The Incredible Hulk #606

So it's obvious that the mega-events in comics are here to stay.

In fact, the companies love them so much that they run more than one in any given month. At Marvel, they're running the Fall of the Hulks at the same time as Siege.

But where Siege is mostly self-contained, this Hulk storyline is running over a dozen issues, including one-shots, The Incredible Hulk, Hulk and Red Hulk.

So here's how I look at that sort of thing: I'm immune. If it's a story that I find interesting or compelling, I might pick up some of the ancillary titles that are riding the coattails of the main event. (I did that with Blackest Night and Secret Invasion, to name two.)

But if it's a story that doesn't really strike up my interest, I'll just continue to buy the comics I usually collect and assume I'll be able to figure it out as I go. I've been doing this for years, and it's worked fine so far.

So with the Fall of the Hulks, I'm only reading The Incredible Hulk (and I almost missed it this week, because the special branding left the title very small indeed).

So as near as I can tell, the battle lines are being drawn between a group called The Intelligencia (which includes The Leader, MODOK, The Mad Thinker and others) and the ever-growing Hulk Family.

Bruce Banner has been training his son, Skaar, to prepare him for the challenges ahead. And in this issue, he faces a big one, as Banner and son take on Dr. Doom, who is apparently showing up in every single Marvel Comic this month (how crowded his daily planner must be)!

The reason I've been buying this series is because it's written with wit and intelligence, and just when you think you know where the story is going, writer Greg Pak throws in a delightful curve. He's made Banner into a figure almost as fearsome as the Hulk - and that's saying something.

The art for this issue is provided by Paul Pelletier, and he turns in some powerful, high-energy work, with a great battle sequence between the Hulk and Dr. Doom.

This issue's a lot of fun. In fact, it's almost good enough to lure me into checking out the rest of the event's titles.

Almost.

Grade: B+