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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.

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.

X-Treme X-Men #11 Review

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Mar 272013
 

by Dylan Duarte, CMRO Contributing Writer

X-Treme X-Men

Issue #11

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Stephen Segovia

Published: April 2013

Everything about X-Treme X-Men’s premise goes again everything I love in comics. It sounds insane for the sake of being insane. And yet I love it. I love every little insane bit of it. It feels like a superhuman version of Sliders or Quantum Leap and it might be one of my favorite X-titles.
In issue #11, the X-Treme X-Men continue their quest to rid the multiverse of evil dopplegangers of Professor Charles Xavier. They’ve stumbled upon one of the most vile Xaviers yet – a Nazi Xavier. It sounds outlandish, and it is, but it works. Xavier insists that’s he not a Nazi, but simply sided with them to ensure victory. These leads to one of the best comic panels I’ve ever seen – Charles Xavier punching Adolf Hitler in the face.
On the other side of the battle is this universe’s Namor, who wants vengeance against Xavier for slaughtering his people, and Namor is willing to inflict massive collateral damage in his quest. The X-Menare caught int he middle of a war between a powerful mutant and the Prince of Atlantis, not knowing who to side with and who to destroy. To make matters worse, mobs of innocent people lie in harm’s way.
I don’t know a lot about X-Treme X-Men and I certainly don’t read it regularly, but Greg Pak’s ongoing series sucked me right in and had me glued to the page. The outlandish plot is grounded by some very well done characters and Pak deserves a lot for credit for that. He manages to tell a pretty compelling story in just 22 pages and ends with the promise of an even crazier next issue. Pak continues to take something that shouldn’t work and makes it work extremely well. It’s not for everything, but if you can get past the fact that these aren’t the X-Men you know, there’s a fun story to discover.

Incredible Hulks #617 Review

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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.

Incredible Hulks #616 Review

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Mar 102013
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #616

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

Published: January 2011

One thing that The Incredible Hulk #616 really shows is how much of a team book this has become. As the Hulk family touches down on K’ai to stop Hiro-Kala’s collision course with Earth, Bruce Banner’s plan calls for a little something from all of them, ranging from saving innocents to detonating volcanoes that will change the planet’s trajectory. Everybody gets into the act, but the main character in this story is still very definitely the Incredible Hulk.

The Hulk’s job, much to the chagrin of Sakaar who still fancies himself to be the killer of killers, is to face down Hiro-Kala himself. However, we get to see another shift in the Hulk-Banner dynamic. The Hulk is great at fighting, but he’s still a guy driven by his emotions, and his love of his son keeps him from doing what must be done. This forces him to turn to the guy who can act without emotions clouding his brain – Bruce Banner.

Previously, the dynamic for this character has been that Banner is a guy who fears the Hulk because of what his emotions can do, while the Hulk is the guy who does what needs to be done to save the day. By flipping that scenario on its end in the last few issues, we’ve got something new and interesting for the characters without making the change seemed forced. This is the power of a writer who uses the long and rich history of the character he’s working on instead of trying to reinvent things.

The backup feature in this story deals with Jen Walters, the original She-Hulk, and stresses her humor and compassion. It’s a nice little feature, but one has to wonder if maybe the pages could have been put toward giving Jen more page time in this story. But such are the economics of comics at this point in time.

Overall, The Incredible Hulks #616 delivers another interesting and refreshing take on the characters while keeping with the overall development that they have seen in the past few years. Dark Son wraps up in the next issue, and whether this other son of the Hulk meets with redemption or doom will be decided then.

Incredible Hulks #615 Review

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Mar 102013
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #615

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

Published: December 2010

The Incredible Hulks #615 shows off how the Hulk and his family work together as a team and sets up the final confrontation with Hiro-Kala that will occur in the next issue. The story is impressive and shows off how the status quo has changed for the Hulk. The art is solid, and overall this is another good issue.

In confronting Hiro-Kala, Banner breaks the Hulks off into teams. Unfortunately, a miscalculation leads Lyra, Betty, and Jen to destroying a ship full of zombified humans that Banner thought had been uninhabited. This is one thing in the story that doesn’t sit well with me, as I don’t like the fact that the heroes are even accidental killers. Other than that, though, the story is pretty impressive in how the different members of the Hulk family take on their mission. The most resistance, naturally, is from Skaar, who wants to be the one to face his brother, but the Hulk nixes that idea, assigning him to detonate a volcano and change the planet’s trajectory away from Earth.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the story is a talk between Banner and the Hulk. As the mission nears go time, a Bannertech hologram kicks up telling the Hulk to let him out. This is a bit of pseudoscience, since I don’t know how the hologram would be able to interact with the Hulk considering that Banner’s locked away in the subconscious, but anytime the Hulk and Banner get to talk with each other is a good time. In this case, it’s an interesting reversal of the norm in which Banner is the one telling the Hulk to let him out and not vice-versa.

Our backup story is more of Banner’s SMASH files, this time featuring the red She-Hulk. We don’t learn a lot of new stuff here, but it is a reminder that Betty is a psychological mess these days. Since a lot of the future conflict in this book will revolve around Bruce and Betty’s relationship, it’s good to have moments like this to remind us of what’s going on. That said, I think an exploration of Betty’s past rather than her present might have been more fitting, since it would be good to show new readers that this crazy Betty isn’t exactly something new – she’s already suffered multiple nervous breakdowns thanks to her life spent with the Hulk.

This story marks a definitive uptick in action from the previous buildup issues. Things are split up a bit on account of the book’s new team nature, but each member of the family gets a chance to shine while still keeping the spotlight on the Hulk as the title character. Whether all the buildup is worth it in the end will depend on the quality of the next issue.

Incredible Hulks #614 Review

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Feb 222013
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #614

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Barry Kitson & Mirco Piefederici

Published: December 2010

The Incredible Hulks #614 finally merges the stories of the Hulk and his newfound son Hiro-Kala, although this time around we find ourselves dealing with a good old fashioned Hulk/Avengers fight. The setup doesn’t totally make sense to me, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to. Bruce Banner and the Hulk seek to do things their own way, preferring not to work with a group even when given to option to.

Well, sort of. Specifically, Banner and the Hulk don’t want to work with Steve Rogers and the Avengers on this one. Because the danger to the Earth is being posed by the Hulk’s son, it’s apparently a family affair. That means that the Hulk family will be going after Hiro-Kala, but not the Avengers.

Basically, the Hulk smashes into Cape Canaveral and the Avengers (or one of the Avengers teams – Marvel really needs to find a thesaurus) are there to stop him. They actually seem to overcome the Hulk, but ol’ greenskin was showing some surprising craftiness and just getting them into position for the rest of his family to pop up and do some smashing.

Eventually, Rogers and Banner talk with each other and Banner explains the situation with his son. Banner also claims that the damage caused by the Hulk will be good for the economy, since it will produce jobs to clear the rubble and rebuild. I’m pretty sure this is way off, or the government would be blowing up buildings constantly in order to rebuild them, but Banner is a nuclear physicist, not an
economist.

The entire attack was really just a way to get Skaar into position so he could use his Old Power to raise the stone ship that the Hulk attacked Earth in back during World War Hulk. The Hulks then jump on board and sail into space, leaving the Avengers to sit back and watch while they try to stop the threat posed to the world.

Our backup story delves into Bruce Banner’s “SMASH” files, where he discusses his newfound family. First up is Skaar, who Banner wants to leave behind on the mission so he doesn’t get hurt. An understandable sentiment from a dad, but Skaar has other plans and seals Banner into the old vault used to keep the Hulk at bay until Banner agrees to take Skaar along. It’s actually a pretty good father/son moment.

Overall, the only problem with this story is that we’re three issues in without a ton having actually happened. The buildup is slow, but the fact that Greg Pak has a great feel for the Hulk, Banner, and the rest of the family still makes this worth reading. Barry Kitson takes over on art duties and does a pretty good job, keeping the high visual quality of the book up. Basically, this issue is worth a buy if you’re interested in good character interaction and a fun fight scene, but might get on your nerves a bit if you don’t like long build-ups during storylines.

Incredible Hulks #612 Review

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Feb 142013
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulks

Issue #612

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

Published: November 2010

The Hulk is traditionally a loner, but throughout Greg Pak’s run on the character he has been acquiring allies and family. He now has a son and a daughter, his wife is back from the dead, his best friend and closest cousin are gamma creatures, and he has the remainder of the Warbound who allied with him during Planet Hulk and World War Hulk. So what are the implications of a whole family of Hulks? The newly-retitled Incredible Hulks plans to explore that.

The Incredible Hulks #612 kicks off the “Dark Son” story-line, which sees another member of the Hulk’s family approaching Earth, but first we have an interlude with Bruce Banner and his wife Betty. Well, it’s actually former wife now, since Betty was declared legally dead for over three years and thus their marriage is nullified. Always missing the boat when it comes to personal relations, Banner tries to put Betty’s wedding ring back on, which causes her to freak out at how pushy he’s being and turn into the red She-Hulk. Hi-jinks ensure. By hi-jinks, I mean smashing.

Despite kicking off a new story-line, this story would make a very good stand-alone comic. It’s about Bruce’s inability to get the nuances of human relationships, trying to act like everything is fine despite the fact that Betty is still messed up in the head. In the end, the Hulk comes out, which break Bruce’s wedding ring. Can the marriage be fixed? That is something that we will spend many issues trying to find out.

Once again, Greg Pak nails the voice of Banner and the Hulk, and he is blessed with some good art to back up his writing. The catch in his issue is whether fans will enjoy the Hulk family or not – the Hulk has traditionally been a loner, so it’s a pretty big change in direction. For my part, I enjoy it because it feels like a logical progression of the themes we saw beginning back in Planet Hulk.

The backup story features more of Hiro-Kala facing down Axeman Bone. This is an appropriate backup story due to the fact that the other son of the Hulk is headed into the main story, but right now it’s stuck in neutral as it feels like we’re just counting down the issues before the big fight between Hulk and the titular Dark Son.

Overall, despite the fact that we’re waiting for the next big story-line to kick off, this is a good transitional story. There is a need for downtime like this in order to keep the comics from just jumping from one huge crossover to the next. The highlight of this issue is the interaction between Bruce and Betty which shows us that while Betty may be alive again, things are not just going to go back to the way they used to be.

Incredible Hulk #611 Review

 Posted by  Issue Review, Marvel Reviews  1 Response »
Jan 082013
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #611

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: October 2010

Put simply, The Incredible Hulk #611 is one of the best Hulk stories of all time. It is the culmination of everything that Greg Pak has been working on since he started the book with the Planet Hulk saga, and it feels like something that the larger mythos has been building up to thanks to nods to the works of major Hulk scribes like Bill Mantlo and Peter David. The art is stellar, and the ending is satisfying.

We get what we’ve been waiting for here – not only the battle between the Hulk and his son Skaar, but the return of the “Green Scar” persona. Oddly enough, while Banner is convinced that the Hulk is going to smash the world like he almost did at the end of World War Hulk, the Hulk himself doesn’t seem interested in fighting at first. Skaar has to goad him into battle by boasting about how he “fed [Sakaar] to Galactus,” which is a bit of an exaggeration but is still enough of the truth to get the Hulk to throw some punches.

All through the fight, we are treated to glimpses of Bruce Banner’s childhood, where he was constantly referred to as a monster and beaten by his father. Banner’s abusive father was introduced by Bill Mantlo way back in The Incredible Hulk #312, and has been a major part of the character ever since. Here, events have conspired to bring things full circle, with both Banner and the Hulk trying to break the cycle of violence despite the rage that overwhelms them.

The battle between father and son ultimately puts innocents in harm’s way. Skaar, focusing on the fight, doesn’t notice. The Hulk, even in his rage, catches on in time to save everybody despite being pulverized by his son at the same time. Skaar then gives us the insight to the Hulk’s character that Banner lacks: the Hulk is more hero than monster, despite his rage. This causes Skaar to revert to his gray-skinned child form and give up his quest to kill his father. The Hulk also reverts to human form, and we are treated to a beautiful last page that depicts father and son finally sharing a hug. If this page doesn’t bring tears to your eyes, you might want to check to see if your heart is still beating.

In the backup story, Hiro-Kala finally regains some of his god-like power from the Worldmind of K’ai and enslaves Axeman Bone. These developments are rather unspectacular on their own, but they are of key importance in the upcoming Dark Son arc, in which we will see father and son collide once again. Hopefully, things will end as well for the Hulk and Hiro-Kala as it did for the Hulk and Skaar.

This issue doesn’t feel like much of a conclusion to World War Hulks, but that’s because it deals with a far larger story. This is about Bruce Banner overcoming every obstacle that has been put in his way since childhood to become a better man than his father. Ever since Banner’s return, we’ve seen the master manipulator who would rather rely on formulas and equations than confront somebody with emotion. With the Hulk’s return, we see Banner’s barriers broken down, and the results are phenomenal. Paul Pelletier’s art is better here than it has ever been, and completes this issue as something truly excellent. Even if you haven’t been paying attention to World War Hulks, this issue is worth tracking down on its own.

Incredible Hulk #610 Review

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Dec 262012
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #610

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: August 2010

As good as Greg Pak’s writing has been, it’s Paul Pelletier’s art that elevates The Incredible Hulk #610 from good to great. We are finally building up to a conclusion of Fall of the Hulks and World War Hulks, and this second to last issue delivers on all that has been promised since Pak’s return to the title.

As of last issue, Betty is dying after being stabbed by Skaar. She explains that it took her nearly killing her father in Hulk #22 to snap her out of the Leader’s brainwashing, but she’d still rather die that lose herself by becoming the red She-Hulk again. The choice isn’t hers, though, and when Samson shows up it gets her mad enough to Hulk out again. This time, though, she’s in enough control to leave the helicarrier and fight the Hulked-out soldiers in Washington, DC, which apparently explains her appearance in Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks #3.

Meanwhile, it’s up to Banner and the newly rescued smartest men on Earth to stop the Leader and MODOK. They succeed with some help from a gamma-irradiated Amadeus Cho, whose big brain became even bigger due to the Leader’s burst of gamma and cosmic energy. This is, in my opinion, an acceptable way to foil the Leader. He doesn’t lose because of some failure to calculate things properly but rather because of arrogance. From the introduction of the Intelligencia, he’s refused to accept that Amadeus is close to his level of intellect, and now it comes back to bite him.

Amadeus manages to reconfigure the laws of physics to reverse MODOK’s transformation, reverting him to a normal human. I have the same problem with this as with the red Hulk doing something similar to the Leader in Hulk #23 – it’s just going to get undone and rendered meaningless down the line. Meanwhile, Banner shows his true colors by trying to kill the Leader, but the villain teleports away (only to encounter the red Hulk in the aforementioned Hulk #23).

The process that created the Hulked-out soldiers is unstable, and all of Washington, DC’s attackers are going to die in a couple hours unless Banner can do something. This is where Pelletier’s art really shines. Through the issue, Banner has been getting subtly more muscular, starting as puny on page one and getting slightly buffer as the story goes on. This could be rendered an inconsistency, but it’s actually a subtle hint at Banner’s upcoming transformation. Putting himself at risk, Banner saves everybody by using the Leader’s machinery to reverse the flow of energy from the Hulked-out soldiers back to himself.

He gets some help in this process from Doc Samson, who returns to being heroic after spending this event as a villain, ultimately sacrificing his life. Again, this is one of those things that will be undone down the road when somebody decides to use Samson again, but considering how much damage this event has done to his character – including retconning things so that he was always working for MODOK – maybe it’s best to give him a few years as a dead man before using him again.

While the energy-draining process kills Samson, it powers up the gamma-charged cells in Banner’s body, finally turning him back into the Hulk. Of special note is the panel where the “Banner regammifcation” reaches 100%, in which Pelletier produces an almost exact replica of the panel from The Incredible Hulk #1 where Banner was first his by gamma rays. Also of note is the absolutely glorious two-page splash of the Hulk’s return after almost a year of dormancy. The issue ends with Skaar preparing to fight the Hulk, saying, “Finally.” I think Skaar speaks both for himself and the readers who have eagerly awaited the Hulk’s return on that count.

In our backup story, Hiro-Kala encounters the Worldmind of planet K’ai and uses it to turn the tables on Axeman Bone, saving himself while gaining immense power once again. This is about the same level of quality as we’ve seen from the rest of Hiro-Kala’s story, but is significant in that the backup tale and the Hulk’s tales will collide in the upcoming Dark Son storyline.

Overall, this is a fantastic issue and probably marks the high point of Greg Pak’s return. Paul Pelletier steals the show with some truly amazing art, and it’s remarkable how quickly he has improved on this series. The Intelligencia’s plot is defeated in a reasonable way that keeps them as menaces, even though the Leader and MODOK will be on ice for a little while due to their depowering. And next issue delivers us the long-promised battle between Skaar and the Hulk’s Green Scar persona. All told, while Fall of the Hulks and World War Hulks have had their ups and downs, this issue makes up for any flaws the stories previously had.

Incredible Hulk #609 Review

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Dec 212012
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #609

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: July 2010

Back in 2001, Paul Jenkins wrote a two-part storyline where Bruce Banner found himself trapped in a perfect world created by his own subconscious. The Incredible Hulk #609 is largely a repeat of that plot, except instead of Banner creating the perfect world, the Intelligencia is doing it for him. It’s also slightly more effective as a story, because while Jenkins’ tale was designed to reinforce that Banner was sad about Betty’s death, this story has actual stakes and a more well-rounded Banner.

Long story short: the Intelligencia has won, is attacking Washington DC, and is about to take over the country. There are a few issues here and there, like why the entire country would suddenly accept martial law instituted by Glen Talbot, who is supposed to be dead, but the Marvel Universe isn’t exactly a place where citizens are rational and intelligent beings.

In Jenkins’ story, the various Hulk personalities eventually broke Banner out of his dreamworld. Here, while Banner does some of the work himself, he gets a big boost from Doctor Doom. Although he has been captured and drained of much of his intelligence, Doom is still dangerous and manages to use some sorcery to peel back the illusion the Intelligencia has set up. This allows Banner to break free, and Doom then tries to turn the tables on the Intelligencia by downloading the knowledge stored from the most brilliant minds in the world into himself, but he is still brain damaged and winds up frying himself instead. Doom tries to kill Banner in retaliation, but the red She-Hulk intervenes – just in time to get run through by Skaar, which causes her to transform into Betty Ross, the very woman Banner was trying to save.

Our backup story brings back Hiro-Kala, the other son of the Hulk, as his old ally Axeman Bone tries to kill him over the death of his daughter. It is, as usual, very hard to sympathize with the self-pitying Hiro-Kala, since he is an unrepentant killer of billions. But it is nice to be able to cheer the surprisingly charismatic Axeman Bone in his hunt to kill the boy, since he totally deserves it.

Despite being overly similar to a story that was done in 2001, this tale has a lot going for it. Paul Pelletier’s art continues to improve issue after issue. Pak’s writing scores points over Jenkins’ similar story by having a Banner that is more likeable – one of the major problems with Jenkins’ tales was that Bruce was reeling from the death of his wife and the revelation that he had ALS, which led to him being a particularly sad man who did very little during those stories. And the Doctor Doom/Bruce Banner rivalry is an interesting one that should provide many good stories down the road. The backup story is only so-so, but this title’s entrance into the World War Hulks event is a very strong one.

Incredible Hulk #608 Review

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Nov 182012
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #608

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: May 2010

The Incredible Hulk #608 features Bruce Banner’s assault on the Intelligencia. It’s a battle of mega-brains, with Banner having manipulated every hero fighting for him to save Betty. At the same time, the Leader and company have been predicting Banner’s actions and have contingency after contingency available. Who will win out?

Spoiler alert: the Intelligencia. I mean, this even is called Fall of the Hulks and all.

Much of Fall of the Hulks has felt chaotic, and this issue is the same way. However, we’re supposed to feel a sense of chaos here. It’s a desperate fight as supergenius battles supergenius with all hell breaking loose around them. Paul Pelletier’s art is improving and combines good layouts with that sense of chaos as superheroes brawl, energy beams are released, and Bruce Banner desperately scrambles to save the woman he loves.

There is one plot hole here that is probably a result of so many different writers having their hands in the event. Banner attacks Glenn Talbot under the assumption that he is a robot, but scans later reveal that he is human. This is actually going to turn out to be a blatant lie – the Talbot we see here is a robot programmed by the Intelligencia. My personal theory is that at some point Talbot was supposed to have been returned to life, but somebody in editorial nixed the decision and didn’t inform the editors. Either that, or Marvel really wants us to buy the theory that the red Hulk is Talbot, which admittedly would have been a pretty cool move in my opinion. But that theory has been invalidated since Talbot’s reintroduction, as if he were the red Hulk, he wouldn’t still be working with the Intelligencia after they betrayed him and he attacked them.

That plot hole aside, Greg Pak continues to deliver us the best Bruce Banner we’ve seen in years. The question of whether he is a hero or a monster continues to be a big one in the story. On the one hand, Banner is the world’s best chance at defeating the Intelligencia. On the other hand, his motivations aren’t to save the world but rather to protect the newly resurrected Betty. Ultimately, his reasons don’t matter, as the Intelligencia is one step ahead and manages to capture Banner, locking him in the same simulation that the rest of the big brains of the Marvel Universe are trapped in. Thus ends Fall of the Hulks, but World War Hulks is just around the corner.

The backup story for this issue continues the behind-the-scenes look at the red She-Hulk. This doesn’t really do a lot except fill in stuff that happened in between panels a few issues back when the red Hulk fought X-Force. It’s nice that Marvel is doing the work to cover up plot holes that were introduced in a poorly-planned story, but at this point it’s pretty unnecessary. We do learn that whatever is going on, the Intelligencia expects the red She-Hulk to be their ace in the hole against both Banner and the red Hulk. This points to an obvious pair as the identity of both the red Hulk and the red She-Hulk, but the mystery has never been very deep on that anyway.

Overall, The Incredible Hulk #608 is probably the best issue of Fall of the Hulks so far outside of Jeff Parker’s work in the Red Hulk miniseries. It shows Banner at his most desperate and shows us what he would do to save Betty. It also shows off how devious and cunning the Leader and MODOK can be, which is nice considering their tendency to be shown as less than the smartest beings in the world. The art is good, and the issue is a lot of fun.

Incredible Hulk #607 Review

 Posted by  Issue Review, Marvel Reviews  No Responses »
Nov 022012
 

by Charlie Brooks, CMRO Contributing Writer

Incredible Hulk

Issue #607

Written by Greg Pak, Art by Paul Pelletier

Published: April 2010

One thing you do have to give Fall of the Hulks is that, while it suffers some through having so many writers plotting it, it is consistent in its overall tone. The Incredible Hulk #607 is very similar overall to Hulk #20 in that it features a lot of action between a Hulk and a super-team. This time, instead of the red Hulk taking on the X-Men, we get Skaar taking on the Avengers as Bruce Banner either aids the Intelligencia or tries to stop them, depending on whether you want to take him at his word or not.

Naturally, the Intelligencia does capture their man, leaving the roster of kidnapped geniuses at five : Black Panther, Mr. Fantastic, Dr. Doom, Beast, and now Hank Pym. The remaining smartest men in the world are Tony Stark, who is all but brain dead thanks to the Dark Reign event, Banner himself, and presumably the Leader. At the end of this issue, Banner enacts phase two of his plan, which involves leading a group of Avengers against the Intelligencia.

The art here is very good, but gets a little messy at times, partly due to the inking not being completely crisp and partly due to there being a lot of different colored energy washing over most of the panels. In comparison to much much crisper Hulk #20, this issue is a step down. Where it catches up is in terms of the writing. While Jeph Loeb has improved on his presentation of the red Hulk, Greg Pak has really nailed Banner and has the advantage of having a definite character arc in mind for him. Here, we find that Banner is manipulating everybody because his lost love Betty is alive, so it becomes a question of how much he’s willing to sell out his allies to save her. At the very least, the Leader seems pretty confident that Banner will play right into their hands.

Aside from all the action, the plot of Fall of the Hulks is not very compelling due to the fact that we really don’t know what the Intelligencia’s goals are yet. We know they’re kidnapping supergeniuses to get them out of the way, but we don’t know what they seek to accomplish. That’s a major problem because it doesn’t give us any realization of how high the stakes are. For now, though, we do have the satisfaction of some good characterization going on. Bruce Banner is very interesting in his attempts to be a hero, as he tends to be overly manipulative, afraid to just explain his plans because people are variables he doesn’t understand. The conflicts between himself and Skaar and, over in the other Hulk book, himself and Rulk, are what makes this story go round right now.

Our backup story introduces another mystery character, as we see the mentally unstable red She-Hulk. She has apparently killed the original She-Hulk, but this is likely just a lookalike robot whose neck she snapped. She could be an intriguing wild card, but at the moment, we don’t know enough about her to say for sure.

Bottom line on both The Incredible Hulk #607 and the other books in the Fall of Hulks saga so far: pretty books, thin plot. But the characters are interesting enough and there is just enough veneer of a mystery here to make the book interesting. The saga wraps up soon and leads us into World War Hulks, so hopefully it will end with a bang.

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