At this year's Free Comic Book day, I bought a number of essentials at really nice discount. I really like this series because it gives many issues in one single book.
I read Hulk stories in 2018 and 2019. One I liked and one I did not. I was particularly looking for the origins of the Hulk and his first adventures. This is Stan Lee and Jack Kirby at their most creative, with Steve Ditko taking over many issues. This group of superhero giants coming together adds to the value of this volume.
From reading the story, it seems they had little idea how Hulk functions early on. He goes through a series of alteration - such as Hulk turning to Banner when his heartrate goes up. Or Hulk coming out at night. We go through a series of transformation. At fist, this annoyed me, but eventually, I decided to see this as Hulk/Banner transforming over and over due to the Gamma Rays.
However, the stories are pretty bland. Banner wants to rid himself of Hulk. Hulk wants to be left alone. Betty Ross likes Banner but doesn't mind Major Talbot. Thunderbolt Ross wants to destroy the Hulk. Oh yeah and Rick Jones the teenager runs around trying to help Hulk.
Compared to most other superhero titles, there are few villains with any significant plan. Stand-outs include the Leader and Abomination.
This was entertaining but it was weak. The nostalgia factor bumps up my final score to a 3/5. It's not as entertaining as other #1s, such as Iron Man, Spiderman, the Avengers, Thor, Daredevil, or the X-Men. Having read later stories, it gets better than this. But that #1 bumps up the rating.
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