World War Hulk: Front Line by Jenkins, Bachs, Martinbrough and David

This graphic novel collects two stories of World War Hulk, a short piece called "Worldbreaker", where the Hulk and his warband are travelling back to Earth on their mission to take vengeance on those who hurt their world and destroyed the Hulk's wife, Caiera and their child. The Hulk's fury threatens to overwhelm him, and he nearly destroys one of them while battling the phantoms of those who took his life away from him. It is up to one of his bonded to calm him down and present a plan to take vengeance on the heroes of the Earth and Black Bolt of the Inhumans. Meanwhile, on Earth, Doc Samson tries to convince Jennifer Banner, Bruce's cousin, lawyer and formerly known as the She-Hulk, to support the heroes who want to banish or find another way to deal with the Hulk once again. But she thinks Bruce has been badly served by the other heroes, and has no intention of helping them throw him away once more. At the end, some connection lets her know that Bruce, now the Hulk, is coming, and he is pissed.

The rest of the Story involves two reporters, Ben Urich and Sally Floyd, and their efforts to start their own paper in defiance of their former boss, J. Jonah Jameson. They quickly gain critical acclaim for their stories, but it isn't until they are given a ton of money in the middle of the night from a man in the shadows that they are able to make a truly successful go of their paper.

Then, the Hulk returns from outer space, and both Ben and Sally are on the ground, covering the story while trying to remain alive and unharmed in the chaos that follows. They are there for the first appearance of the ship, and for much of the chaos that follows. But even though they are reporters following a story, they are also human beings, and are affected by what happens. Both of them try to get their loved ones out of the city when it is evacuated, and neither of them gets much sleep. Sally, an alcoholic, starts to drink again, and meet J. Jonah Jameson in a bar, where he taunts her about the paper and her status.

Meanwhile, Homicide Detective Danny Grantville, Sally's lover, tries to solve the murder of one of the aliens, an AI named Arch-E5912. What he doesn't realize, is that, in agreeing to track down the murderer, he has agreed to give up his life, along with an alien named Korg, who is working with him and will be his partner, if the killer cannot be found. Can he find the killer and save himself?

And Sally must decide what is more important... drinking, or her job. But an argument with her partner, Ben, leads her to a stunning realization about who and what is behind the money they were given to buy their newspaper. But can she level with Ben about the truth?

I liked this graphic novel, which was a nice "slice of life" from characters who weren't Superheroes, and yet had to deal with the fallout of World War Hulk. Seeing the heroes fight for the people, some of whom wanted nothing to do with them, was awesome, as the "adoring crowds of normals cheering the superheroes" gets rather old very quickly. But because we got to see a lot of this in the "World War Hulk" storyline, we didn't get up close and personal with Hulk forcing the Superheroes to fight each other, or many of the battles at all. Instead, we see what happens around the edges of the fighting, and what happens to the people who now have to rebuild their lives and homes in the aftermath.

A great book showing what it would really be like to live in Manhattan during the events of World War Hulk. But given the amount of carnage the city goes through like this on a regular basis, I'm surprised that certain areas, like "Hell's Kitchen", where Daredevil patrols, haven't been bulldozed in the name of urban renewal, and that the city looks as much like the real New York as it still does. Do they rebuild everything to look exactly the same? How can they, when so much of New York is old buildings?

In any case, I recommend this book for a good, if saddening and conflicted read.