have been setup in this book I am interested to see what happens next.
The Hulk has gone too far. How far will Bruce Banner go to control him and what will he learn about himself?
The smashfest style of plentiful action mske this book a very quick read but the story is a lit darker that any of the Hulk/Banner's actions. A lot of things have been setup in this book I am interested to see what happens next.
November 20, 2022
So apparently this is a controversial opinion, but I really liked this.
I really enjoyed this. But as I'm trying to figure out how to summarize this, I'm now starting to realize why a lot of people didn't like this. Because it's pretty out there. Basically Banner has turned Hulk into a starship that is piloted by himself. This "starship" is fueled by the Hulk's rage, as he fights all these random armies.
Cates has pretty much abandoned everything that happened in Immortal Hulk. And, as much as I loved that run, I think it's good that Cates is doing his own thing, instead of trying to replicate what Al Ewing did.
There are tons of twists and turns that made the story for me lots of fun. But really the star here is the art. It's perfect for the style the book was going for. Every other page was just full on action, which made it a blast to read. For me, A hulk comics needs to have great action and then everything else is secondary. And if the story's cool, that's even better!
Overall: Even though this is not for everyone, I couldn't help but enjoy this fast paced adventure.
Recommended
I really enjoyed this. But as I'm trying to figure out how to summarize this, I'm now starting to realize why a lot of people didn't like this. Because it's pretty out there. Basically Banner has turned Hulk into a starship that is piloted by himself. This "starship" is fueled by the Hulk's rage, as he fights all these random armies.
Cates has pretty much abandoned everything that happened in Immortal Hulk. And, as much as I loved that run, I think it's good that Cates is doing his own thing, instead of trying to replicate what Al Ewing did.
There are tons of twists and turns that made the story for me lots of fun. But really the star here is the art. It's perfect for the style the book was going for. Every other page was just full on action, which made it a blast to read. For me, A hulk comics needs to have great action and then everything else is secondary. And if the story's cool, that's even better!
Overall: Even though this is not for everyone, I couldn't help but enjoy this fast paced adventure.
Recommended
August 10, 2022
After the whole previous run of Hulk this was disappointing. The story started strange but kept me reading and then Spaceship Hulk turned into just another weird story of Banner dealing with his childhood Trauma. Because no one has ever covered the topic ever before so there was no need to move on to a more original story. A more original story say like turning the hulk into a rage fueled star ship / battlemech. But no just another writer stuck on childhood trauma raging as an adult for Bruce Banner. Disappointed.
November 12, 2024
This is easily one of the worst Hulk stories I've ever read.
Admittedly, this run had an uphill battle from the start, coming as it does on the heels of the instant classic, character-redefining IMMORTAL HULK...but instead of even attempting to grapple with the fallout of that story, to deal with the weight and consequences of it, Cates and Ottley choose to more or less ignore it entirely and replace it with something utterly ridiculous, a slap in the face to Hulk fans everywhere.
Imagine if Rich Veitch had followed up Alan Moore's SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING run with a story about Alec Holland remote-piloting Swamp Thing to fight the Justice League, and the only acknowledgement to the previous run was how Swampy and Alec had "untangled themselves from the Green" or something to that effect. That's the level of disrespect this comic is showing what came before.
Admittedly, this run had an uphill battle from the start, coming as it does on the heels of the instant classic, character-redefining IMMORTAL HULK...but instead of even attempting to grapple with the fallout of that story, to deal with the weight and consequences of it, Cates and Ottley choose to more or less ignore it entirely and replace it with something utterly ridiculous, a slap in the face to Hulk fans everywhere.
Imagine if Rich Veitch had followed up Alan Moore's SAGA OF THE SWAMP THING run with a story about Alec Holland remote-piloting Swamp Thing to fight the Justice League, and the only acknowledgement to the previous run was how Swampy and Alec had "untangled themselves from the Green" or something to that effect. That's the level of disrespect this comic is showing what came before.
May 4, 2022
Ryan Ottley kills it!
December 9, 2022
After Al Ewing's immense showstopper of a Hulk series, Donny Cates gets a turn at the reins - and he makes an absolutely baffling decision right off the bat. Instead of the Bruce Banner/Hulk dynamic we're used to, Cates places Banner inside the Hulk body, and then places the Hulk's fury in the "engine" of the body, thus making the Hulk into a spaceship, allowing Banner to run away from his problems.
Whew! To be clear, it doesn't make any sense in Smashtronaut! either. We are definitely not picking up right from the end of Ewing's series. If you're willing to accept the high concept, though, (and I was) it's a pretty fun time. Hulk smashes harder and harder as Banner keeps throwing more adversaries at the internal Hulk engine. Betty appears as Banner's Jiminy Cricket, until she becomes something more (). Banner/Hulk end up on an alternate Earth, meaning he can break all the rules with no consequences.
Easily worth a star is Ryan Ottley's art. Just some superb smashing, alongside excellent, human expressions for the characters. Amidst all the wreckage, there's some real pathos in Smashtronaut!. I can't say I understood much of it, but I didn't understand much of Ewing's run either. Some things never change.
Whew! To be clear, it doesn't make any sense in Smashtronaut! either. We are definitely not picking up right from the end of Ewing's series. If you're willing to accept the high concept, though, (and I was) it's a pretty fun time. Hulk smashes harder and harder as Banner keeps throwing more adversaries at the internal Hulk engine. Betty appears as Banner's Jiminy Cricket, until she becomes something more (). Banner/Hulk end up on an alternate Earth, meaning he can break all the rules with no consequences.
Easily worth a star is Ryan Ottley's art. Just some superb smashing, alongside excellent, human expressions for the characters. Amidst all the wreckage, there's some real pathos in Smashtronaut!. I can't say I understood much of it, but I didn't understand much of Ewing's run either. Some things never change.
March 20, 2024
A pretty far-out concept so bonus points to Cates and Ottley for just going for it. It’s pretty bleak Elseworlds-style storytelling for the most part but the high-quality art and bonkers premise kept me engaged.
August 7, 2022
Cates & Ottley threw out the usual script, definitely trying “you can do anything in comics because every pixel costs the same” stories.
I’m genuinely impressed at how little I can predict where this is headed - and now much fun most panels are just to drink in, chuckle at, wonder “where the hell do people get these ideas?”
Sometimes I find alt-realities and elseworlds tiresome - yes, I see who you’ve twisted into a dark version of their usual character there. This parallel Banner shit tho - that’s world-building that steals a page out of Hickman’s playbook.
Plus a few gut-laugh moments to really punctuate how much of a fun follow-on this is to the Immortal run. Thank god the creators didn’t try to imitate.
But the only complaint is I couldn’t sort out who was getting pulped and who was pulping, when we had action happening both inside and outside Starship Hulk. I don’t know if the artist thought it would be more obvious, or if it’s a deliberate obfuscation, but I still don’t know what happened near the end of the book (tho the result is at least awesome).
I’m genuinely impressed at how little I can predict where this is headed - and now much fun most panels are just to drink in, chuckle at, wonder “where the hell do people get these ideas?”
Sometimes I find alt-realities and elseworlds tiresome - yes, I see who you’ve twisted into a dark version of their usual character there. This parallel Banner shit tho - that’s world-building that steals a page out of Hickman’s playbook.
Plus a few gut-laugh moments to really punctuate how much of a fun follow-on this is to the Immortal run. Thank god the creators didn’t try to imitate.
But the only complaint is I couldn’t sort out who was getting pulped and who was pulping, when we had action happening both inside and outside Starship Hulk. I don’t know if the artist thought it would be more obvious, or if it’s a deliberate obfuscation, but I still don’t know what happened near the end of the book (tho the result is at least awesome).
February 3, 2024
2.5/5 Ok so I'm reading backwards. I started with Incredible Hulk Vol. 4 by Phillip Kennedy Johnson and liked the horror aspects and monsters so I figured I'd go backwards and read Donny Cates run. This is definitely a WTF series. While the new one is Horror Hulk this is Super Sci Fi Hulk. Really they turned The Hulk essentially into a spaceship. The body is the ship, the Bruce Banner persona is the pilot, and the Hulk persona is the engine that is cruelly manipulated by Banner.
Starship Hulk travels to a different dimension Earth - 122 where Banner didn't become the Hulk but had his tech stolen and started a global catastrophe that creates a bunch of weird different hulks.
Yeah the whole thing is really pretty bizarre the art is pretty good but the plot is weird and rushed. I'll go finish this run it's not long and it's quick reading but I'm looking forward to getting to The Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing because everyone seems to enjoy that iteration a lot more.
Read 2/3/2023
Starship Hulk travels to a different dimension Earth - 122 where Banner didn't become the Hulk but had his tech stolen and started a global catastrophe that creates a bunch of weird different hulks.
Yeah the whole thing is really pretty bizarre the art is pretty good but the plot is weird and rushed. I'll go finish this run it's not long and it's quick reading but I'm looking forward to getting to The Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing because everyone seems to enjoy that iteration a lot more.
Read 2/3/2023
September 22, 2022
So this was...weird, unexpected, different.
I've been following Cates' career at Marvel and for the most part I've been pretty satisfied and even a few times I was impressed with his writing. After the generally outstanding run on the Hulk by Ewing and Bennett, I thought this would be the beginning of another quality run.
Well, if you read the opening synopsis, here's what it says:
Whaaah?! I literally laughed out loud when I read this and read it to my wife to see how it sounded to her. She said it seemed like a stretch even for a comic book. Was it? Eh, I kinda get it. It seems more like an excuse for Ottley to draw a bunch of bloody fighting like he did on Invincible. It's kinda fun, kinda bizarre. It's certainly a different paradigm for Bruce and the Hulk. I really don't know what to think of it. It feels a little shallow at times, but then Cates will delve a little into Banner's psyche (although still not enough).
I'll keep reading to give it a chance to get going but I'm very trepidatious about it.
I've been following Cates' career at Marvel and for the most part I've been pretty satisfied and even a few times I was impressed with his writing. After the generally outstanding run on the Hulk by Ewing and Bennett, I thought this would be the beginning of another quality run.
Well, if you read the opening synopsis, here's what it says:
Whaaah?! I literally laughed out loud when I read this and read it to my wife to see how it sounded to her. She said it seemed like a stretch even for a comic book. Was it? Eh, I kinda get it. It seems more like an excuse for Ottley to draw a bunch of bloody fighting like he did on Invincible. It's kinda fun, kinda bizarre. It's certainly a different paradigm for Bruce and the Hulk. I really don't know what to think of it. It feels a little shallow at times, but then Cates will delve a little into Banner's psyche (although still not enough).
I'll keep reading to give it a chance to get going but I'm very trepidatious about it.
May 18, 2023
This was pretty awful If I'm being honest.
The first issue was solid enough, a idea of Bruce "piloting" the hulk like almost mech like is a neat idea. But then we get basically sent to a different universe and it's so over the top and dumb I barely could follow or give a shit about what was happening. I think this series needed to be a lot more grounded and not this zanny weird shit.
Art was great though.
The first issue was solid enough, a idea of Bruce "piloting" the hulk like almost mech like is a neat idea. But then we get basically sent to a different universe and it's so over the top and dumb I barely could follow or give a shit about what was happening. I think this series needed to be a lot more grounded and not this zanny weird shit.
Art was great though.
July 25, 2022
3.5
I can get on board with the premise. It's a bit abstract, which is a fine. But then keeps piling on more abstractness--which is less fine. Plus, the story's an uneven mess.
I can get on board with the premise. It's a bit abstract, which is a fine. But then keeps piling on more abstractness--which is less fine. Plus, the story's an uneven mess.
May 4, 2022
Writer Al Ewig put a spin on Hulk tropes and took things in more of a horror direction with great results, a fresh and engaging approach that maintained it's level of excellence for a fifty-issue run on IMMORTAL HULK. In steps Donny Cates to take Hulk forward and he also puts a spin on Marvel/Hulk tropes. HULK is as different from IMMORTAL HULK as that was from classic INCREDIBLE HULK. Cates takes this in a weird science-fiction direction that is equally fresh and engaging. (I read this in the single monthly issues).
Everything revolves around one question that is posed in Issue #1: "What if the Hulk exists to protect humanity from Banner?" It will be interesting to see all the ramifications of that notion, or if it really holds up. There are subtle indications in Issue #6 that Banner may not be pulling all the strings.
Bruce Banner split the Hulk up with his body turned into a giant starship. Banner pilots the ship from inside the Hulk's mind. He locks Hulk's psyche in the engine room, using the Hulk's rage to power the ship. He sends escalating levels of threats/opponents to fight him, with things turning up to a crazy Level Nine power surge in the final issue of this story arc.
Starship Hulk enters an alternate dimension/reality where Bruce Banner never became the Hulk, but his successful gamma radiation experiments transformed the world. It created various monsters, "abominations" that Banner dispatched to an outer space netherworld. On this world, General Thunderbolt Ross has become President of the United States and turned it into a global united nation.
Things get really weird, as both the Banner we know and the alternate Banner try to patch things up and prevent Ross from destroying everything. Wild and crazy with stunning artwork by Ryan Ottley and colors by Frank Martin that really pack a visual punch. "Smashtronaut", indeed.
From here, a Thor/Hulk battle is renewed in the "Banner of War" storyline, a six-issue crossover between the two books. I'm not sure I want to read another slugfest, but I'll probably return for Issue #9 to see where things might go from there.
Everything revolves around one question that is posed in Issue #1: "What if the Hulk exists to protect humanity from Banner?" It will be interesting to see all the ramifications of that notion, or if it really holds up. There are subtle indications in Issue #6 that Banner may not be pulling all the strings.
Bruce Banner split the Hulk up with his body turned into a giant starship. Banner pilots the ship from inside the Hulk's mind. He locks Hulk's psyche in the engine room, using the Hulk's rage to power the ship. He sends escalating levels of threats/opponents to fight him, with things turning up to a crazy Level Nine power surge in the final issue of this story arc.
Starship Hulk enters an alternate dimension/reality where Bruce Banner never became the Hulk, but his successful gamma radiation experiments transformed the world. It created various monsters, "abominations" that Banner dispatched to an outer space netherworld. On this world, General Thunderbolt Ross has become President of the United States and turned it into a global united nation.
Things get really weird, as both the Banner we know and the alternate Banner try to patch things up and prevent Ross from destroying everything. Wild and crazy with stunning artwork by Ryan Ottley and colors by Frank Martin that really pack a visual punch. "Smashtronaut", indeed.
From here, a Thor/Hulk battle is renewed in the "Banner of War" storyline, a six-issue crossover between the two books. I'm not sure I want to read another slugfest, but I'll probably return for Issue #9 to see where things might go from there.
April 22, 2022
It's a fine idea, but I think its biggest issue is just how it pales in comparison to Al Ewing's run before this. It explores a lot of the same ideas but compared to Al's, this book seemed very surface level. I think the dialogue worked well, and it was definitely a fun read, but it doesn't quite have the staying power of Al's run. Like, 2 weeks from now I probably won't think of this book much. That said, the art by Ryan Ottley was fantastic and worth the read on its own. Very solid and expressive sequential storytelling on his end, and I like what he does for some of the more disturbing designs. Again, it was a fun read, but I don't think I'd ever feel the need to flip through it again.
October 23, 2022
Following Immortal Hulk and Al Ewing's incredible work on the character was always going to be a hard assignment. Cates seems to have responded by deciding to go big, and way out there. I wouldn't call it successful. Hulk as a "spaceship" for Banner to pilot is a really weird concept. It almost feels like an excuse to paste in a bunch of context-free scenes of ultraviolence: the "ship" is "powered" by an "engine room" that is an interior Hulk fighting hypothetical enemies, like a giant Wolverine. I don't know. And then, of course, there's a nod at Banner's psychological issues and childhood traumas. It feels like a lot of the same ground that Ewing covered in Immortal Hulk, with less finesse.
May 9, 2023
This is the most coke-fueled premise for a book that I've read in a long time, and that is *not* a compliment. The Hulk is now a spaceship? That Bruce Banner is piloting from inside his head? And it's powered by the Savage Hulk, who's locked in perpetual battle? This would have gotten kind of old if it were restricted a a single annual, and it's honestly too much for arc length. A real waste of Ryan Ottley's great pencils.
September 2, 2023
This book is by no means unentertaining, but my god is it as surface level as it gets. The story doesn’t break any new ground for the Hulk or Banner as characters, and all of the subtle theming from Immortal Hulk is seemingly gone. Much like the first volume of Donny Cates’s Thor run, if not for the absolutely badass art, this would probably be a two star book, but I’m willing to be nice since it is still a fun page-turner.
July 1, 2025
Banner is literally piloting Hulk’s body like a starship and using the Hulk’s anger as fuel. That’s so ridiculously stupid in the best way. I’m always down to read a new take on a classic character like this. It gets confusing real fast when they go through a wormhole and meet Bruce Banner. Still dumb fun is dumb fun. I’d read more. 3.25/5
May 25, 2022
WOW that was awesome.
September 1, 2022
Very strange in a good way. Hard to imagine how anyone would follow-up Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk. This is unexpected and interesting. A different sort of horror comic, too...
July 14, 2025
No do hajzlu
January 6, 2023
Love cates, cannot go wrong with him
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews