Having grown up reading black and white Marvel UK reprints, I love the Marvel Essential collection. It's great to read a series through in big chunks, filling in the gaps from stories I've read only partly before. Among my favourites in the series is Incredible Hulk. While other Essentials sit on the shelf for months if not years waiting for me to get round to reading them, I generally have to crack on with the next Hulk volume as soon as it arrives. As much as I enjoyed Peter David's psychologically challenging run on the character in later years... or the big dumb joyfest that is Jeph Loeb's current run... my favourite Hulk will always be the "Hulk smash!" one. I love everything about this character, despite the fact that his adventures follow a very predictable pattern. I'll let him explain...

"Hulk just wants to be left alone. If puny humans leave Hulk alone, Hulk will be happy."

"No, now puny humans are attacking Hulk - puny soldiers or stupid villains..." (who Hulk always gives a funny name to such as "Little Man", "Big Head", "Clock Man", "Stupid Magician", "Bug Man", "One Eye" etc. etc.) "...leave Hulk alone, puny humans or Hulk will smash!"

"Now Hulk is angry - puny humans think they are stronger than Hulk... but Hulk is strongest one there is - now Hulk will SMASH!"

In essence then, on completing Essential Hulk Volume 6, I have just read 26 variations on the plot above. And I love it. It's curiously cathartic.

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