Hulk: Grand Design - Monster!

Hulk Grand Design #1

by Jim Rugg

The acclaimed Grand Design franchise continues! Writer/artist Jim Rugg follows in the tradition of Ed Piskor and Tom Scioli by unfurling the full saga of THE INCREDIBLE HULK, from the very beginning to the present! Witness the biggest moments in the Hulk's history through the eyes of a single visionary storyteller!

Genres: Comics, Marvel, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics

Mass Market Paperback

Published March 16, 2022

About the author

Jim Rugg is an Eisner and Ignatz Award-winning cartoonist based in Pittsburgh. His books include STREET ANGEL, The PLAIN Janes, The Guild, Afrodisiac, and Notebook Drawings. Awards and recognition from the Society of Illustrators, AIGA, Communication Arts, Print magazine, American Illustration, SPX, and Creative Quarterly adorn his mantle.

His studio is pencils, paper, ballpoint pens, ink, Photoshop, cats, and comics.

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is basically CliffsNotes for Bronze Age Hulk, or an advertisement for Marvel Unlimited, but… my inner child and I are here for it. Shut up and take my money!

[Kay ☾ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, recaps like this are needed! I feel like I could win $5 easy at a Hulk themed trivia night after reading this. Also made me interested in the Hulk! I gotta read some stuff about him now.

[Mike Maurer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing retrospective of a beautiful story that often gets overshadowed by other titles. All of the grand design books are incredible and this one is no different. Love it

[Nicolo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cartoonist Jim Rugg does a superlative job in creating a single narrative of the Hulk's publishing history using his own singular artistic style.

Ed Piskor's X-Men: Grand Design remains the standard this book is judged against, but whereas that has a more comicbooky feel, Rugg approaches Hulk: Grand Design more of a zine than a graphic novel.

This results in a comic that has a variety of layout and panel options rather than the grid Piskor utilizes in X-Men: Grand Design. This is not strictly only a history lesson, but an entertaining look back at the early adventures of the Hulk.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great art. I love the paper pages rather than the new smudgy shiny stuff you see everywhere. A brisk rundown of the Hulk’s early stories and a good to-read guide (with references) for anyone motivated enough to explore his full history. Also, the repeating narrative frameworks and patterns that emerge as you fly through the story make for an interesting comment on the character/archetype relationship in long running comic book series and gives you a hint as to how storylines are developed for a character.

[Scott Waldyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. It's such a fun, narrative-driven retelling of the Hulk storyline over the years.

This first volume hones in on key points from Hulk's origins through the early 80s, and it's filled with fun references to Hulk's influence outside of the sphere of comics (like the popular 70s TV show and its spinoff made-for-TV movies).

Great for new and old Hulk fans alike. Can't wait for volume 2!

[Daniel Vlasaty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I dug this.

Really liked Jim Rugg’s art (it’s always good - so no surprise there)

But I didn’t really know shit about The Hulk, never really read him. This reads more like a Cliff notes than an actual comic but it’s great.

[Johnny Nigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good collection of Hulk comics!

[Drake Zappa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant summarisation of Hulks history

[OinkFish Pigs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this, and I learned more about the hulk mythos👍.

9.6

[Eladio Garro · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of Hulk's first years, from his short run on his own first comic book series, through his appearances in other books, like Fantastic Four and Avengers, to Tales To Astonish.

[Adam Spanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for marvel fans. What a great throwback to the early marvel years and true to the essence of comic storytelling. Fast paced and thrilling! Great work by Jim Rugg!

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Jden Arlt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5-5 really good a bit confusing but only because it’s a bunch of comics put into one comic book around 40pages.