The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 2: Boiling Point

The Incredible Hulk (1999) (Collected Editions) #5

by Bruce Jones, John Romita Jr.

Bruce Banner is found hiding in plain sight at a roadside convenience store -- caught abruptly between a gun-wielding madman, a constricting circle of local police and dark, predatory forces.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Marvel, Superheroes, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Fiction

96 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

"What's going on here, ma'am?" -- inquisitive rookie cop Jerry Danvers

"I'm not sure, Jerry . . . but it's more than meets the eye." -- Lt. Sally Riker, hostage negotiator

Like a musician taking a tired old tune and making it seem fresh via his or her new interpretation, this follow-up volume features a crime story plot - a disgruntled pistol-wielding man walks into a convenience store to takes hostage; a disgraced police officer seeking needed redemption may be the innocent folks' only hope - that been done to death over the decades in countless novels, TV shows or movies. The spice that gives this tale an added kick would be having incognito Dr. Bruce Banner - still being sought by a shadowy federal government agency for a crime he didn't commit - as one of the half-dozen random captives stuck in that claustrophobic environment. Banner has to keep his stress level in check - lest his monstorous and emerald-hued alter ego suddenly materialize - while also sincerely helping the hostage negotiator achieve a peaceful resolution. Needless to say, things go sideways and this tight graphic novel speeds towards a violently suspenseful conclusion.

[Lono · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hollywood buddy read with my Shallow Comic Reading pals!



Solid follow up to Return of the Monster. This one includes the Transfer of Power and Abominable storylines. Bruce Jones ties up a few loose ends and keeps it more interesting than I was expecting. Teach me to stereotype a Hulk story. Those mysterious agents are still at it trying to wrangle the big green guy. Jones finally fills a few holes left from Vol. 1 and gives a bit more background on who they are and what their deal is. Doc Samson continues to get fleshed out a bit more in this one as well. I’m a little more interested in him as a character now and that’s after hating on him in Vol 1.



While I did enjoy the first half of this collection, I really felt like this one picked up on the ass end. I’ve loved big-ass monsters duking it out since I sat glued to the TV on Saturday afternoon as a kid watching Godzilla take on all comers. Jones delivers just that when the Abomination steps to the Hulk and it’s ON. Liked the slow build to the final throwdown. Bruce paced the story well and certainly gave both Blonsky and Banner lots of motivation to wanna beat the piss outta each other. Jones continues to focus primarily on the Banner half of the monster in this one, but as long as he keeps it interesting, I’m cool with it. That, and Banner gets his freak on, the dirty hobo.



Stuart Immonen provided the art for the first half and it’s not his best work. Not horrific, just seemed sorta muddy. Not my thing. Deodato, however, ends the book on a high note with his kick-ass work in Abominable. Not always a fan of Mike’s shit, but he kills it here. This really reminded of his work on Original Sin, which could be the high water mark of his career to date. For me anyway. Kaare Andrews continues to provide some great covers as well. His Where the Wild Things Are inspired cover was pretty boss.



So Vol. 2 is a recommend. Bruce Jones’ stuff, along with Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk , is on the short list of Hulk stuff I would tell any comic fan to look up. Still some loose-ends, but overall fun stuff.

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[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Repeating the same mistakes as its previous volume, the comic book makes the error of having a disappointing climax, but unlike the first one, it has a better artwork.

[Wifey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hulk smash! Smash your brain with Rime of the Ancient Mariner references. I mean he Is a Doctor.

[Roman Zarichnyi · Rating 4 out of 5]

У арці «Неймвірний Галк: Точка кипіння» #40-43 Брюс Джонс продовжує муки Брюса Беннера, який картає себе за минулі вчинки.

За сюжетом він приходить у крамницю, яку вирішив пограбувати хлопака, що втратив усе і якого держава послала під три чорти. До основних героїв окрім Беннера, додається поліціантка-переговорниця, яка перебуває у депресії, і повинна відмовити грабіжника від його дій. Але неочікувано сюди вплітається ФБР, яке бажає вирішити ситуацію по-своєму.

Більшість арки просувається сценами у крамниці та вулиці поряд, але у кінці вже виходить за межі цих декорацій.

Не дарма арка називається «Точка кипіння», адже Беннер уявляє, як він перетвориться на Галка і рознесе того злочинця. І помало підходить до точки неповернення. І Джонс нарешті дає волю істинній природі зеленого монстра, якого постійно хочуть схопити різні негідники.

На мою думку вийшло знову класно і краще за першу арку автора. І ще яскравих фарб додає зміна художника на Лі Вікса.

[L. McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Umm... I have nothing for the first sentence so I'll just get right into it.

What's it about?
A guy tries robbing a convenience store and one of the people there is actually Bruce Banner and then it's all downhill from there.

Why it gets 5 stars:
The story's interesting.
The characters are interesting, not just Hulk.
The art is freaking fantastic! I absolutely love it!
It's a bit unpredictable.
Lots of great action in this one. This is a book about a giant green rage monster after all.
The ending is really good.
The overall tone of the book is... interesting. This felt more like an intense crime drama then it did a typical superhero comic but still has the superhero stuff in there and I like that mix.

Overall:
I was really surprised. I haven't really read many Hulk comics, definitely plan on reading more (especially the first volume of this run) it's a great, quick read. This is the 2nd volume of this run, I usually start at volume 1 but won this and decided to give it a read despite not having read the 1st volume, glad I did. I definitely would recommend this one.

5/5

[Reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second volume of Bruce Jones' Hulk run lacks the immediate excitement of the first volume (which is the best). Unfortunately this is a series that digresses in quality as it moves forward, so if you are interested in it, don't move past this volume - no matter what the cliffhanger leaves you with.

[Jdetrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first of the Bruce Jones trades, but this is still solid, especially for the Hulk.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

As established in The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1: Return of the Monster, Bruce Banner is on the run a shadowy organisation is after him, and the mysterious Mr.Blue is helping him evade his pursuers.

The suspense continues in this volume, as Banner is taken hostage in a convenience store, and the county's hostage negotiator must relinquish her duties to newly-arrived Agent Pratt [ostensibly of the FBI]. Pratt knows about Banner's real identity and about the troubles he's running from, and it won't spoil anything to reveal that there's more to Pratt than meets the eye...

Bruce Jones' run is off to a great start, slowly raising the stakes and pulling us in further & further. Lee Weeks's art is well-suited to the mood of the story.

Next up: The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 3: Transfer of Power!

[Timo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siitä huolimatta, että tämän innoissaan mielenkiinnolla luki, niin ei tämä yhtä hyvä ollut kuin Jonesin ensimmäinen Hulk kokonaisuus.
Ehkä se oli John Romita Jr.:n taiteen puuttuminen ja ihan pätevän Lee Weeksin tuleminen tilalle, ehkä se oli nuo loputtomat Coleridge sitaatit. Mutta se lopullinen potku täydellisyyteen jäi puuttumaan.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

reminds me of theroy thomas, marv wolfman, elliot s! maggin superhero stories of the seventies. the first hulk story in years i've loved. uses the Rime of the Ancient Marnier as background story. this was the kind of comic writing that first got people using comics in classrooms.

[Richard Guion · Rating 4 out of 5]

Doc Samson gets more involved in this 2nd volume of Bruce Jones' storyline, loads of fun as two assassins join the hunt for Banner. A little more Hulk than the last volume. Romita's artwork was very well done.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same goodness as the first volume. The new Incredible Hulk movie owes more to this series than Zak Penn would like to admit, I'm sure.

[Sonic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun read. Brings intrigue and good characterizations to the old Frankenstein meets Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde myth that is the Hulk.

[Dean · Rating 2 out of 5]

doc Samson makes an appearance here.
now I dont understand some of the stuff in here at all.
Sandra and the dude kill police officers, take their uniform and car. then at the diner the police officers rock up in civvies. what the hell? they don't play a role anymore in this story abd they have clone bodies appear 20 issues later in Stasis pods. not sure what's going on.

more eof the same though of Bruce trying to achieve something, local authorities abd the secret organisation are after him. I like it's a spy thriller but it's not done very well. it's frustrating to read. nothing really makes sense.

[Derek Moreland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Call it 2 and a half, and that’s being generous. Lee Weeks is an excellent artist and his style works well for the Hulk. And again, the first issue holds a lot of promise. But then the whole conspiracy overarching story kicks in again, and for some reason everyone is suddenly quoting Coleridge, and it really doesn’t work....

But at least you can track all the character’s goals, motivations, and wants, so that puts it above volume one.

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most underrated hulk runs. Everyone acts within reason (my major complaint with hulk stories) and the hulk only does cool hulk stuff like smashing things and ripping a man apart at the arms (that’s a dream sequence to be fair). This trade does not read well after the first- they seem only distantly connected but both stories are Bruce walking around middle America and being chased by nefarious governments and other gangsters.

Shout out my boy Sammy Coleridge!

[Eligos Vespillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bruce Jones' government conspiracy against the Hulk comes to a head here, with Banner becoming more the hero than his green alter-ego. The real stand out of this run is the cover art of each issue by Kaare Andrews which beautifully lampoon classic American artwork, films like Apocalypse Now, and even a kid's cereal box!

[Lavell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artwork: above average, Story: Very Good. The book where the spy network carries the story. A sheriff with an old problem and the adjustment to a new one.not giving too much away. It was a good story.

[Shawn Ingle · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars. The pace quickens, and the action picks up in this short second volume. Bruce finds himself in a hostage situation that goes very wrong. Lee Weeks takes over on pencils, but his style is similar to JRJR's, so it's not a distraction at all.

[Beelzefuzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creative new ways to use the Hulk. Perhaps I should say more creative ways to threaten to use the Hulk and imperil Banner. Maybe my favorite collection so far out of all the Hulk marathon I have been going down. Definite X-Files and shadowy organization vibes.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was good, and I've always loved Coleridge. The artwork was great.

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not to be a big grump or anything but when does Bruce Jones's run on the Hulk get interesting? Bruce is still being persued by a shadowy conspiracy that seems to murder everyone they meet and has unlimited resources. I've seen that sort of bad guy too many times before and its getting old. The central mystery isn't really pulling me in. And not to keep harping on about this but why are modern comics so mean-spirited and ugly?

[Marcos_e.e · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nota 7 pra menos.
Mas aqui já começa a dar um pouco errado a série. A personagem da policial é chata pra caramba. A situação é legal, mas se alonga por tempo desnecessário.
Mas ainda é uma história boa.

[David Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good, great art, but they somehow mixed up the pages during the climactic battle.

[tony dillard jr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once again on the run from authorities, Bruce Banner is backpacking through the Rockies when he stops at a convenience store for supplies. There, he runs afoul of hostage situation. Normally, Banner would let his little green friend deal with the situation but he is a wanted man.

Tasked with being the go-between on the store's phone with the hostage negotiator, Banner's trying to defuse the situation quickly. He really doesn't want to make a scene and now that the FBI has arrived, Bruce really wants to be on his way and fast. It looks like the fugitive doctor has an out as the agents claiming to be Feds are willing to trade the on-site negotiator for him...

The first half of this book was excellent. I liked the whole set-up of having Bruce be stuck in a hostage situation, unable to Hulk-out without serious ramifications. But about half way through, the book takes a turn and the Albatross from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner is used ad- nauseum and I hated it.

When I read a comic book, I don't mind being challenged by social justice motifs. But I don't expect my comics to double as English Lit text-books! Plus, if your going to go that route, maybe add a small Crib's Notes section so I know what the hell your talking about.

Great art by Lee Weeks (Captain Marvel) but I think writer Bruce Jones (Eerie) was trying just a little too hard.