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Incredible Hulks #623 Review

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May 232013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #623

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Dale Eaglesham

Published: April 2011

Boy, Marvel really likes drawing parallels to Planet Hulk and World War Hulk in Hulk-related titles. We’ve had “World War Cho,” World War Hulks, and, over in the red Hulk’s title, Planet Red Hulk. Now we’ve got Planet Savage, which is a bit of a misnomer since we’re still on the planet Earth, albeit in the Savage Land. To the credit of this story arc that begins in The Incredible Hulks #623, at least there is a tie back to Planet Hulk, with Miek and the Warbound making an appearance.

The issue picks up where the last one left off, with the Hulk near death after the beating he took from Zeus. His ex-girlfriend Kate Waynesboro rigs up a super-defibrillator to stabilize the Hulk’s heart, and I have to give a slight nod that she isn’t just shocking a flatline like most media medics do when they use a defibrillator. Leave it to a comic book involving a green monster lying near death after fighting a Greek god to show the use of a defibrillator in a more realistic light than any medical drama.

The Hulk’s weakened state means a couple of things. First, he’s not able to transform back to Bruce Banner lest he dies from his wounds. Second, he’s much more vulnerable than we’ve seen anywhere in Greg Pak’s run. The Hulk gets a message from his old ally Ka-Zar in the Savage Land, who informs him that Miek’s bug refugees from World War Hulk have been wreaking havoc in the area. That means that it’s time to leave the Hulk family behind, save for Skaar, and journey with the Warbound to face off against Miek.

Unfortunately for the Hulk, Miek has a bit more cunning than he’s previously displayed. A traitor poisons the Hulk’s company’s food, rendering them all unconscious. This is probably Miek taking advantage of the Hulk’s weakened state, since it’s unlikely he’d be so easily captured otherwise. Skaar, Ka-Zar, and the rest of the Warbound sleep the night away while the Hulk is brought before Miek as a prisoner.

This is a buildup issue, but it’s done very well. First of all, we jump right into the action due to the fact that the story picks up right after Godsmash, and even if you didn’t read the previous issue you’ve got a decent idea of what’s going on. The Hulk has some nice character moments, particularly when he leaves Betty behind to go to the Savage Land and they have a talk/fight on his way out. It’s also interesting to see the Hulk in such a weakened state, since for most of Pak’s run he’s been stronger than he ever has been before. The art is solid, although Dale Eagleham’s pencils make the current Hulk look like the more intelligent merged Hulk that showed up throughout the 1990s as part of Peter David’s run. Other than that, though, the Savage Land is rendered beautifully.

Overall, The Incredible Hulks #623 is one of the better kickoffs to a new storyline that Marvel has had lately, and it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re keen on seeing a continuation of the Planet Hulk saga or are just a fan of the Incredible One in general.

Incredible Hulks #622 Review

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May 192013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #622

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: February 2011

No holds barred beatdowns are nothing new in the Hulk’s comic, but it is very rarely that the big green guy is the victim of one. The Incredible Hulks #622 represents a very rare case of the Hulk thoroughly getting his butt kicked in a physical fight. Perhaps because of this, it also represents one of the grittiest and gutsiest moments in the Hulk’s history.

Picking up from the last issue, the Hulk throws down with Zeus. Appealing to the god’s pride, he gets Zeus to fight without his magic and lightning. This seems to work in the Hulk’s favor at first, but the power of Zeus soon becomes too much for even the Hulk to handle. (And maybe Zeus is cheating a little bit, since his punches have the crackle of lightning around them.) The Hulk takes a beating the likes of which he has almost never seen before.

So why is the Hulk willing to take such punishment? Because he wants Zeus to cure his family. I liken this issue as something akin to a dog dragging a dead bird into the house – the dog is trying to show love, but not in a manner that seems very lovely to humans. Similarly, the Hulk is trying to appeal to Zeus, but he’s not the type of guy to get on his knees and beg. Instead, he’s trying to talk to the god in a language he understands – the language of impulsiveness and violence.

On the surface, at least, it doesn’t seem to work. Not only is the Hulk beaten to within an inch of his life, but Zeus diminishes his healing factor and chains him to a rock where vultures pick at him for days. It is only when Skaar, Hercules, and the rest of the Hulk’s allies finally arrive that he is freed, and even then his wounds will linger for quite a while. As Zeus points out, the Hulk has never been beaten this badly. Zeus might have missed the first appearance of the Abomination, where he beat the Hulk to death’s door, but otherwise he’s pretty much right – the Hulk hasn’t been physically dominated like this in a long time.

Looking ahead a bit, however, maybe the Hulk did reach Zeus a little. As we look on toward future storylines by Greg Pak, keep in mind what the Hulk asked: namely, his son and the Warbound to have a home where they will be accepted and Rick and Betty to be cured. Maybe Zeus did give the Hulk a little bit of a hand in his own roundabout way.

Overall, this might be a tough issue to stomach for Hulk fans. We’re used to seeing the big guy take a beating and then get stronger, ultimately emerging victorious. This time around, he just gets his butt kicked. However, on a character level, this is some good stuff. It shows the Hulk’s willingness to sacrifice himself for his family. It also highlights how many allies he has, since he’s got a host of friends and family willing to come to his rescue. The art remains gorgeous and while we don’t get a clear answer as to why the Hulk felt the need to pick a fight with Zeus, there are enough hints there to give this issue the feeling that it is part of a larger plot. All told, while the story is not one for the faint of heart, Godsmash does its job of delivering something new and interesting in the life of the Hulk.

Incredible Hulks #620 Review

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May 122013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #620

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: January 2011

The power of love saving the day is a pretty tired cliché. So how is it that The Incredible Hulks #620 is actually good despite employing that cliché? Because it applies to the Hulk, and nobody in the Marvel Universe is deserving of a little bit of love more than this guy.

This issue features a showdown we’ve been waiting to see for a while – the Hulk versus his own abusive father. Since Brian Banner never had any superpowers, you’d think that this would end with a quick punch and a splat. Not so here – Brian is fueled by the Hulk’s hatred for him, which is as boundless as the Hulk’s own rage. This leads to the Hulk getting a rare beatdown of his own.

Fortunately, not all is lost. Jarella steps up to give us a moment of awesome as she invokes her love for the Hulk against Brian. This is the part that would normally be a bit cheesy, but in this situation it works. Jarella is joined by Bruce Banner’s mother, his old allies, and the entire Hulk family. This turns the once-formidable Brian Banner into something that the Hulk can simply blow away. The reason this works is because we’ve been through half a century of the Hulk being tortured, hunted, and hounded. He’s always wanted to be left alone, and whenever he gets a friend it always ends in tragedy. However, he’s also accumulated quite a few allies and affected many lives in his time as the Hulk. This is him finally getting a chance to see that he’s not alone and that he is in fact well-loved by many. The scene could have been eye-rolling, but instead it’s a bit of a tear-jerker.

Our backup story deals with Korg and his relationship to the Hulk. The art in the backup is only so-so and the story itself is a bit of filler, but at least it provides some insight as to why Korg is with the Hulks and why the rest of the Warbound are not.

Overall, this issue is another top-notch story that wraps up the Hulks’ involvement with the Chaos War storyline (except in the Chaos War finale itself, where the Hulks play a role in the story’s resolution). The writing is grandiose when it needs to be and clever when it needs to be – it’s especially amusing to see the reaction of Bruce’s mother to his two former wives. She dislikes Betty, who is the red She-Hulk here, but is quite fond of Jarella. Too bad for her that Jarella is the one who will be returning to the land of the dead along with the Chaos King’s minions.

The art, as always is excellent. An extra kudos goes to Paul Pelletier this time around as he manages to render the monstrous version of Brian Banner very much as he appeared in the Hulk’s dreamscape way back in The Incredible Hulk #377, giving a long-term sense of continuity to the story that doesn’t make it inaccessible to younger fans.

As a whole, this story is a good example of how to do an event tie-in properly. While the final scene of the Hulks’ battle against the Chaos King takes place over in the Chaos War miniseries, you can read this book and get a very good feel for what’s going on without having to go out and buy another book as a road map. It’s also not just a cheap tie-in – the appearance of Bruce Banner’s parents make it significantly relevant to the book’s main character, which is something that a lot of event tie-ins lack. The bottom line is that these tie-in issues are done well and are must-haves for Hulk fans, even if you aren’t following the Chaos War event.

Incredible Hulks #619 Review

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May 042013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #619

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: December 2010

Let’s be clear about one thing in The Incredible Hulks #619: the art is FANTASTIC. Aside from Paul Pelletier’s usual strong work, the layouts here are terrific and aid the storytelling tremendously. I’ll get to the example that stands out most to me in a little bit.

This issue continues the Chaos War tie-in, again doing it in a way that makes it feel like this is a legitimate part of the Hulk’s story and not just a money grab by Marvel. It helps that the Hulk’s supporting cast, especially his ex-girlfriend/Rick Jones’ wife Marlo, is pretty well tied-in to the character of Death, who in turn is central to the Chaos War storyline.

This time around, the Hulk and his family not only have to take on the Abomination, but also Zom, who has now fully taken over Dr. Strange’s body. The good news is that with Zom in control he doesn’t have Strange’s full magical capabilities. This means that the Hulks manage to track down Marlo first. During the chaos, we also get to see an interesting confrontation between Betty as the red She-Hulk and the Abomination, who had killed her previously. Sadly, this meeting is not the meat of the issue and is too short for my liking.

The place where the art really shines is where Marlo, empowered by the piece of Death within her, summons up some deceased allies to help the Hulks. This includes Jarella, the Hulk’s green-skinned bride, Glen Talbot, Betty’s first husband, and Hiroim, the beloved of Korg. Each reunion gets its own panel, and Pelletier deftly moves from one group to the next while another is in the background. The result is the feeling that all these conversations are happening at the same time, despite the fact that we’re reading them sequentially.

Speaking of excellent work, the issue’s climax delivers the Hulk’s own greatest enemy. No, not the Maestro, the Madman, or any other gamma villain, but rather Brian Banner, Bruce’s abusive father. The confrontation between the two should be quite explosive.

The backup story has Banner evaluating Lyra for his team. Lyra, who grew up in a world without men, doesn’t really feel like she needs a father. It doesn’t help that Banner is terrible with human relationships – in order to talk with Lyra he has to do an Internet search on fatherhood. This is a decent enough backstory, but it really might as well have been called, “The Reason We Won’t be Using Lyra in Any Future Issues,” since it concludes with Banner deciding that Jen Walters is the best guardian for her. It would have been nice to see Banner try to interact with a daughter as well as a son, but oh well…see you when they decide to have another short-lived She-Hulk series, Lyra.

This issue is strong from a writing perspective, but the art really steals the story. Pelletier, who has steadily improved since coming onto this title, is nothing short of terrific here. The art hasn’t helped to improve a Hulk story this much since Planet Hulk. Whether you want a compelling story or just pretty pictures, The Incredible Hulks #619 is a terrific choice.

Incredible Hulks #618 Review

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Apr 302013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #618

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: December 2010

The Incredible Hulks #618 kicks off this title’s crossover with the Chaos War event. Since Greg Pak is the writer of Chaos War and of this title, it’s not surprising that there is a crossover. It is surprising, however, that Pak does a remarkable job of keeping the stories somewhat separate, which means that if you don’t want to read Chaos War, you don’t have to.

The Hulk is fresh off the tragic ending of the Dark Son storyline and in space when the Chaos War starts, which means that when Doctor Strange reaches out to him for help he’s sort of thrust right in the middle of things. This is a good way to introduce readers who haven’t really been following the goings-on of Hercules and company that led up to this event – like the Hulk himself, we’re thrown into the center of chaos.

There’s a bit of family conflict here, particularly between the Hulk and the red She-Hulk, who wants him to just get over the loss of a son in the last issue, but for the most part the character conflict is pushed to the sideline so we can get into the fighting. There are a lot of balls in the air in this one, and the nature of the current Hulk title as a team book is emphasized. With the dead walking the world, the Hulk has to face off against a new and powered up Abomination. At the same time, Rick finds out that his wife Marlo is the key to solving the current problem, since way back when Marlo became linked to Death.

In our backup story, we have more of Banner reflecting on his team-building process, this time regarding Rick. You’ve got to wonder where Banner found the time for all this stuff, since the comics have been going at a breakneck pace and he’s also been busy over in the pages of Hulk. That point aside, this is a nice little vignette that really emphasizes an important part of Rick’s character – he may act like a goofball, but when the chips are down he’ll put his own life at risk to save others.

Overall, this story makes for some good action, but it lacks the character pathos that the Dark Son storyline had. Things might be a little too busy here – the return of the Abomination alone could make for a big issue, but because there is just so much going on it almost gets lost in the shuffle. For what it is, though, this story is strong on the writing side. The art is nothing short of remarkable, with Paul Pelletier knocking it out of the park despite having to deal with a lot of business on page after page. As a whole, the first part of the Chaos War doesn’t come across as quite as personal and interesting as Dark Son, but it does jump right into the action quickly and gives us some Hulk family-centric storytelling despite the issue being a crossover with a larger event.

Hulk #33 Review

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Apr 162013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Hulk

Issue #33

Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Gabriel Hardman

Published: July 2011

If you’re like me and thought that the last issue was too slow, Hulk #33 pics up the action and gives us more of a focus on the red Hulk. This issue gives us a first encounter with one of his new enemies and also leads to the next story arc, Planet Red Hulk.

As the red Hulk tries to fix the brain mines that General Fortean planted in him which will kill him when he turns back to Thunderbolt Ross, he’s challenged by the reconstructed serial killer Black Fog. The red Hulk wins this battle, but takes quite a few cuts in the process. He also loses two of his LMD allies, leaving him only with the charming Annie as an assistant.

Other than the fight in this issue, there are a couple of cool highlights. First, it’s interesting to see Ross repeatedly want to get in touch with Bruce Banner, who he thinks will fix his problems. Ross has spent most of his time in comics despising Banner and wanting nothing to do with him, so it’s a pretty significant reversal that he’s now relying on the guy. Of course, Banner’s a bit busy over in The Incredible Hulks, so he’s not available to help Ross.

The second highlight of this issue is when Chuck, one of the LMDs, brings Ross to an old aircraft graveyard. This is a chance to see General Ross’ military mind and get a bit more insight to his character. For a guy that’s been around for as long as Ross has been, it’s surprising that there is so little about his past in previous comics. Most of his on-page life has been defined by his relationship to Banner and the Hulk, so it’s interesting to see him get some reflective time of his own.

There are a few flaws in the story, however. First, there’s the problem that this comic might be overcrowded with villains. Fortean alone would be a good nemesis to focus on, but now he’s being pushed to the side so the plans of Zero/One and the coming threat of Omegex can be dealt with. Second, there’s the fact that Zero/One isn’t really that good a villain. She’s got the power, but her motivation is vague and her personality lacking. She hasn’t personally encountered the red Hulk yet, so there’s not even a real connection between her and her would-be nemesis. Quite frankly, she’s boring, and that’s one of the worst things you can say about a comic book supervillain.

Despite these flaws, Hulk #33 is a good look into the mind of the red Hulk, with some rare introspection from a character who has previously been all about action. This issue also offers progression in terms of plot, with the red Hulk finally able to sleep thanks to a special serum that keeps his brain mines from detonating. With Carlo Pagulayan returning for the next story arc to give us something reminiscent of the classic Planet Hulk, this is a good issue to grab if you’re looking to become a fan of the red Hulk.

Hulk #32 Review

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Apr 152013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Hulk

Issue #32

Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Gabriel Hardman

Published: June 2011

Hulk #32 continues the buildup to the red Hulk’s new rogue’s gallery. Unfortunately, there isn’t much of the actual protagonist in these pages. What he does get is just the sort of thing that the character needs to make him appeal to a wider audience, though – a bit of heroism.

Since his inception, one of the main problems with the red Hulk is that he’s been all about smashing the good guys. Throughout Jeph Loeb’s run on the character, he fought the Hulk, Thor, the Avengers, the X-Men, X-Force, the Defenders, and more. He basically showed up, made a bunch of boasts about how powerful he was, then threw down with everybody’s favorite heroes. This made him more irritating than interesting. Even when he teamed up with the Hulk against the Intelligencia, it had more of a “bad guy teaming up with the good guys” vibe than anything else. When Jeff Parker came on board, we got more of the same, with Iron Man, Thor, and Namor all lining up to give the red Hulk a beatdown in a conga line of humiliation.

Now, thankfully, we’re seeing the red Hulk as he sees himself – as a hero. His main action in this issue is to defend a town in Arkansas from a tornado. General Fortean, observing the whole thing, thinks that it’s a calculated move to boost his public opinion. That’s oddly meta, since scenes like this are likely a move on the part of the creative team to make the red Hulk more appealing to an audience that has gotten sick of him.

Unfortunately, this issue has more of a feeling of filler and a slower pace than the last one. The red Hulk gets relatively little action, and Annie is missing for most of the issue, off at Gamma Base to figure out how they can get the nano-bombs out of the red Hulk’s skull. Instead, we get to see more buildup of the villainous cast, with Zero/One hunting down a serial killer nicknamed the Black Fog and “improving” him to become more like the fabled beast created through a mixture of half-truths and children’s stories. While there’s nothing particularly uninteresting about Zero/One’s story, she and her hapless followers are not what people are coming to this issue for. It would have been preferable to shorten the creation of the Black Fog some in order to give the red Hulk more page time. Alternately, more page time could also have been given to General Fortean, who is a more interesting villain because he is such a mirror image of Thunderbolt Ross himself.

All told, Hulk #32 is a decent issue, but things are starting to slow down a little bit. The red Hulk having his own cast of villains is an exciting prospect, but there might be too much going on right now around the protagonist. He’s got Fortean, Zero/One, the Black Fog, the approaching threat of Omegex, and the hinted upcoming threat from some ancient Mayans all on the table. Hopefully, future issues will work on what is already on the board instead of adding even more pieces.

Hulk #31 Review

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Apr 082013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Hulk

Issue #31

Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Gabriel Hardman

Published: May 2011

If you missed Hulk #30.1, Hulk #31 fills you in with the important stuff: there’s a dude named General Fortean out to destroy the red Hulk. This issue focuses on the continued conflict between Fortean and Thunderbolt Ross while simultaneously building up the red Hulk’s supporting cast.

On the ally side, we’ve got Annie, a life model decoy designed to assist Ross. She’s a spunky little robot who is pretty nonchalant about being an android. As a result, she’s pretty charming as a sidekick, especially when played against the more gruff and serious personality of Thunderbolt Ross.

On the enemy side, we have not only General Fortean but also a newcomer named Zero/One, who is some sort of super energy being. Zero/One spends this issue behind the scenes building up a small army to take on the red Hulk. From the looks of it, she’s intended to be to Ross what the Leader is to Bruce Banner – a brainy villain to counter the red Hulk’s brawn. We also have the super-robot Omegex, which the Watchers observed heading toward Earth. This will likely serve as a more straightforward fight scene.

Our backup story does more foreshadowing as we find Rick Jones and the She-Hulks accidentally unleashing some supremely powerful evil Mayan conquerors. This plays into the whole 2012 thing, which is extremely overplayed, but let’s just swallow that bitter pill and hope that there’s something more original in the works. This plotline will pick up later on in the series. The only objection I have here is that Rick seems to flirt with Lyra, which is odd considering that 1) Rick is still married, even if he is currently separated from Marlo, and 2) based on the She-Hulks miniseries, Lyra is supposed to be a high schooler. I really wish that Marvel would make up their minds about how old Lyra is…especially if they’re going to continue to draw her as a very busty mature adult, as almost any woman in comics is drawn.

Although this is a building issue, it doesn’t feel as blatant about it as it could. There’s a lot going on and a general feeling that the plot is moving forward, even if the ramp-up is taking some time. As the red Hulk living the outcast life that the real Hulk once lived, it’s interesting to see Ross handle himself. The book continues to have a lot of potential and is now getting a solid cast of characters built up around old Thunderbolt. Hulk #31 is definitely worth a read-through.

Hulk #30.1 Review

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Apr 072013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Hulk

Issue #30.1

Written by Jeff Parker, Art by Gabriel Hardman

Published: May 2011

Marvel’s .1 initiative was designed to get people up to speed on their books if they’re new readers. Hulk #30.1 doesn’t exactly do that, since it’s pretty much the beginning of a new story arc, but it does make for an easy jumping on point for folks who have been avoiding the red Hulk’s tales for one reason or another.

The story plays a bit fast and loose with continuity, retconning in a protégé for General Ross named Reggie Fortean. He’s apparently been just off-panel every time Ross has fought the Hulk. The only thing that really bugs me about Fortean’s appearance is that there could have been an existing character put in his place without much difficulty. The best candidate would have been Major Talbot if Marvel had stuck with the initial suggestion that he had been brought back from the dead. The next best would be Cary St. Lawrence, a Colonel that was introduced in the Hulk’s book during the 1990s and who worked alongside Ross.

That objection aside, Fortean serves as exactly what the book needs: a real villain, and a mirror image of Thunderbolt Ross himself. He engages Ross in battle and doses him with nanites that will melt down his brain the next time he transforms into his human form. This will set up the conflict for future issues, and it does so quite well. Ross has a respect for Fortean but also sees the dangers of his former protégé becoming obsessed with defeating a Hulk like he was. The issue also highlights Ross’ desire to keep his identity secret lest his military record – the one thing he has left – become jeopardized.

One of the problems with the red Hulk stories since the character’s creation is that they’ve all been the red Hulk fighting other superheroes. There’s been a lot of boasting and bragging about how he’s his own monster and better than the original Hulk, but we haven’t seen that. We’ve just seen a schoolyard bully punching out people’s friends in a misguided attempt to seem cool. Hulk #30.1 is the start of fixing that, allowing Ross to have his own rogue’s gallery and be his own hero. It all happens in keeping with the character’s personality, and the future of the red Hulk looks like it will be an interesting ride.

Hulk #30 Review

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Apr 052013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Hulk

Issue #30

Written by Jeff Parker, Art by c

Published: April 2011

Hulk #30 is a callback to Silver Age wackiness, complete with a Dragonball Z-style fusion between the green and red Hulks. It turns out that Xemnu the Titan is back in town and determined to defeat the Incredible Hulk, but he finds the red Hulk instead. Hilarity ensues.

Okay, well maybe not hilarity. Fun at least. Writer Jeff Parker is about as solid as they come, but trying to do humor seems to take something off his fastball. We saw it when he did the World War Hulks Deadpool crossover, and we see it a bit now. There’s plenty of puns and jokes, some snappy dialogue and a few ridiculous situations, but it never quite gets into the realm of comedic gold. That’s not to say that it’s a bad issue – the pacing just seems a little bit off.

The red Hulk can’t overcome Xemnu’s mind control like the original can, so the Impossible Man, an observer with the intergalactic media, uses some of his powers to create a fusion between both Hulks. Putting Thunderbolt Ross and the Hulk into the same mind goes about as poorly as one can expect until they find the common ground of their love for Betty, which allows them to work together.

The biggest problem with the issue is one of pacing. The Hulk gets kicked around and we’re told that he’s losing the fight, but we don’t really get a feel for him being in real peril. Similarly, the merger between the two Hulks gets wrapped up almost before it’s begun, making the issue as a whole feel a bit rushed. I think that Parker had a lot of ideas that he wanted to work out in a single issue and just ran up against the restrictions of having to keep it under a certain page count.

The backup story involves Rick Jones on another adventure as A-Bomb, this time apparently under some sort of mind control that causes him to believe that Jen Walters and Lyra, the two She-Hulks, are actually deadly monsters. We’ll see what’s going on with that in future issues.

Overall, while the pacing is a bit off there is still a lot to enjoy in this issue. It’s got a lot of wacky old-school antics as well as some obscure returning characters such as Woodgod, the Impossible Man, and of course Xemnu himself. Pacing issues aside, it’s a fun one-shot and a welcome change from the longer storylines and proliferation of crossovers that have dominated the Hulk books for a while.

Incredible Hulks #613 Review

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Apr 022013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #613

Written by Greg Pak & Scott Reed, Art by Tom Raney & Brian Ching

Published: November 2010

The Incredible Hulks #613 continues the merging of backup story and main story, this time with what has been our backup story coming first in the issue. Hiro-Kala has a confrontation with the Worldmind of K’ai, and the Worldmind finally makes a worthwhile point about Hiro-Kala’s quest to obliterate the Old Power. The Old Power is a tool and a weapon – not evil by itself, but rather directed by the user. But Hiro-Kala refuses to take responsibility for his actions, choosing instead to blame the weapon and not the person. And to be honest, it would be a pretty short story if he did in fact listen to reason.

Back on Earth, our main story kicks up where the Hulk and Betty continue their fight. The Hulk’s motives seem to be to give Skaar a chance at a relatively normal life without the suffering and loss that he’s had to endure. Betty, on the other hand, just wants to seem to raise Hell.

The fight is interrupted by the arrival of Steve Rogers and Amadeus Cho, who inform the Hulk of the approaching planet. The Hulk is, naturally, skeptical of any attempt to send him into space, even though Amadeus assures him that he’s already checked out the shuttle for any booby traps. He winds up smashing the shuttle and refusing Steve’s offer to save the world. Naturally, we know that the Hulk is more heroic than that, but he tends not to respond well to orders, even when they’re given by the former Captain America.

After Rogers and Cho have left, Skaar reveals what he has learned through the Old Power: the Hulk has another son. The Hulk, naturally, doesn’t take this well. We’ll see what he does about it next issue.

This issue contains some decent buildup, with the Hiro-Kala saga finally making a point. I had previously criticized Hiro-Kala’s story as being too abstract, dealing with a power that doesn’t exist in our world as opposed to Skaar, whose story is about anger and vengeance. However, Scott Reed hits on a good theme in his part of the issue: Hiro-Kala is a kid blaming bad things on the gun, not on the wielder. It’s a question of whether a tool can ever be inherently evil, or if it’s all on the person who uses that tool.

As to the Hulk family, their dynamic continues to be interesting. The Hulk and Betty are especially fun to watch go at it, with Betty seeming like somebody who is offended by the presence of Skaar, who is the Hulk’s kid through another woman. This makes a lot of sense, considering that Betty has always wanted a child through Bruce but never gotten it. The one time she did get pregnant, it ended in a particularly bad miscarriage.

Overall, this story has a lot of promise, but it’s going to be up to future issues to determine how that promise is fulfilled. Right now it’s got a good dynamic, and we’ll see if it picks up enough action to keep things interesting along the way.

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #3 Review

Posted by Charlie Brooks Issue Review, Marvel Reviews No Responses »

Apr 012013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force

Issue #3

Written by Scott Reed, Art by Miguel Munera

Published: January 2011

While The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force: Dark Son #3 still has very little crossover with the book that it is supposedly tied into, there is one major parallel worth noting between the characters of the two titles. The primary question about the Hulk has been whether he is a man, a monster, or both. Similarly, as we delve more into the complicated drama of the Enigma Force crew, we find that Arcturus Rann also has those same questions about him.

Although there is a brief mention here and there about what’s going on over in the Hulk’s title, by this point the Enigma Force miniseries has pretty sharply diverged from the Dark Son storyline over in The Incredible Hulks. From a story perspective, this is a good thing, since it makes the tale more character-dependent rather than just another pointless company tie-in. Unfortunately, the marketing for the book failed to emphasis the character-centric nature of the story, leading it to becoming a pointless story for those expecting something that helps to complete the Dark Son arc.

The main focus here, as with the previous stories, is on Arcturus Rann, who is either the Microverse’s greatest hero or its greatest charlatan, depending on who you ask. Rann, no longer primarily concerned with the defeat of Hiro-Kala, has become focused on the survival of himself and his crew, since Hiro- Kala has put them in immense peril for the sin of following him out of the Microverse. By the end of the tale, the true interpretation of Rann is left up to the reader. Is he a conflicted yet noble hero who tries to do what is best? Or is he just a selfish creep who relies on his crew as a way of getting his next fix? The development is far from the heroism he displayed at the end of Realm of Kings, where he beat the tar out of Hiro-Kala and kicked him out of the Microverse.

So what’s the final verdict on Enigma Force? We’ve gone through three more issues of the crew’s struggles and have now reached a conclusion. Since sales never picked up for the miniseries (again, largely due to marketing in my opinion), the property can go back on the shelf until Marvel decides that they need to pull it out in order to maintain the copyright again. Sadly, that’s all this story seems to be in the end. The creative team deserves a lot of credit with taking a neglected property and writing a good character piece with it, but they were hamstrung from the beginning because they had to tie in to the Hulk’s story without actually connecting with the Hulk. It’s a very complex and difficult creative situation to be in, and one that likely cost a lot of readers. However, the creative team here does deserve credit for trying, and I would recommend picking up the three Enigma Force issues if only to get a feel for these interesting characters. You might find yourself intrigued enough to go back and track down some Micronauts issues as well.

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #2 Review

Posted by Charlie Brooks Issue Review, Marvel Reviews No Responses »

Mar 302013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force

Issue #2

Written by Scott Reed, Art by Miguel Munera

Published: December 2010

Things look bad for our heroes at the start of The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force: Dark Son #2, and they don’t get much better at first. Hiro-Kala has trapped the ship without power, the crew has been mind-screwed by the alien Psyklop, and Arcturus Rann is going through Enigma Force withdrawal. The way out of this mess arguably makes things even worse when Mari violently disagrees with the plan.

One strong point of this series is the interplay between the characters. Dropping in on the crew, you get the feeling that you’ve landed in the middle of a Star Trek series or similar space opera. The characters have a long backstory that is rarely explained in text, but you get hints here and there of how they have worked together through the ages, from Micronauts to Microns to the Enigma Force.

On the flip side, the story’s weakness continues to be its disconnected nature between the story that it’s supposed to be crossing over with. Based on the title, I would guess that the story is intended to appeal to Hulk readers, but without a major role by the Hulk himself in the story there isn’t really a lot of appeal for those fans. Similarly, old fans of the Micronauts who are happy to see their characters brought out of comic book Limbo for a bit are probably not all that interested in what’s going on over in the Hulk’s book. All told, it would have been better on Marvel’s part to give the Enigma Force a chance to carry their own story rather than being ineffectual piggybackers on somebody else’s tale.

Between the main story and the backup feature in this one, we get a pretty good history of the Microverse, which is a fun part of the Marvel Universe that rarely gets touched upon. There are even some new revelations, such as the fact that Psyklop is not just one bad guy but rather a whole species of bizarre bug-like telepaths. Again, this is all good information but has a very narrow appeal.

Overall, this issue is similar to the last one in that you can tell the creative team is really trying to put together an interesting story. They are unfortunately hamstrung by the fact that Marvel seemed to regard this miniseries as nothing more than a way to fulfill the requirement that they publish a book every so often to maintain their copyright on the characters. With Marvel’s lack of marketing and editorial interest, this issue is likely to be seen as a hidden gem for a few but an easy story to skip for most comic readers.

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force #1 Review

Posted by Charlie Brooks Issue Review, Marvel Reviews No Responses »

Mar 272013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force

Issue #1

Written by Scott Reed, Art by Miguel Munera

Published: November 2010

Every few years, Marvel digs up the Micronauts, which were originally a part of a toy line spinoff in the late 1970s. Due to rights issues, Marvel can still tell stories with these characters, but can’t mention the team by name. As a result, they are now known as the Enigma Force, which brings us to this subtitle-heavy tie-in, The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force: Dark Son.

This three-issue miniseries carries on from where Realm of Kings: Son of Hulk left off, but only to an extent. While the previous tale was about Hiro-Kala’s ultimate journey into complete monster territory, this story is about the Enigma Force trying to stop the Hulk’s son from causing any more destruction. And therein lies the fault of the book.

Issue #1 of this series does a good job of introducing new readers to the crew of the Enigma Force and their mission. It even sets up a potentially interesting encounter with Hiro-Kala for later on. The problem is that we as readers know that the entire story is completely pointless. Hiro-Kala’s demise is destined to come at the end of the “Dark Son” storyline in the Hulk’s own title. And since none of the crew interact with the Hulk or his allies, that means that we’re stuck in a pointless tie-in where the readers know that the heroes will never finish the job.

There are good points to this story, however. Writer Scott Reed cleverly finds a good balance for the team’s leader, Arcturus Rann, so we are more concerned about the development of his character along with the welfare of the rest of the crew rather than whether they will make a difference in Hiro-Kala’s little plot. There are also a lot of very good references to both the Micronauts and the sub-atomic world of K’ai that serve as treats for the readers while not delving too deeply into the realm of continuity lockout.

Whether you can enjoy the rebirth of the Enigma Force is really a matter of whether you can get interested in a group of fairly obscure Marvel heroes who aren’t going to do much to affect the world at large. Because of the obscurity of the characters and the futility of the story’s plot, there probably isn’t much here to interest a majority of readers. In fact, this story probably does the opposite of what Marvel wants to do – instead of getting readers interested in a new series about these characters, it might get them interested in tracking down some of the old adventures of the Micronauts in order to get a better sense of the characters.

Overall, while The Incredible Hulks: Enigma Force: Dark Son #1 has its strengths in characterization and pays attention to the little details, it is probably targeting too small a niche to be worth your while. Barring something in the next couple of issues that veers the plot away from Hiro-Kala, this miniseries is likely destined for obscurity.

Incredible Hulks #617 Review

Posted by Charlie Brooks Issue Review, Marvel Reviews No Responses »

Mar 162013

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #617

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Barry Kitson & Scott Hanna

Published: December 2010

If you’re a fan of Hiro-Kala, you probably won’t like The Incredible Hulks #617. On the other hand, I have to assume that Hiro-Kala doesn’t have many fans, since his character arc hasn’t shown us a guy who is very interesting or sympathetic. For those who share my view of the character, this issue provides a suitable wrap-up for the character.

While the rest of the Hulk family gets a chance to shine in this issue, primarily through saving the zombified K’aians from Hiro-Kala’s spell, the core of the story is the Hulk and Banner dealing with their titular dark son. It also serves as a cap on the character development of Skaar, who tries to convince Hiro-Kala that no matter what atrocities he has committed, Banner can be a redeeming figure. This is a good bit of self-awareness from a kid whose pettiness led to the destruction of an entire world and the endangerment of the cosmos but who now walks on the side of the angels.

Unfortunately, Hiro-Kala is not about to give in to his brother’s reasoning, and we see here just how far his delusions run. It turns out that the image of Caiera’s spirit forgiving Hiro-Kala for his actions was nothing more than a hallucination on the part of the Hulk’s son. For those who saw Caiera’s forgiveness as proof that Hiro-Kala had some redemptive factor, this is probably a bit of a letdown. However, it does explain a few question marks from the Son of Hulk series, such as how Caiera’s spirit could survive when it was tied to the world of Sakaar, which had just been destroyed. As it turns out, it didn’t – Hiro-Kala’s mind just gave him a forgiving mother character to alleviate some of the guilt he felt for killing billions.

Hiro-Kala ultimately must meet his end here, although his death does give a bit of leeway if another writer chooses to bring him back. The entire story arc caps an ultimate tragedy for the Hulk and Banner, who have been trying to be good parents and guardians but who have now failed.

Our backup story features an exchange between the Hulk and Amadeus Cho about the Hulk family. It’s okay, but in an issue with this level of emotional weight I think I would prefer it if the story could be allowed to stand on its own rather than having to be paired with a backup feature.

All told, Dark Son is a satisfying first arc for the new team-based Incredible Hulks book. The story takes a little while to get going, but once it does it does so with style and skill. Ultimately, Greg Pak’s entire run on the Hulk has been about family, and this story is a good reminder that your family is not always there just for the good times.

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