This Town Ain't Big Enough for Two
I'm not the biggest Hulk fan, but he is up there in my top 15 favourite characters, and before this series I was very upset to see the way he was mistreated. This series has rectified the mistakes from the last Hulk series, and I'm happy that Hulk is in a good series once more.
Plot
In a former nuclear test town renamed Bannerville Bruce Banner meets his new team of assistants. Later he is on a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission where he comes up against Attuma.
Review
Although not the best issue in the series this is still a fabulous issue, and the series has been very good. Mark Waid has really done something special with this series so far, and I always had faith that he was the right person to turn Hulk into a brilliant series again. What I've been enjoying about this series so far is that he's taking time to show Banner more than some of the other writers have, as although we saw Banner in the previous series he was mainly pitted against Hulk, which although an interesting idea became really dull, really quick. This time round Banner and Hulk act as separate entities once more, which is the best way. Just like Waid's Daredevil series this series shows both sides to the monster, and utilizes all his strengths, whilst showing that he has a human side. The only problem with this issue was that the build up to the mission was a little slow, and although it had it's interesting moments it did let the issue down a bit. I do however expect the next issue to be brilliant though.
As if this series wasn't good enough with Waid writing it, it had to go even further and have the brilliant artist Leinil Francis Yu. I've always admired Yu's art over the years, and although some of it hasn't worked with the material I've never felt that way about him drawing Hulk. I remember seeing him drawing Hulk way back when Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk was out, and although I wasn't getting comics at the time I still admired the artwork whenever I flicked through an issue, or saw it online. Yu continues this with Indestructible Hulk, and I've enjoyed his art throughout the series. It's very detailed and looks nothing short of amazing. The detail is brilliant, and although he doesn't put in minor details with distant characters it's easily forgiven due to the rest of the art, and it makes it feel more personal. Yu's also produced some fabulous covers, and this ones no different. I know that this is referenced from a film (at least I think it is) just can't remember what film (if anyone knows please comment, it'd be appreciated).
Let's move on to the new team of assistants that will be working with Banner. We saw the assembly of these characters in the last issue, but this is the first time that they've met Banner. I thought this was a really good sequence, and that it was interesting the way the assistants reacted to Banner (lack of reaction), and how Banner reacted to that. I think that adding this team to help Banner is brilliant, and although they're mainly there to help him with his work it's also nice for him to have some company. I am however looking forward to him turning green in front of them, as it's bound to happen at some point (would be a wasted opportunity otherwise). It was also nice to see that R.O.B. was still in the series.
Banner using an abandoned nuclear testing town as his base of operation was also interesting, and to be honest there isn't anywhere else that'd feel more appropriate. The thing I loved most about this wasn't actually him using an abandoned nuclear testing town, but that he's change the sign to say Bannerville, Population: 1.
The aquatic version of the Helicarrier , called the Dreadnought was also very interesting. Although it wasn't entirely original, with the designs being basically the same as a Helicarrier I still found the Dreadnought impressive, although I was a bit confused as to how a submarine the size of the one in the picture could fit in it whilst still leaving enough room. Surly it'd make more sense just having the submarine.
Finally I'll talk about the mission. It was very interesting to see Hulk facing off against Atlanteans. To be honest besides the Atlanteans in Aquaman I haven't seen any in comics for a long time, and although I've seen Namor, one doesn't really count. The fight between them although short was very exciting, and fun, as well as being interesting. It was also nice to see Attuma as well. I'm not as familiar with Attuma that I am with most comic book characters, but I do know that he's more known as a Namor villain, and that he wants to conquer Atlantis. I also think that not knowing Attuma much as a character gives me the chance to learn about him as he features in this story, and I look forward to seeing more fighting between Attuma and Hulk. As I said the fighting wasn't too long in this issue, but it was very entertaining, and I am really looking forward to it continuing into the next issue.
Final Verdict
Although this isn't the best issue in the series it's still very good, and the series overall his been brilliant. I'd still highly recommend this issue, and I'd defiantly recommend the series on a whole, as it's fantastic, and looks to be getting better and better.
