The Incredible Hulk #12 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Carlos Pacheco (pencils), Roger Bonet (inks), Frank Martin (colors), and Chris Eliopoulos (letters)

The Story: Hulk finds himself trapped in a forgotten Antarctic prison, caught in a brawl with Wolverine and the Thing.

The Review:  This issue of Incredible Hulk ends up posing a question that is no doubt familiar to comics fans:  how far can great art and pure action scenes alone carry a comic?

For what it’s worth, Carlos Pacheco is at his very best this month.  It’s been some time since I’ve seen work from him look this stunning, dynamic, and detailed.  There’s a lot more ambition to his work here than the often merely passable work he’s done on Uncanny X-Men.  The action scenes are great, the environments look great, and the character’s look great.  A lot of credit, however, has to go to Roger Bonet and Frank Martin, who have really taken Pacheco’s artwork to a whole new level, giving it a lush, almost painted feel with absolutely incredible shading.  Bonet and Martin take great artwork and take it into artbook/showcase territory.  Overall, I’ve not been thrilled by Stay Angry (well, outside of the ridiculous first issue), but Frank Martin has really reached amazing heights on this story and I look forward to what he does next.