Part of an ongoing series revisiting graphic novels and collected editions from days gone by....

Sometimes, you read a comic book and wonder who thought it was a good idea.

The Savage Hulk is penned by a variety of writers (Peter David, Dave Gibbons, William Messner-Loebs, Scott Lobdell, B.J. Estes, Matt Wagner, Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale and illustrated by artists including Mike McKone, Humberto Ramos and Pat McEown, as well as the aforementioned Gibbons, Loeb and Sale, among others. Given that the book is only about 60 pages long, you know immediately that the "too many cooks" problem will come into play.

The story is that the Hulk -- currently in his "smart" mode, where Bruce Banner's brain is in control of the Hulk's massive green body -- is defending himself in court, where he has been sued for $1 billion in a class-action suit filed on behalf of 1,397 people, all of whom are claiming damages because of the Hulk's various rampages.

The prosecution takes up most of the pages, represented by several brief vignettes describing incidents in Hulk's past. The defense is basically summarized as, "Hulk just wants to be left alone, it's not his fault people keep bothering him."

The story is dumb. The art is inconsistent and, overall, surprisingly bad. The resolution -- which involves a massive number of villains crashing into the courthouse to wreak vengeance on the Hulk -- is silly.

This book, part of Marvel's short-lived "Marvel Edge" series that was supposed to produce "edgier" material, seems to be a desperate effort to put some content on the shelves without much thought to its quality. Given the number of talented writers and artists involved, you'd think they could come up with something a little better.