Nearly two years have passed since the epic conclusion of "World War Hulk," and the departure of writer Greg Pak from the pages of Marvel's Green Goliath. Since then, readers have seen a new Hulk emerge courtesy of Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuinness; however, many Hulk fans were left wondering if Pak had anything else in store for their favorite man-monster. It's true, in the interim he launched the Skaar series with Ron Garney, and therein, the storyline "Planet Skaar" just completed, with the story promised "To be continued...in The Incredible Hulk #601!" Pak is returning to the character he reinvigorated during "Planet Hulk" with the August-shipping issue, and ComicMonsters.com is here with the details from Mr. Pak himself, as well as some spiffy EXCLUSIVE preview artwork!

While Pak has been away from writing the Hulk's adventures until this month, he was quick to state that he's really been involved all along. "This is the first culmination of a crazy plan that editor Mark Paniccia, Hulk writer extraordinaire Jeph Loeb, and yours truly started cooking up over two years ago," he said. "Each of the books [Loeb's Hulk starring the Red Hulk and Pak's Incredible Hulk] will do its own thing, but Jeph and I have huddled in our secret workshop to hammer out a big master plan that will unfurl in all its shocking glory in due time."

"The new series should fully satisfy anyone who's been looking for payoffs to some key 'Planet Hulk' and World War Hulk elements--but it's also totally new-reader-friendly and should be a big, fat, green kick in the pants to anyone who cares about big, emotional character development and massive smashing with a real impact on the Marvel Universe proper," Pak said, adding that much of what is forthcoming in the title hinges on two individuals: Bruce Banner and Skaar, the Hulk's savage son from the planet Sakaar, who came to Earth in Skaar: Son of Hulk #12 in June.

Skaar had his own title for a full year, during which he grew and matured. That evolution reached its zenith in the "Planet Skaar" storyline, where he arrived on Earth and set out to find his father, who had by his reasoning, abandoned him. Once Skaar arrived on Earth, readers saw a markedly different side to him--his smaller, non-Hulk form. "Two or three years ago when we were discussing the book over lunch at Wizard World Philly, Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada was the first person to bring up the idea that Skaar might have a puny form. It always made sense to me that Planet Earth would be first place we'd see that particular incarnation--after all, unlike Planet Sakaar, it's sometimes possible to find a place on Earth where for ten minutes or so someone isn't trying to kill you."

Similarly, Bruce Banner has undergone his own evolution over this last year-plus--in fact, he's been evolving ever since his and the Hulk's involvement in "Planet Hulk." "At a certain point during the 'Planet Hulk' saga, Banner and the Hulk bonded. The Hulk may have been the dominant personality, but Banner was with him all the way. And as we learned when Banner helped the Hulk crush Strange's hands in issue #3 of World War Hulk, Banner shared the Hulk's fury and desire for vengeance against the Illuminati. But it remains to be seen just what Banner thought of the Hulk's untrammeled fury by the end of World War Hulk." Another question of importance to readers of World War Hulk will also be answered: how do the heroes who fought him during that saga think of him? After all, with Manhattan totally trashed, Banner should be Public Enemy #1, right? "You'll absolutely want to check out "Incredible Hulk" #601 for some key scenes directly relating to this question."

"As has just been revealed in Incredible Hulk #600, Banner is now Hulk-free--drained of all gamma energy by the Red Hulk. So we're about to find out what happens when big barbarian Skaar and puny human Banner come face to face." Pak adds that the relationship between Banner and his half-alien son may be a complex affair: "Skaar absolutely sees Banner as a different entity from the Hulk. Whether that's a good or bad thing for Banner remains to be revealed...."

Could the Banner/Skaar relationship have certain parallels to the relationship between Banner and his own father? "I still haven't read every Hulk comic book ever written (give me another year or so), so I'm still learning new things about the Hulk every day. I always knew Banner had an abusive father--but it was only in the last couple of years that I finally read all of the relevant issues and discovered that Banner actually killed his father. That's some pretty explosive material, and pretty darn relevant now that Skaar's arrived on Planet Earth."

He also remarked on an ability that the Hulk apparently generated due to the guilt over his father, and how it may play in issues to come. "The Hulk's ability to see ghosts was something I learned about pretty late in the game. That's a pretty fascinating angle that could be fun to explore some day."

Considering that the Hulk had a largely alien supporting cast during "Planet Hulk" and interacted with the Marvel Universe on a major level during World War Hulk, it's a fair question, then, who Banner and Skaar's supporting cast will be. "Now that we're in the thick of things on Planet Earth, literally anyone in the Marvel Universe could show up. And in the first issue, just about everyone just might," Pak says. What of the Warbound, who are still on Earth, and count among their number one of the Hulk's old girlfriends, herself now super-powered and possessed of an uncanny resemblance to the Hulk's dead wife? "Yep, that's Kate Waynesboro you're talking about, one of my favorite Bill Mantlo creations. Kate played a big role in Skaar #12. And we'll see her again soon--keep your eyes peeled in October."

Of course, Pak is deliberately mum on other matters, which makes us think we're in for some surprises. Asked about his favorite villains in the mythos, "This changes all the time depending on what I've just been reading, but right now, the Leader, Tyrannus, and the Absorbing Man top my list." Might we see some of these classic villains sooner than later? "Somewhere between sooner and later for at least one of the characters on that list. (How's that for the vaguest tease ever?)" Also, in World War Hulk, he briefly touched on the notion that the Hulk may be the "core" personality and Banner the "front." Even further, gamma-enhanced beings have been suddenly able to find each other (She-Hulk knowing the Hulk was on his way back to Earth, as well as her similar knowledge of Skaar; the Hulk's locating of A-Bomb and Red Hulk). "Keep on reading, True Believers!" he says coyly.

Pak is well aware of controversy surrounding the perceived lack of Hulk in light of Banner's cure, but tells fans of the silver lining: "While 'SMASH' must invariably follow 'HULK,' I've been eager to get my hands on Banner for a long time and I'm having an absolute blast writing him. We're in for some good, meaty character development as well as some wild new action as a result." He adds: "A Hulk book needs massive smashing. That's the visceral hook of the whole concept. At the same time, all that smashing only really pays off if there's an emotional story that works. Certain stories will require more Banner or more Hulk, and that's fine, as long as we get that crazy vicarious pleasure of the smash combined with the emotional complexity and character development that makes us care."

"The Hulk remains my all time favorite comic book character, and I have a slew of big stories in mind that I'd like to tell in the fullness of time," says Pak when asked how long he'd like to stay with the character. "For the moment, I'll just say that we have the next year's worth of smash figured out, and it's gonna be awesome."

Incredible Hulk #601 is on sale August 26. Find the latest news on Greg Pak at http://www.pakbuzz.com.

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