Avengers Academy #21 – Review

By: Christos Gage (writer), Sean Chen (pencils), Scott Hanna (inks), Jeremy Cox & Veronica Gandini (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), John Denning & Jake Thomas (assistant editors) & Bill Rosemann (editor)

The Story: After the destruction of the Infinite Mansion during Fear Itself, the Avengers Academy needs a new home, and possibly a new direction.

Five Things: 

1. Mixing things up is good.  To me, comics are kinda like that old myth about sharks: “If they stop moving forward, they will die.”  The worst times in superhero comics are when the stories run in circles.  I know there are fans that enjoy having the same story reserved to them year after year, but it’s not for me.  So, the idea of moving the Avengers Academy to the old West Coast Avengers facility and bringing in some new faces (both teachers and students) is great.  Just keep mixing it up with these comics!  Sustain the things that work and trash the stuff that stinks, but don’t be afraid to fail and keep moving forward!

2. WONDERFUL twist ending! That was an awesome twist at the end where we see [SPOILER] the evil future selves of our young Academy heroes.  It plays on two big themes of the series.  One, that the reason these kids are getting training is that they are the most likely to go evil due to being fiddled with by Norman Osborn.  Two, we kinda saw these adult versions of the kids before during the Korvac story (around issue #12) when the kids were able to access their adult power levels to defeat Korvac.  But, that wasn’t really seeing their actual future selves, just their future power-sets and we didn’t know that they became villainous.  Nor did we know that they had kidnapped Reptil and sent back “future, evil Reptil”.  How very sneaky and villainous!  Love it!  However, that final splash page really should have had an editor’s note referring people to that back issue because if I look at that splash page with “new reader” eyes, I wouldn’t have a clue what was going on since the only visual cues are that Finesse has longer hair and the electric guy looks grown up (Veil, Hazmat & Mettle look the same).

3. Too much talking in the middle.  There a lot of hand-wringing in the middle of this issue – too much of the teachers and students talking about each other from across the room.  It seems like that could have been wrapped up in a page if the creators weren’t afraid of old-fashioned exposition.  Just have the verbal misunderstanding happen at the same time as the physical conflict.  I know it seems unrealistic to have these long speeches in the middle of the fisticuffs, but that is far preferable to having to waste several pages to get to the same end point.  This comic existed to get us to the money shot (the cool reveal on the final page), not to beat into our heads how much misunderstanding there is among these folks.

Incredible Hulk #1 – Review

By: Jason Aaron (writer), Marc Silvestri & Michael Broussard (pencils), Joe Weems, Rick Basaldua & Sal Regla (inks), Sunny Gho (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Can the Hulk get some peace and quiet?

Five Things: 

1.  Hulk and Banner split up.  The dual nature of the Hulk does make him interesting, but I personally think that these stories where Hulk and Banner are physically separated causes too many “How do they do that?” problems for me to have much fun with the story.  I mean, where does the actual matter that composes the second body come from?  How does the separation work?  Does Hulk vomit Banner or something?  I know I should just roll with it and enjoy the story (and I largely DO), but it is a little bothersome.

2. Energetic art.  It doesn’t really matter who draws the Hulk as long as they can make him energetic and powerful and this team is up to the task.  In the panels where Hulk needs to look fast and powerful, he looks….well….fast and powerful.  They also do an nice job on the quieter scenes where Hulk is contemplating his seclusion.  It could be a minor art red flag that on this #1 issue we have a person credited as “penciling assist” and three inkers.  That’s the kind of thing you usually see on the last issue of an arc where the primary penciller can’t quite make it to the finish line on time.  BUT, it doesn’t affect the quality of art, so it’s just worth a raised eyebrow for now.

3. Sunny Gho does a great job coloring.  One of my favorite comic art performances recently was the duo of Kenneth Rocafort and Sunny Gho on Velocity.  At the time, I gave most of the credit to Rocafort and while I still really enjoy his art, seeing Gho’s performance in this issue makes me realize what an important part of Velocity Gho was as well.  If you’re familiar with Silvestri’s art, you know that it isn’t clean art….he’s got a LOT of lines and shading going on in a page.  Gho’s art matching this complexity as the coloring is just as intricate as the linework.  It almost looks like watercolors.  Beautiful!

Hulk #43 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Patch Zircher (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Hulk of Arabia continues with all kinds of interesting characters making guest appearances.

Five things: 

1).  Love the contemporary feel of this story.  This idea of Red Hulk/Rulk and some Secret Avengers chasing down some loose warheads in the Middle East  feels like something that could be happening now.  Most readers aren’t familiar enough with that part of the world to find any faults with the depiction and with all the unrest that is always going on in that part of the world, it seems like a great place to dump some superheroes into.  Parker covers a LOT of ground (again) in this issue and he gets bonus points for making the story contemporary without making it preachy.  You know how some comics tie into “today’s headlines” and instantly offend someone (see the Tea Party outrage over that Cap issue) or just seem whiny (Fear Itself and the economic malaise)….well…..Hulk isn’t doing those things.  It just feels fresh.

Fear Itself: Hulk vs. Dracula #3 – Review

By: Victor Gischler (writer), Ryan Stegman (pencils), Mike Babinski & Rick Magyar (inks), Frank Martin & Antonio Fabela (colors), Clayton Cowles (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: The Fear Itself version of the Hulk is running loose in Dracula’s countryside.  Will the vampires be able to stop him?

What’s Good: If you’ve been following Gischler’s vampire-related stories over the last year or so, you know that he’s been building a bit of a vampire mythology.  Instead of just having Dracula and a bunch of nameless vampire underlings, he’s created a web of political intrigue having to do with Dracula’s extended family and all these different breeds and sects of vampires.  Dracula is King of the Mountain, but he has to control and direct all of these forces and they’ve all got different skills and political goals.  This miniseries also introduced what is basically a vampire superhero team called the Forgiven.  The Forgiven have the customary blend of power sets and are a neat concept as they don’t have an allegiance to any of the vampire sects, so they should be free to leave vampire-land and have adventures with the rest of the Marvel Universe.  Hopefully we’ll be seeing Gischler or other creators telling more Forgiven stories in the near future.

In fact, the Forgiven is probably what puts this miniseries over the top.  Most of the Fear Itself tie-ins where just complete crap because the stories just ran in a circle.  Hulk vs. Dracula actually brought us something new and that is what we’re hoping for when we read superhero comics.  The only other mini that did anything “new” was The Deep, which kicked off the formation of the new Defenders team.  If you didn’t catch this miniseries in single issues, maybe you’ll get lucky and The Deep and Hulk v. Dracula will get paired up in a trade paperback without making you read some of the really bad miniseries.

Hulk #42 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Patch Zircher (artist), Rachelle Rosenberg (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Jeff Parker cues up a new story-cycle for Red Hulk with the big guy headed into the Middle East.

What’s Good: I really liked how Jeff Parker kicked off a new storyline here.  Even though every Jeff Parker comic is very accessible, this is very clearly something new.  He took over Hulk at #25 and up through #41 was telling one big story (with mini-stories bundled therein).  Over that time, Hulk was the best and most consistent book that Marvel published.  Amazing Spider-Man was probably close, but it’s had a few crappy issues.  Ditto for Uncanny X-Force.  So, I’m really excited to see Parker do it again.

This story definitely builds from what happened during the last cycle, but Parker is so good at storytelling that you don’t need to have read that material.  The basic set-up puts Rulk in conflict with his former protégé in the military (who ironically thinks he is avenging Thunderbolt Ross’ death) and sends him into the Middle East where he gets mixed up in events that are very promising given Ross’ background in the military.  The comic also feels very contemporary as if this could be happening right now if Rulk existed in the real world.

Replacing the departed art team of Gabe Hardman and Bettie Breitweiser is no small task because comic art doesn’t get any better than those two, but Zircher and Rosenberg are mostly up to the challenge.  Zircher tells the story very effectively and also finds ways to keep the pages visually interesting (especially a few pages during a scene in the desert).  His characters also have a good bit of energy.  I think I like my Rulk a little brushier, but that’s a personal preference.  And Rosenberg colors it all very well.  In terms of palate, she’s pretty close to what Breitweiser was doing and she stays away from those god-awful highlights that some people put on Rulk where he shines like a Ferrari (ugh!).  I much prefer this more understated coloring to overly highlight crap that some colorists go crazy with.

Hulk #41 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Bettie Breitweiser (colorist), Ed Dukeshire (letterer), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: The big battle between Rulk and Omegex is upon us, plus a look back at Thunderbolt Ross’ life.

What’s Good: Let’s start with what a nice issue this is to look at. It seems especially appropriate to start with the art since this is Gaberiel Hardman’s last issue on Hulk and is off to do Planet of the Apes comics at Boom! (which should be great since he can actually draw apes very nicely). This issue really shows what a diverse artist Hardman is. You’ve got scenes of families around the Christmas tree, women with 40’s era haircuts, old cars and planes, babies, young boys who actually look like children, naked women, Hulk & Omegex fighting, female Watchers, etc. and it all looks great. Working with an artist like Hardman must be great because Parker can probably put anything in his script and it’ll turn out fabulous.

Another great thing that Hardman does in this issue is function seamlessly with colorist Bettie Breitweiser. I don’t know the technical term for this, but most of Hardman’s work is what I’d call fully rendered. By that, I mean he’s already inked in a lot of the surface texture, musculature and shading. And, that gives Breitweiser a nice canvas where she doesn’t have to waste her talents on making sure that Rulk’s pectoral muscles have the appropriate sheen on them. She can work with Hardman’s inking to make a beautiful finished product. But, what they do on the Zero/One villain is wholly different. She is colored in this two-tone gray in a circular pattern that looks kinda like a bullseye pattern is being projected onto a nude woman. Here Hardman adds almost no surface details to the character at all and allows Breitweiser do her thing. It’s a shame to see these two broken up, because they have a wonderful partnership.

Hulk #40 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Bettie Breitweiser & Jim Charalampidis (colorists), Ed Dukeshire (letterer), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk and Omegex fight and Rulk gets some unexpected allies.

What’s Good: Boy will I miss Gabriel Hardman when he leaves this title.  This is such an attractive comic!  You could just go down the list of things that I like in comic artists and they are all on display here: good storytelling, brushy & vibrant artwork, detailed objects & machines, powerful looking characters who never look like they’re just standing around, attractive women without resorting to D-cups and thong uniforms, attractive women period, cleverly laid out pages, etc.  I especially love Hardman’s page layouts.  I know there is something to be said for newer artists sticking with the “grid” but I’d love to hold up these Hardman pages and say, “This is your ultimate goal, boys and girls.  Now work at perfecting your craft so you can do this without it being a jumbled mess where the reader doesn’t know what panel comes next.”  Make sure to catch his upcoming Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes coming from Boom! in a few months.

Helping this issue look pretty are some beautiful colors from two of my current favorite colorists.  I wish every comic could be colored by Breitweiser or Charalampidis!  It’s so nice to see colors that don’t just look like someone was fiddling with Photoshop.

And, the “story” is pretty hot too.  One of the wonderful things about Rulk is that he hasn’t been around for so long that he feels completely “safe”.  By contrast, most of our favorite superheroes are totally safe, but something could happen to Rulk.  Get killed?  Forced back into permanent Thunderbolt Ross form?  This freshness gives the battle between Rulk and Omegex higher stakes than the typical superhero battle.

Thor: Heaven and Earth #4 – Review

By: Paul Jenkins (writer), Lan Medina (artist), Chris Sotomayer (colorist), Charlie Beckerman & Jake Thomas (assistant editors)

The Story: A Welsh Prince steals the wife of a Viking. The Vikings sail over to settle accounts. The Welsh, getting kicked around, call for help, by offering beautiful damsels for their dragon to eat. The dragon accepts the payment and mows down the Vikings, who call for help of their own: the Norse gods.

What’s Good: You’ll recall in my review of Thor: Heaven and Earth #3, that I’d been blown away by Jenkins’ powerful writing. This issue is no different. Once again, it is a stand-alone issue that is entirely focused on what makes Thor different. In this case, Jenkins focuses on the fact that Thor is part of an ancient pantheon of gods, who once had worshippers who could call them for help, worshippers who had enemies in a pagan cosmology. The second thing that’s cool about Jenkins’ story is that there is a strong moral element. The challenge in lending a moral argument to a tale of the past is that very often, to meet the moral needs of modern readers, an anachronistic ethic is inserted into a past it doesn’t belong to, making the story feel inauthentic. Jenkins gets around this by making the original crime (wife-kidnapping) something that will offend the morals of both modern readers and vikings. Clever and effective. The third cool thing about Jenkins’ story is the frame of the narrative. This is a story being told. There is a listener and a teller, and instead of being just a literary device, Jenkins makes the frame part of the story by having one of them change. So, there’s character change in the story, and character change in the framing story. Quite well constructed and satisfying.

On the art, I was quite pleased. I noticed the camera angle technique right on the first page: starting above the train, then in the train on the teller and the listener, and the close-ups on each of them. Big to small. Distant to intimate. I also liked the detailing of the expressions and the work on making average characters part of a heroic story. And on heroism and action, it was competently done, and I felt it really came alive when the Aesir and the dragon came on the scene. That just goes to show that superheroes and monsters are still the natural fauna of comic books.

Incredible Hulks #635 – Review

Heart of the Monster by: Greg Pak (writer), Paul Pelletier (art), Danny Miki (inks), Morry Hollowell (colors) & Simon Bowland (letters)

Conclusion by: Pak (writer), Tom Grummett (art), Cory Hamscher & Scott Hanna (inks), Jesus Aburtov (colors) & Bowland (letters)

Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Greg Pak wraps up the Heart of the Monster story AND his ~6 year run on Incredible Hulk.

What’s Good: Hulk is one of those characters that can be great in the hands of a writer who knows how to use him, but Hulk can also be really dismal with a mediocre writer.  So, let’s give Greg Pak an huge round of applause for 6 years of (mostly) really good Hulk stories AND a special gold star for giving us Planet Hulk which is the best Hulk story ever written (go read it if you haven’t).

This issue wraps up the really cool Heart of the Monster storyline.  The essence of this story is that a Wishing Well has been created and Hulk and Betty and all other sorts of characters have been making wishes that have led to things like Kirby-monsters stampeding in Vegas and the Hulk getting sent to Hell (although it is unclear who wished for this).  Sounds grim until you consider that for Hulk, hell is probably heaven: He has lots of things to fight and doesn’t have to worry about going too far and destroying the world by accident.  It’s serious Hulk smashing action at its best.

Naturally, there is great sentiment by the heroes to let Hulk stay there since he’s finally at peace (as he’s ripping demons apart) and not threatening Earth anymore, but what would that mean for Banner?  Does Banner die if Hulk is allowed to cut loose for an extended period of time?  And could there be anything back on Earth sufficient to justify dragging an enraged Hulk back to Earth?  Obviously there is, but the way that Pak takes us from point A to point B is really cool.

Hulk #39 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (artist), Bettie Breitweiser (colorist), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk visits the old family farm and Omegex finally strikes.

What’s Good: While this issue isn’t perfect, it has a lot of goodies.  For one thing, it features the top-shelf art team of Gabriel Hardman & Bettie Breitweiser.  Everything about Hardman’s artwork is impressive.  His characters are strong and vital presences on the page and he puts a lot of effort into the barns, trucks, airplanes, etc.  It’s really something to behold, but one other thing to praise about Hardman is page layouts.  If you’ve ever gotten bored by a comic that featured almost nothing but pages full of 4-5 full-width rectangular panels, you will appreciate this.  Every page is laid out a little differently and Hardman uses the full page of layout elements to keep it fresh for us.

Bettie Breitweiser is simply my favorite Marvel colorist right now.  The pages just look stunning and while I (honestly) lack the vocabulary to do her work justice, her work has really inspired me to learn more about color theory.  So there’s that.  In the past, I had called her colors more muted, but I think the big-boy word for that is that he colors are less “saturated”.  She also has a very strong sense of shading and her colors are never at odds with Hardman’s inking (Hardman has a wonderful sense of shading too).  These two are a great team-up.

As for the story, well, it has some good stuff too.  I love the fact that Rulk’s best friend is a life-model decoy named Anne.  In a way it seems weird that this gruff man (whether he is Rulk or General Thunderbolt Ross) would be buddies with a 20-something woman, but she probably reminds him of his daughter.  Over the last ~15 issues, Parker has turned Anne into a character who we care about without resorting to any annoying tricks like a special issue devoted to Anne; he’s done it all within the context of his story.

Hulk #38 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Elena Casagrande (artist), Bettie Breitweiser & Jim Charalampidis (colorists), Ed Dukeshire (letterer), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk wraps up his Fear Itself tie-in with some unlikely defenders of NYC coming into play.

What’s Good: Jeff Parker does something pretty cool in this issue.  The common complaint with line-wide comic events (such as Fear Itself) is that they ruin the natural flow of the stories the creators were already telling by putting a supposedly entertaining story to the side for 2-3 months while the characters deal with the event.  “Just let the creators tell their stories!”, moan the fanboys!  And, it is true that most creators have simply surrendered and put their “main” story on hiatus while dealing with Fear Itself.  Well, Parker shows in Hulk #37 and this issue that a clever creator can use the event to service your own storytelling goals.

It isn’t really possible to discuss this issue much without a SPOILER WARNING.  There aren’t any huge events in this issue like anyone dying, but there are a few cool moments that you might want to experience organically in the pages of the comic.

As stated above, what makes this issue and story arc so cool is how Parker has used the back drop of Rulk fighting super-Thing into something that serves his own story.  If you’re a pretty big Marvel reader, you probably already saw the Rulk/Thing fight back in an issue of Avengers a month or so ago.  One of my complaints last issue was that the ending didn’t seem to quite sync up with the action in Avengers, but Parker fixes that here and that’s where the magic comes in.

Hulk #37 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Elena Casagrande (artist), Bettie Breitweiser (colorist), Ed Dukeshire (letterer), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: It’s Red Hulk versus Bedazzled Thing.  Guest-starring MODOK and some other bad guys.

What’s good: Kudos to Jeff Parker for not letting the necessity of an event tie-in knock him off his ongoing story.  I’m of the opinion that event tie-ins are important, simply because it makes no sense to have Earth-shattering comic events if the ongoing series aren’t going to acknowledge the events, but the complaint about events is that they screw up the ongoing stories that the creators were telling.  Well, not necessarily….

Jeff Parker is the master of cramming content into a single issue comic book so it isn’t a surprise that he can have Rulk take part in Fear Itself and maintain his ongoing stories.  The Fear Itself part hooks into the events of Avengers a few issues ago (#14?) where Bendis showed us Rulk earning his Avengers stripes by going toe-to-toe with super-Thing.  But, this story is from a different perspective and that makes it a lot of fun, especially if you enjoy that type of alternative perspective fiction.  Not surprising that Parker told a good event tie-in, but he also managed to keep up his creepy, spider-MODOK and Zero/One storylines.  Seriously, there’s no Big 2 superhero writer who is giving more content per issue than Parker (and in $2.99 books, to boot).

We get a new artist this issue and I think Elena Casagrande is going to be one to keep an eye on.  I wasn’t previously familiar with her work, but a check online shows that she’s done a lot of work on the Angel comics series for IDW.  Much like Patrick Zircher last month, her work looks a lot like regular series artist Gabriel Hardman.  And, if you know what a fan of Hardman I am, I mean that as a strong compliment.  Her linework is a little less brushy than Hardman, but probably a little more detailed and she has similar storytelling sensibilities.  If you need a reason to be optimistic about Marvel comics, they keep finding these awesome new(er) artists rather than just recycling the same old folks.  I hope she gets a ton more work at Marvel!

Hulk #36 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Patch Zircher (art), Jim Charalampidis (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Yikes!  MODOK is back!

What’s Good: For an ordinary comic, the deck would really be stacked against this issue.  Hulk is right in the middle of some longer-term stories and next issue/month, it dives into Fear Itself tie-in territory.  This issue even has a guest art team, so you could easily see and almost understand this issue being kinda disposable… Which happens with monthly superhero comics.  But when Jeff Parker is writing, I think he almost relishes a chance to write a done-in-one story.  It certainly isn’t much of a handicap for him as he again proves that he is better at packing lots of events into a single issue than anyone else currently writing in Big 2 superhero comics.

So, what’s cool?  Well, remember that new MODOK with the spidery legs from a few issues ago?  He’s back.  I honestly have always thought that MODOK was kinda a dorky villain, but the team of creators here makes him really sinister and creepy.  You just know that he’s going to be trouble in future issues…

Parker also manages to drag out an old Banner-Hulk villain who I really wasn’t familiar with, but Parker does such an awesome job of recapping just the right amount of history that I never felt lost.  Bravo!

The Incredible Hulks #631 – Review

By: Greg Pak (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Danny Miki (inker), Morry Hollowell with Jesús Aburtou (colorists), Jake Thomas (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Heart of the Monster, Part Two: OK. AIM scientist party-crashes on Red She-Hulk/Tyrannus lovefest to turn fountain of youth into a wishing well. Some dumb wishes get made, bringing back to life a cool half-dozen of the Hulk’s foes, plus some random monsters and additional sub-wishes, and some more sub-wishes….

What’s Good: I started buying Hulk again because I was interested in seeing what Pak had been doing with it for a while, but more importantly, because of Pelletier’s art. Pelletier, Miki and the colorists really have a good thing going on. The art is detailed and textured, no matter who or what Pelletier is looking at. Fin Fang Foom has deep, shadowed ridges and the monster teeth are cracked and irregular. Rick Jones’ face (such as it is) is expressive and the weapons are shiny and new-looking. Wendigo and Bi-Beast figured heavily in this issue and the art team depicted them in lavish rage, while Umar (I didn’t even realize she was a Hulk foe!) and Amadeus have more subtle characterizations of their moods. And of course, the Hulk was big and blocky and green and all muscle, slapping it down with all comers and creatively outsmarting (in his limited way) the dumbest of his enemies. All in all, a visually satisfying issue.

On the writing, Pak’s tongue-in-cheek tone, mixing enemy and friend in quick-moving banter, while stirring in deadly danger, made for a fun ride. The wishing well and the complexity of the wishing structure that Cho figures out was intriguing, fitting cheek-by-jowl with funnny, Hulkish cunning involving Wendigo’s tail. I liked all the characters involved, even the villains, and no one seemed to be taking any great pains to take themselves too seriously, which was my signal to take it easy. Why did I like them? Well, they all wanted something that was obvious and important to them. The Hulk is heart-broken. She-Hulk, Cho and Rick are his buddy musketeers and Betty is his lost love. Poignant. Painful. Heart-warming. At the same time, on the villains’ side, we have some villains, who, at every turn, have seen their efforts stymied by this gamma-irradiated monstrosity. Of course they want a bit of payback, or to rebuild what they lost. What reader can’t buy into that? Pak has taken some very bizarre people (I’m talking about all of them), and made them sympathetic with some very clear, simple desires and obstacles.

Hulk #35 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (art), Danny Miki (inks), Jesus Aburtov (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk finishes up his business on Planet Red Hulk and returns to Earth.

What’s Good: I say this every month on Jeff Parker’s titles, but there is a LOT of comic for the money here (especially considering that this is a $2.99 title).  I loved the Planet Hulk saga, but that took like 14 issues to complete.  What’s bad about those yearlong stories is that when it doesn’t click for some fans, they have nothing to fall back on for a year.  So, fans that wanted to see Hulk be a superhero were just screwed for a year and probably dropped the title.  With Jeff Parker’s stories in Hulk, he tells his Planet Red Hulk story in 2 issues.  So, even if some fans don’t love it, it’s over so fast that they can’t drop the title.  And, most fans will love it.  It’s really amazing how quickly paced Parker’s stories are without feeling rushed.

Parker’s issues are actually really hard to review in a concise fashion because so much happens that it’s really hard to talk about everything and keep these reviews to 500-600 words.  The Planet Hulk stuff is all good.  Love the scene where his two sexy native wives are fighting over him (complete with hair pulling!) and Red Hulk remarks that the “conflict has some payoffs too”.  Who knew that Thunderbolt Ross was such a kinky bastard?  We’ve also got a great little fight scene where Red Hulk settles all these people’s problems before heading back to Earth.

Carlo Pagulayan and Danny Miki again outdo themselves on the linework.  I didn’t love their Omegex (Hardman’s is WAY better), but everything else in this issue is awesome: the sexy-wife hair-pulling contest, warrior Red Hulk, the several splash pages where they drew ~100 native soldiers and the sheer kinetic energy when the Red Hulk punches the other warlord.  I think it’s really hard for the inker to not screw up the energy of a rampaging Hulk character, but Miki does a great job.

Alpha Flight #1 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Dale Eaglesham (pencils), Andrew Hennessy (inks), Sonia Oback (colors), Simon Bowland (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Alpha Flight is called into action to save Vancouver from one of the hammer-wielding “Worthy” of Fear Itself.

What’s Good: This is a title that had a LOT to live up to.  When I was a kid, everyone read Uncanny X-Men and while we all loved those stories, the “cool comic kids” read Alpha Flight.  I was lucky enough to catch the first 25 issues of John Byrne’s initial series and thought it was outstanding.  Then I missed all the later stuff that I know some people have derided, so I really hoped that this issue wouldn’t do anything to damage my memory of those first 25 issues from the early 80’s.

This isn’t a perfect comic (more on that below), but it’s pretty darn good and worthy of the Alpha Flight name.  The basic set up for the issue flings us right into the action as Attuma and his fancy FEAR ITSELF hammer storm ashore in Vancouver and start smashing stuff.  Alpha Flight joins the fight and in the matter of a few pages, the creative team has introduced us to the entire team by name and shown us how their powers work.  The whole issue is mostly a big, fast-paced fight scene that works really well and is enjoyable to read.

Dale Eaglesham is just a really solid superhero artist.  There’s a lot of different stuff for him to draw in this issue: muscular guys like Guardian, attractive women like Vindicator & Aurora, hairy & hulking characters like Sasquatch, and the whole pile of Attuma’s Atlantean forces.  Eaglesham nails them all.  The issue is also nicely inked and colored.  It is a very attractive superhero comic.

The Incredible Hulks #630 – Review

By: Greg Pak (writer), Paul Pelletier (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Morry Hollowell (colors), Simon Bowland (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: The Hulk vs. Red She-Hulk love/hate affair continues, AIM gets involved and a wish fulfillment fountain erupts in Vegas.  Only in Vegas!

What’s Good: This is yet another month of Greg Pak telling us a fast paced Hulk story.  It’s really beyond me why anyone who likes superhero comics would fail to enjoy this.  It has big monsters, sexy ladies, things getting smashed and a sense of humor about it all.  I guess it isn’t very deep, but most of the time when I read a Hulk comic, I just want a fun romp and Pak is delivering month-after-month.

Although this is the beginning of a new arc and it is a decent “jumping on point”, we’re also building on a lot of stuff from the last few arcs too.  As I was saying in my review of X-Men Legacy #250, too many comics today tell stories in 6-issue arcs that are only mildly related to each other.  This story is spinning right out of the events of the recently ended arc that saw Red She Hulk (Betty) run off with Hulk’s old enemy Tyranus.  Also flowing from that story is the same obsession with ancient artifacts.  All in all, it’s nice to read a story that doesn’t instantly make an issue from 4 months ago feel like it never happened.

I’m a little sad to see Tom Grummet get replaced on art, but I’ll take the Pelletier/Miki combo any day.  Pelletier’s layout and storytelling are just fine and Miki really outdoes himself with the inking.  This issue is just packed with the fine-line shading that I love so much.  It’s just classic superhero goodness.

Hulk #34 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Carlo Pagulayan (pencils), Danny Miki (inks), Jesus Aburtov (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Yes, you’ve seen the general story before.  Red Hulk is sent to a distant planet where he has to fight to survive.

What’s Good: I don’t know about you, but Greg Pak’s Planet Hulk story from several years ago was the best Hulk story I’ve ever read.  So I really don’t mind Marvel going back to the well to let Jeff Parker put his own personal spin on that type of story with the Red Hulk.

In typical Parker fashion, he moves the story along briskly.  There’s no overwrought decision by the Illuminati to send the Red Hulk away. It just kinda happens and by the end of the issue, Parker has covered the same amount of material that most writers would milk for an entire 6-issue arc.  It’s really amazing.  All in one issue Red Hulk goes from being on a rescue mission in space, to being lost in space, to landing on the alien planet, meeting natives, establishing conflict and having a big set-piece battle!  Life is short and time is precious, so it’s nice to read a writer like Parker who doesn’t dick around.

And we get all the stuff that you expect in a good Hulk story.  He’s shown hopping around, unprotected in outer space, falling from orbit without getting burned up and generally kicking ass.  The thing I love about Hulk stories is when the writers can find a way to put Hulk (Red or Green) as a disadvantage and have them get smacked around for a minute….the whole time as a reader, you are thinking, “Just you wait, buster!  When Hulk escapes the control of those ______ he’s going to beat the snot out of you!”  We get that moment in a BIG way in this issue.

Hulk #33 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (art), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk evades the U.S. military and does battle with a villain while a mega-threat is coming to Earth from deep space.

What’s Good: The story is typical Jeff Parker goodness.  He is able to give you more story per issue than any other writer out there currently.  What’s awesome about this approach is that even though almost every story element Parker tosses at us is fun and enjoyable, if he ever does fling a turd at us, it won’t be a big deal because that turd will be gone in an issue or two.  This fast-paced storytelling allows him to take more chances because he is constantly renewing the narrative.  It isn’t remotely like these dreadful decompressed comics where a bad story stays with you for 8-9 months and results in you dropping the title.  I like to see creators who are willing to go for it and Parker does that issue after issue.

In this issue alone, you get a new alien race, more detail on this Omegex mega-threat, nanomedicine to remove the bombs in Red Hulk’s brain, more character-building for the LMDs that Red Hulk is hanging with, a battle with the new Black Fog villain, a history lesson of obsolete aircraft, a guest appearance by Steve Rogers and the death of a couple supporting characters.  All that in 22 pages, yet it never feels hurried or rushed.

What more can I say about Gabriel Hardman?  I seriously think he’s the best artist working in comics right now if you limit to professional artists who are generating 10+ issues per year (unfair to compare to folks who are taking 3-4 months to draw an issue).  We already know he can draw a kick ass Hulk that is bristling with strength and energy, but he is also a great storyteller.  Part of the reason these issues are so packed with story is that Hardman can tell parts of the story with the pictures.  Take a panel on page two after the LMDs have a setback while trying to remove the nanobombs from Red Hulks’ brain…. One of the LMDs is rubbing his eyes.  The reader can see that and understand, “He’s tired.  Those LMDs have been working on this for a long time.”  By doing such great graphic storytelling, Parker is freed up to write about other things and one panel covers twice as much territory.  Hardman also gets to flex his overall artistic muscles in this issue by designing a new alien race AND drawing vintage U.S. Air Force planes.  I wonder if Parker ever is just trying to find something that Hardman doesn’t draw well?

Hulk #32 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (art), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor), Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk continues to be on the run from Gen. Ross’ former second-in-command, while unbeknownst to him…. a new enemy is emerging.

What’s Good: Jeff Parker is really making this a fun series to read.  Maybe it’s because Red Hulk is a relatively new character and we’re still learning about his capabilities and motivations, but everything about him seems new and fresh.  This current plotline where Gen. Ross’ former #2 has infected Red Hulk’s brain with nano-robots that will explode and kill him if he sleeps or reverts to human form is really compelling.  One of the neat things about Red Hulk under Parker is that he has this “old warrior” vibe to him: He’s old and achey (even as a Hulk), but he’ll still get up and go the jobs that need to be done.  So, putting Red Hulk in a situation where he can’t go to sleep just accentuates the great “world weary” feel that Parker has cultivated.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Red Hulk comic without some good Hulk-action and we get that as Red Hulk saves a small town from a tornado.  I like that: Hulks taking on forces of nature!

Meanwhile, Parker is continuing to cultivate his B-story with the new villain, Zero/One who is a scientist melded with some smart alloy that has turned her into some kinda super-powered, emotionless automaton.  For some reason (see below), she wants to kill Red Hulk and goes about enlisting a new army of bad guys to that end.  There’s nothing necessarily remarkable about her (or her cohorts as villains), but I applaud Parker for bringing in some new bad guys.  Just as Red Hulk is himself fresh because we don’t know everything about him, these new villains should be pretty cool and unpredictable.  I honestly have no idea what a Red Hulk – Zero/One fight would look like and that’s a great thing.

I’m just going to rig up an autotext for the art from Gabriel Hardman and Elizabeth Breitweiser because it’s great again.  Every month I think Hardman’s work is even better than the month before.  His storytelling is impeccable and everything about the work just screams: Professional.  The whole comic is very well done and it has a few of those “Wow!” panels (Hulk pressing a pickup truck over his head).  I think he is also getting better at understanding how Breitweiser is going to color a panel because in some panels, he’s letting her do all the cool stuff with her colors instead of trying to draw those details in himself.  This is really a beautiful comic and a large part of that are Breitweiser’s muted and unique colors.

Uncanny X-Men #534 – Review

By: Matt Fraction & Kieron Gillen (writers), Greg Land with Paul Renaud (pencils), Jay Leisten with Renaud (inks), Justin Ponsor (colors), Joe Caramagna (letters), Jake Thomas & Jordan White (assistant editors), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: We wrap up both the Emma Frost v. Sebastian Shaw and X-Men v. Lobe storylines.

What’s Good: It’s really hard to come up with much that is “good” about this issue as it is the definition of “average” Big 2 superhero comics.  But, one of the wonderful things about our What’s-good/What’s-not-so-good format here at WCBR is that it really makes you pick out something about the issue that works.

Forced to come up with something positive to accentuate with this part of the review, I’ll go with Emma’s “moment” against Sebastian Shaw.  Those two characters have a LONG history together dating back to their days as allies during the Claremont/Byrne days on Uncanny, so seeing those two literally at each other’s throats was pretty sweet because you really did get the feeling that they wanted to kill the other and be DONE with it.  That part was good.

Another thing that was good was the method that Cyclops comes up with to overcome Lobe and his mutant flu-virus.  Although it was clever, it is precisely the sort of “Ha, ha, sucker!  You just outsmarted yourself!” that we’ve seen from Cyclops enough before (e.g. the end of Utopia where Norman Osborn can’t pummel Cyclops because his TV cameras are rolling) that is just doesn’t seem that special anymore.

And, it was nice that this story didn’t star Wolverine!  And, it even featured him haven’t a funny moment when he has to improvise since he can’t use his claws.

What’s Not So Good: These two stories were pretty tired stuff.  I think the problem with the X-books right now is that they have too many EVENTS (Second Coming), events (Necrosha) and “events” (Curse of the Mutants).  Between all of these “events”, any story line that is not part of any of these “events” feels like it is just filling time.  Think of it this way, if Emma Frost is going to die, don’t you think it would in some variety of “event” and not in a generic issue of Uncanny?  Ditto for any important character development.  Until the X-office convinces us that they can do BIG things in generic issues, I’m not going to believe that it can happen.

Hulk #31 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Gabriel Hardman (art), Elizabeth Breitweiser (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters), Jake Thomas (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

She-Hulks/A-Bomb back-up by: Parker (writer), Tim Seeley (art), Matt Milla (colors), Dukeshire (letters), Thomas & Paniccia (editors)

The Story: A new story line kicks off for Red Hulk as a former ally is coming to kill him.

What’s Good: This issue is a great continuation from Hulk #30.1.  That issue was a great jumping on point (the whole idea behind the .1 project) that recapped the Red Hulk story thus far while also laying out some new material.  You’re going to see some cynics who think Marvel should have just stuck with consecutive numbering, but I really don’t mind them doing something to entice readers that a new story arc is coming and that it will be pretty accessible.  It is far preferable to starting with a new #1 issue.

Lot’s of cool little elements to this story and in typical Parker fashion, he has more than one thing going on at the same time.  The main story flows from #30.1 and shows that Red Hulk is now pursued by Gen. Thunderbolt Ross’ former protégé, Col. (?) Fortean.  Fortean basically wants revenge for Red Hulk seemingly killing Ross, so there is a lot of irony here AND Fortean has access to years and years of Ross’ Hulk-busting arsenal.  The attacks that Fortean has leveled at Red Hulk are such that it’s going to be very difficult for Red Hulk to get any back-up or rest.  This whole story is great because it plays up Ross as the world-weary, grizzled old warrior.  That’s really a perspective that we don’t get enough of in superhero comics.  The main characters kinda stop aging in the 35-45 age range, so we miss having the cynical, but wise older dude who knows how things are going to turn out before the action starts.  Seriously, what would be wrong with letting a few more characters get older?

The B-Story ties back into Parker and Hardman’s first arc story dealing with the Omnisapient Corporation and we meet Zero/One who seems to be a new villainess derived from the weird metallurgical technology at Omnisapient.  Ordinarily, you’d think that Parker is just setting up his next story, but he has show himself so adept at juggling that he could conceivably wrap up both the Fortean and Zero/One stories in the very next issue.  You have to pay attention to this series or you’ll miss something.

Uncanny X-Men Annual #3 – Review

B y: James Asmus (writer), Nick Bradshaw (art), Jim Charalampidis (colors), Jared Fletcher (letters), Jake Thomas & Jordan D. White (assistant editors), Daniel Ketchum (associate editor) & Nick Lowe (editor)

The Story: A team of X-Men consisting of Cyclops, Hope, Namor & Dr. Nemesis gets sent to the Negative Zone.

What’s Good: This was awesome ! The X-Men are kinda my cross to bear as a comic fan.  It’s the one sub-universe where I’m pretty much going to get all the titles whether they are good or bad.  Recently the whole X-verse has been a little mediocre.  There have been bright spots, but a lot of mediocre issues.  So, I was kinda gritting my teeth at the concept of the Uncanny X-Men Annual crossing over with the Steve Rodgers Super Soldier Annual and the Namor Annual.   I thought to myself, “great, now I have to buy three $3.99 annuals when I wasn’t sure I even wanted one!”  Especially because annuals usually suck nowadays because they’re used to do things like launch unnecessary spin-off titles.

But, I shouldn’t have been so cynical because this issue kicked all kinds of ass.  Part of the magic comes from the small team dynamic.  Can you imagine a stranger X-line-up than Cyclops, Hope, Namor and Dr. Nemesis?  Especially since none of these characters thinks much of Cyclops.  So, much of the issue consists of Cyclops trying to lead with the others rolling their eyes at him.  And this works because they are whisked away to the Negative Zone.  If this same behavior took place on Utopia in front of the whole team, Cyclops would have to have a stick up his butt, bark orders and demand that those orders be followed.  Here, since Cyclops is away from everyone else, he has the freedom to laugh at himself a little bit which is a side of the character that is fun to see.  Again, this behavior wouldn’t work on Utopia because it would ruin his role as “leader”, but it does kinda work when the team is stuck in the Negative Zone.

This issue is just crammed full of humor too.  Whether it is Emma declaring that she doesn’t know how to have a family fight without “scotch and swearing” or Scott imploring Hope to please cooperate with him because Namor and Nemesis are like herding cats, “Surly, bitter cats who pee on everything.” or Nemesis deciding that being teamed up with Namor (as opposed to teamed up with Cyclops or Hope) is the “least terrible option”, I laughed my way through this entire issue.  Imagine that?  An X-Men comic with HUMOR!

New Mutants #22 (Age of X: Chapter 2) – Review

By: Mike Carey (writer), Steve Kurth (art), Allen Martinez (inks), Brian Reber (colors), Chris Eliopoulos (letters), Jake Thomas & Sebastian Girner (assistant editors) & Daniel Ketchum (editor)

The Story: More is revealed in Age of X, Chapter #2.

What’s Good: Most of the really good things about this issue come from the editorial/publishing side of the equation.  The story is good too, but let’s take a second to slap some editorial backs.  First, good call to stretch out the opening act of this story.  The standard pacing to a 6-chapter story is two issues of opening, 2 boring middle issues and a 2-issue finale.  It makes a LOT of sense to stretch the opening because the boring middle act only is relevant if the story is actually going to change something in the X-universe.  Call it cynicism, but after reading hundreds of X-titles, nothing really changes.  So, let’s just have the fun mystery of the opening act flow directly into the slam-bang of the finale!

Second, it is great that this is truly a “Chapter 2” rather than an issue spotlighting the New Mutants as they deal with the same problems elucidated in Chapter 1 (“And now let’s go see how this set of characters is dealing with the same problem”).  Marvel had a nice opportunity to do this with Zeb Wells departure from New Mutants and they capitalize by making the events of this issue flow directly from Chapter 1.

Third, let’s give Marvel a little credit for just having the action of Age of X occur within the ongoing series rather than doing what they did with Shadowland or Chaos War and running a separate miniseries.  Those things are just sales gimmicks and while they do generate some sales, they raise fans’ expectations for the magnitude of the story and that leads to a cheapening of the underlying property.

As for the story itself, the mysteries are still building and that is fun and enjoyable.  Much of this issue deals with Rogue trying to get to the bottom of the appearance of Kitty Pryde in the last issue.  To investigate this, she has to invade Danger’s jailhouse where a LOT of mutants who seem to have some clues about what is really going on are being held.  We also get some tempting tidbits from Cyclops/Basilisk about the possible nature of the human troops attacking the Force Barrier protecting Fortress X.

X-Men Legacy #245 (Age of X: Chapter 1) – Review

By: Mike Carey (writer), Clay Mann (pencils), Jay Leisten (inks), Brian Reber (colors), Cory Petit (letters), Jake Thomas & Sebastian Girner (assistant editors) & Daniel Ketchum (editor)

The Story: Weird things are afoot as we see our favorite mutants in some kinda of alternate reality where mutants are being oppressed.

What’s Good: The X-Men have always been a story about racism and intolerance.  One of the problems the franchise has suffered from over the last few decades is that as a society, the United States has become MUCH more multicultural and accepting of differences.  In the late 1970’s, a lot of young white boys still had an uncle or two who used horrid racial slurs, interracial couples were unusual and it would stop traffic if two men held hands on the sidewalk.  Now, in 2011, a lot of those nasty old bigots are dead, it seems like half of the high school kids I know either are multi-ethnic or are involved in a multi-ethnic relationship and outside of certain religious groups, homosexuality has become a non-issue.  This has made our world a better place, but it has taken that cultural relevance away from the X-Men.  Nowadays, I just don’t buy the average Joe in an X-Men comic yelling, “Them muties gotta die!”

So, how do you tell a mutant persecution story in 2011?  Well, you tell a story of an alternate reality, that’s how!  After months of ads, it appears that Age of X is a story of the “alternate present” variety rather than a “possible future”.  This makes a lot of sense for the reasons above and mysteries abound in this first chapter.  Even if you read Age of X Alpha a few weeks ago, you’re going to be tossed right into the deep end (in a good way).

Part of the fun of this type of story is picking out the slightly different versions of familiar characters.  Who has a different name in this reality?  Whose powers manifest differently?  Who has a different role on the team?  And look at those weird romantic pairings?  Some of these things are pretty cool.  Cyclops has been morphed into a character called Basilisk who had his eyelids removed by the “bad guys” and was used to kill mutants in a kinda optical firing squad.  Needless to say, he’s a little eff-ed up by the experience.  So, who leads the team?  Well, that would be Cannonball!  And, that’s neat because Sam has been groomed as a leader since he first appeared in the early 1980’s.  But, the coolest transformation is Rogue.  She has been Mike Carey’s central character since he started his run on this title 4-5 years ago, so it’s nice to see her continue a central role in this story.  In a very interesting manifestation of her powers, Rogue is now “Legacy” and she is used to absorb the essence of dying mutants to preserve their memory.

Of course, a lot is still mysterious at the end of this issue.  Why are the humans attacking the mutants?  What is going on in the larger world beyond this Fortress X?  We’ll have to stay tuned to find out.