All the Hulk Feels

I recently borrowed All the Hulk Feels, because it had been nominated for (and won!) an Eisner Award. Libraries RULE!

This picture book is a short tale about the Hulk and Bruce Banner, as they deal with the latest scheme from their arch-foe the Leader. His evil intention is to divide the scientist and green goliath so that he can free a crew of supervillains and rule the world. So he purposefully annoys Banner with things he hates, like playing certain songs on the radio and putting pickles on his hamburgers (Banner apparently abhors pickles).

Fortunately, a little kid gets the duo a crayon and they begin writing notes back and forth to each other, which leads to a surprisingly poignant moment. The plot of this book is pretty predictable, but how it executes the plotting and hits its emotional beats is what makes it successful. The highly expressive artwork carries the entire enterprise into being an exceptional book. I love how it balances silly situations and serious concepts.

This last point should be no surprise as this book was drawn by Caldecott Award winner Dan Santat. He has many picture books to his credit, most notably The Adventures of Beekle. He also has drawn a few graphic novels, including A First Time for Everything and the new Sashimi series. He speaks about his work on All the Hulk Feels in this interview.

This book has been well reviewed. Kirkus Reviews wrote, "Author/illustrator Santat breathes new life into the nature of comic-book conflict, exploring the emotional stakes of a consciousness divided." Eric Smith called it "a fantastic picture book with an important story." Susan Harari wrote, "The emphasis on when it’s OK to feel upset and how to strategize about ways to calm down are cleverly worked into what many kids will already know about the Hulk, making this a win for both young readers and adults."

All the Hulk Feels was published by Abrams Fanfare, and they offer more info about it here.