Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

Incredible Hulk #602Incredible Hulk #602
Marvel Comics
Pak & Olivetti

Banner, no longer the Hulk, begins to train his son, Skaar, to fight. This issue expands the character of Skaar's Earth persona a little further. While it doesn't necessarily explore Banner and Skaar's relationship that much further, it does show an odd level of trust in the early going. The issue is good, but ultimately doesn't bring too much that is new to the Hulk table. The issue features a backup of She-Hulk by Van Lente and Ryan which is starting to tie some plots together. Overall this is a good issue if you want to keep your finger on the pulse of a couple of the Hulk characters.


Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle ReviewsThe Juggernaut has been recruited to spar with Skaar. Unfortunately, Juggernaut is after Banner for blowing up his mobile home and isn't interested in fighting Skaar. This is a compound problem because Banner is no condition, as just a regular human, to fight the Juggernaut. Banner is forced to use some tricks to get Skaar and Juggernaut interested in fighting each other. This is a good part of the comic as Banner uses his brain to manipulate the pair, but at the same time Skaar acts like a disinterested teenager that is just rejected everything his father is telling him. It's a good way to get the characters to reveal themselves a little bit to each other.

The issue is more than just a battle though. Banner manages to get Skaar into a town setting in a couple of instances and this fish-out-of-water technique has some humorous payoffs in this issue. Also, this issue shows some background noise of some folks who are tracking Banner that may not have his best interests at heart. You might be surprised at their identities when you read the issue.

The backup story begins to tie the old She-Hulk and the new She-Hulk together as some of the sinister plot gets revealed. As the new She-Hulk battles against some super villain women, she begins to turn them into hunted instead of hunters. The issue contains a good little story with plenty of action and tons of story background and footnotes. It completely maxes out its space.

The artwork is extremely contrasting in the two stories. The main story appears water colored with multiple layers of focus. The style isn't as devoid of backgrounds or details as it has in previous stories and it does excel when the real fight breaks out. The backup story is bright and vibrant and has the more epic feel to it that you might find in the Rulk comic. Overall, the art adds something to each story.

Incredible Hulk is making use of a good cast and a couple of guest stars to fill the gap left when the green guy exited. This comic makes for a good anthology-light book about some Hulk characters without getting involved with the red Hulk. Ultimately this particularly comic is subtle in plot development, but has some fun character moments and action. I think any fan of the Hulk will be happy picking this one up.

3.5 out of 5 geek goggles