S.H.I.E.L.D. versus A.I.M.
The Good
The story starts of with Maria Hill, director of S.H.I.E.L.D. seeking out volunteers for the Shield Headquarters; meaning the four that are to be chosen has given the confirmation of being comfortable on working with the ticking time bomb himself, Bruce Banner. While Hill is interviewing the new assistances who are soon to be apart of the agency, Banner's on his first 'undercover' mission with some of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents sent to stop the re-activation of the Quintronic Man and end A.I.M.
Mark Waid still impresses me with his writing and how he plots something big in about every issue, which usually leads to a complete cliffhanger in the end; this comic being one of them. When you flip through the first few pages of the issue, it doesn't seem like we'll be seeing much of Hulk and more about the members and backbone of the agency. However, when continuing along the pages we do get to see the Hulk and S.H.I.E.L.D. in action as they are sent on a fixed mission to save the last member of the quintronic crew from being captured by A.I.M.; that being said, the battle of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Hulk against A.I.M. and the Quintronic Man takes place. With the talented sketches of Leinil Yu, the panels are illustrated with as much emotion as possible to show the full potential of intensity on the battle. I really admire the way Leinil designed the current Hulk, as well as modeling the Quintronic Man and elaborates has much as he can in his sketches to draw out the most realistic and modernized artwork.
The Bad
The only argument I have with the issue is that the battle between Hulk and the Quintronic Man could've been few panels longer; as it was somewhat of a short fight. Having the fact that these two agencies have possession of the two most powerful weapons known to mankind, the fight could have gone much longer rather than coming to a dead end that effected the battle in the long run.
The Verdict
This is probably the best issue of Waid's run on the Hulk, as it consists of twists and turns, a big plot, and a great battle fought; the characteristics of what talented writer's use to produce great stories. And to be honest, this issue holds some of the greatest sketches I've ever seen drawn out by Leinil Yu, hands down. Definitely an issue to place on your pull list for this month.
