The green, Gamma-powered gargantuan of Marvel is about to receive an epic story in a series that looks back on the history of the Hulk. Cartoonist and Eisner Award recipient Jim Rugg will bring the world a duology that reinterprets over sixty years worth of Hulk stories in Hulk: Grand Design. The brand new chronicle of the jade giant’s past will be the latest in a line of comics to retell the saga of Marvel heroes for a new generation.
Announced of Bruce Banner’s journey. The follow up, subtitled Madness, will look at the following years with an emphasis on the multiple personalities the make up the Hulk.
The Grand Design concept was initially brought about by Ed Piskor with the six-part X-Men: Grand Design which went back through the major events in the history of the X-Men and compressed them into one long narrative. A similar follow-up story was created with the first family of Marvel in Fantastic Four: Grand Design written and drawn by Tom Scioli. With two issues, Scioli streamlined the notable events of the Fantastic Four's past and added his own stylized flair. What the Grand Design series all have in common, aside from a major reimagining of Marvel history, is the consistent use of critically acclaimed alternative artists to write and draw these stories. And for the Hulk, it looks like Marvel is keeping the trend alive.
The last few years have seen quite the reexamination of Hulk's past. Al Ewing spent the better part of his any recent line of Hulk comics.
The Grand Design series is a chance for Marvel to give fans, both old and new, recaps of their timeless heroes' most noteworthy events. By handing the reigns of these stories to critically acclaimed artists, readers will be treated to stories that honor Marvel history in new and creative ways. Fans of the Hulk will get to see how Jim Rugg will bring Bruce Banner's past to a new generation in March of next year.
