"Planet Hulk" Graphic Novel/Prose Novel Comparison

            This is a comparison piece of the graphic novel and prose novel of the Marvel comics storyline “Planet Hulk.” If you’re reading this, note I have also given separate reviews of both the graphic novel and prose novel, so you can either pop over to them now, or finish reading this then pop over. If you read my separate reviews first, you are THE BEST! (Expect to see that again). My point of this is to give you an idea about “Planet Hulk” and if I feel none, either, or both of these presentations are worth the read.

            Now, here’s the clincher. Parts of the graphic novel AND all of the prose novel have been written by Greg Pak. I feel that that might make you interested in either or both as there is the same writer. BUT! And here’s the major BUT! There are several differences, and I will talk about a few and try not to give spoilers.

The main point of the story is as follows. Robert Bruce Banner had created a gamma bomb. During a test of the gamma bomb, Bruce ran into the test site to save a boy named Rick Jones, but Bruce was caught in the explosion. He survived, but now when angry, scared, or stressed, he turns into a green monster called the Hulk, which Bruce then has no control over and stays in Hulk form until the Hulk is calmed down and reassured. But the Illuminati, (Mister Fantastic, Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Bolt) felt the Hulk had done too much damage. Hulk was tricked to go to a satellite in space. The Illuminati THOUGHT they were sending Hulk to an uninhabited planet. But the ship was sent off course and he landed on the planet Sakaar. The Red King lords over Sakaar with a despotic grip. Hulk is weakened by the long trip and by the obedience disk and is sold into slavery at the arena. He forms a Warbound who fight for freedom so they can escape the arena and take the battle to the Red King.

           

            First off, there is a character in the prose novel, the Fifth Prefect, who either did not or only minimally appear in the graphic novel. Just so you know, my separate reviews of the prose and graphic novel have been read and completed at several times, so my memory might be a little wonky, but I’ll hopefully steer you in the right direction. But in the graphic novel, the words “Fifth Prefect” to my knowledge did not appear, while this character in the prose novel had a recurring story.

            Second, the character of Elloe Kaifi was featured very differently from between the graphic and prose novel. In the graphic novel (which came out several years before the prose novel), Elloe is part of the Warbound, the Hulk’s group of allies. And yet, her participation in the prose novel was rather limited. To me, her role in the graphic novel was enjoyable, yet her shortened role in the prose novel was a bit of a detraction. (Again, these posts have all been written at different times, there are DEFINITELY contradictions that seem vastly different over these three posts, but I felt differently at each point of me writing these posts, so just roll with me here (is that really a phrase? Or did I make it up? Whatever, it’s not all that great a phrase).

            Third, the role of Caiera in the prose novel built up steadily. In the graphic novel, it was spots here and there that featured her. Her characterization as a major character in the prose novel was more compelling, compared to her now and then appearance in the graphic novel.

            Fourth. The character Amadeus Cho in the prose novel was featured slightly more compared to his brief solo story in the graphic novel. I actually enjoyed his phone conversation with Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic of the Fantastic Four), his snarky attitude, overconfidence, and intelligence in the prose novel. He was an afterthought in the graphic novel.

            Fifth, the ending was VERY different between the graphic and prose novel. So automatically, I have to tell you that if you read one of the other, then ending is not the same, pretty much, at all. The climax in the graphic novel was lengthened a lot more, and in the prose novel, there was very little climax, just an ending. This was rather disappointing to read in the prose novel. Note that I read the graphic novel before I read the prose novel, that’s pretty important to know.

            Now I’d like to talk about the religious view featured between the two adaptations. Hiroim in the prose novel told much more of a religious history than in the graphic novel. Hiroim was called Hiroim the Shamed due to his expulsion from the Saka religious coven. There was a prophecy on the planet Sakaar, of the Sakaarson and the Worldbreaker. So this being, Hulk, from another planet, showing up to save Sakaar from its corrupt ruler meant that Hulk is either the Sakaarson or the Worldbreaker, which I can’t tell you if he is neither or one of the beings in the prophecy without spoiling the story. But the prose novel does include several pieces of Saka scripture which the graphic novel did not contain.

            Now, I’ll say a few things I felt while preparing to read the prose novel after I read the graphic novel. I expected the story to be almost EXACTLY the same, what with the story done by the same writer. I expected the prose novel to be an enhancement of the graphic novel, featuring the same story with minor changes and more fleshed out bits. This I DID NOT get. So did I have a problem with that? Yes.

            Moving on, I’m going to discuss whether I feel if the graphic and/or prose novels are worth reading, the accessibility needed to understand the story, and finally which adaptation I preferred.

Let’s start with the graphic novel. If you are a major Hulk fan, I recommend it. It’s a relatively good effort. The story does sometimes feel dragged on though, which is common when a storyline is determined to be a certain amount of issues where either more or less content is needed to fill the demand. Maybe if the story were an issue or two shorter, it could have been better. This would be a good book for those who like Hulk, and for those who like sci-fi comics, and readers who enjoy dystopian-style stories. We’ll get back to that in two paragraphs.

Now we’ll examine the prose novel. I recommend you read my reviews of the graphic and prose novel separate posts for full effect. But is the prose novel worth it? If you’ve read the “Planet Hulk” graphic novel and enjoyed it, I feel you should give it a try. If you like novels based on comic books, science fictions books, and the Hulk, I recommend it.

Now, accessibility. These adaptations are understandable to major Hulk fans, those who have interest in him from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or those who like dystopian-like stories as either comics or prose. It is very much standalone. No prior knowledge is required. I think anyone can pick it up and read either version. But, if you want to read both, I’d say start with the graphic novel before you read the prose novel. Character descriptions in the novel will probably give you different mental images than what you’d see on the page. But, yes, I get that some people read prose novels before perusing into visual, such as movies or television shows. If that’s your prerogative, that’s up to you. I personally read the graphic novel first. Note that the graphic novel was released years before the prose novel was penned, so if you want to go by graphic novel first due to release date, you go right ahead.

Finally, I’ll tell you that despite its flaws, the version I preferred was the prose novel, but the graphic novel had its points where it was better than the prose novel. I always hate comparing prose to other formats when there are massive differences between the two, especially prose to graphic novel adaptations. Many of the events were similar, but the differences were highly contrasting. If you only want to read one version of “Planet Hulk,” I’d say you should tackle the prose novel.

Okay, you still with me? Awesome, you are THE BEST! (I say that A LOT but I always MEAN it). So let’s wrap it up here. Thanks for reading! I have so much other content on this blog, I’ve done over fifty other posts and I’m nowhere near done. I don’t just do reviews, I have all different types of posts, so check it out. So, till next time, Tim Cubbin… out!