While continuing to be action-packed and beautiful overall, awkward pacing issues and the repeated tropes hinder The Incredible Hulk #711 from truly standing on its own. However, the ending promises not only a thrilling duel of epic proportions but also the potential for what the series holds in the future! Read Full Review

I don't think I've ever been more excited as a Hulk reader than in 2005, when Greg Pak was weaving the original Planet Hulk saga and drastically overhauling that character's role in the Marvel U. I wish that same sense of excitement and wonder was driving its sequel. But after three issues, Planet Hulk II still feels like a dull, unnecessary retread of the original. Read Full Review

If any of this arc or direction interested me then this dragging chapter's perfectly strong art and decent storytelling basics would have gotten a higher rating - but it did not...

After 3 issues, I can safely say that this series has been one of the biggest letdown of the year. When I heard Greg Pak was back to Planet Hulk, I was sure it would be epic and just plain badass, but it's clearly not what happened. WHile the art is nice and the action sequences are decent, the story lacks consistency and looks like a chaotic patchwork of what it could be. The sense of urgency is not conveyed through the dialog nor the story's pacing and Amadeus proves to be a bland character after all. The redeeming part of it is the ending and the hope for a real epic fight after all. Too bad they had to bring in another super hero to achieve something close to what I had hoped from the start.

The Hulk's interminable Gauntlet battle against the Generic Sakaar Warlord drags on, with this issue's final-page surprise promising us a no-doubt lazy script-flip of Thor: Ragnarok in the near future.

The general quality of storytelling in this arc (both words and art) remains close to average. (Greg Pak shamelessly stealing the best line from the Ragnarok trailer is a notable low, though.) This is my third serving of oatmeal in a row and the consistent blandness is pushing my rating down even if the gruel is otherwise inoffensive.

Cho-Hulk buying into the Warlord's obviously-rigged "rule by gladiatorial combat" system is profoundly disappointing. I think it's my dissatisfaction with that lazy, non-heroic decision that drives my fundamental dislike for this arc. *Some* heroes can descend into gladiating (not a word, I know) and find compelling stories on the bloody sand. Hairgel Hulk is not one of them. The entire point of him is tempering strength with intellect, but his behavior from page one of this arc has been childishly stupid.

On the ripoff front, check out the masks Greg Land puts on the Warlord's bodyguards. They're psychos from the Borderlands games, and this iteration of Sakaar does look a lot like Pandora. While the games' makers were keenly aware of the absurdity of their setting and mined it for both humor and drama, Greg Pak and Greg Land expect readers to take their flimsy imitation far too seriously. more