Sometimes you pick up a cross-over event book, full of expectations and it can leave you feeling underwhelmed. This is not one of those times. There are panels in this book that will have your jaw on the floor! The writing, the artwork, these things will just leave you in absolute awe. But don't let me just tell you, get out there and pick this book up straight away! This has all the hallmarks of being a FANTASTIC Marvel cross-over and I'm really excited to see what future issues bring. Read Full Review

Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War Alpha #1 delivers what's on the cover Hulk vs. Thor! The story is pretty straightforward with the necessary recap to catch readers up to date on everything that's been going on for both heroes.The art by Martin Coccolo is dynamic and compliments Donny Cates' high-octane story, pacing, and dialogue. Hulk and Thor both maintain the spotlight while getting their licks in as the story follows through on the epic art, smack talk, tension, and action from start to finish. Read Full Review

Coccolo delivers some thrilling art in the issue. There are some great visual moments with the fights and the action is beautifully detailed. Read Full Review

Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War Alpha#1 is a well-drawn action comic that will satiate fight comic fans. It also does an exceptional job explaining the complicated backstory that has led Thor and Hulk here. For that alone, it's worth the price of admission. Read Full Review

Hulk vs Thor: Banner Of War Alpha is a good old slobber knocker of a fight. Sure there are some character moments that will speak to fans of the Thor and Hulk series. But at the end of the day Donny Cates and Martin Coccolo knew exactly what fans wanted to see and that was a big titanic battle between Hulk and Thor. That is exactly what we got and it did not disappoint in starting of Banner of War with the hottest start possible. Read Full Review

With Thor and Hulk rampaging through some make-shift Candyland, to these two both dealing with the ghosts of their pasts the similarities and differences of two of Marvel's strongest will prove to be an entertaining tale, and Cates and Coccolo can be trusted to deliver this since they have came out swinging here at the opening bell. Read Full Review

Well worth a look even if you just want to get this one as a one-shot and maybe check out the character series you are more a fan of going forward. Read Full Review

Hulk vs. Thor: Banner War Alpha kicks things off as promised. It's a comic, so far, about these two fighting, not much more. If you're looking for a decent reason or depth, this isn't delivering that. If you just want to see these two punch each other, then this is your pinnacle of entertainment. Read Full Review

Hulk vs. Thor: Banner of War #1 kicks off the next arc in Cates's run with stronger art but not much story. If all you want is an excuse to see Hulk and Thor duke it out, you get plenty of that here. If you want to know why the El Paso incident is such a big deal and why it's motivated everything since issue #1, you can probably skip this issue and not miss a thing. Read Full Review

If you're hoping for something of real substance, this comic probably isn't for you. But if wild comic book action is what you crave, this is the place. Hulk vs. Thor has wild for days. Read Full Review

Hulk Vs. Thor: Banner Of War is a fun comic. If Jude still calls Cates the bad boy of comics, then Hulk Vs. Thor: Banner Of War is that bad boy faithfully writing one of the oldest Marvel standards in the book. Rich put together an eleven-page preview here. Read Full Review

If you're looking for a comic with no more depth than Hulk and Thor fighting each other, this is the comic for you. Otherwise, spend your six dollars (!) elsewhere. Read Full Review

Incredibly fun and, surprisingly, not dumb.

A fun start to this crossover. One thing I already like about this crossover is that both titles are written by the same person, which I think only makes this stronger, as Cates already knows where he wants both characters to go from here. Talking more about the story itself, I appreciated that it catches the reader up on what's been happening in both Thor and Hulk's, respective, ongoing titles. I've kept up with both of them, but it's good to include for someone who's only reading one of the books or someone who hasn't read either of them (which if you haven't already, do yourself a favor and check out both runs). This was a lot of fun where Hulk and Thor beat each other up for a bit, with Hulk literally making a hole in his stomach in order to escape Mjolnir and get to his feet. All things considered, this one-shot sets a pretty good tone to begin this storyline. more

Not gonna lie. I really liked this. It's exactly what it markets itself to be. And if you don't like the idea, you probably won't like the execution.

I really liked the issue, it has good art and it seems to be very interesting and makes me excited for the rest of this event.

Really good art and just Thor and Hulk beating each other.

Well, the issue has its ups and downs, but epic moments prevail. Overall it's at least not bad. God, I hate crossovers... But let's see if it's at least good.

Good action and great visuals but, sometimes Cates goes bizarre with stuff, and it works, this was a case where it didn't work for me and made some parts feel corny.

This sure is one spectacular Hulk vs. Thor fight. It's a big opportunity for the artist to flex, and the visual results are formidable.

On the story side, though … Uatu promises that this will be a unique Hulk/Thor fight unlike any previous one. And that is not at all what I'm seeing so far. Even the first semi-revelation about the Hulk's El Paso mystery is underwhelming in its familiarity.

I did at least like the last-page twist, and Bruce's brutal solution to getting Mjolnir-pinned.

I'd rate higher if the Watcher/the author hadn't oversold this at the start.

It's Hulk vs Thor, not much else to report.

"HUlk...(yawn)...zzzzzzz"

I give the creative team credit, this comic had the potential to be terrible, but instead it was marginally above average.

I'm not sure why (aside from extracting the price of another comic from the readers) Marvel decided to kick off this crossover with an Alpha issue, as though it were a major event, and not something that will be forgotten in 2 years. But, here we are.

The story is wafer-thin. Hulk and Thor hit each other. That's it. Nothing more to see here. Move along. This comic expends 2 double-page spreads, each packed with tiny panels, to catch the reader up on events in the Thor and Hulk series that led to the present moment. Mileage may vary, but to me, it reads like a highlights reel of Cates' worst ideas. I have not enjoyed Cates' Thor, and I find his Hulk unreadable, so I was a bit surprised that I didn't hate this comic, but I'd be hard-pressed to give a good reason for why it exists.

The art is pretty good. We start with a Gary Frank cover that is downright excellent. Anyone following that has their work cut out for them. Martin Coccolo gives it the old college try. His page layout is very good, but his panel composition could be better. He does a great job on facial expressions, and his close-ups are very effective. His art style feels a bit loose, and panoramic shots that should feel cinematic fall a little short. Many of the panels have minimal or no backgrounds, making the comic feel slightly unfinished.

There's not story here. Cates is just bashing action figures together in the bathtub. This comic is full of odd sight-gags; the watcher eating popcorn, the arena splash imitating a fighting game, etc. There's weird stuff too, like "Betty" being back in Bruce's head after clearly being expelled in Hulk #6. If I had to guess, I'd say this was written before the end of the first hulk arc was completed. Hulk and Thor both talking to voices in their head. I think this was supposed to be deep or funny, but I feel like it just demonstrates that Cates is out of ideas, and simply repeating himself. Perhaps it's intended to be self-deprecating humor, but it fails even at that.

A cardinal sin of comics is explaining plot elements from a main series in a tie-in. This comic does just that, explaining that Banner is thought to be responsible for 17 deaths in El Passo. Why this should bother Thor, who's thousands of years old and has a personal body count in triple digits, is not explained.

If watching someone else play Mortal Kombat is your idea of a good time, this comic is for you, I can't recommend it for anyone else.

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