The Top 10 Greatest Hulk Stories Ever Told!!

[Mego Superboy Prime]

I have read the Hulk religiously since 1983 and stopping in 2003. At the end of my comic reading career I had read every single issue of the Hulk and every appearance he ever made. So I consider myself a somewhat expert. I do keep up on all the Hulk stories of today and go back and read the trades (only the ones I can stomach...sorry World War Hulks crap). And you should know that I don't like the Hulk stories of the 90's until today. I hated Peter David's Hulk run. I'm a pure classic Hulk fan from the Herb Trimpe years. This is the real deal Hulk in all his glory!! But even I have to stop myself from being so biased and come down with the hard facts of good characterization. And when it comes to that along with some good Hulk tales, there can be no doubt that Peter David brought a level of characterization to the Hulk never seen before. He also cleared up a lot of continuity flaws during the Hulk's fabled history. This is why he is considered the best Hulk writer (even though his Hulk was usually weak). For me, this is where Greg Pak has taken over. He can write the Hulk just as good but he usually shows the Hulk much more powerful (and I LOVE that). Now why am I telling you all this? Well, let's just say that when I'm giving my list of the greatest Hulk stories ever told I'm not using my own "childhood delusions" of the Hulk to rank my list. I'm sure after reading this you can give me your list and most likely some of the same stories I have listed here will be on your list as well. So let's see!

The Hulk has endured as one of Marvel's most popular characters and these are the stories, I believe, is what keeps him there. Without further ado, let's see what ranks as the greatest Hulk stories ever!!!


10. "Sasquatch!"
The Incredible Hulk Annual #8 written by: Roger Stern and John Bryne

9. "World War Hulk!"
World War Hulk (TPB), World War Hulk: X-Men (TPB)
Written by: Greg Pak (all the other writers just followed his lead)

8. "Monster!"
The Incredible Hulk (vol.2) #312 written by: Bill Mantlo

7. "Dear Betty.../Always on my Mind"
The Incredible Hulk (vol.3) #24, 25 written by: Paul Jenkins

6. "The Last Titan!"
The Incredible Hulk: The End (HC) written by: Peter David

5. "Of All Sad Words/The Lone and Level Sands"
The Incredible Hulk (vol.2) #466, 467 written by: Peter David

4. "The Brute That Shouted Love at the Heart of an Atom"
Hulk: Heart of the Atom (HC) written by: Ellinson, Thomas, Wein, etc.

3. "The Coming of the Hulk!"
The Incredible Hulk (vol.1) #1 written by: Stan Lee

2. "Future Imperfect"
The Incredible Hulk: The End (HC) Written by: Peter David



And the best Hulk story ever....





1. "PLANET HULK!!!"
The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk (TPB) Written by: Greg Pak



Agree, disagree, like, dislike???? Let me know and may Hulk smash all nonbelievers!!!

[BlackKnight]

WW Hulk was destroyed by Romita jr's art work imo.

I woulda put Hulk : Red Hulk in there somewhere's myself. I been collecting everything Hulk because of it, since.

[The Toyroom]

I've never been enough of a Hulk fan to even consider what I think are his "greatest" stories....

[Mego Superboy Prime]

WW Hulk was destroyed by Romita jr's art work imo.

I woulda put Hulk : Red Hulk in there somewhere's myself. I been collecting everything Hulk because of it, since.

Red Hulk??? Good GOD!!!

To each his own I guess

[BlackKnight]

To each his own I guess

Yeah ..., I guess, you wrote WW Hulk.

[bizzaro megomauler]

I might re- arrange a few of the lower stories on the list, But I think you nailed it.

[samurainoir]

Agree, disagree, like, dislike???? Let me know and may Hulk smash all nonbelievers!!!

Fantastic list! Although my rankings might differ and include a couple of other stories, I think you've captured a good sampling of the "Essentials".

It will be interesting to one day compare Barry Windsor Smith's original (and expanded) story with Bill Mantlo's Monster (which apparently took elements of Windsor Smith's unpublished story).

I always thought Jenkins' run was also highly underrated.

[Mego Superboy Prime]

Even I wanted some of the stories that meant more to me to be put in this list. But I tried to be as unbiased as I could be to just use the essentials. That's how I came up with this list and I really do think it's pretty accurate.

[samurainoir]

Since the Red Hulk storyline is still continuing, it will be interesting to see how it stands the test of time. They have set up some really cool stuff, but we still haven't seen enough payoffs given the amount of build-up.

I remember all the initial acclaim to the Bruce Jones run given how he managed to create a fantastic sense of paranoia and intrigue, but ultimately wasn't able to deliver enough "Smash" to justify all the initial drawn out suspense.

Even though it's only a few years old, I think Planet Hulk and World War Hulk will stand up given the fact that they gave us novel storylines that read well in collected self contained editions. At this point it really is tough to find new approaches and interesting storylines for The Hulk.

[Mego Superboy Prime]

Planet Hulk will last the test of time. They already made a dvd movie on it and now the Hulk mythos is built around that story more than any other.