While I had not read
Planet Hulk or
World War Hulk, I wanted to get to the core of this character first after finding the very cool
Marvel Universe Skaar this past summer. I was completely unaware of this character, and resolved to read about him as soon as I could find a copy at a decent price- couldn't do better than $3.99 on Amazon, kids!
By the time I'd read this 200 pager, I had become aware of the Hulk being shot into space by Iron Man, landing on a far off planet where he becomes king and saves the people, his pregnant wife being killed as the planet erupts in destruction, and Hulk returning to Earth to exact his revenge. Well, something like that anyway. So when the story began with this creepy baby born into a lava pit, I knew where things were going :D
The editorial blurb:
Born in fire. Raised by monsters. Destined to smash! On an alien planet shattered by war, no one is stronger than Skaar, the savage Son of Hulk. But as a Fillian warlord, an Imperial princess, and a mysterious Earthman spread chaos through the wastelands, will Skaar save the puny survivors - or eat them?! Another epic fever dream from Greg Pak, writer of Planet Hulk and World War Hulk - featuring the return of fan-favorite Hulk artist Ron Garney! Collects Skaar: Son of Hulk #1-6, Savage World of Skaar and Hulk Family.
A lot of the story of Skaar's early infancy to his coming of age were told in flashback, and this was mildly confusing- I wasn't sure exactly what point in time we were through some of it, but I got the general idea. I read some reviews that complained about this observance, one in particular who had read
Planet Hulk &
World War Hulk, and realized having not read those was not the issue. Aside from that, I was fascinated by the book's art depicting the savage world that gave birth to this violent creature. His main nemesis is a brutal warlord Axeman Bone out to kill every child born in order to stamp out the "old power" drawn from the planet that Skaar's mother possessed, believed to be the Sakaarson, a figure of apocalyptic legend.
I liked author Greg Pak's creation, the world of Sakaar, though it was nothing
new- he claimed to have gotten the flesh of the idea from reading about the real lives of gladiators in ancient Rome, Ghengis Khan, as well as contemporary literature on the art of war. Conan the Barbarian came to mind naturally. But hey- some of the oldest stories are the best, right? Told over & over again, to the next generation, then the next and so on... I plan on reading
Planet Hulk &
World War Hulk some time in the future, and maybe some of the following tales where Skaar catches up with Bruce Banner, which I got a glimpse of in
Seven the Hard Way when he stomps Wolverine's butt into the ground, then impales him on a tree
. See how Marvel got me all wrapped up in that? Damn :D
* See my post on the
Marvel Universe World War Hulk & Skaar action figures!
More Later- Read Your Comics!
That has got to be the coolest thing i've read today,i as well knew nothing about this Skaar figure that i would see and pass up every time i saw it on the pegs.Knowing and reading up on these characters really make having the action figure that much cooler!BTW That's a sick scene of him as a baby!
ReplyDeleteI loved Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. Some of the best Hulk stuff I have read in years. It's a fabuous concept to place Hulk on a planet where he is NOT the biggest and the baddest. Did you see the Planet Hulk animated movie? I thought they did a good job of capturing the spirit of the comic story. I am not a fan of the Marvel Universe figures because of their small size but I have the Skaar figure.
ReplyDeleteI need to get out of the vintage world for a while. There is so much cool stuff out these days.
ReplyDeleteSeriously I never thought Hulk will be a father. I mean he is angry all the time...
ReplyDeleteActually the Hulk has had some tender moments if you look through his history: Betty Ross, Jarella, and Skaars mother, Caiera are only a few.
ReplyDelete