Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Hulk #11
Marvel Comics
Loeb, McGuinness & Vines
The issue is a smash-fest. Hulk and Defenders battle red Hulk and his Offenders. The story and setup is a little absurd, but the issue does provide a good display of art and some good action scenes. It’s a fairly good issue but when you factor in the cover price of $4 and the limited story, this one may cater towards the Hulk completists or fans of the creators. I’m not sure the casual reader is going to enjoy this and if “your” Hulk was the Greg Pak run then forget it.
Each of the four combatants from the two teams are pitted against each other in one of the other’s natural habitats. The two Hulks get Namor’s domain underwater. In one way this limits the action and potentials for the fight, but it also allows for more of a wrestling style of fighting. The other battles have some high points, mostly through the artwork. The part of the fighting that stands out in terms of story is the conversation the green and red Hulk have during their battle.
Green Hulk tries to convince red Hulk to join forces with him against those that set up the battle in the first place. However, red Hulk resists and mentions how he would never ally with green Hulk and green Hulk addresses the possibility that the red Hulk is just another offshoot of the Hulk, like grey Hulk had been. The comic appears to be catering to speculation by fans about exactly who the red Hulk is. I found this to be an interesting way of getting readers to chase their tails.
The comic brings in even more characters by the end and it seems the upper hand is being gained by the Offenders. The motives of all the characters aren’t made obvious, but the involvement of some of them seem fairly expected to some degree. With the finale next issue I have no idea how this story will end and that’s generally a good thing.
The comic excels in the artwork. Whether it’s a double splash page of Namor getting bit or Terrax cutting Silver Surfer’s board in half you get page after page of fantastic visuals. The comic doesn’t contain much in the way of backgrounds which sort of helped me to lose track of what planet each pair was fighting on but that’s a fairly minor complaint.
Another issue of Hulk has a lot of fighting supported by a light plot. The nice thing about the comic is that the smarter version of the green Hulk returns. The comic doesn’t try to be overly clever, but it does give you a lot of nice action dressed in some great art. It’s up to you if you find $4 in your budget for such a comic.
3 out of 5 geek goggles
