World War Hulks #1 – Review

by Jeff Parker, Harrison Wilcox, Scott Reed, & Paul Tobin (writers), Zach Howard, Ben Oliver, Aluir Amancio, Ramon Rosanas, Ryan Stegman, & Ig Guara (artists)

The Story: As Fall of the Hulks transitions into World War Hulks, we pause for a moment to get glimpses into the recent pasts of some of the major players of the story-line.  And no, none of them are the Hulk.

What’s Good: Well, I’ve got to admit that I had low expectations for this one, and I was generally not surprised with what I found.  However, the two stories (out of the six) that I actually got some enjoyment out of were the two that I was convinced would be the worst.  Harrison Wilcox’s Red She-Hulk tale and Jeff Parker’s Deadpool yarn are hardly worth the price of admission, but they succeed at being illuminating and funny, respectively.  Parker’s introduction of Hulkpool in particular induced a few smirks from this reviewer, as did the return of Bob, Agent of… well, you’ll see.

Aliens #2 – Review

By John Arcudi (Writer), Zach Howard & Gabriel Andrade (Pencils), Mark Irwin, Marcelo Mueller, & Zach Howard (Inks), and Wes Dzioba (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: Aliens #1 was pretty flawed, but it had enough potential to make me think that issue two would be worth checking out.

The Story: The lone survivor from the vicious attack shown last issue receives a call for help. He responds to the call and finds himself face to face with a number of aliens.

What’s Good: The best thing I can say about Aliens #2 is that it delivers on the alien action. It’s fast, it looks good, it’s violent, and it’s suitably intense. While it may not be as gritty as I’d like, it delivers in the ways that matter most. If you want alien action, Aliens #2 is the place to get it.

What’s Not So Good: Aliens #2 is, in all honesty, about as generic as a comic gets. It reads alright and features solid artwork, but there is absolutely nothing that makes it memorable in any way. I honestly wish I could write about it more, but I simply have nothing else to say.

Conclusion: If you like the Aliens franchise and want to see some aliens getting killed, then by all means pick up Aliens #2. Just don’t buy it expecting anything special… at all.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Aliens #1 – Review

By John Arcudi (Script), Zach Howard (Pencils & Inks), Mark Irwin (Inks), and Wes Dzioba (Colors)

Some Thoughts Before The Review: It’s been a long time since I picked up an Aliens comic. Maybe a new number one is just the thing to get me back on board…

The Story: A crew of scholars heads to a mining planet to investigate a special site. Things don’t go as expected…

What’s Good and What’s Not So Good: I never thought I’d say this, but the highlight of Aliens #1 is the character work done by John Arcudi. The academic crew quickly comes across as likable and it makes the ending of the comic far more effective than it has any right to be… Especially considering that everything plays out in a rather predictable fashion. What’s unfortunate is that all the good character work is completely overwhelmed by the fact that there are distressingly few Aliens in Alien #1.

They appear on the cover and in the first few pages, but, after that, you might as well forget about them. I appreciate a slow burn as much as the next guy, but I’m fairly certain that many people are going to be very disappointed by the lack of Alien action. And if they aren’t disappointed by the lack of Aliens, I have a feeling they might be disappointed by the way a storyline is constructed and then quickly demolished in favor of something that seems to belong in another book.

The artwork faces a similar type of problem. The few Aliens that do show up look quite awesome, the characters are all expressive, the bits of action are well done, and the settings are impressively detailed….BUT…the visuals don’t really fit the Aliens style all that well. Cartoony, vibrant, and colorful are not words I would ever use to describe any of the Alien movies (or even the old comics), but those words are quite fitting for Aliens #1. Sure the artwork looks pleasing and at times, quite good, but that doesn’t mean it’s right for the material.

Conclusion: Aliens #1 is a strange, frustrating book. On a technical level it’s enjoyable and quite solid, but as a fan I have to say that it is lacking in a few (very) key areas.  That said, I’ll definitely be sticking around for at least another issue.

Grade: C-

-Kyle Posluszny

Giant-Size Incredible Hulk #1 – Review

Roger Stern (Writer), Zach Howard & Cory Hamscher (Artists), John Byrne (Pencils), Bob Layton (Inks)

This Giant-Size Hulk is a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got a pair of stories by Roger Stern, one new and one a reprint from 1978’s Incredible Hulk Annual #7, which, although Marvel claims it’s hard to find, seems fairly plentiful if you cared to look for it. The new tale follows a one-time Hulk sidekick, Fred Sloan, as he interviews people who have seen or encountered the Hulk in an attempt to write a biography that is fair to the misunderstood green giant. It’s a decent one-off story that reads like a throw back to an earlier era of the Hulk (in fact it reminds me of something you’d have read in the Rampaging Hulk, if you remember that magazine). This book feels completely divorced from current continuity, so if that sort of thing bugs you then this may not be the book for you.

I’ll wager a guess that Sloan and his subjects are all characters from Stern’s run on the Hulk in the late 70’s. I don’t have those books to check, but it sure feels like he’s revisiting his time on the book. The art for the story is serviceable – nothing to write home about. At times it slips into too cartoonish a style for my tastes and suffers by comparison with Byrne’s work in the reprint.

The reprint story is first rate. I don’t recall ever having read it, so it was a fresh read. It co-stars the Angel and the Ice-Man from their Champions days. They enlist the Hulk’s aid against a Sentinel, go into space, and generally sit back while the Hulk gets in his licks. This is a fun read if you like action packed, self-contained stories. It’s also a chance to enjoy John Byrne on a character with whom he’s not ordinarily associated. (Grade: B)

-Arthur Cooke