STARTLING STORIES: BANNER #2
"Banner, Part Two"
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics
Writer: Brian Azzarello
Artist: Richard Corben
Colors: Studio F
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Axel Alonso
Price: $2.99 US/$4.50 CAN |
Though not quite as compelling as the first issue, this second chapter still packs a powerful punch, so to speak. Azzarello focuses on Doc Samson in this issue, and his vision of the gamma-irradiated therapist is radically different that what we've seen in the past. Some may argue this character cannot be reconciled with other interpretations of Samsom, and they may be right. Honestly, I don't care, as Azzarello's take makes for great reading.
Bruce Banner fired the shot, but it's the Hulk that sees the smoke rising from the barrel. As the brute rages in the desert, Doc Samson leads a throng of army helicopter squadrons to deploy a new weapon designed to put an end to the threat posed by the behemoth.
Corben's name is hardly the first one to come to mind when one considers super-hero comics artists, but if his organic, detailed and twisted style is best suited for any such mainstream character, it's the Hulk. He conveys the raw power, emotion and darkness of the world of the Green Goliath perfectly. His depiction of the real-world technology of military 'copters and their weaponry also impresses.
Doc Samson comes off as cold, unfeeling and brutally efficient. It's not in keeping with what we've seen before, but it is compelling. Whereas the first issue built up the reader's empathy for Bruce Banner, one can't help but nod in begrudging agreement with Samson's actions. He's out to put an end to a very real threat at any cost. There's still a lot left unsaid, though, and it adds an air of mystery to the story as well.
So far, Banner has been a strong limited series, offering up a real-world view of what a creature like the Hulk would do to human life, and what a government would be willing to do to conceal a secret and eliminate it. Azzarello's clever script would be for naught, though, were it not for the creepy, contorted visuals of Corben. This is an example of an ideal collaboration.
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