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.

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.

Fear Itself: Fearsome Four #1 – Review

By: Brandon Montclare (writer), Michael William Kaluta, Ryan Bodenheim & Simon Bisley (art), Chris Sotomayor, Tony Avina & Bisley (colors), Nate Piekos (colors), John Denning (assistant editor) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Whoever feels fear shall burn at the Man-Thing’s touch!  Given that Man-Thing is living on the Raft and the Raft has been blown up during FEAR ITSELF, that little Marvel factoid might present a problem, huh?

The Review: This comic is an interesting concept that kinda falls apart in its execution.  When Juggernaut’s hammer blasted the Raft, all manner of bad guys where loosed onto the world.  Among them was Man Thing, who isn’t really evil. He’s kinda just an elemental force of nature and is hanging out on the Raft to provide transportation for the Thunderbolts.  But, everyone knows that Man Thing is drawn to fear and when he touches someone who is afraid, he burns them to a crisp.  So, the fact that the world is in a full-scale panic due to Fear Itself is going to drive poor Man Thing nuts and a lot of civilians will die unless someone stops him.

See, that set-up kinda works, right?

Now what I don’t like as much is the execution.  The team that is sent after Man Thing consists of: Howard the Duck, She Hulk (original green lawyer flavor), Frankenstein and Nighthawk.  Some comic fans love any sort of oddball mash-up because I see their comments on message boards and they like saying, “Just give me Howard the Duck and Frankenstein working together and I’m happy.”  I hate to sound elitist, but I’m a little more discerning than that as I really didn’t care for the team-up and the only singular character I enjoy out of that bunch is She-Hulk.

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.

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.

Hulk #30 – Review

By: Jeff Parker (writer), Ed McGuinness (pencils), Dexter Vines (inks), Morry Hollowell (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

A-Bomb back up by: Parker (writer), Tim Seeley (art), Matt Milla (colors), Dukeshire (letters) & Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Red Hulk and Green Hulk have to team-up (kinda) to defeat a villain who has come to Earth just to beat a Hulk.  But, which one is he after?

What’s Good: Sometimes it is kinda nice to have a “between stories” issue.  I doubt anything in this issue is going to have huge, lasting implications for anything Hulk-related.  Heck….Impossible Man shows up, so you know it’s going to be silly in a Saturday-morning cartoon sort of way.

The basic upshot of the story is that Xemnu, the Living Titan, has come to Earth just to kill the Hulk.  But of course, there is more than one Hulk now.  Xemnu, of course, runs into the Red Hulk (which he finds perplexing) and before long, both Hulks and a whole shebang of big Hulk-sized villains are also involved in the fracas.  If you like watching Hulks smash big things, this will be fun for you.

The real star of the issue is a special “team-up” between the two Hulks.  I don’t want to spoil it, but it’s a lot of fun and requires two guys who loathe each other (Banner and Ross) to work together in a very intimate way.  It’s kinda like watching two guys who don’t really like each other compete in a three-legged race.

McGuinness is on his game doing his brand of Hulk art.  It’s not really my kinda thing personally, but I know it clicks for a lot of people and it is very good art in conveying that Hulks are big and strong and smash things (which is kinda the whole point).

Hulk #29 – Review

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

Watcher back-up: Jeff Parker (writer), Ben Oliver (art), Frank Martin (colors), Dukeshire (colors) & Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Just as the Hulks finish off the Scorched Earth plan, a new evil arises.

What’s Good: There are a ton of things good in this comic.  Jeff Parker really knows how to pack a LOT of stuff into a single issue.  Part of his trick is that he never wastes a panel.  Even when the Hulks are walking around or fighting there is some kind of exposition going on and that’s great because it beats the hell out of the alternative (Hulks standing around and talking).  How about that: Story and action!

And, that’s right, you read correctly: Hulks!  This issue has both green and red Hulk as they smash up MODOK’s island of dinomonsters.  This is not only a lot of fun, but leads to some very interesting character development for Ross/Red Hulk.  Turns out that Banner didn’t depower him, but merely told him he did so that Red Hulk would accept some guidance. The relationship between Banner and Ross is very unique in comics right now: antagonistic, yet grudgingly respectful.  You can see how much Ross hates Banner, but has no choice but to respect him (a little bit).

Parker and Hardman must have a lot of fun with these issues.  I wonder how Parker springs these things on Hardman.  Does he call him in advance and say, “This month you’re going to get to draw a huge fishbowl full of floating MODOK brains!” or does Hardman just find out when he reads the script?  Well, the MODOK brains are cool and the dinomonsters are very cool (and dinomonsters EATING the MODOK brains are cooler still).  Hardman is such a gifted artist.  He draws a good Hulk, but it seems like he draws a pretty good anything.

Let’s also give some kudos to Bettie Breitweiser for her colors.  This is how to color Hulks!  They don’t need to gleam like a recently waxed sports car.  Her colors combine with Hardman’s lines to give this title a very realistic air.

She-Hulks #4 – Review

By: Harrison Wilcox (writer), Ryan Stegman (pencils), Michael Babinski (inks), Guru eFX (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: She-Hulks comes to a close in an issue that is alternately fun and sad.

What’s Good: This issue really hits the right emotional notes.  First, it has some fun portions, especially some scenes in the immediate aftermath of the She-Hulks battle with Klaw.  A good She-Hulks story should have some fun and witty banter because Jen She-Hulk is a light-hearted character.  Although she is a Hulk she’s also a young woman who just kinda wants to have fun in the city too.

Then (of course) we get some sadness.  C’mon, you knew that was coming, right?  This is a Hulk story and Hulk stories don’t end with everyone loving the Hulks.  That is sad and tragic enough when the Hulk affected is Bruce Banner, but it is sadder to see when it is Lyra who is just an awkward and misunderstood teenage girl.  You will really feel badly for her at one point in this issue.

Wilcox and Stegman capture both ends of the spectrum in this issue.  It isn’t surprising that they could do the “fun” part, because that’s what we’ve gotten for the first 3 issues.  But, it was pretty cool how well they nailed the sad part.  They’re both newer creators at Marvel, so hopefully this demonstration of their dramatic range keeps them from getting typecast onto jaunty girl-books.  While it is very sad that this title didn’t get the support from retailers to become an outstanding ongoing series (along the lines of what DC has with Batgirl), we can take some positives from this.  One is that the creators have left these characters in a good place for the next team.  The other is that these two guys are both really talented and I (for one) would rather see them both on a title that will draw more eyeballs to their talents.

I’ve gushed about Ryan Stegman’s art in these reviews before, but it bears saying again just how talented he is.  If you are familiar with his art, you know that he has a lot of talents doing still life figures that don’t look anything like a She-Hulk blasting some guy in the face.  What I love about the style that Stegman is using is how well it straddles the cartoony/realism line.  The super-realistic guys (like Steve Epting) put themselves in a tough place where they have to bring their A-game to every panel because our eyes see their characters and think “pictures” instead of “cartoons”, so our eyes fixate on every little detail of anatomy that doesn’t conform.  What Stegman has done is find a neat sweet spot where he isn’t hyper-realistic (so he doesn’t have to noodle over body dimensions) but he does so with going to an extreme Chris Bachalo/Humberto Ramos level.  I love it.

Chaos War #5 – Review

By: Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers), Khoi Pham (pencils), Thomas Palmer & Bob McLeod (inks), Sunny Gho (colors), Simon Bowland (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Time for the final throwdown battle between Herc and the Chaos King!

What’s Good: This Herc storyline wrapped up in a really nice and fun way.  As one would expect, the supporting cast gets relegated to… well… supporting roles to make way for Herc and his buddy Cho to save the day.  In the end, it is a combination of Cho’s genius and Herc taking a heroic turn that defeat the Chaos King.

Van Lente and Pak have come up with some neat ideas in their time as collaborators, but the resolution that Cho comes up with the beat the Chaos King is one of their best.  There is really no way to discuss it without SPOILING it, so you’ve been warned…  As the issue unfolds, things look pretty bleak for the heroes, but just as things look their darkest, Cho and Galactus collaborate to form a pocket universe into which the humans of Earth can be evacuated.  Only there isn’t going to be anywhere near enough time to get everyone out (since even a powered-up Herc is able to do little more than delay Chaos King).  Suddenly it dawns on Cho to just toss the Chaos King into the pocket universe.  There he can be happy with his entropy and life can return to normal in the Marvel U.  The end!  How cool is that?

This story also has some fallout.  Herc powered up greatly during the course of this story, but let’s just say that he is NOT the same at the end.  Oh, and a certain team of superheroes made famous by John Bryne seems to still be alive at the end of the issue.  Cool!

The art in this issue does a solid job with the story telling and that is what art really needs to do in a comic.  Good story telling is preferable to the occasional artistic flourish that sacrifices the story.  The layouts are impeccable and Pham does a great job of conveying the epic scale of a battle between Gods.

Chaos War: Dead Avengers #3 – Review

By: Fred Van Lente (writer), Tom Grummett (pencils), Cory Hamscher & Terry Pallot (inks), Andy Troy & Matt Milla (colors), Ed Dukeshire (letters) & Mark Paniccia (editor)

The Story: Will the Dead Avengers be able to withstand the final assault by the Grim Reaper and save the Comatose Avengers.

What’s Good: This has been the best of the Chaos War tie-ins by a long way.  It has felt very connected with the main Chaos War story and it also just makes sense as a story.  The credit for that (I assume) goes to writer, Fred Van Lente.  Mr. Van Lente is also writing Chaos War proper (thus the congruence with the main event) and generally hasn’t written a bad story in quite a while.  I’m always impressed by his ability to make just about any comic scenario interesting.

This issue has a high degree of difficulty too.  The general premise is that since “death” has been destroyed by the Chaos King (and all mortal humans have been tossed into a coma), some Dead Avengers are back and take it upon themselves to make sure that some Dead Villains (notably The Grim Reaper) don’t kill Spidey, Bucky Cap, Spiderwoman, et al while they’re flopped out on the floor.  The trouble for Van Lente is that he needs to have most of his toys put away by the end of this issue because you just know that the end result of Chaos War isn’t going to be that all the Dead Avengers are alive again.  Maybe one or two, but not all.  So, Van Lente sets about writing an entertaining and well-paced story under this constraint.  Most of the toys are put away by the end of the issue and a few others look to have roles to play in the finale of Chaos War proper.

Inkers make a big difference.  I should know better since I collect original comic art, but I often gloss over inkers in doing reviews because it is just hard to distinguish (at least for me) how much is inker and how much is penciler.  What we get in this issue is still some very classic Tom Grummett super-heroes, but the fact that we have two inkers on this issue allows me to appreciate inker Cory Hamscher too.  A lot of that classic goodness in the past couple issues of Dead Avengers was his work.  Let me also take a minute to talk about an artistic subject that has been bugging me recently: Noses!  There is a current trend with some of our younger artists (many of whom I LOVE) to shade noses such that it looks like they have a Breathe-Right Nasal Strip on their snout.  I think that some of these younger artists (who have worked largely in the B&W world previously) are used to letting colorist highlight that nose for you.  I draw your attention to how Grummett and Hamscher draw noses on the Vision in this book.  Perfect!  No weird shading!  Young artists should take note of this!