Incredible Hulk #3

Although I've been enjoying this series a ton, this is probably going to be the last issue I pick up. Marvel has been bleeding me dry with their damned double and triple shipping every month, which has led to me identifying certain $4 comics that are going to wind up on the chopping block. This series is sadly one of those series. Probably... We'll talk after I give it a read.

Incredible Hulk #3:

What Happened: Hulk returns to his mole-people and discovers that Crazy Bruce Banner's(yes, he's officially “Crazy Bruce” now.) weird gamma-warthog pets had captured all of the child mole-people to draw Hulk out... You know, this scene is WAY better than it sounds... Trust me on that one... Anyway, Hulk and the two warthogs battle for a while with the battle ending when Hulk smashes the ground open which causes the warthogs to be swallowed up by the earth. Realizing that if he stayed with the mole-people he'd be allowing his enemies to possibly hurt him through them, Hulk leaves the mole-people and returns to the government agents who were tracking Crazy Bruce, telling them he'd join up and help them hunt Crazy Bruce down. This one ends with one of the government agent's tracer devices finding Crazy Bruce's island and Crazy Bruce preparing for the inevitable invasion with an army of gamma-powered animals.

The Good: I have to say, I really enjoyed the story here... It was chock full of action, and was the type of story you really didn't have to think too hard about while reading it. The cliffhanger was fantastic... Probably too good... Dammit...

The Bad: I'm just going to come right out and say it... The mole-people are a dumb concept. There. It had to be said... I guess there COULD have been a bit more to this comic than Hulk smashing some green warthogs, but that's not a huge complaint... The only way I can see this storyline ending is with Hulk and Crazy Bruce merging again, especially since that appears to be the only way Crazy Bruce won't die from his brain tumor.

The Verdict: Dammit!! When I wrote the introduction to this post, I was like 86.8756% certain I'd be dropping this series after closing this comic book up. Instead I'm almost positive I'll be forced to pick up at least another issue, as I REALLY want to see the Crazy Bruce/Hulk confrontation. Yeah sure, I have a pretty good idea of how the storyline will(probably) eventually end(look above at “The Bad” section!), but I still want to see Crazy Bruce and Hulk get in each other's faces. *sigh* Well, I guess I'll probably drop the Ultimates and keep this series... For now...

Score: 8 out of 10.Hulk no angry, Hulk sad...

Incredible Hulk #2

Here's a comic I didn't think I'd be reading... I figured I'd read the first issue of this series, hate it and drop it, and yet here I am, reading another issue of the Incredible Hulk. The first issue set up a lot of interesting stuff, here's hoping the hits keep on coming here.

Incredible Hulk #2:

What Happened: Bruce Banner is obsessed with recreating the only thing that made him feel like he had accomplished something in his life, the Hulk. To that end he's lost his wife Betty(who got sick of his obsession) and has been playing UBER-mad scientist, creating tons of Hulk-ish creatures, while being unable to transform himself into a Hulk again. Meanwhile, the Hulk is contacted by the Mad Squad, a group of government agents who kill mad scientists. The Squad try to convince Hulk to help them shut down Banner since he had been releasing tons of super-strong gamma creatures, but Hulk isn't interested and even after battling a few of said creatures, Hulk decides to head back to his new home with the moloids. However, this issue ends with two of Banner's gamma mutated creatures invading Hulk's moloid paradise and launching an attack before Hulk had returned.

The Good: I LOVED the Banner parts in this one. Jason Aaron has done a splendid job of making Bruce Banner crazy in just two issues... And not only that, but he's not just crazy for the sake of being crazy, his insanity is understandable. He had massive power, and no matter how much he whined about it, he enjoyed it. Plain and simple. The cliffhanger was perfect, because it will give Hulk a reason to stop ignoring Banner and to go and confront him. Hulk's reaction to the Mad Squad's request was reasonable, why should he care about Banner or what he does?

The Bad: On the other hand, I don't like this Mad Squad, and still don't get why one of them is named Von Doom... Hulk's portions of this story, while not awful, were kind of boring. It was basically Hulk saying, “I don't care about Banner.” and beating things up.

The Verdict: No complaints here. I've never cared much about the Hulk, but Jason Aaron is turning me into a fan of Bruce Banner. Banner's descent into madness was written very well by Aaron, and is perfectly understandable. But(you knew that was coming) the non-Banner portions of this comic did nothing for me. I don't care about Ms. Doom or her idiotic b-list monster squad, and Hulk's contribution to this story was basically him stating, repeatedly, that he didn't care about Banner. The ending was necessary, as it will cause Hulk to have to deal with Banner, which is a confrontation I'm dying to see.

Score: 8 out of 10.Oh Bruce... You so crazy!

Incredible Hulk #1

Believe it or not, this is the first Hulk comic I've ever actually WANTED to pick up and read... I mean I have thousands upon thousands of Marvel comic books, but I've never deliberately brought a Hulk comic book. Sure, I have a few that tied into various events(Onslaught, World War Hulk, etc), but when it comes to single Hulk issues that DON'T tie into another event, I probably only have about a dozen. So the fact that I actually wanted to get this comic should be looked at as a huge endorsement of Jason Aaron's writing, as well as the end of Fear Itself. Now watch, I'll hate this comic...

Incredible Hulk #1:

Summary: Since the end of Fear Itself and the Hulk's literal split from Bruce Banner, the Hulk has been living underground with a tribe of mole-people. The mole-people love Hulk since he protects them and brings them food and stuff, but Hulk keeps swearing that eventually the other shoe is going to drop and his happy existence will be wrecked. Sure enough, some top secret US government organization sends an agent(who is bizarrely named Amanda Von Doom) to retrieve Hulk since it seems Bruce Banner has gone a wee bit crazy... As for Banner, he's been experimenting on various creatures in a fevered effort to recreate the Hulk.

Thoughts: This comic wasn't that bad. I mean I don't know if I'll ever really become a fan of the Hulk(he just bores me), but the prospect of an insane Bruce Banner menacing the world is kind of appealing to me. I don't get why there's a character with the last name of Von Doom here, especially if she has no relation to Dr. Doom as she stated, and I don't know why the government would turn to the Hulk to deal with Banner, but hey, this issue was good enough to get me interested in the second issue, so it did it's job.

Score: 8 out of 10.Huh, who knew Banner was the crazy one...

Wolverine: The Best There Is #7 & Incredible Hulks Annual #1

Two more Marvel comic books to get through before I switch things up and start going through the DC comics I picked up last Wednesday. As for the two Marvel comics in question? I really don't have much to say about them until I read 'em.

Wolverine: The Best There Is #7:

Summary: Having been doused with pretty much every disease possible the past few issues, it's safe to say Wolverine's healing factor is a bit taxed. On Crazy Mutie Island, Beast(who I thought left Crazy Mutie Island on bad terms with Lord Summers) is looking over Wolvie and reporting his findings back to Lord Summers and Her. They decide to lock down the lab Wolvie was in to prevent anything Wolvie was carrying from escaping before retiring to their quarters for the night. Upon waking up, Wolvie simply leaves the lab and heads to the kitchen and begins to eat everything in sight to help his healing factor out. Lord Summers, Beast and Her decide to leave Wolvie alone, so he heads into the living room and hangs out with Dazzler... Okay... The two talk for a while, and Dazzler makes Wolvie a new costume, since he didn't want to wear anything from his room. After that's done, Wolvie heads out and locates the woman who led him into the past few issues of madness, but she is promptly killed by some guy I don't know and Monark Starstalker??? Wha?!?

Thoughts: This is a strange series... When it all comes together it's really enjoyable(like the last two issues), but when it doesn't, it's as confusing as hell... This issue was more the latter. Sure, there were a few places where I laughed out loud while reading, but for the most part? Confusing as hell. Meh, maybe things will make more sense come the next issue.

Score: 5 out of 10.......


Incredible Hulks Annual #1:

Summary: This is the third part of the Identity Wars storyline that ran through this years Spider-Man and Deadpool annuals. Since I'm in a rush, I'm not gonna recap those issues, but luckily for you, I'm sure I have them posted on the blog, so it should be a simple matter to find them! We learn that alternate Bruce Banner had become the Sorcerer Supreme of his world, and had managed to banish his Hulk half to Hell. That's all fine and good, but when 616 Bruce Banner arrived in the alternate dimension, his Hulk half went to Hell, and alternate Bruce's Hulk was set free... Yes, it IS very confusing. Alternate Hulk wants to kill alternate Bruce, so alternate Bruce(at the recommendation of Spidey) casts a spell that makes Deadpool look like alternate Bruce, which causes alternate Hulk to attack Pool. With some time to think, alternate Bruce comes up with a plan to re-banish his Hulk, but needs Bruce to allow the Hulk back into his body. Realizing that alternate Hulk was way worse than his own Hulk, Bruce agrees. Alternate Bruce casts a spell, and summons the Hulk, who attacks alternate Hulk. Eventually, through some magical chicanery, alternate Bruce forces alternate Hulk back into his body, and turns back to himself. Temporarily in control, he orders the Hulk to snap his neck before alternate Hulk took control again, which he does, ending the threat of alternate Hulk. From there, Spidey discovers a note from the now dead(?) alternate Bruce, telling the trio to head to Parker Labs the next day. When the time comes, the trio head to the appointed spot and discover alternate Peter Parker, apparently returned from Hell, thanks to alternate Bruce. Alternate Peter is sorry for all the evil he committed, and helps return the trio of heroes to their proper dimension, ending this story.

Thoughts: Well, this storyline sure took a nosedive! I really enjoyed the first two parts of this story, the Deadpool and Spidey ones, but this issue just fell flat for me. For whatever reason, I just couldn't get into the Bruce Banner: Sorcerer Supreme stuff. Deadpool was more or less an afterthought here, and even Spidey didn't do all that much. I guess with this being a Hulk annual, that makes sense, but with me not exactly being a Hulk fan, it all just didn't work for me. Add a story with too many Hulks and Bruce Banners, and yeah, this comic wasn't my cup of tea.

Score: 4 1/2 out of 10.It's Hulk vs Hulk! How original!

The Random Scan of the Week!

It doesn't get much more random then this! From The Incredible Hulk #83(Sept. 2005).