The First Two Issues of the Latest, "Incredible Hulk," Run Are Quite Entertaining

Not too long ago we had one of the best runs focused on the Hulk ever. Al Ewing and Joe Bennett's "The Immortal Hulk," was superb, and whatever came after it would unfortunately face impossible expectations and quite likely fail to measure up. That led to, "Hulk," by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley. It limped to 14 issues and was marked by Cates simply quitting and Ottley remarking how it was possibly the last time he'd do a corporate book as opposed to his own creator-owned stuff. The series started off fun, at least, but we were left wondering what could have been by the sudden end. Thankfully, with just two issues it has become clear that this latest run of, "The Incredible Hulk," is a return to that lovely horrifying vibe of, "Immortal," while also being its own thing.

Phillip Kennedy Johnson is writing with Nic Klein on art and, "The Incredible Hulk," has made it clear we're in some creepy territory. There's a super-powerful dark monster summoning all the other creatures to come help it and the Hulk might be the only thing that can stand in the way. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are back to squabbling with each other as they often do, however, so that complicates any plans to stop the World from its latest cataclysmic threat. In this issue, we meet some folks rising from the dead with one of their leaders, Sister Sadie, spreading an eerie gospel to a bunch of somewhat-cognizant zombies. It is a bit humorous and quite creepy.

The Hulk works in many fashions. He can be heroic and hang with other heroes. He can even be comedic relief at times. For my money, however, I like when he is a terrifying force of nature that invokes more fear than joy in those who witness him. The Hulk is Bruce Banner's Id when you drill everything down to its most basic. He is rage and destruction incarnate. The only saving grace to the Hulk is there are sometimes things even more alarming and spine-chilling than him. Having a comic focused on the Hulk going up against other supernatural and horrifying monsters helps make this point clear. I'm all for it and based on these first two issues I think we're in for a wild and scary ride!

5 out of 5 stars (for both issues).

I Wonder What Could Have Been With the Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley's, "Hulk," Run

One thing to get out of the way is how "Immortal Hulk," was an amazing comic and whatever came after it was sure to fail to measure up. Still, when it was announced Donny Cates would be writing a new, "Hulk," comic and Ryan Ottley would illustrate it, that gave me hope we would get something cool and different from, "Immortal Hulk," even if it wouldn't be as magical. Then the, "Hulk," comic started and it was pretty cool and zany! It crossed over with the, "Thor," comic Cates had been writing for a while and then...was really delayed. Super delayed. Suddenly fill-writers seemed to become permanent on, "Thor," and, "Hulk," with Ottley taking over the writing and drawing. At some point, Marvel decided it was better to just outright cancel the comic than retool it because after it became apparent Cates was gone and Ottley was going to be done too. Therefore, the whole thing will end with issue #14. It's like someone suddenly yelled, "Shut it down," and the series with its Titan Hulk and other fun weirdness went kaput.

There have been ample rumors about why Donny Cates has seemed to quit all his Marvel series as of late. More optimistic theories are that he is working on something big for Marvel--possibly with Greg Capullo. Some people think he had some kind of emotional breakdown for one reason or another. He has confirmed he is single and went through a divorce and needed a break due to various life events. I honestly don't know what Cates did or did not go through but as a fan of his work wish him the best. If it turns out he is doing something really snazzy like bringing back the Ultimate Universe or such I will be pleased, and if he simply needs to take time for his mental health and do a few creator-owned series and chill, I'm happy for him as well. I just wonder what could have been with his and Ottley's run on, "Hulk," if everything had continued as initially planned. 

Ottley has expressed he'll be moving back to shorter runs on various creator-owned series as after doing, "Invincible," a long time and now abbreviated, "Hulk," run he wants to dabble in various titles briefly as opposed to spending all his time on a single book. Cates is mostly radio silent about future plans with his comics but will probably share more when he is ready. It's just a bummer.

The Debut Issue of, "Hulk," by Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley is a Little Confusing, Pretty Fun

I reviewed the final issue of, "Immortal Hulk," and had fond feelings about the 50 issue run of that title. It was amazing and beloved by tons of readers. Then it was announced Donny Cates would be writing a new Hulk comic with Ryan Ottley on art. Simply titled, "Hulk," it faces some impossible expectations after a run some are calling the best Hulk comic ever. All Cates and Ottley can do is try and make a fun Hulk comic without worrying about what came before too much. That seems to be what they're doing.

This issue of, "Hulk," opens with Bruce Banner having turned the Hulk into something he can pilot while still totally mentally in control. The Hulk has become less an unfocused force of rage than a tank Banner is piloting. Vague mentions are made of an event in El Paso that we do not get to mention, and the comic does make a fun little callback to the previous run with Banner remarking he is trying to break into a base Tony Stark (Iron Man) has with a unique armor because while the Hulk might be immortal, Banner isn't.

This issue raises a lot of questions about just how Banner has been able to tweak the Hulk in the manner he has and why Banner is really acting more villainous than we usually witness in the pages of Hulk-related comics (usually the Hulk fights other heroes when he's having difficulties, not Banner). It's odd and has my interest. Plus, Ottley's artwork is just gorgeous. Ottley knows how to illustrate epic fight scenes as his work on, "Invincible," and other titles shows, and he doesn't shy away from some kinetic and surprisingly violent moments with, "Hulk." The Hulk can take a lot of damage and keep going, as Ottley makes abundantly clear as the page fills with green blood. It's nasty yet gorgeous, if that makes any sense.

This first issue of, "Hulk," is a big tonal departure from, "Immortal Hulk." It is unfair to compare this to that previous run that just wrapped, but I and others can't help it. This is much more of a mystery and sci-fi story than the strong horror-vibe we witnessed in, "Immortal Hulk," but it's still a good debut issue. I'll be interested in seeing where this goes.

4 out of 5 stars.

With it's Final Issue, "Immortal Hulk," Sticks the Landing

The other day a friend and I agreed "Immortal Hulk," issues #1-#25 are a masterpiece of storytelling. Full of philosophy, body horror, and general weirdness I loved reading it. The comic was written by the amazing Al Ewing and had art often by the now-disgraced Joe Bennett (more on that later). My friend and I also agreed on how issues #26-#50 were at times a bit slow or meandering, but still managed to entertain a great deal. With its finale completed, we're left with one of the best runs of a Hulk comic ever. This is arguably up there with the original stuff by Lee & Kirby, what Peter David gave us in the 1990s, and the Planet Hulk/World War Hulk stuff by Greg Pak.

"Immortal Hulk," gave us a Hulk who was smart, scary, and either wanted to save the World, destroy it, or thought destroying it would save it. We saw different personalities of Bruce Banner/the Hulk, witnessed all kinds of fights and surreal imagery, dug deep into psychology, and in the end--sorta a spoiler--got to watch Hulk yell at God (or some version of him/her) about life and why the Hulk even exists if all the Hulk seems to do is annihilate all that exists around him. It was a fabulous run.

Bennett's art was often amazing. He, unfortunately, is hateful.

The one stain on this majestic comic would be that as these issues unfolded more and more was revealed about the comic's usual penciler, Joe Bennett. I turned out he had previously posted a number of homophobic, antisemitic, and generally offensive comments and drawings. It started being apparent there were problems as early as issue #43 of, "Immortal Hulk," itself which contained questionable imagery, encouraging folks to dig deeper and find some really unsavory stuff about Bennett. As more was learned Al Ewing said he would never work with Bennett again and Marvel said they were cutting ties with Bennett after, "Immortal Hulk." One could be a little snarky and point out Marvel waited until, "Immortal Hulk," was done to finally drop Bennett, but I said I could be snarky, not that I would be.

Controversy with Bennett aside, "Immortal Hulk," was a wonderful series that utterly amazed me for half its run and still was pretty great for its back-half before closing strong. I look forward to the inevitable omnibus in 2022 or 2023 and will save my pennies up for it. Now we get to see what Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley have in store for us in their unenviable position of following after this amazing run.

5 out of 5 stars (for the entire run).

Marvel Is Announcing Various Comics and Some Caught my Eye

Marvel has been announcing new comics and creative teams. One that just was revealed and which has scant details so far would be, "The Death of Doctor Strange," which sounds ominous but also unlikely to actually happen as he's got that movie coming up--perhaps we'll be surprised. Jonathan Hickman stopped writing the main, "X-Men," title but will be doing, "Inferno," as Mystique goes and tries to burn everything the Mutants on Krakoa have built to the ground. Al Ewing and Ram V are both fantastic writers and will be taking on, "Venom," (art by Bryan Hitch) while Donny Cates is going to writing a new, "Hulk," comic with Ryan Ottley on art. If upon reading that you asked, "Wait, are Al Ewing and Donny Cates essentially swapping books/characters?" then the answer is yes, yes they essentially are.

Considering how amazing Al Ewing has been on, "The Immortal Hulk," I'm excited to see what he and Ram V have in store for, "Venom." I usually like Cates stuff so I'm hopeful for his, "Hulk," run but he has quite the act to follow after Ewing's stuff. Marvel probably has more stuff coming down the pipeline for the Fall, so we'll see what else is revealed these coming days.

Two Random Trade Paperback Reviews Featuring Female Wolverines, Grizzlysharks, and a Seabear

Strange Humans and Creatures=Good Fun!

Sometimes I'll just read something because I either hear it is good, or it looks weird and fun. In the case of the two books I'm reviewing here both of those things occurred, and thankfully I was quite pleased with the titles!

All-New Wolverine Volume 1: The Four Sisters

This picks-up with Laura Kinney/X-23 as the new Wolverine, and pleasingly doesn't require too much continuity-knowledge of old or new to enjoy. I say that because there is a lot to unpack here taking into account our heroine, Laura, has had her own comic series about how she's a female clone of Wolverine (don't ask) is apparently dating the brought-into-the-present-from-the-past version of Angel, and it is mentioned how Wolverine of course died not too long ago. Again, the book could easily collapse under all this continuity but thankfully says, "There is a lot of back-story, but we will tell you just enough that you can enjoy this book, and if you want to know more feel free to go read past stuff."

I shouldn't be surprised this book is as fun as it is considering I loved when writer Tom Taylor was on the earlier issues/"Years," of the, "Injustice," prequel comic. His talent continues to shine on this book as it discusses Laura/X-23/Wolverine/shehasmanynames fighting to save some flawed clones of her own that are being hunted by an evil corporation (you don't find many good or even benign corporations these days in popular culture).

This first volume collects the initial six issues of the series and it all flows very well, with various guest appearances (Doctor Strange, The Wasp) making sense as opposed to feeling especially forced. It is a great read and balances drama, humor, and action superbly. Again, Tom Taylor know what he's doing. Apparently the 2nd volume shoe-horns in that annoying, "Civil War II," event, but still is enjoyable for the most part. After loving this first volume I'll be sure to try and check it out as well!

Grizzlyshark Volume 1

This book collects all three issues of the insanely violent, silly, and otherwise delightful, "Grizzlyshark," comic. The idea of the comic is that we have a shark, who survives on the land. As with regular sharks he can smell blood from miles away, and the comic consists of him eating a number of people before it becoming apparent there are in fact many grizzlysharks and they all are quite hungry. As if things couldn't get any weirder, in the 3rd issue we get to witness as a grizzlyshark fights a seabear. Yes, this comic is utterly absurd and its knows it.

The idea of grizzlysharks and seabears is so over-the-top you either have to play it completely straight or go all-out with being silly. This books takes the latter approach and has such wild things as a man with half his torso eaten managing to keep fighting the shark, a feral and cannibalistic baby, plus as I mentioned, freaking sharks that live on land and a bear that lives in the water! It is a concept as dumb as it is genius and the book manages to make it work wonderfully.

The third issues/chapter delivers what this cover promises!

This first volume of, "Grizzlyshark," is stupendous and I hope creators Ryan Ottley and Ivan Plascencia continue to give us more magically twisted yarns about these creatures. In the meantime, I'll be careful not to cut myself in the water or on land (so nowhere, basically)!
5 out of 5 stars.

Randomly Good Times

As my two 5-star reviews illustrate, I enjoy having fun, and there is clearly nothing wrong with some random reading to have the good times I like.