|
INCREDIBLE HULK #33
"Tides"
Recommended (8/10)
|
Marvel Comics
Writer: Priest
Artist: Jon Bogdanove
Colors: Avalon Studios
Letters: John Workman
Editor: Tom Brevoort
Price: $3.50 US/$5.25 CAN |
I've found that Priest's "guest writer" work is often a little weak, especially compared to the usual stuff he does on regular titles. However, this issue of Hulk is an exception, tying in to his use of the character in his Black Panther run and featuring one of my favorite supporting characters from that title. If you're a fan of Black Panther, I'd definitely recommend picking this up for a little insight into one of the characters. If you're a fan of the Hulk, I'd recommend picking it up for a very good "dumb
Hulk" story written in an intelligent manner. About the only complaint I have is
that I've never been much of a fan of Bogdanove's art, but his work here is
something I like a lot more than most of his previous stuff.
Back in about year two of Black Panther, smart-mouthed Chicago kid Queen Divine
Justice had a run-in with the Hulk, which resulted in some hilarious scenes of
the Hulk in a dance club and a friendly bond with the young girl. This issue
follows up on that, with the Hulk coming to Wakanda for a visit, and Queen soon
realizing that while the Hulk does have the vulnerable human side she saw in
him, he also has the raging force of nature that everyone else sees. It's a
story of big physical action, with the Hulk trying to rescue a sub, but it's
told from a psychological viewpoint, as we see the relationship between Queen
and Hulk take a new turn.
Priest has always been good at
mixing the mundane and the exotic, and he does so here. We get scenes that
feature Queen trying to teach the Hulk how to cook grits right beside scenes of
Queen trying to get the Hulk to rescue a submarine. There's a government plot
and a bio-warfare scare right on top of a bit of character interplay between
Queen and a snotty government agent, and a touching and sad story of a
relationship between a girl and her friend right in the midst of the story of a
powerful monster.
Bogdanove's work has never
been a favorite of mine, and this issue really isn't much of an exception. While
his take on the Wakandan defenses in a double-page spread is impressive, his
top-heavy Hulk reminds me a little too much of the unbalanced and grotesque look
that Erik Larsen gives him, and his Queen Divine Justice looks like she's about
ten years old. The story is perfectly readable, I'll give him credit for that,
but it's not visually attractive for the most part.
The rest of the book is filled out (as are all 100-page Monsters) with reprint
stories. Two of them are tales by Len Wein of the Hulk-Jarella romance, and
didn't really interest me much. The third is a reprint from Peter David's
legendary run on the title, one of those I haven't read, and it's a creepy
psychological horror story with guest art by John Ridgway, which reminds us that
the Hulk can be used for that kind of story, setting the stage for next issue's
arrival of horror writer Bruce Jones.
This issue was a fill-in, marking time between the end of the Jenkins/McKeever run and the start of the Jones run. By the end of the story, however, this "fill-in" has enacted change in the lead character and the guest star. That's a tall order even for the regular writers of some series, but Priest manages it pretty easily, writing an entertaining Hulk story that fits in with his style on Black Panther.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
