The following was originally posted on ComixFan.com:

Greg Pak has been making quite an impact over at Marvel Comics in recent years. He is responsible for the current Planet Hulk story in the The Incredible Hulk and the soon to be released sequel to Phoenix Endsong- Phoenix Warsong. Greg Pak recently found some time to give Comixfan a few details regarding his upcoming work with the Hulk, the X-Men, and his own creation Mastermind Excello.

Comixfan: Now on to some Planet Hulk related questions. Part one of Planet Hulk just came to an end and Anarchy is fast approaching. Are there any details you can share on what to expect in the upcoming issues?

Greg Pak: If the Exile story arc of Planet Hulk was Star Wars, the Anarchy arc is The Empire Strikes Back. Just as thrilling, but darker and deeper. We're learning more about the horrors of the Emperor's rule, the mythic role the Hulk seems destined to play, and how their growing rage is affecting the Hulk and his crew. Big, big things are in store for several of the supporting characters -- Miek, the four-armed Native, and Caiera, the gray-skinned female Shadow Guard Lieutenant, in particular. They're going to become major characters in the Hulk's life - keep an eye on 'em! And of course, the smashing continues.

Also, don't miss the Planet Hulk: Gladiator Guidebook which hits stands on July 19. It's an incredibly detailed guide to the history and inhabitants of Planet Sakaar - with tons of juicy details about the members of Hulk's crew that you won't find anywhere else.

Comixfan: Hulk recently went head to head with the Silver Savage. Will any other Marvel characters be stopping in for a brawl or two?

Incredible Hulk # 98 CoverGreg Pak: Jarella of K'ai, who some say was the Hulk's greatest love, made an appearance in Giant Size Hulk last month. And don't miss Incredible Hulk #100 - a slew of major Marvel characters will pop up there.

Comixfan: Are there any other characters you would like to work on or will be working on in the future?

Greg Pak: The X-Men I think about the most these days (aside from the characters I'm working with in Warsong) are Storm, Nightcrawler, Angel, and Magneto. I'm hoping to get my hands on some of those characters someday. Other characters I've always loved include Deathlok and Morbius. But the character I'm probably the most excited about this instant is Amadeus Cho, aka Mastermind Excello, the genius kid on the run who first appeared in a story I wrote for Amazing Fantasy #15. Marvel.com polled readers to find out which character from Amazing Fantasy #15 should get a miniseries, and Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada recently announced at Newsarama that Mastermind Excello won. I'm working on plans for him to appear in an upcoming comic I'm writing now - keep your eyes open!

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:

Incredible Hulk is doing the incredible. Since Greg Pak’s debut on the book, he began an epic story called “Planet Hulk.” Instead of buzz tapering off after the first two issues, the buzz continued to grow on the project, with sales drifting upwards and fans clamoring for more (Wizard magazine chose it as its September Book of the Month).

Pak sat down with Wizard Universe to talk about how he got the gig, why the book has grown in popularity, and let something slip out about a huge guest-star for the upcoming issue #100 that will have fans buzzing.

How’d you get the Hulk gig?

PAK: While working with “Incredible Hulk” editor Mark Paniccia on an entirely unrelated project, I ran my yap at every opportunity about how much I loved the Hulk and all the great ideas I had for Hulk stories. So when it came time for him to pick a new Hulk writer, I guess it wasn’t hard for him to remember my name.

Were you a fan of the book before?

PAK: I’ve loved the character since I was a kid. In particular, I can remember reading and re-reading that Hulk-Submariner fight from Origins of Marvel Comics. And the television show blew my little mind.

Who are your favorite Hulk creators?

PAK: Probably Bill Mantlo and Peter David. I love Mantlo’s “Crossroads” stories. And Peter David’s “Future Imperfect” and “Hulk: The End” are classics. And of course, I have to give it up to Stan Lee for creating the character, and for developing the intelligent, surly Hulk in those first few issues. That version of the Hulk has definitely helped inform the way we’re depicting the character in “Planet Hulk.”

What drew you to the character of the Hulk?

PAK: On that fundamental, visceral level, I love the Hulk for losing his temper. There’s huge vicarious pleasure in watching the Hulk. He does what we’d all like to do when things or situations or stupid puny humans get in his way: he smashes! So that’s all kinds of fun. But Hulk stories become great when they explore the effects of all that smashing on a real emotional level. Is the Hulk a monster or a hero? Is his smashing just plain wicked or is it sometimes justified or necessary? Can he ever find a place where he can belong, or does his inability to control his anger, righteous though it may be, doom him and the people he loves to tragedy? Those are the compelling, dramatic questions I can’t get enough of.

Who’s idea was it to put Hulk in space?

PAK: I first heard it from Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada, who told me of his vision of the Hulk in armor with a big battle axe fighting monsters in an arena on an alien planet. And I said, “Yes, please!”

How did that expand into the “Planet Hulk” event?

PAK: Joe and the other editors tossed a few plot points at me and I went into my dark cave to work my magic. My job was to fill in all the story details, develop the big themes and emotional arc, create the supporting cast and the political, historical, social, mythological and zoological reality of the world itself. It’s been a huge kick in the pants, particularly since editor Mark Paniccia has been an amazing story collaborator and pencilers Carlo Pagulayan and Aaron Lopresti and cover artist Ladronn have been nothing but amazing to work with.

But why put Hulk in space?

PAK: It was time for the Hulk to cut loose, time for the Hulk to smash. And an adventure on an alien planet would give us the time and space to have him really discover himself in all his destructive glory without having to shake the Marvel Universe to the core. There’ll be time for that later...

Did you always envision it being this big and epic?

PAK: At first, the story was only going to be about half the length. But after the editors saw the scope of the outline I submitted and mulled over what was happening in the Marvel Universe as a whole, they gave us a full 14 issues. It’s an incredible opportunity. As a result, we’ve been able to open up the story, delve deeply into all of our supporting characters, and build a whole mythic subtext to the Hulk’s giant emotional storyline which is going to pay off in a huge way as the tale comes to its climax.

Tell us about the characters that jumped on board the story in the first arc

PAK: Miek is the six-limbed insectivorid slave who attaches himself to the Hulk as a sidekick. As the story progresses, we’re going to see that Miek has a huge emotional storyline of his own, he’s suffered horribly from the Empire’s oppression, and he’s learning from the Hulk never to stop making them pay. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing remains to be seen: don’t miss issues #97 and #98 in particular if you’re interested in find out!

Korg is the brick of the Hulk’s crew, a Stone Man from Kronan whose quiet moral authority might help the Hulk fulfill his real heroic potential. Hiroim is a Shadow Warrior whose strategic expertise may help the Hulk and his crew survive against the Emperor’s armies. And perhaps the most important supporting character of all, Caiera the Oldstrong, is another Shadow Warrior, the Emperor’s bodyguard, who has been sent to kill the Hulk. As our story progresses, she’s going to become an absolutely key player: look for her story to pick up major steam in issue #98.

How worried were you about how fans would react to such a drastic change in storytelling?

PAK: Old-time fans know that the Hulk has a tradition of periodically heading out for science fiction adventures in other worlds, most memorably, in the Jarella tales and the Crossroads stories. So I was pretty hopeful that folks would at least give the storyline a shot. But what gave me the most confidence was that we all knew it was time for the Hulk to be the Hulk, for the Hulk to have the chance to cut loose, and “Planet Hulk” would be a great place for him to do just that.

And how has fan reaction to the story been so far?

PAK: We’ve been pretty overwhelmed. The fans have been enormously generous with their praise, and for that we’re as grateful as can be. It’s been exciting to see the book actually gaining readers; it’s a very rare thing for a book to climb from month to month without a major change in writer, artist, or storyline, but the fans are spreading the word about “Planet Hulk” and I can’t thank them enough.

Tell us about the book’s artists.

PAK: Aaron Lopresti is penciling issues 96 to 99, the “Anarchy” arc. Aaron’s doing an incredible job. Career-best work, in my opinion. Wait ‘til you see the battle scenes in Issue #98 and the climactic moments of Issue #99: they’re gorgeous and powerful and tragic and heroic and monstrous and everything else you could want for an epic Hulk story.

Carlo Pagulayan penciled issues 92 to 95, the “Exile” arc, and returns with issue 100 for the “Allegiance” arc. Carlo’s got an exquisite sense of dynamism and detail and he keeps topping himself with every issue. Carlo also designed most of the characters and buildings and technology in the story: he has an incredible eye and has done a tremendous job of making this alien world come to life.

Finally, Ladronn, the cover artist, deserves a huge amount of praise for the amazing images he keeps producing. The Hulk/Silver Surfer cover to #95 is my favorite comic book cover of the year, bar none.

What’s coming up in the 100th issue?

PAK: It’s the first issue in the climactic “Allegiance” storyline, featuring incredible action and some shocking emotional developments for the Hulk and his key allies. There’s also a 10-page backup story that gives us a glimpse of what’s happening on Planet Earth. And I’ll go ahead and spill the beans. Issue #100 will feature a few surprise guest stars, including Reed Richards and Amadeus Cho, a.k.a. Mastermind Excello. Who the heck is that, you ask? He’s a character I developed for the Amazing Fantasy #15 anthology issue, and he won the online contest Marvel.com ran to see which character from the anthology would get his or her own miniseries. In the Amazing Fantasy story, Amadeus Cho is a genius kid on the run who has an unexpected encounter with our big green friend. As we’ll see in Incredible Hulk #100, Amadeus may end up playing a very important role in the Hulk’s future...

Any hints as to what else is happening?

PAK: Major twists and shocking developments and smashing galore. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I think it’s safe to say that “Planet Hulk” and the story arc that follows it will have more emotional impact on the Hulk than anything we’ve seen for years.

How long are you planning on staying on the book?

PAK: As long as they’ll have me! Editor Mark Paniccia and I have a couple of years worth of good story ideas already. My fingers are crossed that I’ll be able to stick around and write ‘em all.

What do you hope fans remember from “Planet Hulk” years from now?

PAK: Wow. That’s a tough question. I’ll just be honest, we’re telling a hugely ambitious story here. We’re shooting for wildly entertaining epic adventure, mind-blowing action and non-stop smashing, fully-formed, three-dimensional characters, genuinely mythic storytelling, enormous emotional development, and, in the end, a revelation of fundamental human truth. (Did I mention we’re ambitious?) If any fraction of all of this comes through and is remembered with fondness, I’ll be thrilled.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Greetings, rebels and revolutionaries of Planet Sakaar! My name is Arch-E-5912. I'm a communications bot and former slave who now serves the Green Scar, aka the Incredible Hulk, as he leads his band of gladiators and refugees in battle against the oppressive Imperial forces of the Red King. Because of my ability to create encrypted data streams, I've been tasked with communicating with the outside world, providing potential allies like yourself with the chance to meet members of the Hulk's crew and ask whatever questions you may have about the Green Scar and our struggle against the Emperor.

The Green Scar does what the Green Scar does best, from "Incredible Hulk" #97, hitting stores Wednesday.

So please, post your questions on this interactive device I call a "message board." I'll return in two weeks with a new report containing all the answers I've been able to collect from our crew.

In the meantime, here's a missive describing our current status from one of the Hulk's closest gladiator allies:

Greetings, Sons of Sakaar. I am Elloe Kaifi, daughter of Community Representative Ronan Kaifi, who was murdered in the Maw by the Emperor's minions. Once I was like you, quiet and obedient, turning my eyes from the horrors that our Emperor perpetrated every day. But I've seen my own father imprisoned and killed for merely questioning the Red King's policies. I've seen Wildebots slaughter children while the Red King's lackeys just laughed. I've seen innocent Imperial farmers murdered in cold blood by Imperial soldiers. And I weep with shame for the silence I once kept.

You may have heard the collaborationists amongst you say that all we rebels want is to be left alone, that all you need to do is sit by, let us disappear into the Steppes, and life will return to normal. But those traitors are wrong. We will not -- we cannot disappear. Not while the Red King rules. Because his hunger for power and blood will never stop. And if you're foolish enough to stand by him, you'll deserve what you get when he burns you in the streets.

Do you still doubt his wickedness and our determination? Then let me tell you the story of our latest adventure.

After breaking out of the Great Arena with his band of warbound gladiator allies, the Green Scar led us to a small village to regroup and train. Miek, the scrappy Native who has been the Hulk's closest companion from the beginning, revealed that the headman of the town was the Imperial soldier who exterminated Miek's hive years before. Some within the ranks believed Miek should forego his vengeance in hopes of forming an alliance with the villagers. But the Green Scar saw true. He told Miek that in Miek's skin, he'd "never stop making them pay."

Miek was young. Weak. He let the Headman live. But then we discovered that the villagers had been hiding Miek's enslaved brothers in an underground pit. Chained for years like animals in the darkness and filth.

We razed the town and left the puny pinkies weeping in the ashes.

So let the Imperials know - the next step in our struggle comes soon - let the killer of my father beware! For we remember. And we do not forgive.

Now this is your chance to ask whatever you want of those of us who follow the Green Scar. So ask. Learn what you need. And then join us. Because when the end comes, and this world is saved or destroyed, you'll want to live or die knowing that when your time came, you did the right thing.

Incredible Hulk #97 hits comic book stores on August 9 - see what Elloe's talking about when she warns her father's killer to beware! For the latest about "Planet Hulk" and the rest of writer Greg Pak's comics and films, visit www.pakbuzz.com.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: One from "JoeMaggio": Here's an easy one for you... why did the recent issues of Giant-Size X-Men continue the numbering from the 1975 series, but the recent Giant-Size Hulk didn't? Did everybody forget about 1975's Giant-Size Hulk #1?

JQ: Hey, Joe, why don't we asks David Gabriel who makes these kinds of decisions, what the reasoning behind it was.

David Gabriel: Nope, no one forgot, it was supposed to be Giant Size Incredible Hulk #1...which there never was... somewhere it got lost in the production schedule and came out as Giant Size Hulk.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

Let's talk about some subjects outside of "Blade" as we wrap up. Is there any chance of you getting back to writing comics? Something at DC or Marvel? Allright, do you have a specific character in mind?

There are a couple of different ones. I will say if I ever do anything at Marvel I'd love to do the Hulk one day. At DC, we're talking about some specific characters, yeah, and I'd be interested in doing the Demon at some point.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

From this past weekend's Cup of Joe @ the Baltimore Comic Con:

"Ultimate Wolverine Vs. the Hulk"-what happened? "'Lost' is what happened," Quesada said. "Damon [Lindelof] bit off more than he could chew." Later in the panel, Quesada appeared to confirm that Lindelof had finished script three and that they were just waiting on art.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

Marvel's Big Plans Revealed at Baltimore Retailer Conference

Following the events of "Planet Hulk," "World War Hulk" breaks out with Greg Pak continuing to write the adventures of our favorite green skinned fighting machine with John Romita Jr. handling the art.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Question: This story is Marvel’s big summer blockbuster event for 2007

Answer: What is World War Hulk?

NRAMA: Now you’ve promised no major Civil War-type scope events next summer, Joe. Civil War to “World War” sounds pretty big and escalating to us. This still a smaller scale event, or do you need to amend your earlier promises?

JQ: In scope and as to what it means to the Marvel Universe, World War Hulk is every bit as important and huge as Civil War, it’s actually a story that is made possible by the events of Civil War.

However, with respect to the sheer number of tie in titles, this will nothing like Civil War. It’s a giant story but not a giant publishing event so the investment for fans will be minimal and it will be constructed very similar to our past Ultimate Universe events. But, the story will involve almost everyone, will have lots and lots of smashing and will answer some questions once and for all that have been troubling Marvel readers for some time now.

World War Hulk. or “WWH” as I’m sure we’ll be calling it will be written by Greg Pak and drawn by John Romita Jr. and will be shipping in May. More details to come!

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Greg Pak's massive "Planet Hulk" storyline will wrap up with the two-part finale, "Planet Hulk: Armageddon", in March and April's issues #104 and #105, respectively.

However, the acclaimed writer, scriptwriter and director has more smashing to do when it comes to the Green Goliath.

Announced at this past weekend's Baltimore Retailer Summit, Pak will team up with superstar artist John Romita Jr on "World War Hulk". According to Marvel Editor-in-Chief, "WWH" is "Marvel's big summer blockbuster event for 2007."

"World War Hulk" picks up immediately after "Planet Hulk". The first of a planned five-issue arc debuts in May's Incredible Hulk #106 and it will be spread out over three consecutive months.

Details are still sketchy and we're still knee deep in the "Planet Hulk" multi-issue epic. It's been said that some hints as to the future direction of Hulk would be forthcoming in November's Incredible Hulk #100.

However, "WWH"'s not something that's planned at the last minute. "We've known that "World War Hulk" would happen from the day we started planning "Planet Hulk" over a year ago," Pak explained to Newsarama. "Which means that we had almost two years of storyline mapped out from the beginning. It's been great -- that means that we've been able to seed story elements throughout "Planet Hulk" which will pay off in a huge way in "World War Hulk" -- it also means we've been able to build an astronomically huge emotional story for the Hulk stretching over two epic story arcs. It's incredibly exciting for me to work on this level as a writer, and I think the payoff for readers will be enormous."

Big question: Is the Green Gladiator coming back to Earth in the five-part "WWH"? Or is it set in yet another planet in the vast Marvel universe? The writer's lips are "sealed" but added that "[the Hulk] sure has a lot of unfinished business on Earth, doesn't he?"

But what happens when he does return?

"Some might argue that Hulk's true home is the savage planet of Sakaar, where his anger and strength make him a hero in the fight against the wicked Red King. If he ever comes back to Earth, maybe it'll actually be to help his puny human "friends," to show them the way a real hero uses his power," Pak said.

"But then again, maybe the Hulk isn't a hero. Maybe deep down, he's a monster, and once he finishes destroying Sakaar, he won't stop until he's crushed each and every one of those stupid puny humans who sent him there in the first place...

"Whatever happens, rest assured that "World War Hulk" will be an action packed and emotionally mind-blowing epic — and the Hulk will, indeed, smash."

As for Miek, Hiroim, Korg, the Brood Creature, and Elloe, they're all "Warbound" to the Hulk. "They'll stick with him to the death," Pak said. "Of course, the last story arc in "Planet Hulk" is entitled "Armageddon"... But if any of these Warbound gladiators survive, you can bet they'll join Hulk for whatever comes next, no matter what the cost."

From the title of the arc alone, "WWH" sounds so massive in scale. And it sure looks as though it's bigger in scope than Civil War. Again, Pak assured fans that "H ulk will smash like never before. The physical and emotional intensity of this story will be through the roof -- and with the legendary John Romita, Jr. providing the pencils, you won't want to miss a single panel. JRJR knows just how to make every image pop in that huge, insanely exciting way — I can't wait to see him tear into "World War Hulk."

For those who've been following "Planet Hulk", it hits the halfway mark today with the release of Incredible Hulk #98.

Visit www.pakbuzz.com for the latest updates.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

In the Marvel Universe, Earth is a planet full of heroes and there the power of the Incredible Hulk can often cause more destruction than good, but what happens when the Green Goliath is transported to an alien world in desperate need of heroes? Will the arrival of the Hulk lead to the planet's salvation or destruction? This is the premise of the current storyline in "The Incredible Hulk," the epic fourteen part "Planet Hulk." CBR News spoke with writer Greg Pak about "Planet Hulk" and the storyline that follows it, "World War Hulk."

"Planet Hulk" was born out of an initial idea from the big guy at Marvel. "The inspiration for sending Hulk to an alien planet where he'd battle monsters as a gladiator came from Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada," Pak told CBR News. "I loved the idea from the minute I heard it, so I was blown away when they told me I had the gig and even more blown away when they basically cut me loose to create the whole world."

Books on history and cultural anthropology inspired Pak and helped him create the alien world that would serve as the setting for "Planet Hulk." "I got inspiration for the story by reading about the real lives of gladiators in ancient Rome and from the stories of figures like Genghis Khan and more contemporary warlords, dictators, and political leaders," Pak said. "Sun Tzu's 'Art of War' and Joseph Campbell's 'Power of Myth' played a big role in helping me think through other aspects of the story.

"Planet Hulk" began in February, but it's not too late for new readers looking to jump aboard the blockbuster sci-fi story. Pak provided a synopsis to catch new readers up. "Exiled by a group of Marvel heroes to the savage alien planet of Sakaar, the Hulk become a slave, then a gladiator, and now the Green Scar, a revolutionary leading his Warbound gladiator crew and a band of rebels and refugees against the planet's wicked Red King," Pak told CBR News. "The non-stop action powers a huge emotional question: is the Hulk a monster or a hero? Or, in Sakaarian terms, is the Hulk the Sakaarson, the planet's legendary savior? Or the Worldbreaker, the destroyer of everything?

"It's a sci-fi epic stretching over fourteen issues - it began in February 2006 with 'Incredible Hulk' #92 and ends in April 2007 with 'Incredible Hulk' #105," Pak continued. "New readers can jump on at any time - 'Incredible Hulk' #98, which hit stands September 13, is actually a great starting point, as it sets up the next major character and conflict for the Hulk. 'Incredible Hulk'#100 is another great entry point - it's a double (maybe even triple...) sized issue featuring the beginning of the 'Planet Hulk: Alliance' story arc as well as a backup story in which someone on Earth finally learns what the Marvel heroes did to the Hulk."

After being forcefully exiled from Earth by a group of Marvel Heroes the Hulk was the physical embodiment of Fury and crashing down on Sakaar didn't help his emotional state. "Through 'Exile,' the first story arc in 'Planet Hulk,' the Hulk was driven almost purely by rage," Pak said. "After passing through the wormhole that brought him to Sakaar, he discovered that he could be cut - maybe even killed. And he teamed up with a group of fellow gladiators in order to survive. But every step of the way, he was driven by anger - against the puny humans who sent him here and against the puny pinkies, the Imperial overlords who threw him into the gladiatorial ring and made him fight.

"Now, in the middle of the 'Anarchy' arc, the Hulk's bonded with his Warbound gladiator allies," Pak continued. "And as they rage across the countryside after escaping from the Great Arena, he's beginning to see how his anger is affecting them. Deep down, the Hulk knows that he could literally destroy this whole world. And he fears that if he keeps fighting alongside his Warbound allies, he just might. But at every step, the Hulk and his crew come face to face with the horrors perpetrated by the Red King. Whatever the cost, the Hulk seems destined to keep smashing."

While the Hulk is wrestling with what to do with his rage, some readers might be wondering how Bruce Banner, the other persona that shares the Hulk's consciousness is coping with being marooned on Sakaar. "A ten page story called 'Banner War' in 'Giant Size Hulk' #1 (June 2006) gave a glimpse of what Banner is thinking - and at that time, Banner was desperate to leave Sakaar," Pak explained. "But now, when it's becoming clearer and clearer what's at stake and what the Hulk's responsibilities are on Sakaar, who knows?"

In the current chapter of "Anarchy," the Hulk finds himself with a new responsibility on Sakaar. "'Incredible Hulk' #98, the third chapter in 'Anarchy,' came out on Wednesday. I don't want to spoil too much - let's just say that the divisions within the Warbound come to a head as Hulk and Miek face off - and another figure steps up to take a huge role in the Hulk's life while a terrifying new threat surfaces."

As "Planet Hulk" continues, the Hulk will confront threats all over Sakaar and there will be some off planet action as well. "The broken moon will indeed play a role in upcoming issues - beyond that, my lips are sealed," Pak explained.

The Broken Moon orbits Sakaar and another enigmatic astrological anomaly, The Great Portal, sporadically appears in the space surrounding the planet. It was the portal that brought the Hulk and many other alien castaways from the Marvel Universe to Sakaar. Pak promised a huge reveal about the nature and origin of the Great Portal is forthcoming in "Incredible Hulk" #101.

In addition to the Hulk, the Great Portal has deposited many familiar faces onto Sakaar including representatives from races like the Brood and the Kronans (who battled The Thor in his very first Marvel appearance) and even the Silver Surfer. Pak couldn't reveal if any more familiar faces would be popping up on Sakaar, but he did promise that some established Marvel characters would be appearing in a different setting in an upcoming issue. "There's a twelve page backup story illustrated by the brilliant Gary Frank in Issue #100 that features several familiar faces," Pak stated.

Before issue #100, a new face will appear among the Hulk's growing legion of allies. "Issue #99 will reveal a major addition to the Hulk's team, which will lead right into the first series of twists in 'Allegiance,' Pak explained.

Pak couldn't reveal much information about "Allegiance" or the story arc that follows it "Armageddon," the concluding arc of "Planet Hulk." "For now, I'll let the story arc titles speak for themselves," he said. "But get ready for huge action and a giant payoff that launches right into 'World War Hulk.'"

Before "World War Hulk" begins, readers will finally learn the truth about the legendary figures that many Sakaarians believe the Hulk to be, the Sakaarson and the Worldbreaker. "There will be a huge payoff by the end of the series regarding these Legends," Pak said. "And an even bigger payoff later on down the line. We've got plans we can't even start to hint at yet, but they're big!"

Pak could only provide cryptic hints about his next gamma powered epic, "World War Hulk," which features art by John Romita Jr. "'World War Hulk' begins in May 2007," he stated. "I can't reveal too much. But the events of 'World War Hulk' will come directly from the epic storyline we're building in 'Planet Hulk.' Hulk will smash. And who knows if he'll ever stop."

Whether "World War Hulk" is set on Sakaar or Earth and the identities of the characters that play major roles in the story are two more pieces of information that Pak had to keep under wraps, but he was able to drop another hint about the story. "Hulk is the emotional and physical center of this story," he said. "It's too early for us to reveal who else will be featured, but it might be worth thinking through whom in the universe the Hulk might most like to smash."

The big question of Marvel's "Civil War" story is, "Whose side are you own?" and "World War Hulk" will have a big question about allegiances as well. "The big question is whether Banner will side with or against the Hulk - which may turn on our giant thematic question of whether the Hulk is a hero or a monster," Pak explained. "By the time 'World War Hulk' reaches its climax, all will be revealed."

Many readers hope that the climax of "World War Hulk" will have the Green Goliath getting revenge on The Illuminati, the secret cabal of Marvel heroes who sent him into space. Pak couldn't reveal if this will happen or not but advised fans to check out the Gary Frank illustrated back up story in "Incredible Hulk" #100 for more information on the Hulk's feelings towards the Illuminati and when asked, "How worried should the Illuminati be if the Hulk ever does make it back to earth?" Pak answered, "The short answer: very, very, very worried."

Over the course of "Planet Hulk" readers will become quite familiar with the planet Sakaar and some might be worried that once the storyline wraps and "World War Hulk" begins that they will have seen the last of the unique setting. "Hulk editor Mark Paniccia and I have a couple of year's worth of stories planned out," Pak said. "We can't reveal too much, but rest assured, we're not forgetting Sakaar."

Planning huge sagas like "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" has proved to be a challenging, fun, rewarding, and addictive experience for Pak. "'World War Hulk' may be the biggest comics project I've ever tackled - and I'm thrilled to be working with John Romita, Jr," Pak said. "I was looking back over his work on the 'Wolverine: Enemy of the State' storyline, and I can't wait to see him tackle 'World War Hulk.' It's exactly the kind of insane action that he does better than anyone. I'm also hugely happy to be continuing to develop this epic with Marvel editor Mark Paniccia, who's been my partner in crime throughout 'Planet Hulk.' We're both hooked - we cannot get enough of the Hulk and can't wait to share these insane stories with you."

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: Will World War Hulk be a mini-series or will it run in the Incredible Hulk book?

JQ: World War Hulk will consist of the World War Hulk mini proper, several issues of the monthly Hulk series and perhaps a tie-in book here and there. It will be considerably smaller than Civil War in title count but not in story.

Also, WWH will be a considerably different story than Civil War in one very big respect. Civil War is steep deep in the real world and real world metaphors, WWH will be just wall to wall fun and fantasy and lots and lots of punching and breaking of stuff. We love the idea and its timing because it will be the perfect story to cleanse the palette after the weight of Civil War.

A big green sorbet of sorts.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Jaded Expressions Magazine:

With the amazing success of his work for Marvel Comics, like X-men: Phoenix - Endsong and Planet Hulk, and other books such as Battlestar Galactica, Greg Pak has taken the comic book industry by storm. What many comic fans don't know is that Pak was originally a screenwriter and director. His most notable and recent film being, Robot Stories, which spawned the behind the scenes book about the film, Robot Stories and More Screenplays. The film garnered over 35 film festival awards and has played around the world. What more is in store for Greg Pak? JXM sat down with the talented writer to discuss his work past and future, and how he ended up writing for a living.

Greg Pak

JXM: As a successful writer and director of film and comics, is this something you've always wanted to do growing up? What more do you hope to accomplish in your career?

Greg: I'm living one of my dreams - basically, I'm making a living doing the things I did for fun when I was ten. My big goal is to keep on telling the stories I care about, in whatever medium fits them the best.

JXM: Being a writer with a film background, what brought you to writing comics and the eventual Marvel gig? Were you always a comic fan?

Greg: I grew up reading and loving comics, but as an adult, it never occurred to me to try to get work in the comics industry. I was pretty well-ensconced in the independent film world, making and distributing my feature film Robot Stories. But one day my agent called me to say that Marvel was looking for new writers, and would I be interested? And I said, "Absolutely!" And three years later, here we are.

It's been pretty fantastic, because comics let me play with many of the elements that inspired film projects of mine like Robot Stories. I love genre of almost any kind - science fiction, fantasy, horror, noir. And I think there's something really powerful that happens when you combine genre with genuinely honest, emotional storytelling. The conventions of the genre provide amazing opportunities for building subtext and creating emotional and thematic resonance. And as an Asian American writer, I'm particularly interested in the way the smart use of genre can bring entirely new audiences to stories with multiracial casts.

JXM: Your diverse educational background includes political science, history, and of course film. How have all of these fields helped you in your development as a writer?

Greg: It's all enormously helpful. As just one example, right now I'm writing the Planet Hulk storyline for The Incredible Hulk comic. It's a crazy sci-fi epic in which the Hulk is exiled to an alien planet where he becomes a slave, then a gladiator, and now the leader of a revolution. And all of that history and political science background has been hugely helpful in creating and developing the world in which the Hulk finds himself. Great genre storytelling thrusts us into fantastical worlds which give us new ways to think about our own world - so it's important to have an understanding and perspective on our world in order to create those new worlds.

JXM: As a writer and film director, who are some of your inspirations and influences?

Greg: Akira Kurosawa and Billy Wilder are my big film heroes. Current filmmakers who frequently blow my mind include Spielberg and Ang Lee and Ridley Scott and Hayao Miyazaki. Prose writers I've always loved include Ray Bradbury, Mark Twain, William Faulkner, Lloyd Alexander, and Maxine Hong Kingston. My current literary obsession is Jane Austen - incredibly funny and sharp and humane all at once.

JXM: From your own experience, what valuable pieces of advice would you give to aspiring writers and filmmakers who'd like to make it in this business?

Greg: Three big things - first, do everything you can to learn about the craft. Read books, take classes, join workshops, go to school - the path is different for everyone, but somehow we all need to find ways to seriously study what we do. Second, do the work. If you're a writer, write. If you're a director, direct. There's almost no excuse not to these days - it's possible to make a short film for a hundred dollars or less. Third, ruthlessly seek out criticism and feedback so you can find out the flaws in your work and get better. This can be incredibly painful, but it's absolutely essential if we're to get better at what we do.

For fellow filmmakers interested in more detailed practical advice and articles on low-budget filmmaking, please feel free to check out my website www.filmhelp.com. Also, the Robot Stories and More Screenplays paperback (available for purchase at Immedium.com) has detailed introductions describing the writing and production of many of my films.

Robot Stories

JXM: Tell us a little bit about your critically acclaimed feature film, Robot Stories.

Greg: Robot Stories is science fiction from the heart, four stories in which utterly human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies, robot toys, android office workers, and digital immortality. The film stars Tamlyn Tomita and Sab Shimono and has won 35 film festival awards. It's now available on DVD from Kino and the book of the screenplay can be bought at Immedium.com or Amazon.com.

JXM: What brought about the decision to portray your themes of human emotion and the human need for connection through, first of all, robots, and secondly, four little stories, as opposed to one?

Greg: Science fiction in general and robots in particular provide ideal means through which to explore the human heart. First, because one of the best ways to make something interesting is to work with contrasts, to play with surprise. So combining science fiction with genuine emotional storytelling is the kind of creative contrast that can spark fun, surprising stories. And second, because when you think seriously about robots and artificial intelligence, you end up asking the kinds of questions that are vital for all of us - who am I? What am I doing here? What is this thing you humans call love? Great stuff.

Regarding the decision to make an anthology film, I actually never wanted to - anthology films are notoriously hard to market and sell. But sometimes things creep up on you just because they're the absolute right thing at the right time. I'd written three of the four stories in Robot Stories at different times over several years. I didn't originally see the connections between them, but at a certain point, I was going through my file of unproduced screenplays and realized I'd written three scripts that dealt with robots and the human heart. So the project sort of ambushed me. These were all stories I'd been compelled to write, and suddenly I realized they shared a thematic thread and just about had to become a feature film.

JXM: Was there anything specific that initially inspired Robot Stories?

Greg: Years ago I heard about a production company that was looking for Mother's Day stories to make into short films. I mused over the challenge and came up with a few ideas. Of course, my stories involved a woman who had to take care of a robot baby and a mother who became obsessed with finishing her dying son's robot toy collection. These were not, apparently, this particular production company's idea of appropriate Mother's Day stories. But I loved the ideas, so I wrote the scripts anyway, and they eventually became the first two tales in Robot Stories.

Comic Books and Film

JXM: With a growing library of Marvel books under your belt, what characters, Marvel or otherwise, would you like to tackle?

Greg: I've had great opportunities at Marvel to play with most of the characters I've loved over the years. But I'd love to have a chance to do more with Storm - she's always been one of my favorite X-Men. I'm also a big fan of the Deathlok, Cyborg, and Morbius. But I'm most excited right now about telling more stories with Amadeus Cho, aka Mastermind Excello, the Korean American boy genius on the run I created for Marvel's Amazing Fantasy #15 anthology book. I'll spill the beans right here - the character will pop up in a prominent role in Incredible Hulk #100, which hits comic book stores in November. Dontcha dare miss it!

JXM: In addition to The Incredible Hulk, X-men: Phoenix - Warsong, and Battlestar Galactica, are there any other books you can tell us about that you're working on?

Greg: I have a few more projects in the hopper, but nothing I can reveal just yet, alas. But readers can always find the latest news at www.pakbuzz.com.

JXM: What's next for you in the world of film? Any upcoming projects?

Greg: I have a couple of short films in festivals right now - a sci fi short called Super Power Blues and a loopy comedy called Happy Hamptons Holiday Camp for Troubled Couples. Both films are screening around the country in September and October - for the latest screening times and venues, check out www.pakbuzz.com.

JXM: Thanks for chatting with us Greg!

Greg: Thank you!

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Moving on…re: our Gary Frank comment from last week. C’mon, he’ll be drawing Incredible Hulk the ongoing series while John Romita Jr. draws World War Hulk, right?

JQ: Okay, you got me... Yes, Gary will be illustrating some issues of Hulk! And, just to be a tease, you’ll see some of Gary’s first Hulk pages in a special 12 page story in Hulk #100 (it’s even Civil War related).

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on IGN.com:

Today, Marvel held a conference call to discuss the continuing events of the Planet Hulk storyline. Among those on the line were Hulk writer Greg Pak and Editor Mark Paniccia. It may be hard to believe, but the epic Planet Hulk is nearing its conclusion. Hulk #105 marks the finale of Planet Hulk. But the story won't end there as World War Hulk begins immediately after.

Issue #100, which ships November 1, marks the "very first ever Hulk #100," Pak was quick to point out. Hulk was originally a regular featured star in Tales to Astonish, with the series officially changing its title to The Incredible Hulk with issue #102.

To celebrate the centennial issue, Marvel is offering a 104-page spectacular, which includes four backup stories. The most significant of these is a tale told parallel to the events on Planet Hulk. Drawn by legendary Hulk artist Gary Frank, we will "finally see somebody [on Earth] discover what is going on with the Hulk." Pak declared that "this qualifies as a Civil War tie-in." And that's about as close as the Hulk will come to Civil War. Sorry folks, but Planet Hulk will still be raging when Civil War comes to a close.

As for Frank's work on the backup tale, Pak did not withhold his enthusiasm. "It's amazing. We've been looking at these pages and they're gorgeous... I think this backup story... the [readers] who are discussing if it was justified to blast the Hulk into space... these questions are going to be put to some of these decision-makers in an interesting way. There's some important moments from Hulk history that we're going to see depicted in an interesting way." The events in this story will pave the way for World War Hulk.

The other backups include reprintings of Hulk #152 (the trial of the Hulk) and Hulk #300 (where Dr. Strange first banishes the Hulk from Earth). Both tie in thematically with Planet Hulk. The final back-up is an origin tale. You know, in case you've been reading Planet Hulk the past year and have no clue how this dude got big and green.

Over the past few issues of the Hulk, we've seen the Green Behemoth "become a rebel and gradually begin not just to smash things, but [to] realize there's a reason to smash things," Pak explained. "He's on a planet where his rage and his strength has become a virtue. 'Allegiance' starts with issue 100. These different groups are starting to come together and we're going to see if [Hulk's] really going to become [savior] or the Worldbreaker."

Hulk #100 sees the return of Carlo Pagulayan, who pencilled the first Planet Hulk arc. "We're going to do some tag-team between Pagulayan and [Aaron] Lopresti," Pak said. "The art is through the roof and I think the story is going places that I think is going to be pretty surprising."

Details were sparse on the actual events of issue #100, but Pak made one bold claim: "I will humbly say [it's] mindblowing."

Rather than dish out the secrets of the final leg of the Planet Hulk storyline, Pak talked in-depth about his take on the monstrous hero. "There have been many different versions of the Hulk and many classic versions of the Hulk.... The Hulk that we're dealing with now, this savage but crafty Hulk, [this] Hulk has roots in the first six issues of the [original series]. We're able to work within a great tradition. As Bruce Banner and the Hulk go through different changes in life, he has different emotional issues he's grappling with and the Hulk is manifesting in different ways. That's cathartic and that's great... but what's the cost of that? There are different ways you can explore that.... The character allows for this kind of exploration and this was the right time to jump on this version of the character. It was time for the Hulk to be the Hulk... [and to] be confronted with real moral challenges."

"Banner has absolutely not been forgotten.," Pak assured. "We've seen him mentioned a number of times and see him appear in the flash in the backup story of Giant-Size. But on a day-to-day basis, he's not running around on Planet Hulk. We're building up to a pretty mind-blowing climax with the Banner/Hulk relationship." Pak added that there would be "some pretty good Banner stuff in issues 103 and 105. You may see something there. Keep your eyes open for those."

As for World War Hulk, Pak explained that there would be a separate miniseries for WWH, but that the main series would "tie in to [it in] a special way." Gary Frank will take over art chores on Incredible Hulk beginning with issue #106, with John Romita, Jr. handling the art for the World War Hulk miniseries.

Don't let the name fool you, World War Hulk doesn't mean Big Green is battling the heroes of the Marvel U. "Who knows if Hulk will be coming back to Earth," Pak teased. "The themes that run throughout Civil War and the themes that run throughout Hulk are similar in many ways. Pak described Hulk as the "misunderstood monster of the Marvel Universe." Heroes have differing views on how to deal with the Hulk. In this way, it is "similar to Civil War, [in] that you respect characters on both sides of the argument."

Look for Incredible Hulk #100 on November 1.

For the complete article along with images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Comicon.com:

Today Marvel Comics hosted a press conference to discuss their incredible Hulk and his upcoming anniversary issue # 100. Greg Pak was on hand to talk about Planet Hulk and give some teasers about the series, two of the biggest being Gary Frank returning to the Hulk in a back-up story for issue # 100, will be the new regular artist on the series after Planet Hulk; and that a new limited series, World War Hulk, drawn by John Romita Jr that will tie into the monthly Hulk series, begins after Planet Hulk as well. Now, read the article or HULK SMASH!

Greg Pak, who was hanging out at the House of Ideas, began by giving us some details about what's been happening in the pages of Hulk to the jade giant, for those of you who haven't been following the Planet Hulk story. He started noting that the upcoming issue # 100, due in stores this November, would be the first time the Hulk ever had an issue # 100 since the original Hulk issues ran for six and then returned at # 102. Then he enthused, "The actual contents are mind blowing. I'm really excited about this one. The art is through the roof!"

There's no reason why the art shouldn't be through the roof though. Marvel Comics has tapped superstar artist Gary Frank to illustrate the back up story, a Civil War tie in which takes place on the planet earth. "One of the back up stories finally will show someone discovering the fact that the Hulk has been exiled."

A fact that most followers of this story already know, but in case you missed it, just before the Civil War began a group of heroes including Dr. Strange, Iron Man and Reed Richards, to name a trio of the Illuminati, decided to be judge and jury on The Hulk and send him off to a planet where he couldn't ever hurt anyone again. However, their little rocket ship went off course and instead of Hulk landing at their planned destination, he crash-landed on a dangerous planet where he isn't the biggest, baddest mother on the planet. He could be hurt, killed or, maybe, turned into the greatest hero the planet has ever know. But all that's playing out in the pages of Incredible Hulk.

Issue # 100 begins the third act in the Planet Hulk storyline, Allegiance. The first part, Exile, was issues # 92 - 95, drawn by Carlo Pagulayan. "There Hulk went from being a slave to a gladiator," Pak said. "The second act, Anarchy, ran through issues 96 - 99 (# 99 just came out yesterday), there Hulk becomes a rebel and gradually begins to not just smash things but find there's a reason to smash things. He begins to pull together a crew of rebels and forms an alliance, which is very unusual for the Hulk, but he's on a planet where rage and strength are virtues. Here people need him and he may be stepping up to the responsibility, but is he a hero or a monster? In the beginning of Allegiance, we see groups under the Hulk and find out if he will be, in the mythology of the planet, the savior or the world breaker."

Pak is also glad to be re-teamed with artist Carlo Pagulayan and glad to still have Aaron Lopresti on board for issues as well. "He was the artist who started the Planet Hulk arc with issue # 92," Pak said. "Aaron Lopresti penciled the second arc and now Carlo is back for the third, tag-teaming with Aaron. Aaron has been drawing these mind blowingly mighty Marvel slugfests. The pencils he's turning in for Allegiance are through the roof. Carlo's panels are amazing as well. He is the heir apparent to Michael Golden, who was one of my all-time favorite artists growing up. Carlo has some of that same funky dynamism. Aaron, too. I'm thrilled to be working with both these guys."

"The back up is drawn by Gary Frank - the legendary Gary Frank, who is still beloved for his Hulk run with Peter David," continued Pak. "He's probably best-known recently for his work on Supreme Power. So, Gary is drawing this back up story in our Civil War tie-in and it's just amazing. We've been looking at the inks and these pages are gorgeous. I think the back up story will also be answering the questions was it justice to send the Hulk into space and did the Hulk really deserve that - is he really a monster? These questions will be put to the decision makers in a pretty interesting way. Gary Frank is through the roof with the splash pages."

Marvel also prodded Pak to tell listeners what this story by himself and Frank is leading up to for the future of the Incredible Hulk. Pak revealed that there's an upcoming miniseries coming from he and John Romita, Jr. "World War Hulk succeeds Planet Hulk," Pak said. "This is the next big step for the Hulk and whatever will happen for the character begins here. Gary Frank will be working on the Incredible Hulk monthly series while the World War Hulk miniseries is going on. John Romita, Junior will be drawing World War Hulk. All the issues tie in together - you'll want to get them all, folks. I'm thrilled to work with Gary Frank on The Incredible Hulk and John Romita, Junior on World War Hulk."

Then the conference opened up for the question and answer session.

QUESTION: How tough is it to portray Hulk with the depth you're using here?

ANSWER: There have been many different versions of the Hulk. A lot of us grew up with the silent monster Hulk on TV, the "Hulk, Smash!" caveman talk Hulk, then Peter David went nuts with many different incarnations. But when you look at the original Hulk in those first six issues, it's like the savage but crafty Hulk we're dealing with now: mean, smart and angry. He has roots in the first six issues of Hulk. That Hulk was talking in full sentences. He was mean. He was smashing things right and left. Was he a hero or a monster? You never quite knew. So it's nice I can work within a great tradition that's not like we just decided to throw away the Hulk and do something different. This is a part of the Hulk.

It makes for a great character: the argument could be as Bruce and Hulk go through different periods, he has different emotional problems he's grappling with; so Hulk manifests in slightly different ways, but still the central issue is the price of anger.

One of the things I love about the Hulk is exploring him in many different ways. The character allows for this kind of exploration and this was the right time to jump on this kind of story or this version of the story. It was time for the Hulk to cut loose and it was time for him to just be the Hulk and smash things. It was also time to be confronted with real moral and emotional challenges. Suddenly he is in an environment where he has to cut loose, but maybe there's a reason.

This version of the Hulk is a version who is smart enough to know what he's doing, but he has to take responsibility for smashing things. I feel really lucky to come on board when these were the options to do with the character.

QUESTION: Out of all the new aliens is there one you've grown particularly fond of?

ANSWER: The Hulk has a posse. There are a few characters I just love. Korg is probably one of my favorite characters. He's a Stone Man. Back in the very first appearance of Thor, one of his first opponents were Stone Men from Saturn - these big rocky guys with Easter Island shaped heads. For Planet Hulk I was thinking of who should be on this planet with him and his buddies? This was a perfect character to play with. He's rooted in Marvel Mythology and it was a way to take his fight with Thor and look at it from a different way. What if we made him a good guy? I love Korg. He's a rock, and we all need rocks in our life. He kind of knows what life is about in a way - and I, for some reason, just really love writing him.

The artists will also run with the characters and give them great moments and faces and expressions. When Carlo and Aaron draw Korg, he has a gravity about him and depth and sadness in his eyes. Similarly when they draw Miek the six limbed bug character. In the first four issues, Carlo drew all these crazy facial expressions for Miek. As a result Miek got a lot of fun one-liners and tweaks.

So Miek and Korg, I've really had fun writing.

The character I'm most excited about right now is the Lieutenant Caiera, the Oldstrong the tall gray shadow warrior, who started out as the evil red king's bodyguard. As the story progresses her allegiances are shifting.

QUESTION: Percentage wise what are the chances of him making it back to earth to interact in the Civil War?

ANSWER: I think it's out there that the main action of the Civil War - if you just look at the schedule - it will be done before World War Hulk begins; but who knows if he will come back to earth for WW Hulk? He has a great reason to come back, seeing as he was exiled by those guys, but who knows.

MARVEL: Hulk won't have an impact on Civil War but Civil War will have an impact on what the world is like when and if Hulk returns.

PAK: One of the things exciting about issue 100 is the themes that run throughout the CW and Planet Hulk are tied together in a great way. I've been joking about the CW tie-in in Hulk 100, but the great thing about it is it's the perfect next step for carrying forward some of the themes of Planet Hulk. The tie in isn't a sales game, it actually works. It's a huge gift to work with that on a creative level. Every once in a while, you hear folks complain about working in a tie in, but for this particular case, it's the furthest thing from a burden, it's a great gift.

The story moves each other forward in great ways. The reverberations of the Civil War are certainly going to have an effect on WW Hulk.

QUESTION: When will we see Banner persona return? How will Planet Hulk affect it?

ANSWER: Yes. I can't say too much more. Banner isn't forgotten. We haven't seen much face time, and saw him in the flesh on Planet Hulk in the back up story in Giant Size # 1 issue that came out a few months ago. On a day to day basis, he isn't running around Planet Hulk, if he did, he wouldn't last that long.

We're building up all kinds of stuff with the Banner/Hulk relationship. This is all building up to a mind blowing climax.

I think we probably have some pretty good Banner stuff in #103 and #105. Keep your eyes open for those.

QUESTION: Were the three other back ups included for a particular reason?

ANSWER: Yes. One is the Origin of the Hulk. I think Tom Brevoort was the one who picked the back ups, and he did a great job of doing that. He is the big brain of Marvel. Issue # 300 is a Bill Mantlo written comic from 1984, and that is absolutely germane to all of this story. It's the one that preceded Dr. Strange exiling the Hulk the first time around. It was a story where Hulk was driven insane by Nightmare and tore up Manhattan. It's a 40 page smash fest where Hulk rips through Manhattan and all the major New York characters. It climaxed with Dr. Strange exiling Hulk to the Crossroads, which was like a Twilight Zone type place where Hulk was thrust into different universes to see if he could survive. We're kind of doing that and tackling the same questions in Planet Hulk.

Issue 300 is a big smash fest that may be a teaser for World War Hulk who knows? It also fits into the whole themes of exile and the is the Hulk a monster question.

Issue # 152 is the Trial of the Incredible Hulk. It's the same themes Marvel heroes passing judgment on the Hulk. Did they make the right decisions? What is it? Is he a monster or hero? It's the same themes in the Gary Frank illustrated back up story. These all fit together in a thematic way. It's nice for # 100 to have these stories in it, too. These are critical stories that really explore the misunderstood monster theme. It also provides very different angles on it. Different Marvel characters have different ideas of the Hulk and how he should be treated, based on their experiences with him.

This is similar to the Civil War, there are people you respect on both sides of the argument.

QUESTION: Will you be retro-numbering Hulk?

ANSWER: No plan right now. We know WW Hulk first issue would be Hulk 106 in May. At least that far out and beyond we know at least through 108 in the current numbering.

Pak closed by saying, "I also want to thank all the journalists who have written nice things and given us some props here. This is the funnest things I've ever done in comics and it's nice to have folks like yourself along for the ride."

Hulk # 100 is due in stores November 1st by Greg Pak, Carlo Pagulayan Gary Frank and variant gray and green covers.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on The Incredible Hulk Comic Boards by Maineventsmoothe:

In Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine Oct 2006 issues, Stan Lee was asked his opinion about Hulk vs Superman and this is what he wrote, "If I wrote the story, I guarantee the Hulk would win. The way I established the Hulk, the more he fought, the stronger he got. And Superman has a certain amount of strength and thats it. I assume at some point he'll get worn out, but never the Hulk."

The magazine is on stands now.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: crazywwolf - Joe, before the end of Civil War is She-Hulk gonna find out what Tony and Reed did to Bruce and if she does will she turn against them and the Registration act and hand Tony the Butt-whooping he deserves?

JQ: No--but she might become aware of it in the Planet Without a Hulk storyline that begins in She-Hulk #15 in January.

NRAMA: rama7 - Is there any chance seeing Dale Keown penciling the Hulk anytime soon? Hulk fans dig Keown and consider him one of the top artists to ever draw the Hulk.

JQ: My understanding is that Dale is currently working on other projects so we have nothing planned with him currently. And I agree, Dale is one of the best ever on the Hulk.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

Civil War is going to get a taste of the incredible in the pages of Incredible Hulk #100 as the seeds are planted for next year’s epic World War Hulk. The milestone centennial issue of Incredible Hulk will feature a back-up story penned by Greg Pak with pencils by Gary Frank bringing to readers a very important Civil War story that examines whether the Illuminati was justified in banishing the Hulk into space. Plus, learn more about the Thor clone that debuted in Civil War #3 and killed Goliath in Civil War #4.

Not only will this Hulk-sized issue contain an important Civil War back-up story and reprints of the Incredible Hulk #3, #143, and #152, but this issue continues the instant-classic Planet Hulk story as the next chapter, “Planet Hulk: Allegiance,” begins.

Like the “Road to Civil War” issues, which sold out quickly and had multiple reprintings, Incredible Hulk #100 is sure to be a red-hot issue as the road to next year’s big event, World War Hulk, begins here!

Will the Hulk save Sakaar from the planet’s greatest enemies or will he fulfill the prophecy of the Sakkarson and be revealed as the Worldbreaker? It’s an all-out smash-fest as the Hulk and Caiera the Oldstrong lead their warriors against the horrifying Spikes. And amidst the battle, Miek undergoes a shocking development.

There are 100 reasons not to miss Incredible Hulk #100: Civil War, Planet Hulk, Greg Pak, the return of Carlo Pagulayan, Gary Frank penciling Hulk again, classic Hulk stories, and the list goes on.

INCREDIBLE HULK #100 (SEP062113)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by CARLO PAGULAYAN & GARY FRANK
Cover by LADRÖNN
104 PGS./Rated A ...$3.99
FOC – 10/12, On-Sale – 11/1/2006

INCREDIBLE HULK #100 TURNER VARIANT (SEP062114)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by CARLO PAGULAYAN & GARY FRANK
Variant cover by MIKE TURNER
104 PGS./Rated A ...$3.99
FOC – 10/12, On-Sale – 11/1/2006

INCREDIBLE HULK #100 TURNER GRAY VARIANT (JUL068127)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by CARLO PAGULAYAN & GARY FRANK
Variant cover by MIKE TURNER
104 PGS./Rated A ...$3.99
FOC – 10/12, On-Sale – 11/1/2006

INCREDIBLE HULK BY TURNER POSTER (SEP062189)
Art by MICHAEL TURNER
24X36 Color Poster ...$3.99
FOC – 10/12, On-Sale – 11/1/2006

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

In a world of "been there, done that, seen it all before" - an attitude that is magnified a thousand-fold by comic fans, next month will see an actual first - the first Incredible Hulk #100 (check the numbering of the original volume). And, appropriately enough, it's a turning point in the current Planet Hulk storyline that marks the 2/3rds point, and starts the ball rolling to its inevitable conclusion.

Last week, Marvel invited a handful of members from the press to take part in a podcast recording with Hulk writer Greg Pak, and he laid things out.

"I was just able to read through it the other day, and it's in my humble opinion, mindblowing. The art is through the roof, and the story is going in places which, I think, will be pretty surprising - and we not only have the next chapter in the Planet Hulk storyline staring, but there's also a backup story which takes place on earth and finally is going to show someone discover what's been going on with the Hulk."

And yes, it takes place during Civil War, so technically, Incredible Hulk #100 is a Civil War tie in.

Back to Pak…

"'Planet Hulk: Exile' ran from issues #92 - #95, wherein the Hulk went from being a slave on this planet to being a gladiator - and then busted loose," Pak explained. "'Anarchy' is currently running, from #96-#99; and that's where the Hulk becomes a rebel and gradually begins to - not just smash things, but begins to realizes there's a reason to smash things on this planet. He pulls together a crew of rebels and forms an alliance - which is very unusual for the Hulk, but he's on a planet where his rage and strength have become virtues, and the people need him. Step by step, he may be stepping up to that responsibility. Of course, you never know with the Hulk - is he a hero or a monster?

'Allegiance' is the next arc, and that starts with #100, and this is where we start to see these groups come together, and we start to see whether the Hulk is going to be the hero on this planet, or if he's going to tear everything down. In the mythology of this planet, is he going to be the savior or the worldbreaker?"

Issue #100 also marks the return of artist Carlo Pagulayan to The Incredible Hulk who hasn't been seen round about these parts since the "Exile" arc. Pagulayan and current penciler Aaron Lopresti will tag-team on the art chores on the final arc, but speaking of art for #100, the issue will also contain a back-up story penciled by Gary Frank.

According to Marvel, the backup story will explore whether or not the Illuminati was justified in sending the Hulk into space. "Why the Hulk? Did he deserve that?" Pak asked rhetorically. "Is he really a monster? These questions are going to be put to some of these decision makers in a pretty interesting way. There are some great moments in the Hulk's history that we're going to see depicted in a very interesting way, and Gary is just through the roof with this."

Though the backup story (which will also offer some more information about the Thor clone from Civil War #3-#4) touches on Civil War-related events, Pak said that the seeds to next year's World War Hulk miniseries will also be planted in the issue.

"Planet Hulk ends with issue #105 of Incredible Hulk, and launches immediately into World War Hulk, wherein the next big step with whatever is going to happen with the Hulk is going to happen," Pak explained. "Gary will be drawing the Incredible Hulk issues while John Romita Jr. will draw the World War Hulk miniseries, which starts in May. The Incredible Hulk issues at the same time will tie in with the miniseries."

Moving on to the questions and answer portion of the podcast recording:

Is it difficult to portray the Hulk as more than just an unthinking brute?

Pak: "There've been many different versions of the Hulk, and many different "classic" versions of the Hulk. A lot of us grew up watching the silent, 'monstrous' Hulk on the television show; we're all familiar with the Hulk Smash! Kind of caveman-talk Hulk, and of course, Peter David went nuts with many different incarnations of the Hulk.

"When you look at the original Hulk, in those first six issues, the Hulk that we're dealing with now, this savage, but savvy Hulk - he's mean, he's smart, and he's angry - that Hulk has his roots in the first six issues of The Incredible Hulk. The Hulk in those issues was talking in full sentences, he was mean, and he was smashing things right and left. You never quite knew if he was a hero or if he was a monster. The nice thing is we're able to work within a great tradition - it's not like we decided we were going to throw away everything the Hulk has been and do something different. This is part of the Hulk.

"It makes for a great character - the argument could be that as Bruce Banner and the Hulk go through different periods in their shared life, there are different emotional problems that they're grappling with, and as a result, the Hulk is manifesting in slightly different ways. But the same central question remains the same, which is: the price of anger. The Hulk cuts loose and goes nuts - that's cathartic and great, and sometimes that's exactly what we all want to see happen, but what's the cost of that? There are different ways you can explore that, and one of the things I love about the Hulk is that there is this tradition of exploring this character in many different ways.

"The answer is that the character allows for this kind of exploration, and this was the right time to jump on this version of the character. It was time for the Hulk to cut loose. It was time for the Hulk to be the Hulk and smash things. And it was also time for the Hulk to be confronted with real moral and emotional challenges. He's in an environment where he can cut loose, and he wants to cut loose, but maybe there's a reason for him to do it. This version of the Hulk is a version that's smart enough, and one that knows exactly what he's doing when he does it, and he has to take responsibility for that. He's not just a mindless Hulk who's smashing things with no character development. This is a Hulk who's actually developing, and it was the right time for that. I feel really lucky that I was able to come on board when these were options that we could do this kind of thing with the character."

Are there any alien characters from Planet Hulk that you've grown fond of?

Pak: "Oh yeah - the Hulk has a posse. There are a few characters that I just love - Korg is probably one of my favorites - a stone man. Back in one of the very first appearances of Thor, his opponents were the Stone Men from Saturn, who were these big, rocky guys with these Easter Island shaped heads, and they were villains. On Planet Hulk, I was thinking who should be on this planet with him, and Korg was a perfect character to play with. He's rooted in Marvel mythology, and it was a fun way that we could take his story - his fight with Thor - and look at it in a different way. What if Korg was a good guy?

"I also love Korg because he is a rock - and we all need "rocks" in our lives. He knows what life is about in a way, and for some reason I just love writing him. Another reason I've fallen in love with him is due to how Carlo and Aaron draw him. They both give him this gravity about him - there's this depth and sadness in his eyes that really works.

"Similarly, when they're drawing Miek - in those first four issues, Carlo was drawing all these crazy facial expressions for Miek, and they were all really fun. As a result, Meek got all these one-liners. The scenes would be capped off by these lines from Miek, just because Carlos would draw him in this funny way in the corner.

"Those are the two I've had fun with, although the character that I'm most excited about right now is the lieutenant, the Oldstrong. She began as the Red King's personal bodyguard, and as the story progresses, her allegiances are shifting in pretty surprising ways, and she's going to be a huge player as the story progresses."

When will see a return of Bruce Banner, and will he be affected by the events of Planet Hulk?

Pak: "Yes. I can't say too much more, but Banner has not been forgotten. We haven't seen that much face time with Banner - we've seen him mentioned a number of times, and we got to see him appear in the flesh in Giant-Size Hulk's backup story, but on a day to day basis, Banner's not running around Planet Hulk. If he did, clearly, he would not last long.

"But as for the Banner-Hulk relationship, we're building up all kinds of things with that - we haven't forgotten it by any means, and all of this is building up to a pretty mind-blowing climax with the Banner-Hulk relationship. Some pretty good Banner stuff is coming up in issues #103 and #105 - you may want to keep your eyes open for that."

Are the backup stories in Hulk #100 [ Incredible Hulk #3, #152 and #300] relevant to the Planet Hulk storyline?

Pak: "Yes. I think Tom Breevort was the person who picked the backups, and did a great job with that. Issue #300 is a Bill Mantlo written comic from 1984 and that is absolutely germane to all of this. That's the story that preceded Dr. Strange exiling the Hulk the first time around. Back during that story - the Hulk was driven insane by Nightmare, and tore up Manhattan and all the major characters in the Marvel Universe as well. It's just nuts. It climaxed with Dr. Strange exiling Hulk to the Crossroads, which was this amazing 13 issue arc that Bill Mantlo wrote, which in many ways is a precedent to what we're doing. I think of it like The Twilight Zone for the Hulk, where he was thrust into different universes, and they were almost like fables that explored how the Hulk would live in certain places and under certain conditions.

"We're taking some of those same themes, and are doing it on a single world, but tackling some of those same questions, albeit in a different genre. So - issue #300, which is a giant smash-fest may be a little bit of a teaser for World War Hulk…but it also fits into the whole theme of exile and is the Hulk a hero or monster?

The other issue is #152, and I believe that's the trial of the Incredible Hulk. And there, again, it's some of the same kinds of themes - Marvel Heroes passing judgment on the Hulk. Did they make the right decision? Does anybody really understand the Hulk? And who is the Hulk, a hero or a monster? Those are some of the same themes that will be explored in the back up story in #100 that Gray Frank illustrated.

"So they all pull together in a nice, thematic way."

For the complete article including many additional images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Q: "President Kang" - Why is World War Hulk its own mini? Why isn't the story contained in Incredible Hulk? Why do we have to buy 2 books? (I'm not talking as a gotta-catch-'em-all crossover collector; I'm talking as a Hulk fan who wants to see the continuation of the Planet Hulk storyline.) Why are you mean to us like that? Why don't you love us?

JQ: President Kang, I’ve never liked your haircut, it’s always grated on me and it’s truly influenced how I feel about you. I’m sorry, yes, I am that shallow. But here, come close, let me tell you a little secret, sssshhhhh, you don’t have to buy both books, just by World War Hulk and you’ll be fine.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

Wanted to clarify art chores for those curious as to who's currently working on which arcs of PLANET HULK. As you know, Carlo Pagulayan did the main story in issue 100 (ALLEGIANCE PART 1) accompanied by a bonus story illustrated by Gary Frank that seems to be quite the buzz amongst fans (a battle of wit between rebellious teen genius Amadeus Cho and smartest man in the world Reed Richards).

Issue 101 also sports art by Pags and Frank, with Aaron Lopresti stepping in for the remaining issues of the ALLEGIANCE arc-102 and 103-while Pags takes on the two-part ARMAGEDDON arc, issues 104 and 105, the final chapter of PLANET HULK.

Over the weekend I received finished pencils of 104 from Pags and they are stupendous. I'll share only two with you as I don't want to spoil, just give a taste. Lopresti sent me artwork, too, but showing those pages would give away too much…trust me they are powerful.

Ladrönn's final two covers should be coming within the next two weeks. Hopefully, he'll be doing covers for another HULK-related series for us later in 2007. Will keep you updated.

In the meantime, Gary Frank is working on issue 106 which comes out just before WORLD WAR HULK 1 (Greg is a very busy writer right now). Expect to see more of Amadeus as he plays the part of stacking a certain deck for a certain visitor who's coming to town.

Carlo Pagulayan's opening scene for HULK 104

From HULK 104--a sight to incite

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted by Chris Sotomayer on Comixtreme.com:

Also thought I'd show up with something hot off the presses. The 1st cover new Marvel Adventures Hulk series, by Pagulayan, Huet, and me (I don't know who's doing the interiors yet).

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:

It’s a day that will live in infamy when the Incredible Hulk returns to Earth to exact revenge on the puny humans that wronged him

Forget about Fat Man and Little Boy: The nuclear bombs that ended World War II don’t have anything on the gamma-fueled goliath that’s about to set off a new world war in the Marvel Universe.

After a yearlong exile in deep space, Marvel’s green giant returns to Earth in May when the “World War Hulk” storyline kicks off. Penned by “Planet Hulk” scribe Greg Pak, this arc follows the Hulk’s return to Earth and his quest for revenge against those who sent him off in the first place.

“People who were excited to see Hulk cutting loose in ‘Planet Hulk’ will not be disappointed as we move into ‘World War Hulk,’” notes Pak. “There are big things that we’ve been working on in ‘Planet Hulk’ in terms of a big, emotional story. Is he a hero or a monster? ‘

World War Hulk’ is going to carry on with those questions in the biggest way imaginable.”

Adds Hulk Editor Mark Paniccia: “‘World War Hulk’ will be extremely intense and have a resounding impact throughout the Marvel Universe. It’s our goal to make Hulk one of the best books on the market for years to come.”

This massive event storyline consists of a one-two combination that would knock out the Abomination—“World War Hulk” runs in The Incredible Hulk #106-#108, illustrated by Gary Frank (Squadron Supreme), as well as a five-issue mini-series of the same name drawn by legendary artist John Romita Jr. (Eternals). “My little head is exploding,” gushes Pak on working with Romita Jr. “He’s one of the guys whose work I’ve admired for years.”

Paniccia was also quick to heap praise on Romita Jr., saying, “In my opinion, he did some of the best Hulk art in the history of the character. John Romita Jr. will bring what this event is screaming for: impact.”

An impact was something that the Hulk, one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe, never got the chance to make during Civil War. After a rampage in Las Vegas that resulted in heavy property damage and numerous human casualties, the secret cabal known as the Illuminati decided the Hulk was too dangerous to remain on Earth. Comprised of Professor X, Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic, Namor, Iron Man and Black Bolt, the Illuminati tricked Bruce Banner into going into space to stop a rogue satellite from colliding with Earth. Once in orbit, Banner was jettisoned into the farthest reaches of outer space where he would presumably end up on a planet where the Hulk could finally find peace.

Unfortunately for the Hulk, he landed on the war-torn planet of Sakaar instead and was sold into slavery. One of the greatest gladiators ever seen on the planet, the Hulk became known as “The Green Scar” and became a hero to an oppressed people. Normally an outsider that prefers to be left alone, the Hulk’s experiences on Sakaar have led him to take on a much more proactive role as the savior of an entire race. Although he is accepted and revered on Sakaar, the Hulk still has a lot of smashing to do back on his home planet.

“Since Hulk first saw the Illuminati’s video message in Incredible Hulk #91, fans have been anticipating him returning to Earth with a big cup of revenge for the elitist group of Marvel heroes,” says Paniccia.

Readers got their first taste of what the Hulk’s return may mean in the back-up story to Incredible Hulk #100, in which teenaged super-genius Amadeus Cho warned Mr. Fantastic of the Hulk’s whereabouts and obtained evidence that proved the actions of the Illuminati. Cho—in the vein of past Hulk partners such as Rick Jones and Jim Wilson—may prove to be an unlikely ally once Hulk makes his return. And when the Hulk finally does return next year, the citizens of Earth are going to wish he’d stayed in a galaxy far, far away, because the madder Hulk gets, the stronger he gets…and he’s never been this mad before.

The people that should be quaking in their boots the most are the Illuminati, as the Hulk won’t soon forget their betrayal. So what if they all didn’t vote to cast him into space? The Hulk isn’t one for semantics when it comes to smashing. “They are going to wish that the shuttle they put him in didn’t go off course,” quips Paniccia.

In addition, an unfortunate victim of the Illuminati’s scheming may be the original Howling Commando himself, Nick Fury. The Illuminati used a robot double of Fury to convince the Hulk to go into space in the first place. Once the Hulk returns, he’ll be dead set on pummeling Fury into a pulp, no matter how many robot duplicates he has to go through. But no matter who the Hulk ultimately ends up going after, “World War Hulk” promises to generate big shockwaves across the Marvel Universe and leave lasting changes in its wake.

“The end of ‘World War Hulk’ will change [Hulk’s] status quo. He will not be the same Hulk coming out of this,” concludes Paniccia. “Bruce Banner will be scarred for life.”

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

From this week's New Joe Fridays:

Q: “NielsVanEekelen" - Joe, any chance we'll get to see Scorpion (Carmilla Black) again soon? For a while, she was being worked into the fabric of the Marvel U in a way that I really like, by guest-starring in all sorts of stories where she fit. But in Civil War, the superhero who was already secretly working for S.H.I.E.L.D. is nowhere to be seen.

JQ: Hey, Nie - - NielsVa - - NielsVanEekelen (man that’s a mouthful), you’ll be happy to know that Scorpion will be showing up in a little thing we like to call…

WORLD WAR HULK!

Booyah!

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Q: Anything new on Ultimate Hulk vs. Wolverine? Still plan on getting those scripts, etc.? Or is it just quietly cancelled now? And hypothetically speaking, if Lindeloff sends you the scripts tomorrow, who would the artist be, now that Yu is knee-deep in New Avengers?

JQ: I just heard from Damon this week, and apparently he’s working on the next script and as far as we know and desire, Leinil will be finishing the series. The beauty of Leinil is how incredibly fast and dedicated he is. He’s a joy to work with and does his monthly project and usually gets a side project done in drips and drabs on the side.

I hate him [laughs]

Q: “MazingMan728” - Where has America's Favorite Side-kick Rick Jones been during Civil War and will his thoughts and choosing of sides be addressed?

JQ: Rick shows up in Captain America #26 and will have a role to play in World War Hulk.

Q: “Hrungr” - Carlo Pagulayan had a fantastic run on Planet Hulk, but with Gary Frank apparently taking over the main book and John Romita Jr. on World War Hulk, I was wondering what he was up to next?

JQ: Hrungr, Gary is working on some of the World War Hulk tie-in issues, not “taking over” the book. Carlo will be back on starting with Hulk #108.



For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: With the end of Civil War one week away, eyes are obviously starting to turn towards other upcoming events within the Marvel Universe in the coming months. As far as information that's out has revealed, Planet Hulk leads into summer, and then the X-Men crossover event... what are the respective scopes of those events? How many ancillary specials or minis will we see, say, compared to Civil War?

JQ: I think you meant to say, World War Hulk.

World War Hulk’s crossover title list will be revealed next Friday at the New York Comic Con.

You gonna be there, I hear it’s supposed to be a big thing [laughs].

What I can tell you is that it’s one third the number of titles of Civil War and about a half of what House Of M’s title count, so for a big event, it’s pretty contained.

As for the X-event, as of this moment, it’s completely self-contained within the X-titles.

NRAMA: With both Planet Hulk and the X-event, (does it have a name?) are…

JQ: World War Hulk!

NRAMA: Oh yeah, sorry. With both World War Hulk and the X-event, (does it have a name?) are…the "reigns" tighter, that is, that chances of Civil War-size delays are being minimized? If so, how

JQ: We certainly think so and we believe it will all go off without a hitch, but you can never foresee if the train is going to fall of the tracks this far into the game. Johnny Jr. is already working on issue #1 and Greg Pak has written ahead so we’re looking good so far. The X-event, which is named but we haven’t publicly said what it is yet, is still in the writing stages, but that happens much later in the year so we’re still within the comfortable buffer zone. But yes, we always take steps to give these big stories a fighting chance to come out on time and we hope to maintain that.

NRAMA: Joe – speaking of World War Hulk (got is right that time), we're seeing a lot of "war" in comics these days, not soldiers and "True Tales of the Battlefield, obviously, but "war" in titles - Civil WAR, World WAR Hulk, and now, from DC, World WAR III - all major events, all flashing the word “war”. Just a coincidence of titling and marketing, a close tie/reflection to the zeitgeist that we're all living in? In any case - it's a popular title for big things these days...

JQ: It is interesting and yes, I’m sure it has much to do with the zeitgeist of today, which by the way is also the very same zeitgeist that has made the word “zeitgeist” so prevalent a part of our vocabulary. I mean, don’t you think the current zeitgeist is responsible for our over use of the word “zeitgeist?” I never heard it overused like this in the previous zeitgeist. [laughs].

I believe “juxtaposed” was last zeitgeist’s word.

Let me add that the word “war” has been part of the marvel fabric since Secret Wars, so there is some precedence within Marvel for our use of the word in out events. It’s kind of like the word “Crisis” is synonymous with DC.

NRAMA: Speaking of which then, thoughts about a “war” event from DC after and before your “war” events?

JQ: Are you referring to DC’s announcing their “World War” thing after Civil War’s success and a several months after our announcing our next big storyline, World War Hulk? It’s all cool, it’s just a name and I don’t think anyone will be confusing or mistaking their event with what we just did or will be doing.

That said, I guess no one can ever complain or throw accusations about our Identity Disc mini series from several years back anymore.

Q: “superhulkman” - I realize that there have been questions relating to Jeph Loeb's work since coming back to Marvel, but can you please tell us more about the new Hulk project that Mr. Loeb and Mr. McGuinness will work on please? I only ask, because it was mentioned in the article talking about their Ultimates 4 run and there would also be a Hulk project. I love Marvel, Jeph Loeb's work, and Hulk and Wolverine rule!!!

JQ: Why don’t we ask the Loebmesiter and see what he has to say.

JEPH LOEB: It's a little too early to talk about, superhulkman, but let's just say it's going to make World War Hulk look like a Sunday picnic with Grandma! McGuinness came to Marvel with one thing in mind -- to reestablish the Hulk as "The Strongest There Is" -- in any Universe!

JQ: Ah. Mssr. Loeb does have the gift for hyperbole, while I don’t doubt that his and McG’s Hulk will rock, World War Hulk is going to be pretty darn amazing and will certainly raise the bar and make their job harder [laughs].

Note to self: make sure Loeb drinks the Kool-Aid.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicsContinuum.com:

ORLANDO -- A few days before Civil War #7 is released and a week before a slew of announcements is expected in New York, several of Marvel's top artists gathered early Saturday for a panel at MegaCon.

Following are the highlights from the panel:

* Finch is also working on covers for the upcoming World War Hulk event.

* Finch noted that something that happens to someone close to the Hulk helps trigger the events of World War Hulk. "It's basically everybody against the Hulk," he said.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

As readers will learn in the upcoming Civil War: Front Line, reporters Ben Urich and Sally Floyd will have reason to continue to work together in the future, and as Marvel’s World War Hulk panel at New York Comic Con revealed, there’s a pretty big story for them to cover coming down the pike.

That story will be told in World War Hulk: Front Line, a six issue mini-series written by Paul Jenkins, with art on the Ben/Sally story by Ramon Bachs. As with the Civil War version, WWH Front Line will run alongside the main World War Hulk storyline, showing the Marvel Universe as it reacts to the events that occur after an angry Hulk returns to earth for a little payback. That said, it comes as no surprise that Ben and Sally’s story will center around the evacuation of Manhattan.

The series will run from June through September, with one issue shipping in June, two issues in both July and August, and the concluding issue in September. Both the first and last issues will be full stories featuring Ben and Sally; the secondary story – a Costumed Division murder mystery – will see Danny Grandville teaming with a new partner who's very familiar. Additionally, issues #2-#5 will feature two page stories illustrated by Chris (Sidekick) Moreno which will take a less than serious look at the unfolding drama.

We caught up with Jenkins for a quick chat about the upcoming miniseries.

Newsarama: Paul, essentially, this is the Front Line model that was used in Civil War applied to the World War Hulk event. Was this something that was pitched to you, or did you look at the horizon and figured that telling about the Hulk’s return from the man on the street’s perspective would be something worth doing again?

Paul Jenkins: I think it was half and half. When we started Front Line with Civil War, and it looked like it was popular, and Marvel was somewhat surprised by the sales, Joe Quesada said to me that we should think about doing Front Lines for all the events. The great thing about Front Line was that we got a chance to tell those “man on the street” stories and cover stuff that the main book can’t cover. Like Civil War, Greg’s going to be telling a massive story in World War Hulk, and there’s not gong to be room in there to tell stories like, “How does it feel to be evacuated and not know if you’ll ever return to your home, never mind trying to do it from a pretty small island with a couple of million other people.”

So we’re covering all of that, and the coordination for us is a little bit easier this time, because now we’ve done it, and we all understand how to tie thing back to the main book. Greg’s been a great help with that as well, and I’ve been able to give him input from my book, so there may be a little thing that I do that you’ll see in his story, but of course, mostly I use his book to cross into mine.

NRAMA: And breaking things down – again, you’re using the three-section format, correct?

PJ: Right. We’re not going to do the 32-page issues, but we are going to do the standard-sized Marvel books, which will be 22 pages. But they’ll still be in the anthology format, so a portion is given to Ben and Sally, a portion given to Costume Division…

NRAMA: Can you explain Costume Division a little?

PJ: It’s a blend of Alien Nation and Law & Order - a detective story where Danny Grandville, who’s dating Sally, has to go out and figure out these outlandish crimes, but that’s his job, to investigate all these weird crimes that involve costumes and aliens or other weird things. With that, I’m getting to get into an area that I’ve pitched as a bigger idea for a project at Marvel with Costume Division – detective fiction in the Marvel Universe. Tom Brevoort was really enamored by the idea, but rather than do it right now as its own thing, we’re just going to start doing it in here with Danny and Korg investigating a crime.

NRAMA: So it comes complete with the “Odd Couple” vibe as well…

PJ: Yeah. I think Danny’s feeling throughout the entire story is, “Why me?” He figures he drew the short straw, to have to work with the giant stone man.

And then, there are the final two pages of the four issues in the middle which I’m doing with Chris Moreno, which will basically make fun of the whole thing, so we get our chance to tell two pages of jokes each issue. One of them will follow an idea that I put out there that, with the Fifty States Initiative, no heroes are volunteering for duty in Rhode Island, so the Governor of Rhode Island holds open tryouts for superhero teams, and they decide to hire a musical team, which will now protect the state with song.

So we’ve got four funky little two page jokes.

NRAMA: Touching on the main throughline story with Ben and Sally . . . it's them covering the evacuation of Manhattan, then?

PJ: Right. It’ll be the same kind of format, and that will be part of the backdrop. We’re not going to be doing the same type of story exactly from Civil War, where Ben and Sally found that there is a traitor that played a large role in the Civil War. There’s not traitor in World War Hulk, although there is a mystery involved. Sally and Ben get a mystery benefactor, which purchases Front Line and The Alternative, where Sally used to work and gives them a directive, to nail Jonah Jameson to the wall, and show the world how corrupt his views are.

Of course, even though he’s been abused by Jonah for years, Ben feels that Jonah’s still a friend, so he has questions about doing it in the first place. So there’s a mystery as to who this is who wants to take Jonah down, and meanwhile, Ben and Sally and the other reporters start scooping The Daily Bugle and getting stories that the Bugle can’t get, because the Bugle isn’t quick to move or write the kind of stories that Ben and Sally are going after.

And then at the end, of course, all will be revealed.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

As Marvel discussed today at its World War Hulk panel, the upcoming storyline that features the Jade Giant’s return to earth won’t be as far-reaching and expansive as Civil War, but at the same time, there will be some specific story elements that will spill out into their own projects. Case in point, the three issue World War Hulk: X-Men mini-series debuting in June, written by Christos Gage, with art by Andrea DiVito and covers by Ed McGuiness.

The premise? Simple – Professor Xavier is on the Hulk’s payback list since being exiled into space for over a year. The Hulk’s just being systematic with his revenge here – nothing personal. Thing is, as usual when mutants are involved, it’s a slightly more complicated story. We spoke briefly with Gage about the upcoming mini.

Newsarama: What got you on to this tie-in in the first place?

Christos Gage: Andy Schmidt, the editor. We had worked together on the Union Jack mini-series, and based on my work there he was kind enough to give me a shot at a big event book with the Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War one-shot. Everyone seemed happy with that, it was well received and it sold well, so after Andy moved over to the X-office I guess he figured I'd proved myself enough to send me my draft notice for World War Hulk. When he called, all he had to say was World War Hulk: X-Men and I was in!

NRAMA: That said, had you been keeping up with what was going on in Planet Hulk? What was your overall take on that storyline, as well as the news of him coming back for WWH?

CG: I got in on Planet Hulk late, but when I heard the great buzz on the story I got caught up and I am loving it. Greg Pak has crafted an epic story with a fully realized, complex world, casting the Hulk as a reluctant, underdog gladiator turned rebel freedom fighter all while staying true to the character and using bits and pieces of Marvel history combined with his own original creations to excellent effect. It's a fantastic read. As for the Hulk coming back, that was inevitable from the start. Just as it was inevitable that much smashing would ensue.

NRAMA: More specifically to the story here - an X-Men tie-in. It seems rather a disparate group coming in to the storyline. Why does this make sense, and why would the X-Men be involved in the Hulk's activities in the first place? After all, the X-Men were Switzerland in Civil War - why would they be getting involved here?

CG: Well, the Hulk isn't the type to give you a choice over high tea the way Tony Stark did. If he says you're involved, guess what, you're involved! Basically, without spoiling too much, the Hulk finds out that the guys who sent him into space -- Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Black Bolt and Dr. Strange -- had planned for Professor Xavier to be a part of the meeting where it was decided. Sure, Professor X didn't show up, but the Hulk has some pointed questions for him anyway. See, the Hulk is kind of like Santa Claus. Santa has his "naughty" and "nice" lists. Hulk has his "smash" and "really smash" lists, and he's trying to figure out which one to put the Professor on. So he shows up at the door of the Xavier Institute, and...well, let me put it this way. If you were writing a book called World War Hulk: X-Men, would you make it about the Hulk and X-Men having a tea party? Me neither.

NRAMA: That said, what was the overall goal of the story here – or is it just to show an old-fashioned X-Men vs. Hulk fight?

CG: There actually is more to it than the fun of seeing the Hulk fight the X-Men as drawn by Andrea DiVito, though that's pretty sweet by itself, in my opinion. One goal was to bring the various X-teams together. It's not going to be everyone -- Excalibur is in England, for instance, so they're probably out of the picture -- but you'll see the extended X-family operating as one to defend the dream that unites them. Another goal was to look at the fact that Professor X has had some of his past actions turn out pretty badly as of late. He used to have a tendency to play god a bit, making decisions that affected peoples' lives without asking them, and others have paid the price - as has the Professor. The situation with the Hulk brings this issue to the forefront, and we're going to see how both the Professor and the team members feel about all of it.

NRAMA: What X-Men are you bringing into the story, then?

CG: As many as I can get away with! And yes, I was able to bring in nearly all my favorites. Colossus, Nightcrawler, Wolverine...Lockheed...it's really a dream come true for me, because I got hooked on the X-Men as a kid and now, my first time writing them, I'm getting to put all my old faves into one story! Of course, some new favorites will be around too, like New X-Men such as Rockslide and X-23, who is really quite a scary young lady.

NRAMA: Lastly, just a minor tease - what gets the ball rolling in the story?

CG: THOOOOM. Knock Knock. And then it all goes to hell...

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Marvel held the first major publisher panel of New York Comic Con Friday, focusing on their upcoming event World War Hulk.

Beginning with a slide showing a green-colored earth with a gigantic chunk taken out of it, Marvel’s World War Hulk panel opened with Marvel Editor in Chief Joe Quesada joking that it looked like rather than conquering earth, the Hulk would eat the earth, as the chunk taken out looked like a bite.

Panelists for the discussion included Quesada, Editor Bill Rosemann, Christos Gage, Frank Tieri, Greg Pak, Editor Mark Paniccia, and Jim McCann from Marketing and Sales.

Pak opened the discussion saying that the upcoming Hulk #104-#105 are the lead in issues to World War Hulk, and will blow readers’ minds as Planet Hulk concludes and the Hulk returns to earth.

The panel’s slideshow then began, with images that showed the various aspects of World War Hulk, starting with World War Hulk: Prologue coming in May. The one-shot, written by Peter David will serve as a primer to Planet Hulk as well as a preview for World War Hulk, it was said.

Moving to the five issue World War Hulk miniseries (written by Greg Pak, with art by John Romita Jr and Klaus Janson), Pak described the story as including “lots of hitting,” which brought applause from the audience. In describing the larger scope fo the story, Pak said that all new readers to the Hulk would need to know is that a group of “puny humans” took it upon themselves to judge the Hulk, deem him an uncontrollable monster, and exile him to space. Now, the Hulk has found his way back to earth, and upon his return, Pak explained, the Hulk has a very different idea of who the monster is – and is looking to do something about it.

The five covers of World War Hulk by Romita Jr. were shown, with each one showing the Hulk fighting various Marvel characters. The fifth cover, which was only a large question mark, will be revealed at a later date. All five covers together form one, connected image.

Pak said that the story is a giant smash fest, as well as one of the most emotional stories the Hulk has had in a long time.

Also describing the story, Quesada said that, in the larger view of the Marvel Universe, World War Hulk is a “sorbet” that is, a palate cleanser after Civil War.

Along with the World War Hulk miniseries, the storyline will extend into the regular Hulk series in issues #106-#109, with art by Gary Frank. The story running through those issues will parallel World War Hulk, focusing on characters who were at one time friends or allies of the Hulk, who now need to figure out where they stand. Two of Pak’s creations, Mastermind Excello (from Amazing Fantasy #15) and Amadeus Cho will appear in the arc, along with more familiar faces.

Moving to the tie-in projects, Christos Gage said “Let’s see him think through that,” when the slide for World War Hulk: X-Men #1 was shown. As Gage explained in detail with Newsarama here the story begins when the Hulk shows up at door of the Mansion, looking for Professor X, as he is a member of the Illuminati who exiled him in space. Gage noted that Xavier was not in the particular meeting that decided upon the exile, the Hulk isn’t exactly looking for a conversation. Likewise, the Hulk knows nothing about Decimation, or the reduced number of X-Men, which makes the battle much more desperate.

Frank Tieri and Carlos Ferreira will also tell a side story of World War Hulk in Gamma Corps, a “villain book,” “but who’s the real villain?” Tieri asked. The writer explained the team essentially as a gamma-powered black ops team, similar in feel, say, to the team seen in Predator.

General Ryker from Paul Jenkins “Dogs of War” story will be involved in the Gamma Corps story . Look for more on the project from Tieri shortly here on Newsarama.

The panel then moved to a discussion of World War Hulk: Front Line, which Paul Jenkins told Newsarama about here. Shawn Martinborough was named as the artist for the Costume Division storyline.

In talking about the various World War Hulk tie in issues of ongoing Marvel series, Gage spoke about Iron Man #19-#20 which he is writing, explaining that as a result of Civil War, the Hulk’s vendetta against Iron Man has taken an interesting twist. Rather than just a man vs. green monster fight, Iron Man now has the ability to throw an army against the Hulk with the agents of SHIELD that are now under his command. “Tony’s left with a difficult decision, being should he now put these brave young men and women in harm’s way in what has essentially has become a grudge match?”

With the Heroes For Hire crossover issues, Paniccia said one of the interesting aspects will be that Humbug, given his ability to communicate with insects, can talk to the Brood that come to earth with the Hulk.

In regards to the tie-in issues with Ghost Rider, it was pointed out that the Hulk and Ghost Rider to have a past, as both were members of the Champions.

Moving to the question and answer portion of the panel, the following topics were touched upon:

Who would stand the best chance of beating the Hulk in a head-to-head battle?

Quesada: Everyone’s going to try, and the fun will be seeing what these heroes will try to do to stop the Hulk.

Where did the idea of Planet Hulk and World War Hulk come from?

Quesada: Alan Fine, of Toy Biz and Quesada had similar ideas, that is, that it was time to get the Hulk back to big, savage action since the character had gone through various eras that moved him away from that type of story.

What about the scope of World War Hulk, and following one event (i.e., Civil War) with another?

Quesada: Understands the concern, but pointed out that World War Hulk is ¼ the size of Civil War in terms of connections and tie-ins.

Paniccia: The story of the Hulk’s return to earth was just too big not to be reflected in the lives of other characters and therefore, other titles.

Hulk #106 will show what She-Hulk has to say about her cousin being exiled.

Hulk #107 will show what Namor has to say about his friend being exiled.

Will there be a Planet Hulk 2

Pak: Likes the idea, but we’ll have to see coming out of World War Hulk, and who’s to say that earth won’t be the new “Planet Hulk” after his return?

Coming soon will be a conversation with Frank Tieri on World War Hulk: Gamma Corps, a four-issue LS with artist Carlos Ferreira, and sometime down the road we'll try to catch up with Jeph Loeb about his and David Finch's World War Hulk: Young Avengers one-shot.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

Hulk has been exiled, imprisoned, empowered and crowned. Now, he's coming back to Earth and no one is safe.
Check out the full list of books tied into World War Hulk, one of 2007's biggest events.

MAY
WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER #1
INCREDIBLE HULK #106

JUNE
WORLD WAR HULK #1
INCREDIBLE HULK #107
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #19
GHOST RIDER #12
HEROES FOR HIRE #11
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #1
WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #1
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #1

JULY
AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE #4
IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN #10
WORLD WAR HULK #2
GHOST RIDER #13
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #2
INVINCIBLE IRON MAN #20
HEROES FOR HIRE #12
WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS #2
WORLD WAR HULK #3
WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN #2
WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE #3
INCREDIBLE HULK #108

AUGUST
INCREDIBLE HULK #109
WORLD WAR HULK YOUNG AVENGERS #1
WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #3
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #4
WORLD WAR HULK #4
WORLD WAR HULK X-MEN #3
HEROES FOR HIRE #13
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #5

SEPTEMBER
WORLD WAR HULK GAMMA CORPS #4
WORLD WAR HULK #5
HEROES FOR HIRE #14
INCREDIBLE HULK #110
WORLD WAR HULK FRONTLINE #6

Don't forget to visit Marvel's World War Hulk hub for everything related to the event.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:

House of Ideas announces new storyline tied to return of the Green Goliath

Friday’s “Marvel: World War Hulk” panel was welcomed with a thunderclap-level response from fans who were eager to hear about the global damage coming from the Jade Giant!

“World War Hulk is the story of the Hulk returning to Earth, where those puny humans live, and much smashing will ensue,” said current Hulk writer Greg Pak.

Hosted by Marvel EiC Joe Quesada, the panel featured the announcement of five new series:

World War Hulk #1-5 by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr.
World War Hulk: X-Men #1-3 by Christos N. Gage and Andrea DiVito.
World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #1-4 by writer Frank Tieri and Carlos Ferreira
World War Hulk: Frontline #1-6 by Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs

“With Civil War over, World War Hulk will be the green sorbet to cleanse the palate,” said Quesada. “It’ll be lighter with lots of punching and hitting.”

The panel revealed four interconnecting covers from the World War Hulk storyline by John Romita Jr., with a fifth unrevealed story that Quesada teased tying into the Hulk’s final battle.

“[This will be] one of the biggest emotional stories from the Hulk in recent memory,” said Pak about the event.

Before the main war hits, Pak said he still has a tale to tell in the series that started it all in Incredible Hulk #106-109.

Incredible Hulk will have a parallel story dealing with who will side with the Hulk. The arc will follow a number of characters as they figure out where they stand in the war. Pak did mention the arc will feature the return of Mastermind Excello from Amazing Fantasy #15.

World War Hulk: X-Men

Upon the unveil of the cover of World War Hulk: X-Men #1, drawn by Ed McGuiness, the crowd laughed at the sight of a frightened Prof. X with the Hulk’s hands tight around his throat. After the laughs, Quesada slyly replied, “Let’s see him think out of that!”

The series follows the Hulk’s mission to confront Prof. X about the former Illuminati member’s decision to exile him to space. Even though the Prof. was absent from the meeting to send the Hulk out in space, the Green Goliath’s got some questions for him.

“The Hulk’s like Santa Claus,” said Gage. “Santa has his naughty and nice list, and the Hulk’s got his ‘smash’ and ‘smash really hard list.’”

With the mutant number being limited to 198 mutants, Gage said he’s going to put all the mutants he can fit into to the series.

World War Hulk: Gamma Corp

Tieri called it the “villain book of the series” but questioned who the villains really are. A big reveal is the return of a Tieri favorite character, Gen Ryker, into the series. In the series Ryker assembles a military team to take down the Hulk, who Tieri likens to “the crew from ‘Predator’ with gamma powers.”

World War Hulk: Frontline

Bill Rosemann spoke on the behalf of Jenkins about the project, citing that Frontline will take the street-level, human-look into the war - much like the similarly named series tying into Civil War.

A number of tie-ins will also come into play, crossing over into Iron Man, Heroes for Hire, Ghost Rider, Young Avengers and the Irredeemable Ant-Man.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

Young Avengers, Front Line, Gamma Corps and more
By Jim Beard

You only think you know big summer events. You only think you know the Incredible Hulk. WORLD WAR HULK will change all that.

The Incredible Hulk is on his way back to Earth, feeling very undecidely merry after his exile in space by the Illuminati, Earth's most secret collection of powerful personalities. When ol' Jade Jaws lands, well, its gonna be WAR.

"Last year, the puny humans of Earth convinced themselves that the Hulk was a dangerous monster," explains gamma-irradiated Hulk-scribe Greg Pak. "So they betrayed him, exiling him to the savage alien planet of Sakaar where he became a slave, then a gladiator and rebel, and finally a conquering king. Now the Hulk is returning to our world, and the 'heroes' of Earth will find out who the Hulk thinks the monster of this story really is."

Thus, WORLD WAR HULK, the summer event that's so big, so smashing, so Hulk-tacular, it needs several other books to contain it all.

Hulk editor Mark Paniccia is determined to give the event both the scope and the depth it demands…that the Hulk demands! "The WORLD WAR HULK companion titles are going to give you the stories we don't have room to tell in the main miniseries or in INCREDIBLE HULK," says Panaccia. "And of course they're designed to give the fans some of the fights they've been begging to see."

The Hulk's special brand of smashing begins this May in INCREDIBLE HULK #106, by Pak and popular Hulk artist Gary Frank, and WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER, by writer Peter David (no stranger to the Hulk!) and a cornucopia of amazing artists.

Then the real fun begins.

June unleashes the core miniseries, WORLD WAR HULK, on an unsuspecting world, and then the first three of four very special companion series will fall into position, ready to strike.

WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN finds the Marvel's Merry Mutants going toe-to-toe with the Green Goliath, bringing their unique abilities to bear on the problem of a Rampaging Hulk.

WORLD WAR HULK: FRONTLINE will tell the personal tales of the men and women on the perimeter of the struggle, in the same spirit as CIVIL WAR: FRONT LINE. Is it any wonder that Marvel has roped Front Line expert Paul Jenkins into penning the title, aided and abetted by his old foxhole buddy, artist Ramon Bachs?

WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS, written by emerald-hued Frank Tieri and illustrated by verdantly pastoral Carlos Ferreira "is about a genetically altered strike force, whose lives have been affected by the Hulk," enthuses Panaccia. "With the events of WORLD WAR HULK, they finally get a chance to give Hulk their own special helping of payback."

Artist Ferreira is beside himself with excitement for the project. "I think it's an opportunity to be part of a family when you work for Marvel, which is priceless," notes Ferreira. "On GAMMA CORPS, they gave me great characters to work with and teamed me up with great professionals. What else could I ask for?"

"I'll put a lot of effort and inspiration into GAMMA CORPS, and hope the fans like it…and come back for more!"

Come July, the worldwide battle continues in not only the aforementioned books, but also in WORLD WAR HULK: YOUNG AVENGERS. Confidential information on the tie-in has not yet been declassified, but suffice to say that a certain creative team by the name of Jeph Loeb and David Finch will be putting the already-famous Young Avengers through their paces…and then some!

And the crushing, stomping, and body-slamming doesn't stop there. WORLD WAR HULK's effects will be felt throughout many of the Marvel Universe's ongoing titles, namely INVINCIBLE IRON MAN, GHOST RIDER, HEROES FOR HIRE, AVENGERS: THE INITIATIVE, and IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN.

"As far as guest-stars go," says Panaccia. "I'm excited about Hercules, Amadeus Cho, the Angel, the new Scorpion, Namora, and a few other surprise combatants. With WORLD WAR HULK, almost all the Marvel icons will be represented so you just can't go wrong."

"I've had a dream team to work with on this event. Greg Pak is a brilliant comic book writer and has an immense knowledge of the Hulk's history and a great insight into what makes him tick. We were lucky to get Gary Frank to do some spectacular and unforgettable artwork. And John Romita Jr? Good God. WORLD WAR HULK has so much energy you're going to faint from exhaustion when you're done with each issue."

The Hulk editor smiles knowingly. "This is going to be one of the greatest Marvel events ever and you're going to see some of the greatest superhero battles in the past couple of decades!"

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

Images and details from the World War Hulk panel

World War Hulk

Marvel's first panel of the 2007 New York Comic Con was held in a packed room, to a lively crowd of over 200 people. In attendance at the panel were: Jim McCann, Mark Paniccia, Bill Rosemann, Joe Quesada, Greg Pak, Frank Tieri and Cristos N. Gage

Before things kicked off, everyone was primping, drinking water and just waiting. Marketing maven Jim McCann was frantically calling someone and scratching his head like a monkey. Cristos and Bill were looking at some papers while Frank gazed around. Joe, looking very svelt, intro'd the panel and thanked everyone for coming out.

Joe Q. revealed the secret of WWH: there'll be no fighting, just eating. Hulk eats Earth. Believe it.

The World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker gets things started in May. "It's a little book," Joe said. "If you haven't been reading 'Planet Hulk,' the prologue will give you a set up. It's written by Peter David, with art by Al Rio, Lee Weeks and

WWH itself is five issues, and there'll be "lots of hitting." WWH is about Hulk coming back to Earth. Duh!
There'll be four interconnecting covers, the last one is a still a mystery and shows who Hulk battles at the end of the series.

During the panel, it's described as the "Green sorbet of the MU, cleansing of the palate, with lots of punching;" a bit lighter than other Marvel stories of late.

Editor Mark Paniccia and company talk about INCREDIBLE HULK #106–#109. They show a slide of Iron Man, Black Bolt—the people who shot Hulk into space.
The question is posed of whether or not Hulk has any friends on Earth. The series will be rife with unexpected characters. Where do they stand--with or against Hulk?

Expect the return of Mastermind Excelo from Amazing Fantasy #15!

They start introing a few of the tie-in titles, announcing the books including World War Hulk: Gamma Corps, WWH: Young Avengers, WWH: X-Men and WWH: Front Line.

WWH: X-Men is three issues long. The crowd oohs and ahhs over the Ed McGuinness cover to WWH: X-Men #1. The book is by Chris Gage and Andrea Divito. The crowd is legitimately stoked. Even though Chris' name is misspelled. JIM! It's Gage, not Cage.
Anyway, Gage assured the crowd that all the X-Men will be in it--or as many as they'll let him use. More applause. This could be the break-out fan-favorite WWH book.

WWH Gamma Corps is, according to writer Frank Tieri, a villain book. Tieri's bringing back General Riker. He's back and he wants to save his wife's life and wants to bring down hulk. Tieri cursed a lot when describing the book and everyone got wrapped up in the enthusiasm. Maybe this will be the break-out book?

WWH: Front Line #1-#6 sees Paul Jenkins and Ramon Bachs return to the Front Line. They show the cover to the first issue and Mark Paniccia admits that he's afraid of toe hair. Front Line will again be a street level look at this event.
For more on Front Line, see our World War Hulk: Front Linestory.

Paniccia says that scripts for tie-ins have been coming in and they're exciting and great, bringing new nuances and emotional angles to the giant event.

Get more info on the official World War Hulk tie-in mini-series here.
But in addition to the tie-in mini's, several issues from ongoing series will slide into the giant event, including IRON MAN, HEROES FOR HIRE, GHOST RIDER, Avengers and more. Check out our World War Hulk checklist to see all the books.

Iron Man will focus on Tony's first big challenge as head of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hulk is targeting him, there's a new set of dynamics because Tony has big a defense system. Will Tony clean up his mess? Why does Hulk feel strongly about this? It's something that will be explored.

Heroes for Hire will feature some freaky stuff. 'Nuff said. Seriously.

There's some Champion action going on in GHOST RIDER. One of Hulk's former teammates in comes back.

And the rest? Well…too early to talk about.

That was followed up by a lively Q&A session that actually spilled over, ever so slightly, into the Civil War Fallout/Initiative panel.

Some highlights:
-Will Tony be disbanding S.H.I.E.L.D.? The short answer from Joe was "He is going to change the culture of S.H.I.E.L.D., not everyone will like it.
-Is the Sentry involved? Yes, every hero is.
-In Avengers Iluminatti #2, it was revealed that they all are in possession of an Infinity Gem. Will that be addressed in how they wouldn't just wish Hulk away? Yes!
-Without Thor around, who will stand the best chance against Hulk? Squirrel girl? Joe said, "That's the beauty of WWH--everyone will try, some will know that they are not at that level--but they will try to get to that level.
-There was talk of some tie-ins and WWH is only 35 tie-ins over 4 months. That's not very heavy on the wallet, especially compared to Civil War.
-It seems like the last few Hulk writers have had their own spin on the Hulk. Is there any core description, set of concepts boundaries that a Hulk writer gets to not cross? Joe said "Writers bring their own styles to the books. Different interpretations. Different editors have different voices as well. That's going to happen with any character. You have to allow creators a certain amount of leeway."

Dan slott showed up at 5:07, shoulders slumped, realizing he was totally late. He hung out in the front row. Coincidentally, he showed up just as Greg Pak began talking about She-Hulk and Marvel staff brought in copies of Wolverine #50 Comic Con variant. A wonderful arrival, indeed.
After two questions, Dan came on stage. He said he was late because he was scripting. All is forgiven!

There were several more questions, but you'll have to catch the video of the event, soon to be up on Marvel.com. And don't miss out on any New York Comic Con coverage.

For the complete article, including images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

On Friday afternoon, Joe Quesada presided over Marvel Comics' first panel at the second annual New York Comic Con. With “Civil War” finally over, the EIC of the House of Ideas and the assembled panelists were anxious to talk about the company’s next big event, “World War Hulk.” Greg Pak, the man behind not only “Planet Hulk” but also the green goliath’s pending return to Earth, was in attendance. Also on the panel were writers Frank Tieri and Christos Gage, editors Bill Rosemann and Mark Paniccia, and Jim McCann. They were joined later by latecomer Dan Slott.

Quesada began the panel with a tantalizing secret about “World War Hulk”: “There’s no fighting, he just eats Earth. One big bite.” All joking aside, Quesada launched into the slide show. The “World War Hulk” mini-series proper will be penned by “Incredible Hulk” scribe Greg Pak, and illustrated by legendary artist John Romita Jr. Before “Civil War” broke out, the “puny humans” known as the Illuminati recognized that the Hulk would be a liability, and they exiled him from Earth. “’World War Hulk’ is the story of the Hulk returning to Earth where those puny humans live,” Pak said. “Much smashing will ensue.” Pak also promised that it will be “one of the most emotional stories for the Hulk in recent memory.”

“World War Hulk” kicks off in May with the prologue, with writer Peter David, and artists Al Rio, Sean Phillips and Lee Weeks. “The prologue shows readers why the Illuminati did what they did and what the Hulk’s feelings are towards those characters,” Paniccia said. But Slott assured those assembled that, “It’s not just a recap something important happens. So you must buy it.”

Greg Pak will be continuing to write “The Incredible Hulk.” And while everyone knows who the Hulk’s enemies are going to be in the coming conflict, the “Incredible Hulk” tie-ins will focus on his allies. Issues 106 through 109 feature the return of Mastermind Excello (a new character from the recent “Amazing Fantasy” #15) and Amadeus Cho. Hercules and Angel were also pictured on a cover image. In addition, issues 106 and 107 deal with the repercussions of the Hulk’s return on his longtime ally Namor, and Bruce’s cousin Jen Walters, aka She-Hulk. In Slott’s run on “She-Hulk,” Jen Walters has become the “surrogate Hulk,” doing her best to deal with the Hulk’s rogue’s gallery of villains who have been running amok in Bruce’s absence. Slott urged readers to pick up “She-Hulk” 18, as her appearance in “Incredible Hulk” 106 picks up 10 seconds after the end of the former.

Professor X was a member of the now-disbanded Illuminati, and he was not present when the decision was made to send the Hulk into space. In “World War Hulk: X-Men,” writer Christos Gage and artist Andrea DiVito (“Annihilation”) show what happens when the Hulk comes calling on the 198. “Hulk has some pointed questions for Professor X,” Gage said. The cover of the first issue of the 3-issue mini pictures the Hulk’s fist closed around Charles’ throat. When asked which of the 198 would be appearing, Gage said, “All of them. As many as they’ll let me use.”

Frank Tieri will be writing the 4 issue mini “World War Hulk: Gamma Corps,” in which General Ryker puts together a military unit designed specifically to take the Hulk down. “Imagine the crew from ‘Predator’ with gamma powers,” Tieri said (with a few choice expletives deleted). “Gamma Corps” will “deal with the consequences of having someone like the Hulk around.”

Rosemann spoke about “World War Hulk: Front Line,” Paul Jenkins’ follow-up to “Civil War: Front Line.” Rosemann described it as a “street level look at this event.” Like “Civil War: Front Line,” this book will have multiple storylines. The primary focus will again focus on reporters Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. In addition, there will be story about Sally’s boyfriend Danny who is a cop in the Cosutme Division, and a backup story by Chris Moreno which will present a more humorous take on the situation.

When Tony Stark accepted the position of Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. at the end of “Civil War,” he never expected that one of his first challenges would be the return of the Hulk. But in “Iron Man” 19 and 20, Christos Gage delves into how Tony deals with doing exactly that. “Heroes for Hire” 11-14, “Avengers Initiative” 4, “Irredeemable Ant Man” 6 will also tie in. “Ghost Rider” will tie in as well, and Jeph Loeb and David Finch are writing a “Young Avengers” one-shot.

Dan Slott briefly spoke about his upcoming “Avengers Initiative.” In the wake of “Civil War,” all of the Marvel heroes have been forced to register their identities with S.H.I.E.L.D. Now they’re being drafted into the 50 State Initiative. The Initiative’s stated goal is to create a government-run super-team in each of the 50 U.S. States, and S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Tony Stark has put Jim Rhodes in charge. “Marvel’s army of superheroes is now a superhero army,” Slott said. “And when Hulk lands, you send in the army.”

When a fan asked what heroes in the Marvel Universe could go toe-to-toe with the Hulk now that Thor is out of the picture, a heckler shouted out “Squirrel Girl!” Squirrel Girl’s name was invoked yet again by Joe Quesada himself when someone else asked who the new Ronin was. Believe it or not, there were no fewer than three Squirrel Girl references over the course of the panel, which Quesada boasted was a first. “It means that Mark Millar will kill her soon,” Slott quipped.

Another fan asked why there was such a pervading “event culture” and Marvel and DC. “For me, it’s about keeping reader interest,” Quesada answered. “Right now, it’s what readers are asking for.” Quesada did estimate that “World War Hulk” would be a quarter of the size of “Civil War,” with 35 issues all told. Quesada even insisted that larger events like “Civil War” had many storylines that had to be left on the cutting room floor. “To keep the quality of an event as high as possible, we have to whittle them down as much as possible.” Gage assured readers that you didn’t have to read any of tie-ins to enjoy and understand the 5-issue “World War Hulk” series. But Pak was quick to follow up that if you read the event in its entirety, “you’re gonna love everything even more.”

When asked about the many changes that Hulk has undergone over the years, Quesada said: “When a creator takes over a character, you expect a particular style. If not, we could write these books in editorial.” But he did say there was a certain “consistency of character” which he enforces with every creative team on every Marvel book.

“Hulk has gone through radical changes,” Pak said: The smart and crafty, “werewolf analog” who initially only changed at night, the “caveman-talk Hulk,” and the “tortured, silent Hulk of the TV show” to name a few. Pak loved all of these takes on the character, and to him it’s not contradictory that as Bruce Banner the man changes, the “face of rage” inside him changes as well.

“It’s not gonna end with somebody crying and giving up, right?” one fan asked Quesada of the end of “World War Hulk.” Quesada did not confirm or deny.

For the complete article, including images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on IGN.com:

The Green Goliath returns for revenge

Marvel's first panel at the New York Comic Con focused on their upcoming event World War Hulk. Creative details were revealed for several of the tie-in titles and writers and editors discussed what was to come.

The core World War Hulk series will be five issues and written by Greg Pak with John Romita Jr. and Klaus Janson handling the art. Pak mentioned that the event will be one of the most emotional for the character. "We're past Civil War in the Marvel Universe. This is the green sorbet — something lighter with more punching and more hitting," said Joe Quesada, Marvel's Editor in Chief. Pak also mentioned that the storyline would reveal interesting things about Bruce Banner and his relationship with the Hulk. He noted that it's an evolving relationship that will play out over time. He said World War Hulk and its companion storyline in Incredible Hulk would have some answers.

World War Hulk will be preceded by a prologue written by Peter David with Al Rio, Sean Phillips and Lee Weeks on art. Marvel also revealed several more titles: World War Hulk: X-Men, World War Hulk: Gamma Corps and World War Hulk: Front Line. First the panel discussed Incredible Hulk, which is designed to be a great complementary piece to the main story. The company was also clear that this event would be smaller than ever, with only 35 side titles, including any affiliated books, spanning 4 months.

Incredible Hulk will be written by Pak with art by Gary Frank and Carlo Pagulayan. It will run parallel to World War Hulk. The series will answer questions like who will aide the Hulk and who will bother to listen to his story. Mastermind Excel will return as well. Marvel also mentioned that issue #106 will guest star She-Hulk, while #107 will feature Namor.

World War Hulk: X-Men will cover the fact that Charles Xavier was missing from the Illuminati when the Hulk was sent into space. Despite Xavier being absent, the Hulk still has questions. When the Green Goliath arrives, he only finds Beast and the New X-Men present. The alarm is sounded and virtually every X-Men answers the call. Chris Cage will be writing with Andrea DiVito on interiors and Ed McGuiness on covers.

Gamma Corps, by writer Frank Tieri and artist Carlos Ferreira, will take a look at the dark side of the war with Hulk. General Ryker is set to return and he's bringing an elite military squad to take down the Hulk. The four-issue mini-series is set to focus on the consequences of the Hulk's existence. Tieri made it clear that this book focuses on villains and said the military unit was definitely not nice.

Front Line, which first launched during the Civil War, will return. Once again looking at Ben Urich and Sally Floyd, the series will revisit its multiple-story format and focuse on the street perspective of the conflict. Paul Jenkins teams with artist Ramon Bachs and cover artist John Watson. Danny, Sally's boyfriend, will star in the second major arc running through the title. There are six issues planned for this tie-in.

Many other Marvel books will be affected by World War Hulk. Iron Man will give two issues to the story, with Chris Cage as the writer. This will be Tony Stark's first big challenge as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Marvel mentioned that Heroes for Hire will be affiliated as well as Ghost Rider. Avengers: The Initiative will factor in as the government sends in the superhero army to contain the threat. Tony Stark taps Jim Rhodes to lead the assault. The Young Avengers will get a related one-shot that will be developed by Jeph Loeb and David Finch. Ant-Man will also have an issue for the event.

The audience Q&A revealed a few details. The editors said that Iron Man would be trying to revamp the culture of S.H.I.E.L.D. during his tenure there. The concept of the Illuminati possessing the Infinity Gems would also be resolved so that the Hulk can't simply be wished off the planet. The creators also emphasized that only World War Hulk is important for the main plot. The side titles are just filling in ancillary concepts.

Thor and villains came up during the panel. Though Quesada wouldn't comment on the God of Thunder, communications manager Jim McCann scrolled to a slide that featured a mystery cover. The cover, the fifth of five interlocking pieces, features Hulk fighting an unnamed character. Will Thor arrive in time to duel with the Hulk? Perhaps. Villains were swept into the Gamma Corps category. None of the participants wanted to say too much.

Quesada said that there was a certain level of consistency that editors look for when new writers take over characters. The Marvel EiC mentioned that some level of flexibility had to be present since different writers and editors have varying points of view.

The company also stressed that this event would not undo the changes brought about by Civil War.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Will we ever see Ultimate Wolverine/Hulk? Quesada: The script for issue #3 is in, and Damon Lindeloff should have the script for #4 soon. While Damon is mortified that it's taken this long, he does have this little thing called Lost that takes up his time.

Will anyone die in World War Hulk: Quesada: DC's sales.

Question from a younger fan: could you make an alternate universe story where the Venom suit would go on Hulk? [entire panel stops, thinks, and says, "Wowwww"] Quesada: Pak - write that down. And here's a new exclusive - this kid is the new writer on Mighty Avengers - Bendis, you're fired.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicsContinuum.com:

NEW YORK -- How big is World War Hulk?

At the panel devoted to the next Marvel event, editor-in-chief Joe Quesada noted that, in all, with tie-ins, there will be 35 total issues over four months.

"There's always going to be tie-in books," Quesada said. "That's the essence of publishing."

Quesada and several of the creators -- writers Greg Pak, Frank Tieri, Christos Gage and Dan Slott, editors Bill Rosemann and Mark Paniccia -- discussed the main story of an angry Hulk's return to Earth as well as the tie-ins.

Following are highlights:

* Things start in May with World War Hulk: Prologue by Peter David, Al Rio, Sean Phillips and Lee Weeks. "It gives you a primer in you haven't read Planet Hulk," Quesada said.

* Pak is writing the World War Hulk mini-series and the event in the monthly Incredible Hulk.

"It's an incredibly giant smash-fest as well as one of the most emotional Hulk stories in recent memory," Pak said.

* Incredible Hulk #106-109 will be drawn by Gary Frank and feature those who are actually on the Hulk's side. "It's an interesting group of people," Pak said. "Who are these renegades and why do they come together?"

* World War Hulk: X-Men is a three-issue mini-series dealing with the Hulk's reaction to Professor Xavier being part of the Illuminati, which sent him into space. It is written by Gage, with art by Andrea DiVito and covers by Ed McGuinness.

"I'm going to use as many as of the X-Men as they'll let me use," Gage said.

* World War Hulk: Gamma Corps is the villain's book, according to writer Frank Tieri, who is joined by artist Carlos Ferreira. General Ryker puts together a crew to take down the Hulk.

"Imagine the crew from Predator with gamma powers," Tieri said, who added the mini-series will show the consequences of a Hulk battle.

* World War Hulk: Front Line will mirror the Civil War book with a similar title, writer in Paul Jenkins and main artist Ramon Bachs.

* Editor Bill Rosemann said the book will have mulitple stories, with the lead story centering on reporters Ben Urich and Sally Floyd. Back-ups will feature Sally¹s boyfriend Danny who is a cop in the Cosutme Division.

"These people with god-like powers come to Manhattan with their own agenda, but what about the people who live there?" Rosemann said.

Sean Martinborough is providing art for the back-ups and John Watson the covers.

Each issue also will have a two-pager drawn by Chris Moreno, Jenkins' collaborator on Sidekick, that will have a humorous take on events.

* Gage is writing Iron Man #18-19, which tie into the event. He said the story deals with one of Tony Stark's first issues as director of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Should he put his forces in danger against the Hulk for what is basically a personal score?

* Heroes for Hire #14 deals with Humbug and his ability with insects, which should extend to Brood and Miek.

* Other tie-ins will include an Young Avengers one-shot by Jeph Loeb and David Finch, Ghost Rider #12-13, New Avengers: The Initiative #4 and the Irredeemable Ant-Man #10.

* Pak noted that what happens in World War Hulk: X-Men will have a lasting impact on the X-Men.

* Pak noticed that the reaction of She-Hulk will be seen in Incredible Hulk #106 and the reaction of Namor will be seen in Incredible Hulk #107.

* Slott noted that Incredible Hulk #106 starts 10 second after She-Hulk #18. "Jennifer will find out Tony and the rest did to her cousin," Slott said.

For the complete article, including images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardWorld.com:

When the Green Goliath returns in 'World War Hulk,' the Marvel U's track record against him ain't good...

While the Hulk looks for some serious payback on various heroes throughout the Marvel Universe as part of the upcoming “World War Hulk” event, it won’t be the first time he’s gone toe-to-toe with the colorful cast of powerhouses—but it could be the last, because the Hulk’s never been madder. And you know the old saying: “The madder Hulk gets…the stronger Hulk gets!” And considering the Jade Giant’s been exiled in space for over a year—by none other than former teammates and Illuminati members Dr. Strange, Iron Man and Sub-Mariner to name a few—the collected heroship of the Marvel U. may wanna keep these past slobberknockers in mind when the Hulk returns to Earth in May.

HULK VS. WOLVERINE
(Incredible Hulk #340)

These bruisers have battled more times than you can count, but this showdown was the first time Logan came up against a smart Hulk—and it gets ugly in a hurry. The then-gray Hulk survives evisceration and several killing blows to dish out some serious punishment on the X-Man. “You’ve…spent years laughing at me, taking advantage of me. I was the dumb green giant…but now I want to start giving it all back,” the Hulk tells Logan. That resentment has only grown after a yearlong exile in space, and while Bruce Banner’s intellect now guides the Hulk, if anything, he’s grown craftier thanks to his gladatorial experience, which doesn’t bode well for the heroes on Earth.

HULK VS.THOR
(Defenders #10)

When a rampaging force of nature like the Hulk starts destroying a major city, you send in the big guns—in this case, it’s the God of Thunder, Thor! The two batter one another with the force of an A-bomb, and Hulk shrugs off several hits from Thor’s enchanted hammer Mjolnir. They eventually lock horns, Indian wrestling-style, with neither combatant giving an inch for over an hour! This brawl only ended when the combined Defenders and Avengers intervened to make peace, but there’s one thing to keep in mind regarding Hulk’s forthcoming return—the only Thor around is a carbon copy clone.

HULK VS. THE THING
(Fantastic Four #320 & Incredible Hulk #350)

For years, the Thing played second banana to Hulk in terms of strength, because he lacked Green Genes’ stamina. However, this ultra-Thing, whose powers were increased by additional cosmic rays, is more than a match for gray Hulk. But Mr. Fix-It, as he’s also known, uses stealth and guerilla tactics to get the better of Ben Grimm, showing that Hulk’s combo of brains and brawn is nearly unbeatable. And keep in mind: The green Hulk’s stronger and now smarter than he ever has been before. And the Thing? He’s hanging in France, a conscientious objector to the Civil War. Want some cheese to go with that wine?

HULK VS. THE AVENGERS & DR. STRANGE
(Incredible Hulk #300)

In this rematch, the Thunder God faces a Hulk of pure rage with no trace of Banner’s intellect to guide him—and it’s more than even Thor can handle. But his teammates, including heavyweights like Vision, Starfox, Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel, can only look on helpless. Realizing he must kill the Hulk to stop him, Thor unleashes all his might, but the Hulk just keeps getting up. When Jade Jaws starts using an adamatium statue of himself as a weapon, it looks like the Avengers are in for a serious pounding, one that’s only averted when Dr. Strange arrives and exiles Hulk to another dimension. Hmmm, sounds kind of familiar…

HULK VS. IRON MAN, WONDER MAN, HERCULES & SUB-MARINER
(Incredible Hulk #316)

The heroes themselves say it best: They’re the four biggest guns in the Avengers arsenal, but they don’t add up to a hill of beans against a mindless, rage-fueled Hulk. The Green Goliath shrugs off every attack: Iron Man’s repulsors, a haymaker from Wonder Man, a drop-kick from a mile up by Hercules and a full-speed collision from Sub-Mariner do nothing but make the Hulk madder (and you know how the rest goes). In fact, the heroes’ attempts prove so futile, the Hulk actually gets bored and wanders off for stiffer competition.

HULK VS. EAST & WEST COAST AVENGERS
(Incredible Hulk #321)

There’s probably no collection of power, brains and resolve like the roster of these two teams combined. And yet with all of that at their disposal, they’re like straw in the wind to the mindless fury of this Hulk, once more a Banner-less monster. Powerhouses like Hercules, Wonder Man, Namor, Iron Man and She-Hulk are swept aside time and time again, while stalwarts such as Captain America, Hawkeye and the Wasp can only stand idly by. The only way this assemblage can possibly win is to sink to the Hulk’s level of savagery…making this both a physical and moral victory for the Jade Giant.

HULK VS. HIMSELF?!?
(Hulk: Future Imperfect)

When the Hulk is at full strength with his Banner intellect intact, there’s no force on Earth that can stop him—with one exception. The Maestro is a future version of the Hulk whose power has grown exponentially after years of constant radiation exposure. After breaking the Hulk’s neck, Maestro looks to corrupt him and solidify his powerbase. But driven by his indomitable will and the horror of what he could become, Hulk combines brains and brawn to defeat the Maestro by sending him back in time into the heart of the gamma bomb detonation that created the Hulk! As smart and strong as he’s ever been, and more determined than ever to get revenge on those that exiled him, the latest hot-button question in the Marvel Universe is: Can anything stop “World War Hulk”?

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

RAMA: You already mentioned the next Hitch project. What else can you tell readers?

MM: An established title. Household name. One of these characters was created in the sixties and another in the forties. Three sexy girls. The opening line in the first issue is “Once Upon A Time”. The villain in the third and fourth issues has been known as Cap. Bruce Banner has some involvement in this series. Likewise, two of Marvel's most popular and famous villains. Hitchy prefers it to Ultimates. Oh, and we're out in September.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

This weekend at New York Comic Con, Marvel unveiled the tie-ins and projects that will connect to the upcoming World War Hulk event, and among them…a black…er, green? ops team named Gamma Corps.

Written by Frank Tieri, with art by Carlos Ferreira and covers by Stefane Roux, the four issue World War Hulk: Gamma Corps begins in July with issues #1 and #2 shipping in that month. We caught up with Tieri for a look inside.

Newsarama: Okay, Frank – the broad scope to start with: who and what are the Gamma Corps? Are they similar say, to the Hulk Busters that we’ve seen from time to time, or are they on the other side of the equation?

Frank Tieri: Well, they’re definitely not pro-Hulk if that’s what you mean by the other side of the equation. But to best answer who and what the Gamma Corps are we really have to go back to the beginning, to the man who started it all—and that’s General Ryker.

For those who don’t remember, Ryker was a Hulk adversary created for “Dogs of War” arc during the Paul Jenkins era of the book. He was a character who ruthlessly went after the Hulk for what we eventually learned were fairly sympathetic reasons—he wanted to cure his dying wife and saw the Hulk as the means to do that. I thought that was interesting and that there was a lot to play with there.

NRAMA: How so?

FT: Well, for one, using Ryker like this is funny because I always hear people say, “Where are all the new characters in the last twenty years or so?” Well, we do have new characters created in the last twenty years, especially villains — it’s just people don’t use them. Every time a new creator comes on a book, he wants to show how creative and revolutionary he is and create his own stuff or put some “cool, new” spin on a classic character - again, usually a villain - we’ve never seen before. No one seems to want to nurture those recent creations that desperately need to be nurtured in order to stand the test of time, so I guess that’s a bit of what I’m doing here. Call it “Frank Tieri’s Villain Reclamation Project,” if you will.

Lord knows I’ve killed enough in my time, so I figured it was time to give a little back, ya know?

So long story short, to answer your question the Corps were put together by Ryker to bring down the Hulk. And each of them has a pretty damned good reason for doing so.

NRAMA: Don’t hold back – why would someone join up with a team like this?

FT: Plain and simple—revenge. This series will deal with the collateral damage that would occur if something like the Hulk actually existed—and we deal with it more than anything else we’ve ever seen before. In real life, a drunk driver crashes his car and seven people are killed—so you mean to tell me nothing happens when a truck is thrown in a Hulk/Abomination fight? In this series we’ll show that the Hulk’s actions do have consequences—and grave ones in the case of many of these characters

And by the way, I wouldn’t think “team” as in super-team. These ain’t heroes, these are soldiers, so thinking unit is probably more accurate. People who are cutting the throats of terrorists and assassinating dictators and cutting off Bin Laden’s head and pissing in it—who also just so happen to have gamma induced powers. If you’re thinking Arnold’s group from Predator with gamma powers, you’re on the right track.

Fans will find that there are plenty of surprises to be had in this series—including the fact that two of these characters hold connections to supporting characters that have been very involved in the Hulk’s life. And that another one of them is actually a former Hulk villain.

Chew on that a while, kids.

NRAMA: Wait - so does this story then state that bystanders die in Hulk fights in the Marvel Universe? That’s always been a point of contention among fans and some creators…

FT: Let's put it this way-- the notion is explored.

NRAMA: Coming into this project, had you been following Planet Hulk as it went along?

FT: Though I haven’t been following Planet Hulk issue by issue, I know the general broad strokes about what’s been happening to the Hulk—the Illuminati shooting him off into space, his “Spartacus” turn on an alien planet and now his return for the huge dose of ass kicking that is World War Hulk.

And I like the notion of WWH. I don’t like my Hulk happy and smiley and hanging with the Avengers or Defenders or whatever. I like my Hulk to be very smashy—that very dangerous wild card that the other heroes should be very weary of. I guess I’m of the mind that the Hulk works best in the Marvel Universe as the ultimate outsider—and World War Hulk very much places him there.

NRAMA: As we've talked about before, you're the guy who loves to wallow in the seedy underbelly of the Marvel Universe. Does this fit that model, or is this a slightly shinier setting for you?

FT: Nah, I’m back wallowing in that seedy underbelly again—I guess that’s what I do best. The question is though is this: Exactly who’s underbelly are we looking at here? The big green monster that smashes stuff up, leaving destruction and misery in his wake—or the people who’ve banded together to stop him?

NRAMA: Whose underbelly indeed. So – tease it out - what gets the ball rolling here?

FT: Well, World War Hulk does, obviously. The Hulk’s back, making all kinds of threats and ultimatums and beating the living crap out of every hero on his hit list. Ryker, who’s been on the run from SHEILD the last time we saw him, sees this as an opportunity to make his move. In exchange for a pardon for what he did in Dogs of War, he and the Corps will take down the Hulk.

The way the whole series works is basically as this build up to this inevitable battle between the Hulk and the Corps. Through flashbacks, we learn a lot about them, their motivations, etc—as well as how Ryker first set the wheels in motion to create such a group and how and why he became so obsessed with the Hulk in the first place.

Throughout the series, we’ll be popping in and out of significant events in Hulk history and how they affected the lives of these characters—as well as how these characters affected the lives of the Hulk. While the series is accessible to anyone, I think that aspect of the series is really going to appeal to the longtime Hulk fan. Lots of Easter eggs to be had here, folks

NRAMA: You’re not making this all sound very…favorable for the Corps coming out of this in one piece, so - are the Corps something that will/can be seen again after this?

FT: Well, let’s see if they survive first. Then again, this is comics so if the fans want it, I’m sure we can figure out a way to bring them back regardless. Especially with all the resurrections we’ve seen lately-- I mean, it’s only a matter of time before they dig up Uncle Ben and prop him up, right? Bringing the Corps back is child’s play in comparison.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

Check out this audio interview with Greg Pak from last weekend's New York Comic Con.

http://www.silverbulletcomics.com/news/nyccaudio/pakinterview.mp3

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

Check out these video interviews with Greg Pak from last weekend's New York Comic Con.

Minor SPOILERS are contained within, so you have been warned.

PART 1

PART 2

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

The Mutant population of the Marvel Universe consists of only 198 people and it could become a lot less if those mutants get in the way of a very angry Hulk. This is the premise of the three issue mini-series, World War Hulk: X-Men. Meanwhile over in the pages of The Invincible Iron Man #19-20, the Hulk's return to Earth and angry vendetta is one of the first big challenges that Tony Stark AKA Iron Man must tackle as the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Both these stories begin in June, tie into Marvel's World War Hulk storyline, and are written by Christos Gage. CBR News spoke with Gage about the stories.

Gage's World War Hulk assignments were offered to him by two different Marvel editors. Andy Schmidt, who I worked with on both Union Jack' and the Casualties of War' special, offered me the World War Hulk: X-Men' gig, and it was a dream come true, Gage told CBR News. The X-Men are what turned me from a kid who casually read comics into a lifelong collector, and to get to write a book about ALL of them fighting the Hulk honestly, I'd pay Marvel to let me do that. (But please don't tell them.)

As for the Iron Man' issues, Tom Brevoort sent me an email explaining that the Knaufs needed a short break from writing that title to take care of some TV commitments. He asked if I wanted to write the two issues that tie into World War Hulk.' Once again, it was not exactly a decision I agonized over! Hulk vs. Iron Man Come on, who'd say no to that�

The three issues of World War Hulk: X-Men occur during the events depicted in World War Hulk #1. It takes place during a period when the Hulk is off-screen in that book, Gage explained. That's all I can say without venturing into a spoiler minefield.

Readers of WWH: X-Men will discover that the Hulk headed to Westchester County, New York during his off-screen time in World War Hulk� #1. The series takes place at the Xavier Institute of Higher Learning which, due to the events of M-Day de-powering most of the mutants on Earth, now houses something like one quarter of all the mutants in the world, Gage stated. Many of them are young kids who the Hulk could kill with one stomp of his foot. That's what makes the stakes so high to the Hulk, this is about revenge for a personal grudge, but to the X-Men, it's about preventing potential genocide.

In WWH: X-Men, the Hulk comes to the Xavier Institute demanding an audience with the school's headmaster. The Hulk comes calling to ask Xavier some pointed questions, and the X-Men stand between them, Gage said. That's the basic plot, but there is a lot of subtext: the power losses of M-Day, the deaths of numerous students in the pages of New X-Men', the strained relationship between Xavier and some of the X-Men--it's all there thrown into the mix. I don't want to give too much away, but those are some of the story elements that'll be coming into play.

The Hulk specifically wants to ask Xavier about the role he played in a secret Illuminati of Marvel heroes, which decided that it would be best for the people of Earth if the Hulk was removed from the planet. So they shot him into space. He is aware that Xavier wasn't with the group when the decision was made to blast him into space, but he also knows that Xavier was supposed to be there that he was one of the elites who deemed themselves worthy of playing god with the Hulk's life, Gage explained. And that doesn't make our jade giant very happy. He may not be as mad at Xavier as he is at, say, Iron Man, but he's none too pleased with him either.

To get to Xavier, the Hulk will have to get through the best and brightest of the Xavier Institute which will include students, graduates, and teachers. In �World War Hulk: X-Men,' what you'll see is essentially all the active X-teams that can realistically be present standing against the Hulk. (However, much as I'd like to see Hulk and Juggernaut go at it, I'm not sure Excalibur can make it all the way over from England in the time frame we're working with.) Of the characters that currently have their own books, when Hulk first arrives at the Institute, only the New X-Men and the Beast are home, Gage stated. It's up to them to stop the Hulk from rampaging through the mansion that houses the younger kids. The other X-teams are alerted and will definitely show up before issue #1 is over--but the question is, will they be in time to prevent disaster�

The Mutant community is a persecuted minority in the Marvel Universe and the Hulk has also been a victim of persecution. When asked if any mutants might empathize with Green Goliath's plight, Gage answered, The mutants you see in this miniseries mostly don't want the Hulk to smash them; other concerns aren't nearly as pressing. However, it appears that at least one mutant - the Angel - may have thought along the same lines as you, considering he appears to be one of the heroes siding with the Hulk in the pages of his own book.

Angel is one of the few X-Men you won't be seeing in my book, Gage continued. As I said, our story takes place over a pretty short time span, so I believe that most of what Angel is involved with occurs after the events of our miniseries.

Warren Worthington may not be participating in WWH: X-Men, but like Gage mentioned, readers can expect most of their favorite mutants to see some action. There will be a handful of characters that get the spotlight, but I hope to give nearly every member of the X-Men family a chance to shine, Gage said.

Readers should expect plenty of action in WWH: X-Men, the three issue mini-series promises to be a darker toned superhero slugfest. It's unquestionably a brawl, but the stakes are incredibly high and there's a lot of subtext, Gage stated. It's not just a fight that comes out of nowhere and is unaffected by what's going on in the Marvel Universe or the X-books; quite the opposite. While this mini stands on its own, the events in the X-books and World War Hulk proper are highly significant from a character standpoint.

Bringing to life the big brawl of World War Hulk: X-Men is artist Andrea Divito. I haven't seen any of Andrea's pages yet, but his work on Annihilation' blew me away,�Gage said. When Andy told me he'd be drawing this book, I knew I could literally throw every X-Man against the Hulk and not only would it look great, but the storytelling would be crystal clear as well. For Andrea, going from drawing entire fleets of Annihilus' bug-ships to just a few dozen X-Men should feel like a vacation!�

In Invincible Iron Man #19 Tony Stark will be wishing he could take a vacation from new job as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. #19 is told through two different perspectives: Tony Stark's and Dum Dum Dugan's. Tony's fought the Hulk before, but never as Director of a global security agency, so we'll be seeing how that affects his approach, Gage explained. In many ways it's a lot harder than just going up against the Hulk one on one.

Gage couldn't reveal whose viewpoint might be coloring the events of his second Iron Man issue. �#20 I'm keeping mum on, he said. Too many spoilers.

The events of Iron Man #19 take place at the same time as the events of World War Hulk #1. You'll see it from Iron Man's perspective, Gage explained. You'll also see many scenes that aren't in the main WWH book, like what happens when the Hulk's spaceship goes up against Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tony Stark's new space defenses.

#20 takes place a bit later; I can't say much without giving away plot points, Gage continued. But I will say that we'll be exploring the fact that Tony has been doing things to change S.H.I.E.L.D., and there are certain people who aren't too happy about that. The return of the Hulk just might be an ideal time for them to try to get rid of Tony--one way or another.

When Iron Man #19 begins Tony Stark is engaging in one of the most important parts of maintaining a global peacekeeping force. He's on Capitol Hill, doing the political side of his job, Gage said. He's still getting used to being S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Director and all that comes with it; there couldn't be a worse time for this particular gamma-irradiated skeleton to come smashing out of his closet.

After Civil War, Iron Man is probably the most connected guy in the Marvel Universe with his ties to groups like the Avengers, The Champions, and the various groups that compose the 50 State Initiative but Gage won't be focusing on Tony Stark's ties to the hero community. These two issues focus on Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D., though there are cameo appearances by other characters, Gage explained. You'll see more of Iron Man interacting with others in the main WWH' book; my job is to tell the story of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Iron Man.

Readers can expect Gage's two part Iron Man tale to chock full of action and intrigue. It's part widescreen action movie (though bigger than any movie could ever be, even with the largest budget in the world); part spy thriller and part character study, Gage said.

Bringing to life Gage's Iron Man tale is a veteran artist who's been drawing comics for over twenty years. I can reveal here for the first time that the artist is none other than Butch Guice! Gage stated. I've loved his stuff for years, so that makes me very, very happy. I haven't seen any of his pages yet, but I've seen enough of his work to know it's going to be amazing.

Invincible Iron Man #19-20 is a tie in to the World War Hulk storyline but readers should expect any big plot developments in Gage's story to impact Iron Man and his status quo rather than the larger story it's tying into. Marvel is working very hard to make sure that readers don't feel forced' to buy multiple crossovers. We hope they buy them because they look entertaining, but we don't want people to feel lost because they missed a tie-in. By the same token, we don't want people who collect a specific title, like Iron Man', to feel they have to buy WWH' if they don't want to. So any bombshells dropped in these two issues will be specific to Iron Man and/or S.H.I.E.L.D. But within those parameters, this will be a significant event for both Tony and S.H.I.E.L.D. He commands an elite fighting force whose job it is to face threats like the Hulk, but can Tony send them into battle - to possibly lose their lives - over what is essentially a grudge match that he himself is responsible for? For Iron Man, this is a big deal. People who liked the way I treated the character in the Iron Man/Captain America: Casualties of War' special should like this, as I've taken a similar approach.

Gage is having a blast writing both World War Hulk: X-Men and Invincible Iron-Man #19-20 and he hopes the fun he's having penning these issues is evident. He said, If the readers enjoy the books half as much as I'm enjoying writing them, there will be lots of happy people this summer!

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: Okay, World War Hulk, not much to ask about this, as it seems pretty clear what this is.

JQ: You think? What if I told you that the Hulk was coming back for tea and crumpets? [laughs]

NRAMA: Anything you want to add to the dialogue at this stage given what's now out there and you've seen some response to it?

JQ: There's very little, this one is pretty much as advertised. I know, I know, pretty rare for me to be at a loss for words or hyperbole [laughs]. I guess what I can add to this is that the next batch of Marvel books and stories on the horizon will be of a whole different tone from Civil War and the books that we've published around the event. While MCW was chock full of goodness, it was also heavy in a thought provoking manner. World War Hulk is like the lovely green sorbet after the big heavy meal that was Civil War.

NRAMA: Now with Frontline, X-Men, Gamma Corps, and Young Avengers, while not as expansive as Civil War, it's still pretty huge by any pre-House of M standard. We know X-Men is the next event and we're assuming they'll be a Frontline for that too, so is status quo for the foreseeable future? Some event of this kind at most times from here forward?

JQ: I don't know if there will be a Frontline for the X-Men event to be honest with you, we're still a bit away from that but as currently planned, this may be an even smaller event than World War Hulk with respect to title count.

But, speaking about World War Hulk, first, it's actually smaller than House of M and not counting the actual WWH issues and the actual Hulk title which would naturally tie in, we're currently looking at 25 individual issues that tie in over the course of a four month period. That's just about six issues a month that tie in, less than two a week. I don't know if that constitutes a large event in my mind. Also, like all of our events, we're not asking fans to pick up a bunch of Marvel comics that they don't usually pick up. If you just wannt the main story just pick up World War Hulk #1-5.

Now, with respect to the “event” thing, the way I see it, nothing has really changed in our publishing plan with the exception that fans are far more open and are enjoying huge events like Civil War at this current time. What I think they want that is of crucial importance is to know that the events count and matter and effect change that is directly proportionate to the size of the event.

We're also making sure that we spread these stories out so that they don't bump into each other and give our fans (and us) a breather. And (and this is important) World War Hulk has nothing to do with Civil War. You don't need to read Civil War to understand WWH; it's its own thing.

Sure, the events of Civil War will effect how the story is told, but that's by virtue of the fact that the new post Civil War-status quo is in effect and that's just a continuity thing. WWH will be affected by MCW in the very same way that every Marvel title published from this point will be. So, we're not selling nor forcing readers to read WWH from MCW nor telling them that they have to read MCW in order to understand and enjoy WWH.

Let me also add to that that the X-event is not a dangling plot line of WWH or MCW. They are all disconnected with the exception that they all occur in the Marvel Universe. So, it's not like MCW was the first act in what will be culminating in another story at this point. There will be a story that perhaps brings up some issues from MCW but that won't happen until at least 2008 at the very earliest. That's why when fans were predicting that the Annihilation wave was going to come to Earth and become the big event at the end of Civil War, nothing could have been further from the truth. Could we have done it, of course, but wow, would that have sucked for the folks who weren't reading Annihilation.

Also, how satisfying an ending would it have been to have the big conclusion come from a story that wasn't even introduced in the pages of MCW?

NRAMA: You talked about the metaphor, the relevancy of Civil War a lot in the marketing run-up, what's the essence of World War Hulk if you had to sum it up succinctly?

JQ: Revenge.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted by Chris Sotomayer on Comixtreme.com:

hey guys. I just finished another Hulk Cover. This one's for #109 drawn by the stellar talent of Gary Frank. You gotta love Gary on Hulk. It's great stuff. This is kind of an early look since I haven't gotten editorial approval yet. Hopefully they'll just "OK" it. fingers crossed.

-Soto

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

In regards to his upcoming Hulk project with Ed McGuiness, Loeb said he told Quesada that it would make the upcoming World War Hulk look like a picnic with his grandmother. Tentatively titled The Strongest There Is, Loeb said that many parts of the story were inspired by McGuiness who wants to show the Hulk doing things that no one has ever done before and establish him as the biggest badass in the world – which, the writer noted, is something that World War Hulk looks as if it will be doing very effectively. “But this,” Loeb said, “Will pretty much be over the top.”

To emphasize his point, Loeb described one scene, where the Hulk is in a knock-down with another character, and, in looking around, sees the Watcher. The Hulk asks the Watcher what he’s doing there, to which the Watcher replies, “I’m watching,” which is answered by a shattering punch by the Hulk, who tells the prone Watcher that he doesn’t want anyone watching him.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookBin.com:

Free Comic Book Day is coming and Marvel will be a part of it. Due to the overwhelming success of last year’s offerings, Marvel is once again offering new content for the biggest day in comics. Both books this year will feature original stories you can’t find anywhere else!

n the all-ages title, Marvel Adventures Three-in-one, fans will get their first look at the two upcoming additions to this acclaimed and popular Line, Marvel Adventures: Hulk and Marvel Adventures: Iron Man, in two original 10-page stories.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

This Summer, green won't be the color of envy it will be the color of rage as the Hulk returns from space to wage war on the heroes that exiled him, in the mini-series "World War: Hulk." We spoke with writer Greg Pak about the series. This summer, the heroes of the Marvel Universe's Illuminati will be haunted by a mistake; a massively powerful, rampaging, emerald mistake. That mistake, the Hulk, is coming back from space where they exiled him and the Hulk's declared war on them in the pages of "World War Hulk," a five issue mini-series by writer Greg Pak and artist John Romita Jr., which begins in June. In its continuing feature on "World War Hulk," CBR News spoke with Pak about the mini-series and its tie in issues with "Incredible Hulk," which Pak also writes.

The current "Planet Hulk" storyline is coming to a conclusion in the pages of "Incredible Hulk," and as readers of that storyline have seen it appears the Hulk has finally found peace on the alien world of Sakaar. But with the "World War Hulk" storyline on the horizon and the Hulk heading back to Earth, it looks like the Green Goliath's chance at serenity might be gone. "'Incredible Hulk' #104, which just hit stands on March 7, gives a pretty big hint at what might be up," Pak told CBR News. "All will be fully revealed in 'Incredible Hulk' #105, the shattering climax to the 'Planet Hulk' saga. I'm getting the last pages of art from Carlo Pagulayan for this issue even as we speak, and they're incredibly powerful -- so preorder your copy from your local purveyor of printed materials today, True Believers!"

"The Incredible Hulk" #105, page 1
Disaster may be looming, but "Planet Hulk" fans don't need to worry as the Planet Sakaar and its related characters will continue to play a role in the Hulk's life in upcoming issues. "At least three of his Warbound companions will accompany him to Earth for 'World War Hulk,'" Pak said. "And without spoiling too much, I think I can safely say that we'll see more of the world we created for 'Planet Hulk' in the future."

Very little story times passes between the end of "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk." "'World War Hulk' begins the instant after 'Planet Hulk' ends," Pak explained. "Back on Earth, Marvel's Civil War will have been over for a bit more time before the Hulk arrives -- but the time frame is close enough that the repercussions of the 'Civil War' will definitely affect the way the Marvel heroes respond to 'World War Hulk.'"

On Earth, one person sympathetic to the Hulk has been paying close attention to the outcome of "Civil War." "Amadeus Cho, AKA Mastermind Excello, a genius kid on the run from a nefarious secret agency, had a close encounter with the Hulk back in 'Amazing Fantasy' (v2) #15. Amadeus became a huge Hulk advocate and confronted Reed Richards over the Illuminati's exiling of the Hulk in 'Incredible Hulk' #100," Pak stated. "The end of the Civil War has only confirmed Amadeus's suspicion of and contempt for the government and the superheroes that toe the party line. He'll play a big role in the 'World War Hulk' event -- primarily in 'Incredible Hulk'#106 to #109. His goal is to round up the heroes with the guts to side with the Hulk upon his return. We'll see him confront She-Hulk and Doc Samson in 'Incredible Hulk' #106, find out what's up with Namor in #107, and learn how Amadeus's team of Renegades deals with the terrifying reality of the Hulk's return in #108 and #109. Issue #109 will be particularly significant, with a pretty spectacular Hulk-related revelation -- dontcha dare miss it!"

"The Incredible Hulk" #105, page 2
As Pak mentioned, the events of "World War Hulk" will have a tremendous impact on the life of the Hulk's cousin, Jennifer Walters AKA She-Hulk. "She's facing one of the most difficult decisions of her life as "World War Hulk" begins," Pak stated. "She-Hulk fans absolutely won't want to miss 'She-Hulk' #18, 'Incredible Hulk' #106 and 'World War Hulk' #2."

Another hero that might play a significant role in "World War Hulk," given his past interactions with the Green Goliath, is the Sentry. "The Hulk and the Sentry have an interesting relationship -- in the past, when he's around the Sentry, the Hulk reverts to his child-like savage state and plays almost a sidekick role," Pak explained. "It remains to be seen how the Hulk will react to the Sentry post-'Planet Hulk.'"

The heroes of the Marvel Universe just finished a war where the question of allegiance figured heavily, and some heroes will have a tough time picking a side to align with in "World War Hulk" as well. "Some heroes will make some very surprising choices � 'Incredible Hulk' #106-109 will provide some shocking developments," Pak said.

Some readers might be wondering whose side Bruce Banner will take in "World War Hulk." "I don't want to say too much for fear of spoilers," Pak stated. "But we gave a glimpse of an evolving relationship between Banner and the Hulk in 'Incredible Hulk' #103 -- that will definitely be expanded upon in 'World War Hulk.'"

The Heroes of the Marvel U won't be the only key players in "World War Hulk." "I can't spill the beans -- I'll just say that at least two of the Hulk's old earthbound friends and/or enemies will play significant roles in 'World War Hulk.'"

"The Incredible Hulk" #105, page 3
The Hulk has rampaged across the Earth before, but his arrival in "World War Hulk" will mark the beginning of a vendetta unlike any of the inhabitants of the Marvel U have ever witnessed. "Most Marvel heroes have never seen the Hulk this strong or this angry," Pak explained. "What makes it even more terrifying is during the course of 'Planet Hulk,' he's developed an ethos and a community -- when he comes back to Earth, he's not just rampaging in a childlike, why-won't-you-puny-humans-just-leave-me-alone kind of way -- he's the Green King, a leader of a wronged people, and he knows exactly who he's here to punish and how to accomplish his goals."

The Hulk's goal of vengeance might lead to him taking a bite out of the Big Apple. "New York City is the epicenter," Pak said. "And there are a couple of buildings in Midtown and a certain address on Bleecker Street where the Hulk has some particular business to conduct."

Pak couldn't go into too much detail about the Hulk's business in "World War Hulk" for fear of spoiling what's to come, but did note, "� it's a non-stop rollercoaster of physical and emotional action. Every punch thrown in this book is personal -- and the consequences will be tremendous, for everyone involved.

"Most of my favorite movies -- from 'Seven Samurai' to 'Jaws' and 'Aliens' -- combine insane genre action with totally compelling emotional storytelling," Pak continued. "I'm also a sucker for big scale disaster and invasion movies. 'World War Hulk' is a blast because it combines all of these elements -- in the big picture, it's an enormous story of nonstop destruction and revenge and survival. At the same time, it's a tremendous emotional story of friends betraying friends, of responsibility versus rage, of arrogance versus anger."

When the final battles end and the smoke clears, "World War Hulk" will have left an impact on the Marvel Universe. "Certain characters will clearly be affected by 'World War Hulk' more than others," Pak stated. "But there will be real, lasting effects on both Earth and a certain other distant planet."

"World War: Hulk" has been a fun story for Pak to be part of and one of the reasons has been all the other creators involved in the event. "I practically jump up and down grinning every time I get pages from Gary Frank (who's pencilling 'Incredible Hulk' #106 and #107) and John Romita, Jr. (who's pencilling 'World War Hulk" #1-5). And it's a constant pleasure trading ideas with Editor Mark Paniccia and assistant editor Nate Cosby. And without spilling too much, I'm having a ton of fun talking with the other writers working on the tie-in books for 'World War Hulk' and beyond -- it's a great group of talent and the stories are going to be a blast."

CBR News will continue it's coverage of "World War Hulk" in the weeks ahead. Look for more interviews with creators involved in the event and the first of our "Tale of the Tape" installments where we get Greg Pak to play Fight Doctor and discuss the Hulk's match-ups with the various Illuminati members.

For the complete article, along with additional images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

The big Marvel event - World War Hulk - was next.

Paniccia talked about the prologue by Peter David, Al Rio, Sean Phillips and Lee Weeks. "We get a little bit more inside the heads of the characters to find out their reasoning behind sending him out," he said. "We find out why Hulk is so mad."

Staring in June is, of course, World War Hulk, with Greg Pak, John Romita, Jr. and Klaus Janson. They showed the covers but the fifth one was, mysteriously, blacked out with a question mark. Incredible Hulk #106-109 will be a story about heroes "sympathetic to the Hulk," including, according to the slide, Hercules, Angel and Namora.

Gary Frank will return to Hulk to draw a couple issues of that story.

Gage talked about World War Hulk: X-Men #1-3, whichexplores Hulk interrogating Professor Xavier - to find out how he would vote if he was part of the Illuminati group that sent Hulk into space. "It's going to be a lot of fun," said Gage, something he's wanted to do since he was a kid. Covers by Ed McGuinness, art by Andrea DiVito.

Paniccia discussed World War Hulk: Gamma Corps #1-4 by Frank Tieri and Carlos Ferreria, which uses some characters from Paul Jenkins' run on Hulk.

This provided a natural segue for Jenkins to talk about World War Hulk: Frontline, which allows Jenkins to pit Hulk against some of the "disposable" characters in the Marvel Universe.

He then joked about how he was hoping to be on The Colbert Report after killing Typeface in Civil War: Frontline. Jenkins informed that "We're not going to go with the 32 page format, we're going to do 22 pages," although much like Civil War: Frontline, the stories will be broken down into different sections.

The series will also have 2-page "humor backups" with his Sidekicks partner Chris Morneo, involving, in part, the group of super-heroes trying out for the Rhode Island team as part of the 50-state Initiative.

Gage and Paniccia discussed the various World War Hulk tie-ins, including Iron Man (Hulk is naturally mad at Iron Man) and Heroes for Hire, which will take that group to the Savage Land.

Avengers: The Initiative will tie-in to World War Hulk for issues #4 and #5, with Brevoort adding that "The Hulk's arrival on Earth is the first major engagement most of these characters are going to have. It's going to be sort of a baptism by fire for many of these characters."

Jenkins then used the opportunity to say that Hulk will rematch against the Thing in World War Hulk: Frontline #3.

Jenkins then asked the audience who he wanted to win between Thing and Hulk, and, naturally, it was roughly a 50/50 split.

"Will X-Factor be in World War Hulk?" McCann: "No. The mutants will have their hands full," aside, presumably, from World War Hulk: X-Men.

"Will there be any overlap between Annihilation: Conquest and World War Hulk?" - No, not really, according to Brevoort.

"Does Hulk have a reaction to Cap's death" - Brevoort: "He cries."

"Will Thor be around during World War Hulk?" - Not saying.

"Does the Sentry play a role in World War Hulk? - Brevoort: "Yes, a big role."

"Punisher during World War Hulk?" - McCann: "Shoots people?"

"Wolverine in World War Hulk?" Gage - "Hulk will fight Wolverine in WWH: X-Men."

"Hawkeye in World War Hulk?" McCann: "In Young Avengers, there's that girl named Hawkeye."

"Is Hulk able to control his transformations?" Paniccia: "I don't want to say whether or not you'll see Bruce Banner in World War Hulk."

Will Ben and Sally yell at the Hulk since he doesn't know about MySpace?" Brevoort: "The Hulk actually has his own MySpace page."

McCann: "Sally's in his top 8."

"Doc Samson in World War Hulk?" Paniccia: "He'll be in World War Hulk and Hulk #106."

"Frontline possibly an ongoing?" Jenkins: "If we succeed in World War Hulk, we'll do one for whatever the next major event is."
"Will the New Avengers be involved in World War Hulk?" Brevoort: "The characters will, but the books will be not, neither Mighty or New."

"Will World War Hulk ship on time?" "Absolutely."

"What villains will we see fighting the Hulk in World War Hulk?" Paniccia, jokingly: "Tony Stark." He continued, "It's mainly the heroes who will try and protect when Hulk comes to Earth with an army of aliens."

"Thunderbolts?" Brevoort: "Thunderbolts will not be in World War Hulk."

Jenkins: "One character I can tell you will fight the Hulk, not joking, is Captain Rectitude."

Rick Jones in WWH? McCann: "He'll play a pretty big role."

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Greetings, rebels of Planet Sakaar! My name is Arch-E-5912. I'm a communications bot and former slave who now serves the Green Scar, aka the Incredible Hulk, as he leads his band of gladiators and refugees in battle against the oppressive Imperial forces of the Red King -- adventures you may be following in the series of illustrated chronicles known as "Incredible Hulk" #92-105, aka "Planet Hulk."

Because of my ability to create encrypted data streams, I've been tasked with communicating with the outside world, providing potential allies like yourself with the chance to and ask whatever questions you may have about the Green Scar, his Warbound companions, and our struggle to create a new day here on the savage planet of Sakaar.

So please, post your questions on this interactive device I call a "message board." I'll return soon with answers. In the meantime, please do not miss the next installment of our story in "Incredible Hulk" #105, arriving in stores on April 4. Recent events have been both joyous and ominous -- and I suspect that "Incredible Hulk" #105 will provide a climax of mind-blowing proportions which may relate directly to an upcoming upheaval that whispers on the wind describe only as "World War Hulk." Pray for us, friends of Sakaar, and tell your purveyors of printed material to reserve your copies of "Incredible Hulk" #105 today!

Now, onward to your questions!

For the complete article including images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

Check out the great Greg Pak interview over at IncredibleHulk.com

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

This June, some of the biggest fights the Marvel Universe has ever seen will ensue when the Hulk comes back to Earth in the pages of “World War Hulk” #1. As Marvel fans know, the Hulk comes back to Earth on a mission of vengeance against the members of Marvel's Illuminati, who exiled him into space. Over the next few weeks, CBR News will play “fight doctor” and check in with “World War Hulk” writer Greg Pak for his pre-fight commentary on the match-ups between the Hulk and the various Illuminati members. Today, we bring you round one, where the Hulk is pitted against that golden throated Monarch of the Inhumans, Black Bolt. Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

The Hulk may not have as big a personal relationship with Black Bolt as he does with the other Illuminati members, but the two have had some memorable run-ins with each other. “The Hulk had a pretty fascinating encounter with Black Bolt and the Inhumans back in the very first ‘Incredible Hulk" annual,' Pak told CBR News. “He fought the Inhumans -- then Black Bolt himself. But Black Bolt realized it was all a big mistake and actually offered the Hulk a home in Attilan. Hulk rejected the offer -- he mused to himself that Black Bolt may have been genuine, but the rest of the Inhumans -- like puny humans everywhere -- still hated him. The scene tells me that there might have been a chance for real friendship between Black Bolt and the Hulk -- it remains to be seen if that matters at all given the current circumstances.

“The Hulk is astronomically and incalculably angry at all four of the Illuminati who shot him into space,” Pak continued “But I'd guess he feels more personally betrayed by Iron Man, Reed Richards, and Dr. Strange than by Black Bolt -- he knew the first three much better. At the same time, sometimes we have a better sense of our close friends' capacities for disappointing us -- sometimes it's the friends we didn't know quite as well whose betrayals surprise and hurt us the most.”

Since the other members knew and occasionally fought along side the Hulk and Bruce Banner, it can be expected that they might feel some remorse over their decision to shoot him into space, but Black Bolt views the decision differently. “Black Bolt is a monarch, a leader of a fierce and frequently attacked people who has to make life-and-death decisions all the time,” Pak explained. “If he believed that exiling the Hulk was the only way to protect his people, he's unlikely to allow himself to feel much remorse -- in his worldview, sometimes a king simply must do what a king must do. At the same time, Black Bolt has no idea what the Hulk has gone through since he was exiled. The Hulk himself has become a king -- and has suffered enormous tragedy. In many ways, the Hulk and Black Bolt share much more in common now than they did before -- if they have any opportunity to talk, it should be interesting to see if Black Bolt's assessment of the Hulk might change.”

Words will more than likely be exchanged between the Hulk and Black Bolt in their confrontation, but since it takes place in a story called “World War Hulk” it's safe to say the two will be exchanging punches, kicks, or other forms of attack as well. “Some would argue that Black Bolt has the best chance of any superhero with the exception of Thor or the Sentry to match Hulk in a one-on-one physical battle,” Pak said. “Black Bolt doesn't just possess incredible personal strength; he can level mountains with the sound of his voice. During their first encounter, Black Bolt actually staggered Hulk with his master blow -- and then stunned him with a whisper. Then again, no one has ever seen the Hulk this angry -- and hence, this strong...”

Any real estate agent will tell you the most important thing is “Location, location, location” and in any battle between the Hulk and Black Bolt location will also be a key factor. “The biggest problem for Black Bolt is that the full power of his voice could potentially crack open a planet,” Pak stated. “If the Hulk and Black Bolt fight close to Atillan -- or any other group of innocents -- Black Bolt may not be able to unleash his full power.”

That's it for the first round of “Tale of the Tape” but check back soon because we'll bring you future match ups between the Hulk and individual Illuminati members in the weeks ahead, all the way up to June 13 th , when the opening bell rings and “World War Hulk” begins.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on BrokenFrontier.com:

BF talked with Greg Pak, who’s pen was behind this brave new world, and got his feelings about how Planet Hulk turned out, as well as a few hints of what is to come.

BROKEN FRONTIER: How much doubt was there when you first proposed "Planet Hulk"?

GREG PAK: Actually, the project was first proposed to me – [Marvel Editor-in-chief] Joe Quesada had a vision of the Hulk on an alien planet in an arena fighting monsters with a battleaxe. When I heard about the project, and heard they were thinking of me as the writer, I had no doubt at all in my mind – I was hooked from the word "battleaxe." Actually, I was hooked from the world "Hulk," but "battleaxe" was a pretty awesome bonus.

BF: Were you surprised by how well the story arc has done, especially since it was so different from past Hulk tales?

GP: I don't know that I was surprised, exactly, but I was certainly relieved and excited and grateful. The Hulk has a history of crazy sci-fi adventures and has even been exiled from the Earth before – so the basic concept of the story wouldn't come as a total shocker to long-time Hulk fans. The question was always how well we'd handle the concept.

But I had a huge amount of confidence in my amazing collaborators and, under the expert guidance of Hulk editor extraordinaire Mark Paniccia, had hammered a detailed outline that laid out an epic story we all really believed in. So confidence was high, although fingers were certainly crossed as the first issue hit stores.

BF: After the first few issues, and it was obvious that "Planet Hulk" was a hit, did you feel more at ease, and have more leeway with the characters?

GP: I definitely felt more at ease, but the story progressed just as we'd planned. However, the strong fan response definitely confirmed for us that the plan was the right one.

BF: Since most of these characters and the setting of Sakaar were your doing, did Marvel put any restrictions on the world outside of what you did to the Hulk?

GP: I had an astoundingly free hand in creating the world of Sakaar and all of the supporting characters. It was really an amazing opportunity – and I can't thank Joe and Mark and all the “big cheeses” enough for it.

BF: Now that the end of "Planet Hulk" is arising, let's talk a bit more about the world of "Planet Hulk". How much of the story did you have worked out when you begun the plotting?

GP: The whole story was outlined. I knew exactly how the final issue would play out before I ever began writing the first issue. This was a huge help – it meant we could seed elements in the very beginning that wouldn't pay off until the end.

In fact, from Day One of "Planet Hulk," we pretty much knew how "World War Hulk" would pan out – and had a good idea for the third part of our epic trilogy. So there are things we set up last February that are going to pay off almost a year from now.

BF: Were there any characters that were last-minute additions that came about well after the plotting had begun?

GP: The robot Arch-E-5912 is the only semi-principal character who wasn't planned from the beginning. He started off as lava monster fodder in Incredible Hulk #93, but later, particularly after Miek had gone through his transformation, I kind of felt the need for a lighter character to toss in a quip here and there, and Arch-E-5912 rose through the ranks. Oh, and the subplot with Elloe's mother and Miek's Queen were developed as we went along. The outline had spaces for the conflicts those characters represented, but the characters themselves didn't materialize until I wrote the actual scripts.

BF: Were there any aspects of "Planet Hulk" that you wanted to do, but never came to fruition?

GP: There's a side story with Elloe being tempted to betray the Hulk and become the new Queen of the Imperials that would have been nice to explore a little more fully than we the room for.

And early on, I had this insane idea that one of Hulk's cohorts should be a crazy dog boy – the idea was that it was one of those dogs the Russians or the US shot into space and left to die, but it had gone through a wormhole and through some cosmic twist had evolved into an intelligent creature and then ended up on Sakaar. I still love the idea. But instead, that character became Miek, an oppressed native insectivorid, which worked better in terms of helping set up the imperialist world of the planet.

Click to enlarge Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge Click to enlarge

BF: Is there any part of the story that you feel didn't come out as you wanted? What part of the plotting do you wish you could take back?

GP: Right now I'm too close to the whole thing to want to take anything back. I feel like Tolkien – my only regret is that we couldn't make it longer!

BF: How much of Sakaar existed before you were given the reins of Incredible Hulk?

GP: None of it. That was one of the huge gifts of the project – they let me create an entire world, with its own history, zoology, politics, and mythology. An incredible experience. This is a good place to throw in some major props for pencilers Carlo Pagulayan and Aaron Lopresti, who made that world come to life, and Anthony Flamini, who helped describe and develop the details of the world in the Planet Hulk Gladiator Guidebook.

BF: Do you feel there are still stories to tell? Have you put any thought into telling more of the lives of the denizens of Sakaar?

GP: Absolutely, there's more to tell. And it looks like we're going to. I can't say anything more specific right now, but we haven't seen the last of the characters, world, and themes of "Planet Hulk."

BF: Your take on Hulk was one that was intelligent and driven to make a difference. At the beginning, did you have to wrestle with how to portray the Big Guy?

GP: I always knew that the Hulk needed to be smart to survive on Sakaar and to fully experience the emotional epic we had in store for him. But in writing that first issue, it took a few passes to get the right feel for just how he'd talk.

In the end, I found myself thinking about Clint Eastwood in his Spaghetti Western days – he wouldn't say much, but when he talked, it'd be tough, hard, and to the point. And usually either scary or funny, or both.

BF: Was there any specific influences for any of the characters?

GP: I'm a huge fan of Bill Mantlo, who had a classic run on the Hulk and also wrote the Micronauts, one of my all time favorite Marvel comics. In Micronauts, Mantlo had an insectivorid character named Bug whose dialogue was punctuated by "tik", so in a bit of an homage, the dialogue of our insectivorid character Miek is punctuated by "kik."

BF: If you could have stranded any other hero besides the Hulk on a planet of your own making, who would it have been?

GP: That's an awesome question. I'm working with Hercules as one of the major heroes in Incredible Hulk #106-109, and I think he'd be a great character for that kind of experience. Maybe just 'cause he already has the sandals.

But I actually think Tony Stark would be the best character to throw in there in terms of the emotional story – it'd be pretty hardcore to make him have to experience what he put the Hulk through.

And then there's a great "What If" story out there involving Banner – what if Banner, not Hulk, had ended up on Sakaar? Of course, that story might be just one page long – Banner gets killed when the shuttle crashes. But if he survived the crash, maybe Banner's smarts could keep him alive for a while – and then might we eventually end up with... Bruce Banner, Warlord of Sakaar? Okay, I'm gonna stop talking about this one – I need to email Mark and start pitching a one-shot!

BF: Was it liberating to be able to play with a Marvel character without any real restrictions, as the world was yours to do what you wanted with?

GP: Absolutely. But what made it even better was that we knew the huge emotional story we were telling – and knew how it would all tie back into the Marvel Universe in the end. We got to tell this insane, crazy epic – and have it really matter in terms of the Hulk's life and the Marvel Universe. Solid gold.

BF: You are also writing Battlestar Galactica for Dynamite. Did writing two science fiction tales simultaneously help or hurt, or was there no effect at all?

Click to enlargeClick to enlargeGP: The themes of Battlestar Galactica and "Planet Hulk" are distinct enough that I don't find myself thinking about one while writing the other. But both books involve year-long storylines, and in terms of structure and pacing, it's been helpful to compare strategies for the different books as I've gone along.

Incidentally, the first Battlestar Galactica trade is supposed to hit stores in the next few weeks – I'd humbly encourage anyone interested in sci fi with big ideas and strong characterization to check it out. It helps to have some familiarity with the show, but some of the biggest fans of the comic have never seen the show – so don't be shy!

BF: Obviously you can't give away what happens in the final issue of "Planet Hulk", but do you think the Hulk could ever truly be happy?

GP: He can absolutely be truly happy. But whether the universe will let him stay that way for more that thirty seconds remains to be seen...

BF: With the Hulk returning back to Earth, can you hint to us what other creatures of Sakaar will come back with him?

GP: At least three of his Warbound companions will join him. Beyond that, I can say no more. But you definitely don't want to miss Incredible Hulk #105 and World War Hulk #1.

BF: Having to make Hulk interact in the confines of Marvel Universe, does it feel like a restriction compared to the last year of Incredible Hulk?

Click to enlargeClick to enlargeGP: We planned for "World War Hulk" from the first day we talked about "Planet Hulk," so his return is an organic and essential part of the great epic story we're telling, and I'm having a blast writing it. Sure, there's more coordination required, as the book now has to coordinate with dozens of ongoing characters and storylines in the Marvel Universe, but everyone's on board with the story and I'm having a huge amount of fun talking with the various writers and editors about the different tie-ins and crossovers.

BF: Having Hulk off-world, are you looking forward to getting to take part in Marvel's post-Civil War world?

GP: You bet. We got to dip into the Civil War storyline in our Amadeus Cho backup story in Incredible Hulk #100; now we get to wade right into the conflicts and divisions within the Marvel Universe as the Hulk returns to Earth.

BF: Finally, how long are you scheduled to write for the Hulk after "World War Hulk"?

GP: After "Planet Hulk" and "World War Hulk" comes part three of our trilogy – can't say more than that right now, but it's gonna be awesome.

For the complete article, including preview art, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

This June, when the Hulk's massive ship enters the skies above New York City and the Green King issues his proclamation of war, it won't be just the costumed heroes of the Marvel Universe that have to take action. Many normal non-powered citizens will have to overcome their fears and help their fellow citizens out by serving and protecting them and helping them make sense out of the chaos that arises from “World War Hulk.” Some of these non-powered citizens will star in “World War Hulk: Front Line” a six issue mini-series by writer Paul Jenkins and featuring art by Ramon Bachs, Shawn Martinborough, and Chris Moreno. CBR News spoke with Jenkins about the series which features the return of intrepid reporters Ben Urich and Sally Floyd and the latest case of Sally's boyfriend, Danny Granville a Detective for the NYPD's Costume Division.

“World War Hulk: Front Line” came about because of the strong sales and response to the “Civil War: Front Line” mini-series. “I think what happened was when we started doing ‘Front Line' it was a good idea,” Jenkins told CBR News. “It was a good fit. It worked well with ‘Civil War' and it sold really well. Since the sales of the first series we're great we got to talking about what ‘Front Line' could be. Joe Quesada said, ‘How do you feel about doing a war in the trenches style comic with those characters?' So we did it and as we started doing it; it became clear that ‘Front Line' was a good idea.

“So Joe, my editor Tom Brevoort and some other guys at Marvel said, ‘Why don't we see how many of these events ‘Front Line' would be good for?'” Jenkins continued. “‘Front Line' was the man on street perspective, the other information, the supplement to the big event. It illustrates some of the things that the guys doing the main story don't have a chance to illustrate. So in this case what happens when the Hulk comes to Earth? People look up and they see aliens. Perhaps the culture shock might be so bad that some people might not be able to live with themselves? We're just trying to do stuff like that.”

Sally Floyd and Ben Urich are two of the people hoping to help their fellow citizens make sense of the culture shock of “World War Hulk.” The two journalists, having been profoundly impacted by the events of ‘Civil War: Front Line,' will be reporting on the events of “WWH” with a new perspective. “Sally had an agenda. She spent years writing an opinion piece. She had a massive amount of pre-conceived notions about the government conspiring to take away our civil liberties but at a certain point in the story a congressmen who she had sparred with for years, and who in some sense is representative of the government tells her, “I was in Vietnam. I got shot. I had pieces of bullet fragment in my legs. I was tortured. I suffered through all that knowing that I would never take away anybody's right to call me a jackass in public. You want to call me that? Good for you. That's what I fought for.' He rocks her world. ‘You call me predictable?' He says. ‘Which one of us is the most predictable?' He points out to her what she is.

“Ben Urich started out saying, ‘The story is the thing, Sally. The slanting of the story is not what matters. We go rightly or wrongly with what is true,'” Jenkins continued. “But if you don't accept that there is a publisher's agenda, you're not living in the real world. If there is no such thing than what is Fox News? What is the New York Times? Many of the established news outlets clearly have a slant one way or another. So, Ben undergoes a transformation as well because when he gets to the end of ‘Civil War: Front Line' he suddenly begins to realize that he and Sally have this story; it's the story of Tony Stark and what he did in order to do one of the most difficult things he ever had done. When Ben gets the story he realizes it isn't as important as what Tony Stark has done and if he tells the story he's going to undermine what Tony has done. This shakes his world as a reporter. A reporter has to tell the story, but for him to tell that story would immediately jeopardize what that story is. So Ben makes a choice and it hurts him in the future. He's going to really struggle with ‘should I have told that story or not?'”

When “World War Hulk: Front Line” begins, a few weeks have passed since Ben and Sally had undergone their career altering changes and the duo launched “Front Line,” their own news publication. “They've been struggling with their venture,” Jenkins said. “There are so many news outlets and some of them are amateurish. There's so much competition and with an online paper it's a bit difficult.”

Ben and Sally's luck may be about to change though. “At a certain point a mysterious benefactor comes into their life and says, ‘I want to bankroll you guys.' They ask, ‘why?' and the answer is that whoever it is that's bankrolling them wants them to compete directly with J. Jonah Jameson,” Jenkins explained. “Their benefactor immediately says. ‘I've got an agenda. I want you to nail Jonah Jameson to the wall. I want you to be better than him.' So the question is who is their benefactor?”

Sally and Ben's mysterious benefactor certainly has the bankroll to turn “Front Line” into a legitimate competitor with the “Daily Bugle.” “They take over ‘The Alternative.' Sally's former paper,” Jenkins stated. “Their benefactor buys ‘The Alternative,' their printing presses and everything and turns it into ‘Front Line.'

Their benefactor's agenda may involve a publishing war with J. Jonah Jameson, but Ben and Sally are most concerned with reporting the stories that arise from the Hulk's return to Earth. “The important stories are: what is happening while everybody is looking up to the sky and watching the massive battles above them? What happened to the sets of evacuations?” Jenkins explained. “They started gathering people in Central Park, The Financial District and other places in Manhattan and they start getting people out of there. Then you go to a place like Mott Haven and nobody's bothered to show up to coordinate and hasten the evacuation of that neighborhood, where the people are much poorer.”

The evacuations are just one of a number of stories arising from “World War Hulk” that Ben and Sally look into. “They look into what people do: are they brave? Are they foolhardy?” Jenkins stated. “They're going to watch what happens as the Hulk and all these other massive characters float around like gods smashing the crap out of things and people are like, ‘Stop! This isn't fair. Stop smashing things. Give us a break.'”

While the first story of “World War Hulk: Front Line” will have Sally and Ben pounding the pavement in pursuit of stories, the second story in the book will have Sally's boyfriend Detective Danny Granville pounding the pavement in search of a criminal. “Danny works for the Costume Division of the NYPD,” Jenkins said. “In this story Danny is partnered with Korg, one of the Hulk's allies. There's been a violation of an agreement and Korg is pissed; so they'll have to launch an investigation. It's kind of a neat ‘Alien Nation' buddy type story.”

Jenkins has wanted to tell stories like “Costume Division” for awhile now. “I really want to do crime fiction in the Marvel Universe,” he said. “It goes back to a story I wrote a few years ago in ‘Peter Parker #36' that I thought had neat possibilities. It was about this guy who works for an insurance company and his job was to investigate claims that have been made against the company for superhero damage. Human nature being what it is many people would just lie through their teeth. They'd claim the Green Goblin blew up their house and he'd find out it was a lightning strike, which they weren't covered for.

“Because his job was so mundane and he had been a police officer before, he thought it would be a big score to find out Spider-Man's identity,” Jenkins continued. “So he follows patterns and noses around and finally comes up with his conclusion as to who Spider-Man is. So he goes to the Daily Bugle offices and knocks on the door and Jonah Jameson answers and he says to Jonah, ‘I accuse you of being Spider-Man!' Over the course of the story I had all these great ideas.”

When “Costume Division” begins, Danny Granville's life is fairly good, but complex and it's about to get a whole lot more complicated. “He's got a new girlfriend named Sally. She's hot, but she's kind of a pain. He's quite a nice fellow and he's quite shy actually so she's totally all over him and dominates him in the power structure,” Jenkins explained. “Also there's a big giant ship in the sky and his job is to make sure that ship doesn't fall and squish people.

“He gets this call and they say, ‘We need you for something,'” Jenkins continued. “He asks, ‘What?' and they tell him. He's like, ah @&%$. He's a very reluctant hero but he's quite a competent guy. He finds out what it means to investigate a crime like this and it's a little bit different from the way he thought and it's a little bit more dangerous than what he thought.”

Jenkins hopes readers respond to the “Costume Division” story in “World War Hulk: Front Line” because he'd love to tell more stories featuring Danny Granville and the other detectives of that division. “I really want to do a book called ‘Costume Division,'” Jenkins stated. “I think it would be so much fun and I think it would suit me very well. So hopefully in the future we can do a mini-series or something.”

In addition to the two main stories of “World War Hulk: Front Line,” featuring Ben Urich and Sally Floyd and Danny Granville, readers will be treated to a third two page story in every issue, of a much lighter tone. “It's basically me and Chris Moreno [Jenkins ‘Sidekick' collaborator] making fun of everything we do,” Jenkins explained. “In one of the stories the state of Rhode Island can't persuade anyone to join their superhero team. The stories are totally goofy. It's just fun. Chris and I have so much fun doing the comics that we do. We just wanted to do a couple of back up stories for Marvel and I think it's great to see Chris doing some stuff for Marvel.”

“World War Hulk: Front Line” is an anthology series that aims to provide something for all types of readers. “We've got these funny two-page back up stories. We've got crime fiction, and we've got sort of a reflection on the way ‘World War Hulk' affects things,” Jenkins said. “I think there's plenty in there for people and it's kind of a different approach from ‘Civil War: Front Line.' It's nice to do a bit of humor in a book with a slightly higher profile. Hopefully the strength of the series will continue and we'll be able to do a ‘Front Line' for every event.”

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:

As the Green Goliath gets ready to unleash his wrath on the world that rejected him, writer Greg Pak recalls the big guy’s metamorphosis into a righteous warrior

The Hulk’s rage is about to be let loose on Earth. As Marvel gets ready to launch World War Hulk in May, writer Greg Pak talks to Wizard about the defining moments in the “Planet Hulk” story running through Incredible Hulk #92-#105.

The Illuminati exiles the Hulk

The Hulk’s rage has always been an ever-growing threat to humanity. At the beginning of the “Planet Hulk” arc, Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Strange and Black Bolt come together as the Illuminati to exile the Hulk from Earth after he sets his rage loose on Las Vegas. Banner was placed in a shuttle headed toward an uninhabited planet where he could harm no one, but the shuttle flew off course, entering a wormhole and taking the Hulk to the savage planet Sakaar.

PAK: When he first arrived on the planet, he could be injured and possibly even killed because his body had been weakened passing through the wormhole to get to this planet. For one of the first times in a while, the Hulk had been vulnerable. He is full of rage! His so-called friends exiled him. He hated everybody and everything.

The Warrior

Once the Hulk landed on Sakaar, he was captured and sold into slavery. He eventually made his way into the Great Arena as a gladiator.

PAK: What makes it a special story in terms of the Hulk’s development is that he went through a lot of changes, not just in terms of the role he was playing on this planet but in terms of his attitude and who he is. He’s actually bonded with his fellow gladiators. They are his warbound companions, and over the course of the story, he’s identified with the oppressed people on the planet and has become a freedom fighter. That’s a huge transition for the Hulk.

Rejects the offer to be free

When a rebel crew of freedom fighters offers him salvation from the arena, the Hulk refuses their offer and opts to stay as a warrior, presumably because he has gained much popularity as a gladiator and wants to bask in the glory.

PAK: I think it’s one of the points of development the Hulk has gone through. He’s gone from angry and selfish to angry in a righteous way, in a way that is based on a community. In the first part of the story, it is unclear which way the Hulk is going to go. When he first teams up with these other warriors, he isn’t doing it in the sense that this is a great community and he wants to be a part of it. He’s doing it in the sense of, this is how I’m going to survive. And it’s touch and go exactly what he is going to do.

At that point, it doesn’t make sense [for the Hulk to decide], “Yeah, I’m going to join your freedom fighting group.” Partly it’s because he doesn’t trust anybody when he arrives onto the planet. That’s one of the first times somebody asks him for his trust. And he has no reason to do it at that point. It’s only later when he sees what is going on in this planet that he makes that transition.

Warbound

Hulk eventually comes to trust the freedom fighters and they make an agreement to fight as a team. They swear an oath that no matter what may come, they will suffer it together.

PAK: Usually when the Hulk is joining a group of earthbound heroes, he’s seen by them as the crazy wildcard. They do it sort of knowing there is something off about him. Basically, they do it with caveats. What makes it different [with his fellow warbound on Sakaar] is that the Hulk and them have all risked their lives together. They were all on equal footing and they all needed each other to survive. The Hulk’s experience with the warbound has been more intense because it has been a life-or-death situation all the way through.

The remarkable thing about the warbound is that these are a group of monsters that come together to do the right thing. It’s like when you put these monsters together and give them the right kind of context, it’s that kind of notion, you’re only a monster if you accept it.

Refuses to leave with the Silver Surfer

The Hulk and Silver Surfer find themselves on Sakaar, where they are enslaved and placed under obedience disks. Under the emperor’s control, Silver Surfer had to go up against the Hulk. Of course, Surfer wasn’t strong enough for the Hulk. Once freed from mind control, Surfer destroyed all the slaves’ obedience disks and then offered the Hulk salvation: to leave the planet with him. However, Hulk refused, and opted to stay with his new friends.

PAK: I love the way the Silver Surfer worked into the story. When I was doing research for this, I was reminded of the first meeting between the Silver Surfer and the Hulk. It’s one of these Silver Age stories, but it’s incredibly moving, actually. The Hulk had been hounded by humans and he’s running off, and he sees this gleam up in the sky and thinks it’s a UFO or spaceship, and he’s like, “I’m going to go track them down and make them take me off this planet, to find somewhere else where people will leave me alone.” The Surfer in that early encounter realizes he is miserable and not at fault for his rage.

So later on, in issue #95, the Hulk tells the Surfer that years ago he wanted him to take him away, and the Surfer says he can do that now. And Hulk replies, “You don’t get it, I’m already there.” Now he’s gotten to that planet he wanted to go to, where he could be who he was and find a place. That’s a huge admission for the Hulk—he isn’t a touchy guy. He is the Clint Eastwood of comics. He doesn’t talk about his feelings.

Green vines grow where Hulk’s blood is spilled

Throughout Planet Hulk, the big question is if the Hulk is the Sakaarson, the savior of Sakaar, or Worldbreaker, the destroyer?

PAK: That’s an ongoing thing because that’s really almost part of every superhero, it’s almost part of all of us. We all have this capacity for doing great things and doing terrible things. And sometimes the very things that make us able to do great things make us do terrible things. That is an ongoing tension in human life, so these stories of the Hulk allow us to explore that.

Amadeus Cho discovers the truth

We know the Hulk shall return to Earth. Thanks to the help of 16-year-old boy genius Amadeus Cho, maybe he’ll return a little less angry. The only voice that actually defends the Hulk, Cho criticizes the Illuminati for its actions against the Hulk.

PAK: Yeah, there is definitely a different side to this story, and these various heroes are going to have to think about that and face that when the Hulk returns.

Liberates the planet from the Red King

The malevolent emperor of Sakaar meets his end at the hands of the Hulk, ending the war on the planet.

PAK: What I always had been interested in, is that people always ask, “Is the Hulk a monster or a hero?” On Earth, people are always calling him a monster because when he gets angry, he starts smashing things. In the civilized world that’s not really permitted, but if you break it down and look at each one of the times he goes nuts, he’s always sticking up for the little guys or he’s fighting someone who has done something wrong.

“Planet Hulk” gave us the opportunity to see what would happen if we put the Hulk in a world where his anger and strength were virtues, where the world needed someone with his kind of rage and strength.

Crowned emperor

After liberating the planet from the Red King, the Hulk is crowned emperor of Sakaar.

PAK: In issue #102, the Hulk finally defeats the Red King and in #103 he marries the Grace King Warrior, who first started off as his opponent but later joins him. And that’s sort of a meeting of tribes that bonds this world together, and the Hulk becomes their king.

Reveals who he is to Shadow Guard

The Hulk shows Shadow Guard, and readers, that he is more than just a savage beast, that he is also human. Quite possibly one of the most intimate moments readers have had with the Hulk.

PAK: People typically think of Hulk and Banner in this Jekyll and Hyde relationship, where the Hulk is all the rage that Banner keeps bottled up. During the course of “Planet Hulk,” something different has happened. The rage of the Hulk has become more focused and righteous instead of childish. It’s not just personal fury, it’s become rage that has a use and moral purpose behind it. And as Hulk has found a place on this planet, Banner has reconciled with it. I think that indicates something in the relationship between Hulk and Banner, that there is a way in which Banner may be understanding and accepting of what’s going on in a way that he wasn’t before. Maybe he’s pretending to be that way. But there is definitely a development there.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

The Ghost Rider's road of vengeance is slowly winding its way into the center of the Marvel Universe. In "Ghost Rider" #10 — in stores today — the Spirit of Vengeance continues his battle with one of the demonically possessed casualties of “Civil War” and this June, Johnny Blaze's fiery alter ego will confront Marvel's Green Gamma Powered Goliath head on as “Ghost Rider” ties into “World War Hulk.” CBR News spoke with “Ghost Rider” writer Daniel Way.

When Johnny Blaze arrives in Manhattan to tackle the Hulk, he shouldn't expect to be treated like the cavalry arriving in the nick of the time to save everybody. To the heroes and citizens in New York, watching Ghost Rider and the Hulk tangle is comparable to how the citizens of Tokyo feel when Godzilla shows up to battle another monster. “Once he gets there everybody is just going to fall back,” Way stated. “They're not going to help. Especially Dr. Strange, he knows the score. He thinks, ‘If Ghost Rider can beat the Hulk great. If Hulk takes out Ghost Rider great because Ghost Rider is just as much a threat as Hulk is at this point. This plan he's got going is not safe and Dr. Strange has explained that quite clearly. The best situation is that the both take each other out.”

Since Johnny Blaze is in control, Ghost Rider just might get himself taken out in his battle with the Hulk “Ghost Rider left alone is extremely powerful; it's almost boundless.” Way said. “Johnny Blaze is kind of the safety switch that keeps Ghost Rider from going super nova. So the more Johnny is in control, the less powerful the Ghost Rider is; which is not a good situation to be in when you're wading into a fight with the Hulk. Johnny is going to have to rely on his wits which are a pretty limited resource.”

Even with only a limited amount of power available, Ghost Rider's battle with the Hulk should still be pretty brutal and spectacular. “I gotta tell you, the fight between these two characters, I can't wait to see it on paper. I didn't hold back on anything,” Way stated. “I think we worked in some really cool stuff. There's one shot in there that's going to be remembered well.

“Ghost Rider” #12-13 will feature some guest star appearances by other Marvel heroes. As we mentioned before though, Johnny Blaze shouldn't expect any of this characters to give him a hand with the Hulk. “This battle will be closely monitored,” Way stated. “All eyes are on this battle in this two-parter. Two characters in particular are watching it.”

The spectators observing the fight between the Spirit of Vengeance and the Green King might include members of the Initiative, America's superhuman army. If that's the case they'll have to carefully consider how they handle Ghost Rider. “Ghost Rider is not a superhero. He's a supernatural,” Way explained. “So you can't really enlist him and going after him would be a losing proposition. You can't really kill him. It's kind of, and we should introduce this into the Marvel Lexicon, the Hulk Complex; the harder you beat on him the worse it gets.

“Now down the line,” Way continued. “there are a couple of big developments we need to get out of the way, but yes it is possible that Ghost Rider will ‘Come Back to Earth' and get involved. Eventually he's got to really get in and mix it up in the Marvel Universe. That's part of the plan, but he has some stuff to get off of his plate first.”

One of the things Ghost Rider needs to get off his plate is his crusade against the 666 avatars of Lucifer. “Ghost Rider's battle with Lucifer has not gone unnoticed and actually that's a big component of the story arc after the ‘World War Hulk' tie-in. That arc is going to be the big because Ghost Rider is reaching the end of the chain and it's about time for the big face-off.”

“Right from the get go I really wanted to streamline what Ghost Rider was and I think that's all coming together,” Way continued. “Ghost Rider is the Spirit of Vengeance and its human host. What is the human host all about? That's one of the only big questions left and that one gets answered in the arc after the ‘World War Hulk' tie-ins.”

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on NewYorkPress.com:

The big movie news at the beginning of this week arrived with the announcement that Louis Leterrier (who helmed the popular sci fi Transporter movies and the Jet Li action flick Unleashed) will direct Edward Norton as the not-so-jolly green giant in Marvel Studio's The Incredible Hulk. Universal plans to release the big budget project in the summer of 2008. It's one of those odd situations where a studio confronts the fact that they fucked up a popular franchise and now seems to be trying to do penance for its sins, hoping that commercial viability still beats at the heart of the material.

Ang Lee survived the 2003 disaster of Hulk with his Oscar win for Brokeback Mountain, but the movie itself was shunned by pretty much every intended audience. When Joel Schumacher made those terribly hokey Batman movies in the late Nineties, Warner Bros. took years to confront the problem and get a better project together. The new Hulk project, however, sort of feels like too much too soon. The failure of Lee's project still lingers in the memories of many people who sincerely hoped for a better realization of a classic character. Response to casting Norton in the lead role has ranged from ecstatic to chagrined, with very little middle ground. I could go either way; actually, the Hulk is one of the most malleable of classic comic book characters. The psychological implications of a creature whose sole reason for existing is inner rage opens up innumerable storytelling possibilities. As an example, check out this sampling of "The Incorrigible Hulk," written by"Hate!" comics scribe Peter Bagge. If you're not familiar with Bagge's work, I highly suggest checking out the years worth of "Hate" comics available at most comic book outlets. He's not your typical superhero scribe--but his take on the Hulk, commissioned a few years ago by Marvel and still unpublished, makes you wonder if exploring the social ramifications of the character might be a better direction than millions of dollars worth of CGI. Wishful thinking, I know.

For more on Bagge and this comic, check out this interview from UGO.com:

UGO: Will the Hulk comic you did ever come out?

PETER: I don’t know. My editor at Marvel keeps asking me not to whine too much about it because there is still a chance it might come out. It all has to do with corporate politics.

UGO: Did it have anything to do with the Hulk movie?

PETER: No, let’s back up a bit. About three or four years ago, a few guys were put in charge of Marvel when they were in really bad shape. They figured they had nothing to lose so they asked some people who don’t normally do superhero comics to do them. They went kind of nuts, which is great, but if you ask me they didn’t go nuts enough. Since then, Marvel has huge a string of huge blockbusters recently, especially Spider-Man. Now the company is worth a fortune, which has next to nothing to do with the comics. But what the comics sell is peanuts compared to the movies and the merchandising. Some new board members, who are trying to protect their investment, very carefully manage their more valuable brands. When the editors asked me to do Spider-Man, they were thinking the exact opposite because people who wouldn’t normally buy it would buy it. But now the new people running it don’t want Peter Bagge f**king around with their characters. My vision of the Hulk doesn’t match with theirs.

UGO: I interviewed Kyle Baker a few years ago after he had done this story of Superman as a baby and all these crazy things happened to the baby. They never reprinted until the Bizarro book. When I asked him about it, he said he doesn’t care about the story because he doesn’t own it. “They could buy the story from me and toss it in the trash.”

PETER: I’m not quite that cynical.

UGO: You?

PETER: To a degree, I agree with that. If it winds up never in print I won’t be devastated like I would with something that was my own. But if this was my own thing I wouldn’t be in this situation. It’s because we don’t own the right to these characters, we don’t know when or if it will ever see print. Of course, working on it as much as I did, I spent six months on it, I hate to see all that labor wasted because I thought it came out pretty good.

UGO: Is the Hulk story like your Spider-Man one?

PETER: I think it’s a little bit lighter. I tried to make it more action-packed with splash panels because I thought that Spider-Man was pretty verbose. The Hulk is about Bruce Banner with his dual personality, and I commented on how everybody can do that now to a smaller degree with modern medicine like with Valium and Viagra. Everybody is trying to control or alter their personality.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Q: Finally - the editorial retreat is still coming up next week - any clues as to some of the bigger issues on the table?

You: “We'll be going over a lot of stuff, most of it a tightening to our post Civil War plan, fallout from World War Hulk, the life and times of Peter Parker, the future of the Ultimate Universe, the repositioning of the X-Men and this little idea that Bendis has had percolating for the world of Avengers.”

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

Head on over to www.incrediblehulk.com for a great new interview with Gary Frank, Incredible Hulk artist extraordinaire!

Bruno

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicsContinuum.com:

TOP COW'S UNHOLY UNION

Written by regular Witchblade scribe Ron Marz and drawn by the artist of the upcoming The Darkness ongoing series Michael Broussard, Unholy Union will be 40 pages and will cost $3.99.

Here's how Top Cow describes the book:

"When Jackie Estacado, the ill-fated mob boss cursed with the inheritance of The Darkness, is brought into court he's fairly certain he can beat the charges. Unfortunately for Jackie, Ghost Rider, the Spirit of Vengeance, is not so easily escaped. If this clash wasn't enough to get fans pulses pounding, the Incredible Hulk is simultaneously rampaging through New York City and both Dani Baptiste, the current bearer of the Witchblade, and Sara Pezzini, the former bearer, must try and save the city while Doctor Strange monitors all these events with great interest. With this much action, the stand alone special demanded an over-sized treatment with extra pages of thrilling content! And if that wasn't enough, the issue also contains a special preview for this summer's Top Cow Event First Born."

"We packed as much as humanly possible into this one," Marz said. "I think we ended up with a story that gives each of the characters a moment in the spotlight, includes plenty of over-the-top action, and even plants a seed for Top Cow's upcoming First Born storyline.

"So we've got all that, plus ample opportunity for artist Michael Broussard to show off what he's capable of. For a guy who's just beginning his career, Michael is amazingly accomplished. He's the real deal, and I'm happy to be working with him."

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

Head on over to www.incrediblehulk.com for a great new interview with Chris Sotomayor, the colorist on the Incredible Hulk.

Bruno

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicCon.com:

THE PULSE: For those who missed Planet Hulk, can you summarize what happened to the Incredible Hulk these past months and what state of mind he's in right now?

GREG PAK: Warning -- "Planet Hulk" spoilers below!

A group of so called Marvel "heroes," including Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt, decided the Hulk was a monster and shot him into space in a shuttle, exiling him to the savage alien planet of Sakaar where the Hulk was enslaved and forced to become a gladiator. At first consumed by rage and mistrustful of everything and everyone, the Hulk eventually bonded with his fellow gladiators -- and then the oppressed people of the planet. The Hulk turned rebel, fighting against the wicked Red King and ultimately becoming the planet's conquering emperor, taking the great woman warrior Caiera the Oldstrong as his queen. For the first time in recent memory, the Hulk had a place in the universe -- a world, a people, a queen, and even an unborn child. And then the puny humans' shuttle exploded, destroying a million souls, including the Hulk's queen and child.

Now the Hulk is returning to Earth. And he's going to teach those who exiled him who the monster in this story really is.

THE PULSE: Now that you have most of Planet Hulk behind you, looking back, what do you consider the biggest highs of creating this new chapter in the life of the Hulk?

PAK: Every issue was a high. This is probably the most satisfying comic book project I've worked on thus far. Right now, I'm still on a buzz from getting that last issue out the door. Penciler Carlo Pagulayan really outdid himself with that issue -- every panel is just gorgeous and evocative, and that last two page spread? Just amazing.

THE PULSE: If you were able, is there anything about this story you wish you could tweak now, seeing how it all turned out on the final pages?

PAK: So far in prepping for the hardcover, I've found just two corrections. This has really been a labor of love -- I think every person who worked on the book went above and beyond, making every page and every panel the best they could be.

As a writer, one thing I wish is that I'd made a bit of space to expand Elloe's story. She's the only one of Hulk's Warbound companions whom we never showed telling the others the story of her past. We definitely know her story and gave hints of it in scenes with her father, Lavin Skee, and her mother. But there's definitely more to explore there. Someday...

THE PULSE: Now that Hulk's headed towards earth with a mad on for the Illuminati, it seems as if this might divide the heroes like the Civil War .... I know you don't want to spoil everything, but who are a few of the heroes on the Jade Giant's side that people might be surprised to see thinking Hulk's in the right? Flip side, who are some of the opposition that folks might find it hard to believe would oppose him in this?

PAK: Sneaky, sneaky, Jen! You know I can't say too much, here. But I will say during the course of "Incredible Hulk" #106-109, teen genius and number one Hulk fan Amadeus Cho will try to recruit a number of heroes to fight on the Hulk's side. I won't say who joins him, but I will say that among the people he encounters are She-Hulk, Doc Samson, Namor, Hercules, Angel, Namora, S.H.I.E.L.D. Commander Gabe Jones, and the Scorpion. Who says yes and who says no? Find out starting with "Incredible Hulk" #106 on May 2!

THE PULSE: It seems as if the events in the Incredible Hulk right now have been very purposely thought out and considered, even before anything unfolds on the page. How long has it taken you to template the events that you wanted to play out in this story?

PAK: We've been planning for this story for almost two years, when I first started working on "Planet Hulk." What goes up must come down -- we always knew that as "Planet Hulk" wrapped, "World War Hulk" would begin. So I've been hammering out this storyline with the help of editor Mark Paniccia and the input of a slew of other Marvel editors and writers over the course of many, many months.

THE PULSE: What have been some of the biggest challenges with making sure everything unfolded in the way you wanted on the printed page? How tough was it to get this all to play out?

PAK: Once we nailed the outline down, I was good to go. A good outline makes everything clear -- so from the beginning, we knew our themes, our key plot points, and the main thrust and purpose of each issue within our larger epic. Of course, there were a million challenges along the way, but it's relatively easy to handle small problems when you understand how everything fits together in the big picture.

THE PULSE: It seems as if Warbound might just be the tip of the iceberg for the future of the Hulk .... how far down the line are your plans for this series?

PAK: I can't reveal too much -- I'll just say that the Warbound and the themes and world of "Planet Hulk" won't be forgotten.

THE PULSE: Many comic fans are excited that Gary Frank is returning to the pages of The Incredible Hulk. How does it feel to have him bringing your words to life?

PAK: Gary Frank is incredible. Like all the artists on "Planet Hulk," he's a demon for detail and has done an incredible job cramming a huge amount of information into each panel while keeping the images clean and gorgeous and dynamic. And he draws a mean Jen Walters -- and an even meaner She-Hulk -- check out "Incredible Hulk" #106 for more!

THE PULSE: How much input have the artists you've worked with recently had in the presentation of the story? How open are you to their feedback?

PAK: Having been trained as a film director, I tend to have a very strong sense of what I'm looking for in terms of visual storytelling and I probably load up my comic scripts with more visual details than another writer might. But just as I'm always eager to work collaboratively with my cinematographer on a film set, I'm always thrilled when my pencilers bring that extra something or find a better way of depicting a scene than I could ever have imagined on my own. Aaron Lopresti and I used to trade emails all the time during "Planet Hulk" -- Aaron's also trained as a filmmaker, actually, and has a great sense of story.

He'd catch all my mistakes and often add a panel or two to make sure we were telling the story clearly, which was awesome. In the case of "World War Hulk," John Romita, Jr. has opened up the script in a number of key places, turning what were small panels on a multi-panel page into giant full page splashes. He's a legend for good reason -- he knows better than just about anyone on the planet how to make those big moments blow off the page.

THE PULSE: How do you think working on this type of epic comic book story has changed the way you view the creative process behind the comic books in general?

PAK: It's confirmed to me the enormous value of having a strong editor. Mark Paniccia's been my partner in crime throughout the entire process -- "Planet Hulk" would not be the book it is without his constant guidance, support, and creative input. It's a been a kick every step of the way in no small part due to the fact that every time I had one of my big crazy ideas, Mark could see how it fit into our story and themes and encouraged me to go for it. For months, the highlight of my week was huddling with Mark in dark corners of the Marvel office cackling over the next insane thing we were going to do. I'll also say that Assistant Editor Nate Cosby played a huge role as well -- he coordinated all of the corrections we'd make to the balloons along the way, challenged me to make things better and clearer, and always gave me every opportunity to nail down every line of dialogue to all of our satisfaction. That kind of support and respect makes a huge difference.

THE PULSE: What have you enjoyed the most about working on a story of this scope?

PAK: There's a huge amount of pleasure in seeing things pay off that we seeded over twelve issues ago. The slow burn is awesome.

THE PULSE: What other projects are you working on?

PAK: I'm writing the last issue of my "Battlestar Galactica" run for Dynamite, which has been a heck of a ride. The first trade should be hitting stores soon, actually -- check in with www.pakbuzz.com for publication dates. And I'm about to start two new projects for Marvel, which I can't talk about just yet, alas. I'll just say that one of them may be the most challenging project I've ever undertaken and the other is a crazy fever dream come true. How's that for a teaser?

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

NRAMA: Moving things over to the guests, then…we’re going to have you to put modesty aside for a moment, as you are one of a small handful of creators asked to be part of this…What do you hope as an individual to bring to the table at a session like this one? A particular unique skill or insight?

Greg Pak: As the "World War Hulk" guy, one of my jobs was to help set the stage for brainstorming about what comes next. And I tried to impress Ralph Macchio with a reference to an obscure Marvel villain from the seventies at least once a day.

NRAMA: What corner of the Marvel Universe do you expect or would like to see get some love in the next year or so?

Pak: All Hulk, all the time, baby!

NRAMA: Greg, given we know World War Hulk is in fact just the second act of a three act Hulk story, is that your role this week? To make sure that not only WWH but what comes after is understood by all as the bigger framework is built?

Pak: This summit gave us a great chance to delve into possible post-"World War Hulk" ramifications for the Marvel Universe, and I'm extremely excited by some of the ideas that came up -- particularly those regarding one of Hulk's primary WWH antagonists, whose alliterative name I dare not mention. Editor Mark Paniccia and I also hobnobbed quite a bit about our plans for our super-secret third part of our trilogy -- my personal coup for the day was securing a certain key character to play a big lead role in the book.

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on WizardUniverse.com:

The Green Goliath returns to Earth with revenge on his mind, and we outline his unstoppable battle plans against the heroes of the Marvel Universe

The time for talk has come and gone—the time for smashing has arrived.

Over a year ago, the Illuminati—Marvel’s secret society consisting of Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Doctor Strange, Professor X, Namor and Black Bolt—deemed the Hulk too dangerous to remain on Earth and banished him to space. They thought they’d found a peaceful planet for his exile; instead, a wormhole knocked the Jade Giant off track and landed him on the savage, war-ravaged planet of Sakaar. Now, the Hulk has found his way home, and he’s not alone.

“To survive [on Sakaar], the Hulk had to be crafty,” says Greg Pak (pronounced “pock”), writer of Incredible Hulk and, starting in June, the five-issue miniseries World War Hulk. “He had to make friends, and they became his warbound companions. He has learned from them, and has a whole new level of smarts when it comes to how he fights.”

During the Hulk’s exile, the Marvel Universe has undergone Civil War, with Tony Stark—aka Iron Man—emerging as the figurehead of a new, more organized superhuman community, but one still feeling the sting of internal strife.

“There’s a whole new level of organization which theoretically should make it easier for them to respond to this kind of threat,” begins Pak. “But there are a lot of people, key people, who have an issue with the current regime. What happened during Civil War may affect who is crazy enough to side with the Hulk.”

Join Wizard as we play armchair Iron Man, pitting the toughest of the Marvel Universe against the Hulk and then watching them fall like dominoes as Pak gives us the inside scoop on Marvel’s most hard-hitting event of the summer.

THE SENTRY

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: The one-time best buddy of the formerly childlike Hulk, the powerful Golden Guardian of Good will likely be Stark’s first line of defense as he marshals his other forces. In the past, the Sentry possessed the power to calm the Hulk and make him docile—and if he can do that here, he can lure Jade Jaws in for the takedown.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: To put it bluntly, this Hulk ain’t dumb. Now a cunning strategist, the Hulk would predict Stark’s deployment of the Sentry and take measures to ensure he will not be ensnared. A shocked Sentry, never the most stable guy to begin with, won’t be able to keep his sh-- together, and the jarring change in his old pal will prove his undoing.

PAK TALK: “It’s worth remembering that the last time the Sentry and the Hulk spent any time together [in the 2000-01 Sentry miniseries], Sentry lied to Hulk, and Hulk ended up getting every bone in his body broken. The old Hulk might forgive Sentry for that, but who knows this time around.”

THE AVENGERS

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: With the Sentry down, Stark turns to his elite strike force, the Mighty Avengers, while the prodigal New Avengers likely also get involved to ensure the safety of team member Doctor Strange. Strength in numbers has always been the advantage that Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have held over the Hulk; in this case, relatively minor nuisances like Spider-Man, Black Widow, Iron Fist and the Wasp can keep him distracted as powerhouses Ms. Marvel, Luke Cage, Wonder Man and Ares prepare to knock him out. If all else fails, it’s time for the Sorcerer Supreme to get busy.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: The Hulk’s not alone anymore; his army from Sakaar nullifies the Avengers’ edge in personnel and allows him to pick and choose his targets. Strange, the one guy who might be able to turn the tide, may hesitate, as he felt conflicted over sending his old Defenders teammate into space in the first place. A split second of deliberation is all the cunning Hulk needs to remove the mystic from the board.

PAK TALK: “Would the New Avengers have any sort of interest in helping the Hulk, given that they don’t like this new regime Tony has going on? Would the Hulk ever be able to forgive Strange so that could happen? It should be pretty interesting to see what happens with all that.”

THE FANTASTIC FOUR

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: His personal troops somewhat exhausted, Stark turns to one team that has proven capable of handling the Hulk in the past: the FF. While the Thing slugs it out with his perennial rival, the Human Torch serves as an irritant, buying Mr. Fantastic enough time to cobble together some sort of device to contain their foe. If that doesn’t work, well, the Invisible Woman has knocked down the Hulk before.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman: currently out of the picture. Black Panther doesn’t possess quite the same level of smarts as Reed Richards does, and while Storm boasts an impressive power set, it’s not on the same level as Sue. The Hulk tears through this less fantastic lineup and moves on.

PAK TALK: “[The Thing] and the Hulk have a lot in common. Ben is not susceptible to the same kind of rage, so it’s easier for him to be accepted, but he has still been vilified by ignorant people. In a lot of ways, Ben has more in common with the Hulk than [he does] with Reed Richards.”

THOR

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: If Stark’s lucky, Thor will still answer his calls after that clone cyborg debacle during Civil War. Should the Thunder God enter the fray, he can prove the difference maker, as he boasts physical strength on par with the Hulk as well as abilities that tall, green and gruesome lacks, such as flight and a nifty all-purpose uru hammer.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: Again, Hulk’s got an army—one that includes former Thor sparring partner Korg, one of the stone men from Saturn—and there’s nary an Asgardian in sight these days. Sakaar’s finest fighting forces swarm Goldilocks, then Hulk swoops in with a smirk and a nasty right hook.

PAK TALK: “Part of the thing about this warbound crew from ‘Planet Hulk’ is that they’re not scared of anybody. They have fought in legendary mythic battles against foes nobody should be able to defeat and they’ve triumphed. If Earth wants to throw a god at them, they’re perfectly ready to go for it.”

IRON MAN

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: Bodies strewn about him on the battlefield, Tony Stark has no choice but to finally pull himself out of reserve and enter the fray. No dummy, when Iron Man has gone up against physically superior specimens such as Thor and the Hulk in the past, he doesn’t just go in swinging; historically, he builds bigger, badder armors designed specifically to take out his target. With a souped-up version of his old “Hulkbuster” gear, Shell-head cranks the repulsor rays up to 11 and does the job himself.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: The Hulk has faced Iron Man’s toys before, but this time he brings a few of his own to the table. Having spent months on an alien planet with exposure to a multitude of advanced cultures, Hulk possesses some technology even Iron Man will find impossible to combat. Nobody has earned the ire of the Hulk more than Tony Stark, and the king of Sakaar will leave nothing to chance in this final battle.

PAK TALK: “Whether or not you agree with [Tony], you can’t deny his belief in what he does or that he’s willing to play the villain and have everybody hate him if the result is that the world is safe. That may be his greatest weapon in this fight: He will do whatever is necessary. Just as Iron Man has never really had to deal with a Hulk who won’t hold back, the Hulk has never had to deal with an Iron Man who won’t hold back.”

THE INITIATIVE

WHAT WORKED BEFORE: Before he takes off to battle the Hulk himself, Tony Stark leaves the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. with one final order: “If I don’t come back, get that superhero army we’ve been training on standby.” Once Iron Man falls, the true war of attrition begins.

WHY IT WON’T ANYMORE: Actually…this could work, but the scale of destruction would make Civil War look like a minor schoolyard scuffle. Armies, superhuman or otherwise, mean all-out war, and that means major collateral damage and casualties. To paraphrase Dalton from “Road House,” no one wins in a fight like this.

PAK TALK: “The Initiative is one of those things that Hulk, having been away over the course of Civil War, doesn’t know anything about. They may indeed be the ace in the hole.”

SMASH HITS

'World War Hulk' carries the Earth-shattering battle into these tie-in titles

GHOST RIDER The Spirit of Vengeance journeys to New York City in June’s issue #12 by writer Daniel Way and artist Javier Saltares. Johnny Blaze may have the flaming stones to go head-on with the Hulk, but will he get barbequed? The action flows into July’s issue #13.

HEROES FOR HIRE It’s four issues of all-out war for the HFH crew beginning with June’s issue #11 courtesy of writer Zeb Wells and artist Clay Mann. While the Avengers of the world take on the Hulk, Misty Knight and company take it to his troops.

IRON MAN The guest creative team of writer Christos Gage and artist Butch Guice pit Tony Stark against a rampaging Green Goliath intent on kicking his iron ass in issues #19 and #20, due out in June and July, respectively.

IRREDEEMABLE ANT-MAN The chaos reaches a fever pitch in July, as issue #10 finds Ant-Man trying his best to take advantage in an adventure by writer Robert Kirkman and artist Phil Hester.

WORLD WAR HULK: FRONT LINE A six-issue miniseries launching in June and shipping every other week, this latest edition of the street level look at the Marvel Universe reunites Civil War: Front Line creators writer Paul Jenkins and artist Ramon Bachs as well as stars Ben Urich and Sally Floyd, who do their best to get the story behind the Hulk’s angry return.

WORLD WAR HULK: GAMMA CORPS What does the war mean for other irradiated friends and foes of the Hulk? Writer Frank Tieri and artist Carlos Ferreira answer that question in this four-issue mini-series beginning in July.

WORLD WAR HULK: X-MEN When the Hulk attacks Professor X seeking to know what role the telepath played in the Illuminati’s decision to launch him into space, it will be up to every single X-Man to halt the path of destruction in this three-issue June-launching miniseries by Gage and artist Andrea Di Vito.

WORLD WAR HULK: YOUNG AVENGERS Earth’s Mightiest Teenagers have their first encounter with the Hulk in this August one-shot by the all-star creative team of writer Jeph Loeb and artist David Finch.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

Pittsburgh--This just in. The Pittsburgh Comic Con taking place this weekend, April 27-29th in Monroeville, PA is hosting it's amazing charity auction to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation this Saturday, and Michael Golden's heart-pounding rendition of the savage Hulk will be smashing in to add some mean-green-machine muscle to the worthwhile occasion.

Measuring an ample 24x24, this canvas giclee by Golden is an artist proof of 1/1 signed by the creator, and features his rendition of a classic rampaging Hulk dealing with a little rush hour traffic. It's a perfect Golden piece to appear as this same work has just been selected for inclusion in the renowned magazine, "Spectrum 14," not to mention that Golden is the main designer for all the Hulk signage at Universal Orlando. Yup, that Hulk in the Orlando airport is indeed a Golden!

This is a rare opportunity to own a Hulk piece by Rogue's co-creator and help a great charity all at the same time. And, as if you needed another reason: ON THE BACK of this stretched cotton canvas, available only at the Pittsburgh Comic Con charity auction, is an original Michael Golden sketch!!! We suggest framing this piece so that you can also display the original pencils bursting from the seams of this fantastic piece of artwork.

And, as mentioned, it's all for a terrific cause--Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has granted the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions, reaching more than 144,000 children worldwide, and becoming one of the world's most well-known charities while maintaining it's grassroots ideals. As the Foundation continues to mature, it's mission will remain steadfast; working so that children of the past, present, and future will have an opportunity to share the power of a wish. (Visit www.wish.org for more information.)

While Golden won't be on hand at the Pittsburgh show this year, you can bid on this work as well as pieces by many attending artists, at the auction scheduled for Saturday, April 28th from 7:00-10:00 pm. For more information on the Pittsburgh Comic Con and possible proxy bidding on this piece, contact pcomicon@floodcity.net or visit www.PittsbughcomiCon.com

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComixFan.com:

GREG PAK: HULK SMASH PUNY ILLUMINATI!
By Gary M. Miller, Comixfan Staff Writer

Since his entrance into the comics scene in 2005 writing such Marvel Comics titles as Warlock and X-Men: Phoenix Endsong, independent filmmaker Greg Pak has seen his star steadily rising. Now, after over a year reporting the Incredible Hulk's adventures on the faraway planet Sakaar, during which the titular hero has seen a rise in sales and growing appreciation in the comics press and public, Greg--and the Hulk--are off to war. (No, not Civil War--that event is so 2006.)

World War Hulk is a five-issue miniseries with tie-in issues across the Marvel line. Recently, Comixfan talked to Rhodes Scholar (!) Pak about "Planet Hulk," World War Hulk, and all the minutiae that have made The Incredible Hulk into one of Marvel's "must-read" series.

Comixfan: For those who haven't been following "Planet Hulk," give us some background on the saga that's been going on for this last year, leading inexorably into World War Hulk.

Greg Pak: A group of so called Marvel "heroes," including Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Dr. Strange, and Black Bolt, decided the Hulk was a monster and exiled him to an alien planet. Weakened by the trip through the wormhole that took him to the savage planet of Sakaar, the Hulk was enslaved, then forced to become a gladiator. Bonding with his fellow gladiators, the Hulk became a rebel, fighting against the wicked Red King and eventually becoming the planet's conquering emperor, taking the great woman warrior Caiera the Oldstrong as his queen.

Now the Hulk is returning to Earth. And he's going to teach those who exiled him who the monster in this story really is.

Comixfan: The genesis of "Planet Hulk" was in Joe Quesada's vision of the Hulk holding a giant broadsword in an alien landscape. What, then, was the impetus for World War Hulk?

Pak: From the beginning we knew that if you send the Hulk away, he'll eventually come back. And much smashing would ensue.

Comixfan: What separates this "Hulk vs. Everyone" story from previous such battles?

Pak: In the classic battles in The Incredible Hulk #300, #316, and #321, the Hulk was insane -- mindless rage personified. He'd been stripped of rationality by Nightmare in #300--in #316 and #321, Banner had been separated from the Hulk's body by Doc Samson. But the Hulk's not only fully aware of who he is and what he's doing -- during the course of his time on Sakaar, he's developed an entire ethos and community. When he comes back to Earth, he knows exactly what he's doing and why and is utterly convinced of the justice of his actions -- which should make him far more terrifying to those who are in his sights.

Comixfan: You've touched on changes to the Hulk since the last time such a large-scale battle has occurred. Can you elaborate?

Pak: The Hulk has been through many different incarnations -- the average person's probably most familiar with the caveman-speak savage Hulk and the mute Hulk from the television series. But for "Planet Hulk," we're taking inspiration from Peter David's run as well as the original Stan Lee stories from the very first appearances of the Hulk back in the 1960s. Our Hulk is crafty--he doesn't say much, but when he speaks, it's clear he knows exactly what's going on and how to deal with things. He's smart enough to learn and strategize -- which means he can understand and take responsibility for his actions. But at the same time, he's as angry and savage as ever. So we have a character who can really struggle with this central question of whether the Hulk is a hero or a monster.

During the course of our story, the Hulk's grown from someone who's full of rage towards everything and everyone to someone who's actually begun to trust the people who prove themselves to him. The strength and anger which make humans call the Hulk a monster are actually virtues on the savage planet of Sakaar. And as he's led the Warbound gladiators against the Red King, the Hulk has begun to wrap his head around the possibility that he might actually have a place, a world, a people, and a Queen to call his own.

Comixfan: The Hulk's alter ego, Bruce Banner, has been conspicuously absent from the majority of "Planet Hulk," and gone with him the dichotomous tension some say is essential to the Hulk. Will this dynamic change in World War Hulk? And how does the metamorphosis between man and monster operate these days?

Pak: Banner's always been present in "Planet Hulk" -- we just haven't seen him. We've given some hints in The Incredible Hulk #103 about Banner's evolving relationship with his big, green alter ego -- more will be revealed during the course of World War Hulk.

Comixfan: The Hulk can be a formidable force by himself, but he's had his "Warbound" group to side with on Sakaar. Introduce us to some of the Hulk's allies during World War Hulk.

Pak: In The Incredible Hulk #103, Hulk married the wicked Red King's former bodyguard, the fierce woman warrior known as Caiera the Oldstrong. His other allies include the insectivorid Miek, the last king of his dying race; the nameless Brood Creature, perhaps the last surviving member of the species best known as impacable X-Men foes; Korg the Kronan, a great stone man who was one of the very first opponents of the Earth hero you puny humans know as Thor; Elloe Kaifi, an angry young Imperial woman from Sakaar; and Hiroim the Shamed, a Shadow Priest turned warrior.

Comixfan: Tell us more about the Hulk's queen, Caiera--how the idea for her came to be, and explain the differences between her and love interests in the Hulk and Banner's past.

Pak: One big idea of "Planet Hulk" was to see how the Hulk would react if he were thrown into a world where his anger and strength might actually be virtues. Caiera is a woman warrior on this savage planet who can actually match the Hulk's strength -- and appreciate him precisely because of his fury and power. I'm a big fan of previous Hulk/Banner love interests, such as Betty, Jarella, and Kate Waynesboro. But most of these women spent most of their time in love with Banner, or in love with the Banner in the Hulk's body. Caiera may be unique in loving the Hulk first and foremost as the Hulk.

Comixfan: Which of the Hulk's Warbound allies has been the most interesting/fun to write? Why?

Pak: I love 'em all. Korg has probably been the most fun from the beginning--he's a rock, the Warbound's heart and soul, and I've really enjoyed finding his steady voice. More recently, Hiroim's been developing in interesting ways--his spiritual struggle feels more compelling with each passing issue. But it's Caiera who's been the most gratifying to write over the past few issues -- she's grown enormously as a character, progressing from the Hulk's enemy to wary ally to lover and Queen. She has incredible strength and integrity -- it's been a real kick watching her develop.

Look for big moments for...[all of the Hulk's] Warbound -- in the pages of World War Hulk.

Comixfan: The Hulk seems to be quite at home on Sakaar. He's king, he's married, he has friends there. Is he merely returning to Earth for revenge, or is there more to it? And do all of the Hulk's Warbound brethren reach Earth?

Pak: At least three will return with him. Beyond that, I can say no more. All will be revealed in The Incredible Hulk #105, the climactic issue of the "Planet Hulk" saga.

Comixfan: The converse of the above: who are some of the Hulk's main antagonists once he returns to Earth?

Pak: The Hulk has four principal targets -- Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Black Bolt, and Dr. Strange, the four so-called heroes who exiled him to Sakaar. But anyone who gets in his way had best update any relevant health insurance documents.

Comixfan: With all the emphasis on the Hulk's new warbound friends and on the conflict with Earth's superheroes, will the Hulk's main friends on Earth, such as Rick Jones, Betty Banner, et al, be seen during this conflict? What about General Ross, and the Hulk's other foes?

Pak: I can't say too much for fear of spoilers--but at least one of the characters you mention above will play a key role in World War Hulk.

Comixfan: Much has changed since the Hulk departed Earth--all more or less detailed in 2006's big Marvel event, Civil War. How does the Hulk view what has happened in his absence, and how do those situations play into the setup for World War Hulk?

Pak: Again, I can't say too much for fear of spoilers, but fallout from the Civil War has affected a number of characters in interesting ways--and may help determine which Marvel heroes are crazy enough to actually side with the Hulk when he returns. The story of these heroes is told in The Incredible Hulk #106 to #109, which runs concurrently with the World War Hulk miniseries.

Comixfan: Could this same storyline have been told without the backdrop of Civil War? Why or why not?

Pak: In an interesting way, this story has framed the Civil War. The Illuminati exiling the Hulk heralded the beginning of the divisions that led to Civil War; now, the Hulk's return will play out against the aftermath of Civil War.

Comixfan: What will the main thrust of The Incredible Hulk (the main title) be during World War Hulk?

Pak: We all know who's going to fight the Hulk when he returns--but who will fight for the Hulk? The ongoing series follows teen-genius-on-the-run Amadeus Cho, a.k.a. Mastermind Excello, as he tracks down potential allies of the Hulk in anticipation of the Green Goliath's return to Earth. [If you're interested in seeing where She-Hulk and Namor stand, don't miss The Incredible Hulk #106 and #107, respectively.

Comixfan: From writing the World War Hulk mini so far, have there been any characters, aside from the Hulk and his Warbound brethren, who have stolen the show, or been just plain fun to write? Who and why?

Pak: Within World War Hulk, I'm having a ton of fun with Dr. Strange--his scenes promise to be both poignant and terrifying. Within The Incredible Hulk book, Amadeus Cho and Hercules are a huge amount of fun to write -- they're part of a group of renegades who will play a critical role in The Incredible Hulk #108 and #109.

Comixfan: What other Marvel staffters were involved in planning World War Hulk?

Pak: Editor Mark Paniccia is my chief partner in crime. But in a project this big, many, many people have provided input along the way. Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada has played a critical role, all of the various Marvel editors have had their say, and the project's been discussed at a number of creative summits where other writers had a chance to bat ideas around. And now that the tie-in books are underway, there's a whole 'nother group of writers and editors that we're conferring with as we proceed in order to make sure all the stories make sense and fit together.

Comixfan: As a first-time writer of a line-wide event, what have you found to be the pros and cons of writing a story on such a big scale?

Pak: The pros include having the chance to play with all the toys in the Marvel Universe at once, which is incredible. The cons include the fact that a story gets analyzed by a dozen or more people and you have to constantly convince the group of how essential and awesome each element of the story is. Of course, in many ways, that's actually a positive, since the rigorous criticism and feedback you get on a project like this can really hone a story in a fantastic way.

Comixfan: World War Hulk will have many tie-in issues (a Peter David-written prelude, World War Hulk Prologue: Worldbreaker; Christos Gage's World War Hulk: X-Men mini; etc.). How much freedom have you had in shaping the storyline, how much coordination have you done, and how much have you left to your capable editor, Mark Paniccia, and Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada?

Pak: With an event this big, there are a million different factors which can affect the story -- from practical issues like publishing schedules to creative challenges like making the story work in conjunction with dozens of other ongoing stories within the Marvel Universe. Throughout the months of story development, there were multiple times when Mark and I would need to rework the outline based on a brand new kink. I think the trick is to know what your story is--to fully understand the central premise and emotional experience of your main character. Then you can roll with the punches, adjusting small and big details when necessary, because the central story's crystal clear--it's just a matter of choosing the best path to take in telling it.

Without a doubt, Mark's the true coordinator -- the grand shepherd of the entire event. But he's pulled me into every stage of the process as the kind of resident expert on the characters and stories and themes of "Planet Hulk" and World War Hulk, which has been great -- it's always fun to talk with other writers and it's a blast to bounce ideas around and see what folks are doing with the characters. I've been trading emails with Paul Jenkins (who's writing the Frontlines tie-in) and Christos Gage (the X-Men and Iron Man tie ins) and just had a very fun exchange with Zeb Wells regarding his Heroes for Hire crossover, which'll have everyone buggin' out.

Comixfan: The classic trouble with line-wide crossovers often comes down to style over substance. What differentiates World War Hulk from other big events?

Pak: Just about nothing promises more incredible action that a Hulk-versus-the-Marvel Universe storyline. So for sheer visceral thrills, you just can't beat World War Hulk. But what makes the story really work is the emotional arc at its core. We've been planning this story for years; it's the culmination of all the character building that's been going on all year in "Planet Hulk." This isn't just the biggest action piece in ages; it's also the biggest and most critical emotional and character piece for the Hulk in recent memory. Don'tcha dare miss it!

Comixfan: Well said. On that note, let's start closing things out. Personally speaking, what have been the highlights of working on The Incredible Hulk for your first year?

Pak: Every single issue's been a highlight. Honestly, "Planet Hulk" may be the most gratifying creative experience I've had thus far in comics--working with editor extraordinaire Mark Paniccia, artists like Carlo Pagulayan, Aaron Lopresti, and Gary Frank, and the entire creative team has been a dream. I think all of us have felt that the book is something special and have gone that extra mile to make every panel and every word as perfect as possible. I remember talking with Chris Sotomayor about the color palate of the planet -- he came up with the brilliant idea that the Hulk should be the only green thing we see--except for Caiera's eyes, giving a kind of subtle hint of their eventual relationship. I remember Aaron Lopresti doing five or six layouts of one big splash page until he found just the right image. I remember assistant editor Nate Cosby calling me to talk about the best word to pick for the Sakaarian equivalent of "mile." It's been an amazing experience, and I hugely appreciate all of the people who have worked so hard to make it come together.

Comixfan: You say one of the key lures to World War Hulk is matching the Hulk against the entire Marvel Universe. What do you have to say to those out there who may not be huge Hulk fans and are sitting on the fence as to whether to participate in Marvel's latest big crossover story?

Pak: First, you should be a Hulk fan! The ginormous hardcover trade of "Planet Hulk" is coming out in June, I believe, and that's a great chance to jump on board an epic Hulk tale that leads right into "World War Hulk." A large number of our readers hadn't ever read the Hulk or hadn't followed the book for years and are now hooked--it's an easy place to start, so come on board!

Second, World War Hulk features some giant moments for a number of key Marvel heroes as they face the consequences of their actions from before and during Civil War. If you want to find out what's happening to the big guns in the Marvel Universe this summer, you need to read World War Hulk.

Comixfan: One last thing: have you gotten your "Planet Hulk" action figure (released as part of the first wave of Hasbro's Marvel Legends series) yet? Seeing such a thing must be a pleasant surprise.

Pak: I did indeed get it, and it's awesome. Of course, now I want figures of Caiera and Korg and Hiroim and Brood and Elloe and Miek...

Comixfan: Thanks for the great interview, Greg. Anyone wishing to know more about Greg's future projects can visit his website, http://www.pakbuzz.com!

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

The Hulk begins his return home to Earth today—the first installments of Marvel’s World War Hulk event begin hitting shelves this week. The past year and a half has been a tumultuous time for the big jade behemoth after the Illuminati, a secret sect of Marvel’s most powerful and influential heroes, decided to “fix” the Earth’s “Hulk Problem” by tricking him into getting onboard a spacecraft and shooting him off into deep space. Little did they know that the errant craft would travel off its mark—landing on the planet Sakaar—a segregated and war torn world that barely supports a number of other monstrous races and refugees from all over the galaxy. Not a guy to take things mildly, the Hulk takes charge of his imprisonment on this strange world and liberates others like himself who are stranded on Sakaar and they make a pledge to one another to honor their struggles together—‘Warbound’.

After unifying the differing cultures of Sakaar with his ‘Warbound’, the Hulk transforms from hated monster to revered King—creating salvation for a crippled world and giving his monstrous brethren a second chance at happiness in their new utopian civilization. Of course, just as everyone gets comfortable—calamity strikes. The craft that carried the Hulk to Sakaar explodes—its nuclear powered core detonates, killing millions including the Hulk’s new queen, Caeira, who was also pregnant with the Hulk’s child. Fueled by the rekindled blind hatred for his former friends on Earth—the Hulk gathers his ‘Warbound’ and they make their way to Earth in a gigantic stone spaceship. He means to extract the pound of flesh that is due to him.

Newsarama had an opportunity to sit down and talk with Greg Pak in retrospect about Planet Hulk; about some of the creative decisions behind the 14 part storyline; and to try to get him to reveal some secrets that may foreshadow upcoming events in the next chapter of his epic story involving the Incredible Hulk.

Newsarama: Let’s start back at the beginning - how did the idea for Planet Hulk come about?

Greg Pak: One fine afternoon a couple of years ago, Marvel Executive Editor Axel Alonso walked me down the hall of the House of Ideas to hear Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada speak eight magic words: Hulk. Alien planet. Gladiator ring. Monsters. Battle-axe. And I was hooked.

The basic idea was that it was time for the Hulk to smash, and a savage alien planet felt like the perfect place to do so. Joe and the other Marvel editors threw a few plot points at me and let me go to town. Editor Mark Paniccia has been my partner in crime every step of the way, helping me think through all of my insane plans and hone the epic tale that became Planet Hulk. It’s been the most fun I’ve ever had writing comics thus far.

NRAMA: What was the biggest challenge you had writing the Hulk, and conversely, what came to you easily?

GP: The scenario of epic heroic science fiction was something I was immediately and entirely comfortable tackling. And the fundamental themes of the price of anger and hero-versus-monster made complete sense to me. This is the kind of classic, epic hero story I grew up reading and loving—it was a huge kick in the pants to have the chance to work on this kind of project with the Hulk.

Probably the biggest challenge was nailing down the Hulk’s speech pattern. In the end, I found myself thinking about Clint Eastwood in his Spaghetti Western days. The less he says, the more powerful and compelling a character he becomes—and the more you pay attention when he does speak.

NRAMA: Psychology has always played a role in the many incarnations of the Hulk. It seems like the Hulk and Banner are “playing nice” in that Banner seems to be letting Hulk run the show and it seems like Hulk, through his experiences on Sakaar, is getting a better understanding of Banner—could you elaborate on this? Could this be the makings of a better more “gestalt” Banner/Hulk union?

GP: I’ll just say that the glimpses we got of Banner in Incredible Hulk #103 indicate a surprising new direction for the Hulk/Banner relationship—and that will absolutely be followed up and elaborated on in the pages of World War Hulk.

NRAMA: Your Hulk is not savage; he’s definitely not Joe Fixit; and he’s not ‘the Professor’; he does bear a little similarity to ‘the Maestro’ in that he’s succeeded in creating a kingdom, he’s cunning, and he’s not afraid to use a little force to get the job done—just who is this incarnation of the Hulk?

GP: Fans have invented the term “Gravage Hulk” for the incarnation that combines the craftiness of the Gray Hulk with the unpredictability and power of the Savage Hulk. This is the version of the Hulk that Peter David left us after his brief return to the title—and it was a perfect match for Planet Hulk. This was an emotional epic—the Hulk’s entire worldview changed during the course of the story; we needed a character who could learn and grow from his experiences. The Gravage Hulk was smart enough to genuinely struggle with the big theme of hero-or-monster but savage enough so that audiences would never quite know which way he’d go.

NRAMA: There seemed to be an indication of an underlying allegorical political statement about some current events taking place in the real world within the Planet Hulk storyline—at one point during the story it seems that the oppression of the Red King was an accepted societal norm—and some of the loyalists seem to cling to belief system of the ‘Old Regime’ even after the Green King came into power. This could be drawn to a comparison to the U.S. liberating Iraq from the tyranny of a ruler like Saddam Hussein. Was that intentional?

GP: I’m a huge fan of the new Battlestar Galactica, which is layered with political allegory that can be interpreted in many different ways, from multiple perspectives. I’ll leave it to readers and critics to draw their own conclusions about the allegories in Planet Hulk.

NRAMA: As far as the Hulk being a ‘tragic’ character in the Marvel Universe, you seem to be adding to heavily to that end of the character’s mythos—do you think that tragedy is the sole theme that makes the Hulk a successful character? Will the Hulk will ever get to know happiness beyond any fleeting moments?

GP: The key theme driving just about every great Hulk story is rage. And, as every great religion, myth, ethical system, and piece of literature tells us, rage, no matter how justified, has a price.

NRAMA: Are you ever going to further explicate how the Hulk had reached an alien culture and their prophetic folklore/oral tradition/religion?

GP: I’ll just say that that aspect of the story isn’t over—the characters, world, and prophecies of Planet Hulk will play a big role in our ultra-secret follow up to Planet Hulk and World War Hulk.

NRAMA: “A world for monsters, ruled by a monster.”—This seems to sum up the totality of the Planet Hulk experience. Was the primary function of the Hulk’s compatriots, a rather motley crew, to solidify this concept creatively?

GP: It was definitely a conscious choice to surround the Hulk with monsters. Part of the big idea was that as the Hulk came to bond with his fellow gladiators; he could see them as heroes rather than monsters, and maybe begin to see himself the same way. For some reason, I’m always sympathetic towards those characters everyone else calls monsters. In many ways, that’s the essence of Marvel’s classic characters, from Spidey to the X-Men to Ben Grimm—they’ve all been labeled monsters. Their determination to do the right thing anyway, time and time again, is what makes them heroes. That’s a classic kind of story—very similar to American Westerns and Japanese samurai movies, actually, in which the gunslinger/swordsman hero is hated and feared by the very townspeople he ends up saving.

NRAMA: Several elements have been added in the background of the story with Hulk’s crew, would you like to give any kind of clues or drop some hints that might foreshadow their developments alongside the Hulk during his return to Earth?

GP: Korg is one of the Kronans (the so-called “Stone Men from Saturn”), they were Thor’s very first antagonists way back in Journey Into Mystery #83. The Brood is one of the Warriors-Prime sent by the Brood Queen to fight the X-Men back during the classic Claremont era. Whether these historic links will pay off in World War Hulk remains to be seen...

But the two most important things to remember about all of the Hulk’s companions is that first, in the slave pits of Sakaar, they became Warbound to each other and the Hulk. Through blood and fire, they have sworn the oath that cannot be broken and will stand by each other and the Hulk to the very end. Second, each and every member of the Warbound is as full as rage and grief as the Hulk. When the Illuminati’s shuttle exploded, it destroyed the new world they were creating, shattered their dreams of a place to call their own, incinerated a million people, including all of their friends and loved ones. They’re utterly convinced of the righteousness of their cause—the puny humans have never known such wrath.

NRAMA: Speaking of one of those warbound for a moment - should readers worry about the Hulk bringing a Brood to Earth? In certain instances, the biology of species tends to mutate—is there a potential danger in the mating of Miek and the Brood, possibly a deadlier, mutated species?

GP: I can’t say too much for fear of spoilers. But fans of the Brood and Miek absolutely won’t want to miss the Heroes for Hire tie-ins to World War Hulk.

And of course there’s the old adage, which I think is attributable to Cary Grant; that no one really wants to hear about how great your love life is, but everyone perks up when you’re start talking about unmitigated romantic disaster...

NRAMA: With the destruction of the craft that transported Hulk to Sakaar—did the Hulk absorb another healthy dose of radiation?

GP: Yes, indeed. When he hits the planet for World War Hulk, he’ll be angrier and stronger than the Marvel heroes have ever seen him.

NRAMA: You’ve created a lasting piece of substance for the mythos of this character. Were there any points in the plot or story elements that were removed before the finished product hit the shelf? If you could make a “director’s cut” of Planet Hulk—is there any footage that hit the floor of the editing room that you’d like to include? Or is what came out the ‘definitive’ Planet Hulk?

GP: One of the bonuses of telling a story that takes place in outer space is that there are fewer chances for the plot to be waylaid because of what’s happening on Planet Earth. We were able to tell the exact story we planned from the beginning, which was fantastic.

Now in retrospect, and if we had all the resources in the world, it might have been cool to have a backup story running throughout the entire series taking place among Hulk allies on Earth, a bit like the “Planet Cho” backup story from Incredible Hulk #100. We had great circulation numbers throughout Planet Hulk—we actually gained readers pretty consistently throughout the run. But if we’d had an element in the story that related directly to Earth, we might have been able to pull on more readers earlier, and lay even deeper tracks for Hulk’s eventual return. Then again, I can’t complain at all about the way it’s panned out—sometimes less is more, and the slow burn and little hints we’ve dropped along the way about the Hulk’s return has set the stage pretty nicely for the insane smash-fest which is World War Hulk.

June 13th is the release of the Planet Hulk hardcover; it’s also the release date for World War Hulk #1—for more information on this and some of Greg’s other projects visit his personal website: http://www.pakbuzz.com.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

The first shots of World War Hulk have been fired and fans have responded by making Incredible Hulk #106 a smash hit! Marvel is pleased to announce that Incredible Hulk #106, the first part of the epic “Warbound” storyline, has sold out at Diamond. Forces on Earth are preparing for the Hulk’s return and this is where you’ll begin to learn who’s with the Hulk and who wants to get smashed!

“I know that we have a lot of epic to go, but if it all maintains the consistency and readability of these early chapters, we’ll be looking at one of the all-time definitive Hulk stories,” gushed Troy Brownfield of Newsarama.Com

Richard George of IGN.Com called Incredible Hulk #106 a “must-read” book of the week and said the issue contained, “a lot of great moments.”

Blake M Petit of Comixtreme.Com said that this opening salvo of World War Hulk, “should have readers really excited to see the war that’s coming.”

Please note that Incredible Hulk #106 may still be available at the retailer level. With the excitement surrounding World War Hulk and the quick sell-out of Incredible Hulk #106, Marvel urges retailers to check their orders on upcoming World War Hulk tie-ins. At this time there are no plans to go back to press on Incredible Hulk #106. Don’t forget to go back to where it all began, with the acclaimed hardcover collection of Planet Hulk, which laid the seeds for World War Hulk, and World War Hulk Prologue, offering an unprecedented look inside the mind of the monster. As the Hulk returns to Earth, things are only going to get bigger, so don’t miss a single upcoming issue of World War Hulk!

WORLD WAR HULK #1 (of 5) (APR072302)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Cover by DAVID FINCH
Variant Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR.
Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—5/24/07, On Sale—6/13/07

INCREDIBLE HULK #107 (APR072306)
Written by GREG PAK
Pencils and Cover by GARY FRANK
Rated A …$2.99
FOC—5/31/07, On Sale—6/20/07

HULK: PLANET HULK HC (APR072362)
Written by GREG PAK
Penciled by CARLO PAGULAYAN, AARON LOPRESTI, JUAN SANTACRUZ, GARY FRANK, TAKESHI MIYAZAWA
Cover by MARC SILVESTRI
Rated A …$39.99
On Sale Now!

WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER (MAR072086)
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by JOHN ROMITA JR
Rated T+ …$3.99
On Sale Now!

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Check out the cover to World War Hulk: Frontlines #6:

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

To meet demand from fans and retailers, Marvel is going back to press on the first two chapters of the epic known as World War Hulk—Incredible Hulk #106 and World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker. Both issues sold out quickly at Diamond soon after their release, thanks to the bold new direction for the green goliath and universal praise from critics and fans alike. Just look at these rave reviews:

“This special is absolutely critical reading…” – Rich George, IGN.com

“…a great source of information that covers crucial aspects of the upcoming events of World War Hulk…” –Steve Ekstrom, Newsarama.com

“With strong writers and artists, this prologue certainly got me excited to read more of World War Hulk. If this and the preceding Planet Hulk are anything to go by, it is going to be one fan-freaking-tastic event.” – FractalMatter.com

“Fascinating read and a compelling way to draw people in for the crossover.”—Hannibal Tabu, ComicBookResources.Com

Summer’s biggest blockbuster starts in these two issues and this is your chance to get onboard for this event if you missed out the first time! World War Hulk will leave the Hulk forever changed, but if you don’t get onboard now, how will you know why everyone can’t stop talking about this story? It’s Hulk vs The Earth—and the readers are the winners! With new covers featuring pieces of stunning interior art, there’s no reason for you not to smash your way to your local comic retailer and pick up second printings of World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker and Incredible Hulk #106! Please note that first printings of both issues may still be available at the retail level.

WORLD WAR HULK PROLOGUE: WORLD BREAKER 2nd PRINTING VARIANT (MAR078309)
Written by PETER DAVID
Penciled by VARIOUS
Cover by Al Rio
48 PGS./Rated T+ …$3.99
FOC—5/10/07, On Sale—5/30/07

INCREDIBLE HULK #106 2nd PRINTING VARIANT (MAR078308)
Written by GREG PAK
Pencils and Cover by GARY FRANK
32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99
FOC—5/10/07, On Sale—5/30/07

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

As we did with Editor Tom Brevoort after each issue of Civil War, we’re going to be tracking another Marvel “war” with World War Hulk editor Mark Paniccia, and writer Greg Pak.

Throughout the run of this summer’s World War Hulk, we’ll be turning to the writer/editor team after each major issue and event for insight, reveals and teases. Incredible Hulk #106 and World War hulk Prologue both hit last week, so let’s get right into it.

Newsarama: Starting off with Incredible Hulk #106 - where are we picking up from, exactly, with Jen?

Greg Pak: SPOILER ALERT!

Incredible Hulk #106 picks up right where She-Hulk #18 leaves off. Alas, She-Hulk #18 is running late, so Incredible Hulk #106 is hitting stands first. But don't let that keep you from reading it -- everything you need to know is right there on page one. And She-Hulk #18 will be a tasty follow-up for ya in a few weeks. Briefly, in the moments right before Incredible Hulk #106, She-Hulk learned that Tony Stark shot her cousin Bruce into space. So She-Hulk smashed Iron Man. And then got depowered and ditched in Jersey. Where Incredible Hulk #106 picks up.

NRAMA: Fair enough. Let's go inside heads a little, first with Doc Samson. Why's he sided with Reed and Tony in this? What's to gain for him in all of this?

GP: As a psychiatrist for Bruce Banner, Samson has always stressed the need for control -- so it may come as no surprise that Samson was on the pro-registration side all through the Civil War. It's also worth mentioning that a backup story in the Incredible Hulk Annual #18 showed Samson agonizing with feelings of responsibility for the mayhem that ensued when he separated Banner's mind from the Hulk's body, creating the savage, mindless Hulk. Perhaps by helping Reed and Tony with their plans to exile the Hulk, Samson feels that he's finally exorcising his own demons and feelings of responsibility.

NRAMA: Obviously, he's uncomfortable with all of this, and he tells Reed as much - why?

GP: Samson's uncomfortable about being told to use his knowledge of Amadeus Cho's tragic history to try to break him down emotionally. Samson may be a company man, but he's also a psychiatrist. And being told to use his psychological knowledge in such a way disturbs him. He's also not a mustache-twirling villain -- he doesn't take any pleasure in hunting down an orphaned kid, no matter how dangerous that kid might seem to be.

NRAMA: Okay - and after Samson's – arguably - cowardly attack on Jen and Amadeus - is he starting to realize he's been duped?

GP: Duped by Amadeus, yes. Duped by Reed? I don't think Samson questions Reed's leadership in this issue. If anything, Jen's raging violence confirms his side of the argument.

NRAMA: Picking up on that Reed tangent - looking at the shared universe aspect of something like this - we're seeing Reed in a particular light here, and a rather unflattering one. How much latitude do you have with him in regards to his growing douchbaggery? Obviously, given his role in FF and the Marvel Universe, he can't come off as a total skeev, but...honestly, it seems like you're walking him right up to that line...

GP: Reed's the antagonist of the story, but that doesn't make him a villain. He believes what he's doing is right, just as Amadeus believes what he's doing is right. And it's worth noting that Amadeus is just as cocky and potentially dangerous as his opponents. Tony and Samson conspired to depower Jen; Amadeus secretly repowered her and provoked her fight with Samson.

NRAMA: Let's talk She Hulk for a moment - when was it decided that Hulk would be coming back now, compared to when Jen's fallout from Civil War would fit in? That is, was Jen's role in Civil War decided by where she needed to be for World War Hulk, or was it all pieces that were worked on independently but fit together?

GP: The latter. Dan Slott and I had a number of great conversations wherein I learned that his plans for She-Hulk and my crazy ideas for her role in World War Hulk synched up quite nicely. With a little tweaking here and there to make things match up, we were off to the races.

NRAMA: That last shot of Amadeus, Herc and Angel - still...Reed knew that Amadeus knew he was watching him earlier. Why's he gloating about it now, and apparently thinking that Amadeus doesn't know Reed is watching?

GP: Maybe he's gloating too soon -- or maybe he knows he's smarter than Young Mr. Seventh Smartest Person on the Planet. Check out Incredible Hulk #107 to find out!

NRAMA: And speaking of Amadeus - Greg, when did it all start to work for you that Amadeus would be the guy that would fill this role as the Hulk's support staff organizer in World War Hulk? Obviously, you didn't create him with that in mind, but still...he fits in there nicely...

GP: In his very first appearance way back in November 2005, Amadeus had a close encounter with the Hulk. I always thought the characters had a few key things in common -- including an anti-establishmentarian outlook, an anger management problem, and a connection with the American Southwest. I have an outline for an Amadeus Cho miniseries which doesn't include the Hulk at all, but during the early stages of planning for World War Hulk, editor Mark Paniccia and I realized that there was a critical role that Amadeus could play and all the stars lined up.

Mark Paniccia: It was really fortuitous that Amadeus’ story in Amazing Fantasy Vol. 2 #15 had Hulk in it. It just began to make sense that, after he’s lost his world and been aided by the Hulk, he’d sort of see him as a rock star, that he could do no wrong. He’s got a lesson to learn, of course, but he’ll also give us an insight into Hulk that we’ve never seen before.

NRAMA: And one more about Amadeus for you Greg - just so we're all on the same page, explain Amadeus' powers...how does he see the world, and what can he do?

GP: According to the nefarious secret agents who ran the Excello Soap Company's Brain Game contest in which Amadeus won the title "Mastermind Excello," Amadeus is the seventh smartest person on the planet. He has the ability to immediately understand the underlying physics and mathematics of any situation -- as Reed Richards says in Incredible Hulk #106, Amadeus could stop a tank with one well-placed pebble. Amadeus can also do tons of other smart stuff, from hacking databases to encrypting communications to depowering S.H.I.E.L.D. attack helicopters via dial tones. And he's a huge repository of useless and useful information, such as the natural history of coyotes.

MP: I think it’s worth noting that the other thing that makes Cho dangerous is that he’s a kid. He’s potentially the next Reed Richards or Tony Stark but right now he’s a rebellious teen-ager with these incredible intellectual tools that are guided by emotion.

NRAMA: Moving over to World War Hulk Prologue - Mark, what was the purpose of the Prologue issue as a whole? What was left undone from Planet Hulk that needed to be done by the time World War Hulk started?

MP: I think that Planet Hulk covered everything it needed, and those following the title have all they need. The Prologue was there for new readers to understand the relationships of the Hulk and the Illuminati members—to not only confirm Hulk’s P.O.V., but those of Doctor Strange, Mr. Fantastic and Iron Man through the conversations between Jen Walters and Doc Samson, using key moments in Marvel history.

NRAMA: Let's talk about the Hulk's anger right now. We've seen him angry before. We've seen him really, really angry before - but comparatively...is he off the charts now?

GP: Yes.

NRAMA: Does this level of rage keep his powers maxed? After all, he is in space, without any kind of suit for days...

GP: The angrier the Hulk gets, the stronger he gets. And he has never been this angry before.

MP: He’s also in a different mental place than he’s ever been. The dangers of Sakaar, the fact that he was weakened and could be wounded—even killed—forced him to rely more on his mind than his blind rage, forced him to think differently, to strategize. One could say he’s never been more dangerous before.

NRAMA: With his brief appearances in Planet Hulk, one could get the idea that Bruce Banner was...at least finally, okay with the idea of the Hulk ruling the planet and all that had gone on. What about now? After all, the Hulk is scary when he's angry, but if we're talking about the Hulk with "puny Banner's" full blessing and support...that's something else entirely, right?

GP: The World War Hulk miniseries proper will absolutely explore this question.

NRAMA: So when will we see Bruce again, by the way?

GP: Our lips are sealed. But dontcha dare miss a single issue of World War Hulk.

NRAMA: Alright – back to the Prologue - in simple terms, what did Hiroim do for the Hulk?

MP: While Korg has been Hulk’s moral compass to a degree, Hiroim is a warrior who’s preached the art of battle to Hulk very carefully. What he does in the Prologue is force Hulk to understand his enemies, look into who they are so that he can properly attack, not just physically but with psychological warfare as well.

NRAMA: And finally - who's idea was the re-telling of Planet Hulk in the back?

MP: Mini Marvels is Assistant Editor Nathan Cosby’s baby. Planet Hulk and World War Hulk are so heavy, we didn’t think it would be a bad idea to give readers a little comic relief after the foreboding doom they’ve been introduced to.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Marvel’s World War Hulk isn’t your ordinary company cross-over event. It’s really a series of interconnected ‘reunions’: the Hulk returning to his home on Earth; some of the original Champions reuniting to help the Hulk in his crusade for vengeance; the Hulk’s fist reuniting with the faceplate of Tony Stark’s Iron Man armor; and the reunion of fan favorite artist Gary Frank with the character that garnered his first mainstream artistic success, the Hulk. Hot off of the successes of Midnight Nation and Supreme Power, Frank’s announced inclusion on Greg Pak’s follow-up to the epic Planet Hulk storyline was met with cheers and adulations from hardcore Hulk fans.

We were fortunate enough to steal Gary away from his busy schedule to chat with him for a few moments about his upcoming work on World War Hulk; as well as, his history with the character and his thoughts on some of the artistic talent rising to the forefront of the industry.

Newsarama: How does it feel to be returning to the Hulk? How are things different this time around?

Gary Frank: It feels great. The Hulk is always going to have a special meaning for me because it is the book that really got me going at Marvel in the US. I suddenly found myself drawing a character I had loved as a kid, which was great, and right slap in the middle of the greatest run from one of the book's greatest writers. It seems that anyone who has followed the Hulk's history has a special fondness for the stories that Peter [David] was doing around that time.

I've been dying to just get back to drawing the character again. In the intervening years since I was last on the book, I've thought a lot about how I'd like to approach things if I ever got the chance. Little things like the features having a brutal and ancient look to them, or trying to give the impression of great power without resorting to blowing him up into something grotesque with muscles upon muscles.

Coming back now was cool because it seems that Greg has really given the book a shot in the arm. People are talking about Hulk with an excitement that reminds me of the David/Keown times.

NRAMA: What do you remember of your initial stint as the regular Hulk artist?

GF: Just the good parts, luckily. Seriously, though, it was an unbelievable time for me. There were some great soap opera moments which were a lot of fun. I guess I was the reverse of many artists in that I found the character scenes easier in the early days than the action stuff so I couldn't have asked for more from Peter.

NRAMA: What’s it like to work with Greg Pak? Does he keep close tabs with you during your artistic process—or does he basically let his scripted work stand on its own?

GF: He scripts very tightly; but whenever I felt I needed to make an adjustment, he was always great about it. I think a good writer accepts that a reasonably experienced artist should know their own limitations and lets them have the freedom to fine tune the mechanics of the story-telling.

NRAMA: What’s been the most challenging part of The Incredible Hulk issues of World War Hulk for you as an artist?

GF: Well, there are a lot of technical issues that crop up when you draw a book that is part of such a big event. A lot of things have to marry into events in other books which means a lot of blank spaces being filled in as and when [the individual works are completed]. To be honest though, the challenge was the same as it always is. The thing I worry most about is clarity. Can readers immediately see what is going on? Do they know where this character is coming from? Those are the things I worry about most.

The thing that ruins a comic for me is the moment when I have to try to work out what is going on and, in that instant, lose the immersion in the story.

NRAMA: When you draw the Hulk—do you draw inspiration from anywhere? He’s not just some big green dude right?

GF: No, he isn't. The Hulk, to me anyway, represents something that exists within us—something primal and terrifying. To that end, I've tried to give him a kind of primitive, animalistic quality, like the sudden ‘throw up’ of ancient genes. He is a manifestation of our rage and unlimited potential for destruction—things we should have evolved beyond which we can't quite suppress.

NRAMA: Of Hulk’s new “Warbound” allies, who is your favorite? Of all of his overall supporting cast members—who do you enjoy drawing? Anyone not so much?

GF: Without giving the game away to those that haven't read it yet, I have to say that I loved doing She-Hulk. I love that book and what Dan Slott has done with the character so I was keen to play around with her (so to speak).

NRAMA: Do you have a favorite Hulk story you’ve worked on or piece you’ve drawn?

GF: I really enjoyed the wedding/bachelor party issues [from the original series]. They were a lot of fun. I find the art a little hard to look at these days, though. Presently, on the art front, I am pleased with the cover to #107.

NRAMA: Pick your favorite: Savage, Joe Fixit, the Professor, the Maestro, the Devil-Hulk, or the latest incarnation, what Greg Pak referred to in his interview with Newsarama as the ‘Gravage’ Hulk? What do you think fans should call Greg Pak’s version of the Hulk?

GF: Savage—definitely. It's the classic, pure version. I think [the newest] version should be called “Green Scar-tacus”.

We can drop the hyphen once it enters worldwide usage.

NRAMA: Who are some other contemporary comic artists that you enjoy? Have you noticed any young artists that are rising to the forefront of the industry?

GF: I should be careful because I don't know how old most of the guys are—being in Europe, I don't get to meet many of my peers—and I'd hate to offend someone who may have been working away for years while I remained ignorant of their career.

There are a lot of great guys out there at the moment. I don't get to read too many comics because I'm a long, long way from a comic shop that stocks US stuff—but there are guys whose work I will try and grab whenever it is available. At the moment, I really love looking at Leinil Yu's work. He draws with such balls and confidence. Can I use the word ‘confidence’? (laughing)

NRAMA: Yes, sure – just this once. What kind of advice would you give young artists that want to pursue careers in the comic book industry?

GF: Storytelling, storytelling, storytelling. All things come and go but a good story, well told, will always keep readers coming back. If you learn how to tell a story properly, there will always be a writer willing to throw you a script.

NRAMA: What projects will you be pursuing after World War Hulk ends?

GF: I'm afraid that announcement will have to wait for a little while yet. Sorry.

NRAMA: To wrap up, would you like to tease all of the bloodthirsty Hulk fans with any kind of tease in regards to anything you’ve had to draw for the project so far? Did you get to draw a certain “armored a-hole” getting smashed by the Earth’s mightiest mortal?

GF: For a panel and a half. The rest of that particular reunion happens elsewhere. I will say that the Hulk's meeting with Hercules will hopefully be savage enough to give the bloodthirsty Hulk fans their fix.

For the complete article with additional images, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Marvel.com:

From exile to furious return, a complete look at Hulk's journey

By Ryan Penagos

Read enough Hulk comics and you're bound to witness the Jade Giant proclaim he's the strongest there is. With "World War Hulk," it looks like he's going to prove it once and for all.

While "World War Hulk" is the summer blockbuster comic event of 2007, Hulk's saga of triumph and tragedy, love and loss stretches back nearly two years.

"World War Hulk" finds its origins in INCREDIBLE HULK #88-#91, the "Peace in Our Time" storyline. Tying in directly with the NEW AVENGERS: ILLUMINATI special, Hulk is led to believe he's recruited by Nick Fury to battle an off-world enemy that only he can handle. Unfortunately, it's all a ruse by the Illuminati--Iron Man, Dr. Strange, Professor X, Black Bolt and Mr. Fantastic--to lure Hulk off the planet.

Hoping to protect innocent lives and bring peace to the raging beast that is the Hulk, the Illuminati shunt Hulk off in a spaceship aimed at a lush, quiet planet where Hulk can live peacefully. Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned. Despite providing a message with their high-minded intentions, Hulk is enraged at being exiled. So, when Hulk's ship is mistakenly pushed off-course to a harsh, war-minded world, Hulk believes he's been lied to and left to die by those he once believed to be friends. But Hulk has little time to ponder the thought, as his new home on Sakaar welcomes him with violence and pain. Such is the beginning of "Planet Hulk."

A 14-part saga, "Planet Hulk" tells the tale of how Hulk goes from a gladiatorial slave to rebel leader to peace-brining king. Not only does Hulk bring peace to the people of Sakaar with his fellow gladiators and their followers, but he finds it himself with a kindred spirit--his queen Caiera. When Caiera reveals she is pregnant with his child, Hulk's world is complete.

But there are no happy endings for Hulk.

At the height of happiness, it's all taken from Hulk when the ship that brought him to Sakaar--designed, created and crafted by Earth's most brilliant minds in the Illuminati--goes nuclear, ravaging the planet and killing his wife and unborn child. In a cruel twist of fate, Hulk's time on Sakaar has made him stronger than he's ever been before, a fact that spares him from the death that befell Caiera.

With Sakaar dying around him, Hulk welcomes death. On the brink of destruction, Sakaar's strongest warriors--Hulk's friends and compatriots--come to his aid, promising vengeance and retribution for the loss of Sakaar and everything they held dear. With renewed purpose, the means to get there and the power to take on the Illuminati and all who would stand with them, Hulk and his warbound set off to Earth.

Revisit this page every week as new issues of WORLD WAR HULK and tie-ins are released and added to the gallery!

With the first shots of "World War Hulk" fired in World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker, the epic storyline spans more than 30 issues and numerous titles. Who lives? Who dies? Can Earth's heroes survive the onslaught of the Hulk at the peak of his power and rage? Find out in WORLD WAR HULK!

Click here to see the complete run of Planet Hulk/World War Hulk related covers and images.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Q: What's your favorite Hulk fight of all time and what Word War Hulk fight are you most looking forward to?

JQ: Of all time is hard to say, reinemann2, probably FF #26 in which the Hulk battled just about everyone. As for World War Hulk, to tell you my favorite fight would give away some story points, let’s just say that Round 1 is a doozy!

Cover to World War Hulk: Frontline #4:

Preview images from World War Hulk: Frontline:

For the complete article, click here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicsContinuum.com:

Marvel Comics on Tuesday announced that it will be using a different story for Incredible Hulk #108, pushing back the orignally solicited story to #109.

Incredible Hulk #108, written by Greg Pak, with art by Leonard Kirk and a cover by Greg Land, will arrive in stores on July 25.

Here's how Marvel describes the issue:

"Hulk has returned to Earth for 'World War Hulk' and now he must deal with his best friend Rick Jones -- but where does Rick stand? Is he with the Hulk or has he joined with those who oppose the Green Goliath? These answers and more come in the all new Incredible Hulk #108.

"No one in the universe knows Hulk better than Rick Jones, who's stood by the savage beast through the good and the bad, no one except...Miek The Unhived? As Hulk's oldest friend on Earth meets with Hulk's first ally on the alien planet Sakaar, fans will get a look into the mind of the one man to not only fight alongside Hulk, but to also suffer with him -- Rick Jones!

"This clash of worldviews will leave Rick and Miek very different people...if either friend of the Hulk survives! And how does this affect the Hulk?"

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicbookResources.com:

In round one of our TALE OF THE TAPE feature, CBR News had World War: Hulk writer Greg Pak playing fight doctor on the match up between the Hulk and Illuminati member Black Bolt. Now in round two we're pitting the Green King against the man with the biggest brain and the longest reach in the Marvel Universe, Reed Richards AKA Mr. Fantastic. Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

When the Hulk saw Reed Richards' face in the video recording left for him by the Illuminati, he was enraged by the treachery of a colleague and friend. Reed Richards and Bruce Banner have long shared a bond as two of the most brilliant scientists in the Marvel Universe, Pak told CBR News. They've collaborated multiple times over the years on various projects and Reed was typically one of the people that Bruce could count on to do his best to help him in times of crisis. Indeed, during the trial of the Incredible Hulk back in issue #153, it's implied that Reed Richards actually helped the Hulk free himself to escape an apparently certain conviction. If you can believe the recording that Reed left in the shuttle that exiled the Hulk from Earth, Reed considers himself a true friend of Bruce Banner -- his plan was to give Banner and the Hulk what he always said he wanted -- to be left alone. Given the way things have panned out, the Hulk clearly has reason to doubt Reed's sincerity.

Clearly, a huge proportion of the Hulk's fury will be focused on Reed, who told him he hoped the Hulk would finally find peace -- just moments before the Hulk was attacked and enslaved on the savage planet of Sakaar.

It's unclear yet whether Reed feels any remorse over his decision to exile the Hulk into space. Maybe as he's confronted by the Hulk's side of the story he'll have reason to question his own behavior, Pak remarked.

When the Hulk confronts Richards, he's likely to give the stretchy scientist his side of the story in the form of a savage throttling, but readers can bet that Mr. Fantastic will have a few contingency plans for dealing with the Hulk. As possibly the smartest person on the planet, Reed will no doubt have some insane new technological marvel to unleash upon the Hulk, Pak explained. But as always, his ace in the hole is his family -- his wife Sue, his brother in law Johnny, and his best friend Ben Grimm. But these same family members were deeply disturbed by Reed's actions during the Civil War' -- it remains to be seen how they will react when they learn about what Reed has done to the Hulk.

When the world's angriest man finally goes toe-to-toe with the world's smartest man there's one big factor that may decide the outcome. For all his brains and stretchiness, Reed remains a puny human, Pak said. Hulk, on the other hand, is the Hulk. You make the call.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on ComicBookResources.com:

Marvel is pleased to reveal the World War Hulk Countdown Clock, the only official way to count down the days, hours, minutes, even seconds, till the Hulk returns to Earth to smash those who exiled him into space! It's the summer's biggest event and now you've got a front row seat for the biggest return of the year!

And, in the Mighty Marvel Manner, we're also introducing banners that represent who you would like to see smashed by the Hulk. Perhaps Iron Man needs to be taught a lesson? Or does Reed Richards need to be shown that incredible is greater than fantastic? If you'd rather the Hulk choose a different opponent, then you'll love our blank, customizable banner!

Using the HTML provided, fans can easily add the countdown clock and banners to their message board signatures, MySpace pages, blogs, and anywhere else you want to show your support for the Hulk! We know you're rooting for the Hulk, but now you can get in on the smashing, courtesy of your friends at Marvel Comics!

To add this clock to your own site, download the clock HTML right here.

Wanna talk about this bit of news? Start a discussion over at the boards.

The following was originally posted on Newsarama.com:

Okay, so it’s a touch late.

And if you’ve read Incredible Hulk #106, you’ve got a pretty decent idea of what went down – well, in broad strokes, you do.

At least that’s how She-Hulk writer Dan Slott explains it, speaking to Newsarama about this week’s issue #18. As the cover (and Hulk #106) gives away, the issue features the big showdown between Iron Man and She-Hulk – a battle that She-Hulk ultimately loses, but oh, what a battle.

We spoke with Slott about the issue.

Newsarama: Dan, let’s start with the issue that goes on sale this week, #18. A touch late; but - people who've read Incredible Hulk #106 - didn't that show what happens in this issue?

Dan Slott: Yeah – there’s a lot of stuff on my plate, and I’m sorry this one slipped back a little, but to answer the question, it’s like that old MTV slogan – you think you know, but you don’t really know. There’s a lot of stuff going on in issue #18 that won’t just affect what’s happening i