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This is the 8th volume of the Marvel Premiere hard covers and the first one that I’ve actually picked up. I have to say, this is a really neat idea on Marvel’s end. They release classic tales, mostly from the modern age, that aren’t readily available in TPB form. For instance, this volume collects Hulk: Future Imperfect #’s 1-2 and Hulk: The End. These comics are not easily available and tend to cost a bit on the secondary market but have maintained classic status due to being heralded as great stories. So even though I had Hulk: The End, I wanted to read Future Imperfect so for the $20 price tag, this was a no-brainer for me. I expect to pick these up in the future as they come out and pick up the ones I missed. The volume starts with a very nice introduction by Peter David talking about how he would like his work to live on after he dies. It is well-written and sets the tone of the trade right away.
So, I got this to read Future Imperfect and I have to say, it was pretty damn good. It was a two-part mini-series and the first really just set up the world where they live, with Maestro ruling with an iron fist. A group of rebels use old Doom technology to bring Hulk from the past into their post-apocalyptic world, some 90 years in the future. The rebels are lead by Gramps, Rick Jones. So Hulk shows up and finds out that the Maestro is actually a future version of himself! They meet at the end of issue one and issue two features a decent battle between the two, with Maestro coming out on top and taking the Hulk captive. He tries to get Hulk to join his cause and Hulk plays along until the rebels show up. This leads to an even greater battle between the two with a conclusion that is very satisfying and appropriate. I won’t ruin the ending here but it is something you definitely won’t see coming and really ties everything together very nicely. This really would be the start of a series of Marvel titles that showed a future version of the heroes, with Avengers the Last Story coming to mind as the next popular one and finally the, The End titles produced recently. The art of George Perez was fantastic and I don’t think David has written anything better. It really is a perfect little two-part story and I can see why it is lauded in so many circles, it’s that damn good. Included in the trade is a brief passage written by Perez talking about his experiences working on Future Imperfect.
Hulk: The End was one I have in my personal comic collection and even though I haven’t read it in a while, it still remains as great as it was when I first read it. It isn’t flashy like most of the other “The End” titles were. It isn’t terribly long like the 18 part X-Men The End series, and it was completely different from what Future Imperfect was. It is just Hulk and Bruce Banner as the lone survivor of Earth, and the constant battle between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. It is extremely well-written and the art of Keown is just amazing. If you want a comic with non-stop action then this is not for you, but if you want a psychological battle between a forsaken Banner who just wants death and a crazed Hulk who just wants to be left alone and be the final survivor, this is one you can’t afford to not pick up. The conclusion of this story was very fitting and apt.
-The Bottom Line- What else do I have to say? These are two seminal Hulk stories, perhaps two of the best Hulk stories written at least in the last 20 years. They are self-contained and you literally need no knowledge of the Hulk or where he was in a given point of time to enjoy these. This is nothing short of perfect and is highly recommended
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