An Excellent Point One Issue
Jeff Parker wisely wastes no time moving Thunderbolt Ross into the next phase of Ross' mile in the Hulk's shoes by putting him in the sights of a determined general.
After not much more than a single arc, Parker shakes up Ross' status quo. It is a promising move, implying that Parker really plans to get the most out of Ross' time as a Hulk. Having him run missions for Steve Rogers and Bruce Banners was interesting with him having to ally with former enemies, but only so much can be done there and Scorched Earth did a good job of covering the main points. Rather than linger there any longer, it is good to see this book move on to the next logical thing to do with Ross.
Calling General Fortean the next great Hulk villain is most likely an overstatement, but he is a good antagonist for Red Hulk. Does he have much mileage beyond that? That seems unlikely since his function as a character is to be the Ross to Ross' Hulk. Still, he is a good character. Parker makes Fortean's vendetta against Red Hulk understandable and does it without making the man seem like a nutcase. Fortean is portrayed as a respectable military man who has an understandable grudge against Red Hulk.
As a Point One issue, this works very well. By explaining Forlean's issue with the Red Hulk, we get a lot of exposition about Ross that reads like a natural part of the story. It does not read like a story told for the sake of introducing new readers to Red Hulk, even though that is exactly what it is doing. But to regular readers, it comes off as just the start of the next chapter for Red Hulk's story.
The art does its job well, but there is a dullness to the coloring that really does not suit a story with a man who turns into a red version of the Hulk and fights a man on top of a flying aircraft. It diminishes the excitement of the action.
Parker proves better than ever that he is Red Hulk's saving grace. Sure, there is still that stupid mustache thing. But Parker makes Ross as the Red Hulk more interesting than ever in this issue.
