Review – Planet Hulk #1 (Secret Wars Tie-In)

The march of the tie-ins continues with everyone’s favorite unstoppable green Goliath in Planet Hulk #1, but how well does it stand up to the rest of Marvel’s massive summer event?  Let’s find out.

Planet Hulk by writer Sam Humphries and artist Marc Laming takes us to the Northernmost part of Battleworld, on a continent separated from the rest of the planet by a vast ocean.  This continent is known as “Greenland,” and is inhabited solely by a race of gamma irradiated beings.  As one can imagine on a continent full of massive rage monsters, there is a significant amount of turmoil and unrest.  The supreme ruler of Battleworld (can I say it?  I mean, we’re three weeks into this thing, I don’t think I have to give a spoiler warning anymore, right?), Dr. Doom, decides to try and quell the turmoil by sending a gladiator champion, one Captain Steve Rogers, and his pet T-Rex (completely serious) into this savage and unforgiving territory.

When the basic premise of this book was first described to me, my initial thought was, “That is absolutely ridiculous and completely insane.”  My second thought after a few moments was then, “I have to read it,” and honestly, I’m glad I did.  Sam Humphries’  concept for this story is so completely outlandish that it might initially turn a some people away, but I feel like it’s genuinely written in such a way that, within the larger confines of this world, and the Secret Wars event in general, it just seems to work.  There’s nothing particularly earth-shattering about it, but it is a solid opening chapter in what seems like it’s eventually going to be a really interesting story.

Laming’s art is pretty good here as well.  Gladiator Cap looks awesome, and seeing all the different Hulk variations among the inhabitants of Greenland was interesting.  The action scenes flow smoothly throughout the issue, which is definitely a plus.  Again, nothing about the artwork really knocked me off my feet, but it certainly serves its purpose to complete the story and give it some life.

So far, I’ve been really impressed with each of the tie-in series that I’ve read, and if these first few are any indication, it makes me really want to check out all of them, just to try and capture the full breadth and scope of this world.  I’ll be honest, when the Secret Wars event was first announced, and even after some of the major details started to come out, I really wasn’t sure how it was going to work, and to be quite honest, I’m still don’t completely understand some of the intricacies of it.  However, the quality of the books that have been released so far (at least the ones that I’ve read) has really solidified my faith that Marvel might just be able to pull this thing off.  The main event series has been fantastic so far, and all of the tie-ins paint a much deeper picture of Battleworld, which is exactly what a good tie-in should do…. I fear I may be broke by the time this is done…

The Verdict for Planet Hulk #1:
I can dig it

Until next time,
Stay nerdy, my friends.

Upcoming reviews:
East of West, Volume 3: There Is No Us TPB
Old Man Logan #1 (Secret Wars Tie-In)
Where Monsters Dwell #1 (Secret Wars Tie-In)
Wytches #1-#6
March of the Crabs, Volume 1: The Crabby Condition
Splatoon