Bruce Jones finishes another Incredible Hulk arc, and once again I find myself with too many questions and a little disappointment, in light of how much I enjoyed every other chapter. Jones plays heavy with the symbolism this issue, and a lot of it went right over my head. More to the point, we're once again left with a lot of unanswered questions and a somewhat unsatisfying resolution as a result. Fortunately, the artwork is as gorgeous as ever, and the relationship between Banner and Sally does come to a satisfying conclusion. I'm sure that the next issue, opening a new arc, will impress me once again, but I'm finding that Jones tends to drop his endings a bit.
After several issues, we're given a clue this issue as to what the organization wants with the Hulk. Instead of merely capture or elimination, they want to make use of him. This was revealed in previous issues, but Jones (through Agent Pratt) goes into a bit more detail this issue about how they'll make use of the Hulk, and it makes a certain amount of sense. While no one in their right mind would want to completely duplicate the Hulk and his destructive potential, his power should hold appeal for certain types of people.
This story, for all its super-heroic and espionage trappings, is actually a confrontation between three people, at varying distances. Sally faces her demons, Bruce Banner continues to face his and Pratt, though he didn't plan to, is forced to confront his as well. I'm not entirely certain what the significance is of some of the things in this issue, as it doesn't seem like Sally really learned anything from her encounter with the Hulk, since she has a similar trouble to the one that cost her her job (and nearly her life) previously. However, while the conflicts come to some shaky resolutions, they are fascinating on their own.
Mind you, I didn't find the whole "Ancient Mariner" theme all that fascinating. While it was a cute if weird character quirk in the last issue, Jones overplays it this issue, making Pratt seem unduly focused on the story of the Ancient Mariner for the point of some dodgy symbolism. It actually makes the character seem less real rather than more, like he's little more than a mouthpiece for what Jones is trying to express.
While the writing let me down a little, though, the art certainly didn't. Weeks, Palmer and Studio F give a stunning rendition of the Rocky Mountains, and they really bring the nervousness of the characters home with a focus on the eyes of Sally or Bruce. In addition, though Weeks's rendition of the Hulk doesn't seem as massive as John Romita Jr.'s, he does have a sensation of power and size in this issue. The Hulk remains one of the best-drawn comics at Marvel today, and in general one of the best-written as well, even if there are some problems with the final issues of the arcs.
