Review: Hulk: World War Hulk Omnibus

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Hulk: World War Hulk Omnibus by Greg Pak
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

So, first of all, I want to be crystal-clear that I read this as individual issues chronologically, not as the Omnibus that will be released as a hardcover later this year. I wasn't lucky enough to score a glorious galley copy or anything like that but I have devoured every issue that this omnibus will collect and read them in the intended order. Basically, I binged on the World War Hulk storyline over a short period of time and felt that it was appropriate to review it this way rather than adding 5 different books to my shelf.

That being said, I obviously can't provide any credible information on the beauty or lack thereof of the hardcover issue that will arrive in the final copy of this Omnibus. However, I have no doubt that the book will be worth collecting for anyone who loves the Hulk and this storyline. If the big green guy is your cup of tea, then this will be over 1000 pages of awesomeness.

World War Hulk was a massive cross-title storyline that took place in the Marvel universe and immediately follows the events of Planet Hulk. If you haven't read that, then I suggest that you do. However, if you are too lazy and just want to jump in, you could probably get away with it since they flash back and provide multiple synopses of the gist of Planet Hulk. To sum it up, Hulk is pissed because he was sent to another planet where after being kept as a gladiator slave, his wife, unborn son and basically everyone else was blown up by a bomb that he attributes to several key Superhero leaders back on earth. He takes his warbound buddies and goes back to earth for vengeance and it is a bloody destructive mess.

This is a pretty big event in the Marvel universe and you'd think it would be a bundle of constant fun... and it was at first. The problem is that the same story and events were told over and over and over. Quite honestly, very little actually occurred over these 1000+ pages that couldn't have been told in a few short issues. It's a shame because it could have been so so good! I don't regret reading it all but I think that most people would be satisfied by just reading the core issues of the storyline without bothering to re-read the events in 5 other crossover titles.

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