With this summer heralding new movies for the Hulk and the X-Men, the timing of this series seems just about right from a marketing standpoint, since it's quick release and trade collection should get it into stores in time for the movies. The question is, can Marvel make this more than a marketing cash-grab and instead turn out an interesting story that justifies another Wolverine/Hulk mini? Using regular Hulk writer Bruce Jones and regular Flash artist Scott Kolins is a good start, and the craft here is pretty solid, but as with so many mini-series, there is something of an inconsequential feel to the whole thing. That said, though, the first issue of this series sets up an interesting situation that pushes the lead characters together, and keeps the general tone of Jones's Hulk while providing a considerably more straightforward plot.
Structurally, this feels pretty solid. It reminds me of what you might see in an anthology television series, as Jones introduces a variety of players on a collision course with one another through coincidence or fate (depending on your particular worldview.) The introductions are well done, and by the time we're midway through the issue, I feel like I have a sense of Kyle and his parents, the drug dealing Sid and Whitie and of course Bruce Banner and Wolverine as well. The situation that gives the mini-series it's subtitle is a deceptively small and simple thing that remains in the realm of believability while still providing a life-threatening problem.
Kolins is a strong storyteller, and his artwork throughout reinforces the structure that Jones has set up while also providing key information all by itself. Little things like transitions from altimeter to clock, or the switch that shows Banner acquiring his new identity, make all the difference, and the action sequence that begins with the appearance of the Hulk and quickly re-establishes everyone's point of view is very well done. His transitions and the general style of those last few pages remind me somewhat of 24, one of my favorite television shows, and I have to think that given the time-sensitive nature of the plot that is not a coincidence, but instead a choice made by the creative team.
While the structure is solid, however, the book hasn't hooked me as strongly as other work by these creators, and that's largely because you can see the artifice behind the mini-series. The whole goal of this story is to put Hulk and Wolverine together, and the coincidences required for that start to pile up on one another. The snakebite of a young boy, as a result of a string of events, is believable enough. So is a drug deal gone bad. So is Bruce Banner wanting to go to Canada, even though his reasons aren't explained anywhere. But getting them all on the same plane stretches things, and having them then get involved with Wolverine, who happens to be out on his nature hike, pushes the whole thing a bit too far for me.
In addition, while Kolins's work looks very good, it isn't as strong here as it has been when he has a different inker. Compare his take on the Hulk to his work on The Thing, a similar type of character, and it's not quite as impressive, lacking in the fine detail that his inkers often add. The detail and expressiveness I've come to expect from Kolins is all there, as is the masterful storytelling, but it looks a little rougher, not quite finished, in places.
