I remember working at a comic book store during the hugely long hiatus between issues 2 and 3 of this series. It was a running joke that the series would never be finished. So it's interesting seeing the first 2 issues summarized again in the 3rd one and the self-referential comments about the time-delay. Beyond that, the story was interesting - I'm always a fan of smart Hulk. ( )

I really didn't have high expectations for this trade; I only bought it because I really like Ultimate Hulk (really, the character of Hulk in any verse), and I wanted to see what had happened to him after he supposedly was executed for killing hundreds of people during a rampage in Manhattan (as seen in the Ultimates title).

Well, big surprise, the Hulk didn't die. Instead, he managed to survive a nuclear weapon and managed to make his way to France, then Ireland, then India, and finally Tibet. While in Tibet, he tried to find a way to quell the Hulk's anger and sort of succeeded...until Wolverine, who was sent by Nick Fury to "eliminate the threat" of the Hulk, tracks the Hulk down in his mountainside retreat. There's an epic battle - and the introduction of Ultimate She Hulk.

So, like I said, I didn't have high expectations, and I ended up loving this trade. The dialogue is witty, interesting, and really well-done, and there's a discernible plot that's actually quite good (which seems to be a rarity in the latter Ultimate books). The art is okay - rather sketchy at times, but I love some of the page layouts, which are really snappy and draw the reader's attention. I love the little nods to 616-verse - the biggest probably being that Logan is "Patch" for a little while - and Logan's scrapes (including ticking off a panda) are hilarious. Overall, a great trade from the Ultimate line.

Disambiguation note: This trade was released right around when the "Ultimate" line technically ended and the "Ultimate Comics" line started. So this trade is sometimes called "Ultimate Comics Wolverine Vs. Hulk." The book's spine says "Ultimate Comics Wolverine Vs. Hulk," while the book has "Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk" on the cover. They're the same book. ( )

Okay, so Hulk is unexpectedly still alive after having been nuked because of some rampage or another in which people died (always wondered when they would get around to changing that ridiculous notion of the most powerful being on Earth never having killed somebody during a rage). Tony Stark sends Wolverine out on a killing mission, and he and Hulk go at it. They really beefed up Hulk for this one; looks about 20 feet tall. So Wolvie gets the worst of their encounters, but we do get to see just how good his healing power is. Decently written, good artwork, and some imaginative takes on the strength and relationships of two of Marvel's most iconic characters. ( )