|
|
 |
Planet Hulk introduced me to a savage beast (The Hulk) fighting for his life on a foreign, savage planet, and finding love in one of his Warbound. Of course, Hulk can never get happiness for long and it was all ripped away from him. I loved that story but never realized that roots of that story were laid in Heart of the Atom. This volume covers many of Hulk’s jaunt’s into the world of K’ai, a micro-universe Hulk was shrunk down to. He first went there in the pages of Hulk #140, while battling Psyklop. He met there a woman, a queen, named Jarella and fell instantly in love. Hulk, with the mind of Banner, found happiness but it was quickly ripped away. Hulk could not forget Jarella, even when back on Earth in his mindless form. Hulk saw Jarella again in #148 when she was brought to this world, however that was short-lived, too. Hulk was shrunk down and returned to K’ai in the pages of #156 thanks to Pym particles only to be brought back when its effects wore off. Hulk #’s 202 and 203 saw Hulk return to K’ai, fight Psyklop again and again get ripped away from that world. This time, he has Jarella with him. Of course, happiness does not last long as Jarella is killed in #205 while Hulk battled the Crypt-Man and Jarella sacrificed herself to save a young boy. The ensuing two issues (#’s 206-7) saw Hulk go wild and only the Defenders helping him with his grief. Finally, #’s 246-248 sees Hulk find the body of his lost love (it was in the government’s possession) back to K’ai for a proper burial. Jarella was gone, but Hulk would never forget her. We also get a look at What If #23 (the first series) where Jarella didn’t die and she and Hulk lived happily ever after.
-The Bottom Line- Heart of the Atom shows Hulk in a rare light. He is still the big monster we know but he is now a big monster with a heart. He had feelings for Jarella that he never had for Betty. It gives Hulk an almost human side and you really feel bad for him as he struggles with the loss of Jarella. The great thing about these stories is that even though it is spread over many issues (spanning 100 issues of Hulk) you don’t feel like you’re lost. Sure there are some sub-plots that pop up out of nowhere, but they are written in a way that you, the reader, can easily pick up what’s going on. That’s a testament to how well-written this is by all the writers who contributed. The art was solid as well, and you never get jarred out of the story by different artists being on here. If you liked Planet Hulk, read this as a precursor to the first time Hulk was alone in a strange place. Recommended.
|
|
|
|
|
Questions? Comments? Shoot me an email.
|
|
|
|