The Good
Mark Waid has positively exploded back onto the Marvel scene, reinventing both Daredevil and Hulk with novel approaches and writing the characters as they’ve never been written before, but somehow more true to the core of the characters, for lack of a better term, than they have been as well. Indestructible Hulk finds Bruce Banner trapped not only in the realm of the Norse Jotunheim with a young Thor, but in the distant past, before the Asgardian had ever met the Avengers. To go with that problem, it turns out that one of the scientists he’s working with, Patricia Wolman, has the kind of death wish that doesn’t feature Charles Bronson or a six-shooter. This issue is really about the dynamic between the two of them, the action taking a backseat to the two characters getting to know one another better, but don’t let that dissuade you. Waid can write a conversation more fascinating than many superhero throw-downs. Despite the many characters having similar occupations and even temperaments (there’s a reason they were selected to work with someone who could lose his temper and kill them all), Waid writes them all with their own distinct voices. He also seems to take an especial delight in writing Thor with just a little more Renn Faire flair in his voice than he usually comes off in modern comics, and I actually think that’s a great way to characterize him as pre-Avengers. He also thinks Hulk's name is "Hulksmash," and that's just great. Especially of note: a conversation between Banner and Patricia about why the Hulk couldn’t lift Thor’s hammer, complete with winking reference to a “who’s stronger” debate AND a fully scientific (fiction) explanation for how the hammer works.
Walt Simonson is a legend in the industry with good cause. Though I wasn’t thrilled with his work on the AVX tie-in he illustrated, I have come to truly appreciate his massively expressive, even exaggerated, facial features and his strong, old-school action scenes that flow better than a lot of modern artists. There’s a two-page splash that is especially spectacular in all the right ways, making the issue transition from somber character study to bombastic throw-down. Simonson has the panel control of someone who knows exactly what they’re doing, and he and Waid lead the readers’ eye across the page at precisely the pace they’ve decided it should go, and I have a hard time disagreeing with their choice. Bob Wiacek helping out on inks helps make everything distinct and crisp while Jim Charalampidis’ colors pop out and SMASH the reader across the face with pastels. There is seriously more color in this book set in a dimension of almost total ice and perpetual blizzards than in so many of its dreary, downtrodden peers that take place in vibrant, metropolitan cities.
The Bad
The old-school look might not be for everyone. You’ll notice I didn’t take a star off, because I think it’s great, but I could see it being a turnoff for some readers.
The Verdict
Indestructible Hulk went from one unlikely, but great, artist to an incredibly likely, and still great, artist. It’s been a lateral move in terms of art, and the story stays the same quality as well, but in classic form it’s a story that’s definitely more suited to Simonson than it would have been to Yu. This issue explores another character in a deep, profound and interesting way without forgetting whose name is on the cover and I think it’s another example of Mark Waid having a renaissance. The man has raised the bar on superhero comics and I can recommend it this book to anyone who enjoys superhero books. Even if you’re not a fan of the Hulk, this book is an absolute delight.