 | Quick Review: Incredible Hulks #623 |
Incredible Hulks #623
Story by Greg Pak
Art by Dale Eagleham
Once the proud standard-bearer of Marvel Comics along with Spider-Man and Captain America, Hulk faced hard times in the 1990's and early 2000's.
Following the success of Planet Hulk in 2006, the green Goliath has once more become a major success in comics, earning two monthly books on the rack! While the simply entitled Hulk title mainly concerns the Red Hulk, the Incredible Hulks by Greg Pak has been an exercise in building a family around the Hulk as he attempts to once more use his rage-fueled power for good.
Previously in the Hulk comics, Banner had been de-powered after being taken down in the arena battle of Manhattan. Whereas he had been portrayed as a sniveling weakling for decades, forever afraid that he would lose his temper and become the Hulk, this Banner was something entirely different. The gamma radiation removed from his body, he had no reason to be afraid of the Hulk. A scheming, brilliant Banner used bold tactics to take down the Intelligencia, a consortium of evil masterminds led by the Leader. The battle was fierce, but it led to a mega-dose of gamma rays, the return of the Green Hulk and a reunion with his son Skaar and his presumed dead wife Betty, now a Red She-Hulk (it's complicated).
For a guy who always wanted to be left alone, he had a large band of followers waiting to see what he would do next, where he would lead them. From a man on the run to a family man, Banner and the Hulk seem to have made a sort of peace as they both tried to get their act together. In what many have been calling the Hulk Family, the new series is a drastic re-imagining of the comic. The opening of the newly renamed title Incredible Hulks even featured a Winnebago!
Along with Rick Jones (now the blue-hued A-Bomb), She-Hulk and the Warbound of the Planet Sakaar, the Hulk tackled an assault from Banner's other son, the power-mad Hiro Kala. After a little deep space mission against an entire planet, the Hulks thought of themselves as a unified force of monsters. Misunderstood and hated by most, they stuck by each other... even as Banner chaffed under the decision. It was like the former isolated man on the run was desperately trying to be something that he wanted more than anything... but could never be.
Following the multi-part story Dark Son was the Chaos War tie-in that saw the Hulks battle threats thought long dead. The outcome saw a new Olympus housed on Earth (much like Asgard). Furious beyond words that the Gods were amongst humanity but refused to release the Hulks from their monstrous curse, Hulk challenged Mount Olympus and Zeus himself in an epic battle. In the aftermath, the Hulk seems to be feeling the weight of his newfound responsibilities. Seeing the madness and danger of his battler with Zeus, he decides to leave without his 'family' members and departs for the Savage Land only with his Warbound comrades.
His wounds still fresh, Hulk refuses to rest, stating that he needs to stay angry to stay alive. Answering a call from Ka-Zar, Lord of the Savage Land, Hulk finds that he has even more responsibilities. A band of refugees from Sakaar that stood by the Hulk in the battle of Manhattan have holed up in the Savage Land as a safe haven. Sure, a place where dinosaurs and massive centipedes wander around is safe. Members of the tribe are turning up dead with mysterious claw marks that even Ka-Zar is unfamiliar with.
Somewhat at home in the primitive setting, the Warbound let down their guard and are betrayed by a former ally, the bug called Miek. Miek was the feeblest member of the Warbound on Sakaar at the beginning of Planet Hulk, but as the series ran on, he changed and became a Hulk-sized bug. Admiring the Hulk's rage and self-righteousness, Miek was vicious in combat and when he saw that his hero was softening and thinking of settling down, he arranged for a disaster that fueled the Hulk's anger so much that it led to the destruction of Manhattan. After such a string of events, bringing Miek back is a big deal.
Greg Pak has earned the title of Hulk scribe in my book. It's no easy task to write the Hulk and few have managed to make the series as remarkable as it deserves to be. Under Pak's watch, the character has undergone more change than ever before and yet retained certain traits that make him so unique. I was very wary of the 'Hulk Family' approach when I read about it and to be honest it took a while for me to see how Pak was using the concept.
New artist Dale Eaglesham (familiar to some from Justice Society of America, Super Soldier and Fantastic Four) is an artist who continues to amaze me. Just when I think that I have seen everything he has, he throws something new at me. His art in the Savage Land storyline beginning in issue 623 is stunning. The colors by Eaglesham, Drew Hennesy and Dean White is richly layered, giving each page a masterful look.
One of the 'founding fathers' of Marvel Comics, the Hulk has been enjoying a significant increase in popularity, one that I hope his next appearance on film and in the Avengers feature film will only bolster. In the meantime, the Incredible Hulks serves as a superb monthly book that delivers action, drama and horror on a monthly basis... and ain't that a sweet thing?
 | WordPress.com | Thanks for flying with WordPress! |
Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://subscribe.wordpress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment