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| Title: | Code Red chapter three: She | | Credits: |  Jeph Loeb (writer), Ian Churchill (penciler)
Mark Farmer (inker), Peter Steigerwald (colorist), Ian Churchill (cover penciler) | | Score: | ¶¶¶ (out of 5) | | Synopsis: | The Red She-Hulk holds off Wolverine and then takes Rulk with her through the subway tunnels. Rulk didn't know about her, so she interacts with him to gain his confidence. But when Rulk is regaining his vision, he realizes that the mysterious Red She-Hulk has led him into a trap where Rulk's team, now under Dark Samson's command, ...
Sign in to see the full synopsis | | Characters: | Red Hulk, Red She-Hulk, Thundra | | Enemies: | Deadpool, Doc Samson, Punisher, X-Force | | Synopsis Written By: | Julio Molina-Muscara |
| | | Story #2 | | Title: | Hulk Date | | Credits: | Audrey Loeb (writer), Dario Brizuela (penciler)
Dario Brizuela (inker), Dario Brizuela (colorist) | | Score: | ¶¶¶ (out of 5) | | Synopsis: | Hulk is having dinner with her cousin the She-Hulk, when the Red Hulk and Blue Hulk appear. Red Hulk has a crash on her and invites her to ...
Sign in to see the full synopsis | | Characters: | Blue Hulk, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Red Hulk, She-Hulk | | Synopsis Written By: | Julio Molina-Muscara |
| Pro Review: | By Jesse Schedeen
Originally posted at ICN
Hulk #16 sees the full debut of the latest dubious addition to the Hulk family - Red She-Hulk. The character is very much birthed from the same inspiration that created Red Hulk. Her motivations are clear to no one but her. Her identity is being purposefully kept a mystery. Given that Loeb quickly eliminates just about every current character from the running, it really feels like the eventual reveal will be random and unsatisfying. But given that we're still being kept in the dark as to Red Hulk's identity after all this time, I'm not expecting that reveal to come until humans have colonized Alpha Centauri and established intergalactic comic shops.
With Rulk in the driver's seat, Loeb has made a concerted attempt to put readers in his head and show what drives the villain. I really want this to work, but I've been conditioned to hate the character after so many issues of seeing him clobber all-powerful characters and spit out ridiculous one-liners. Even as Loeb attempts to flesh out Red Hulk, the process only serves to highlight the ongoing and very aggravating identity issue.
But at this point, Red Hulk is a bastion of quality characterization compared to the rest of the book's cast. Both Red She-Hulk and Wolverine spit out a steady stream of absolutely terrible one-liners for most of the issue. Why does Wolverine threaten to kill Red She-Hulk "when the sun comes up in the morning"? Why can't he just do it now? The characterizations for most of X-Force and Red Hulk's posse are thin as balsa wood. The justification for why characters like Punisher and Elektra even joined Red Hulk in the first place are very dubious. Loeb writes a decent Deadpool, but he isn't a major enough presence to help the issue much.
One change to come about in this arc that I do approve of is in Ian Churchill's art style. Churchill has been forced to adopt an entirely new style thanks to a hand injury, and the result is something that's far more unique and less derivative of the Jim Lee school of design. Churchill's work is simpler in a way that helps rather than hurts the overall storytelling. The darker-edged cartoon style that Ed McGuinness tried and failed to accomplish in Hulk #13 is pulled off much better by Churchill here. There are quirks present, including Red Hulk's freakishly extended brow, but I can forgive that.
This story arc has brought about a number of changes to the Hulk formula. A few have helped the book, but the rest have merely made the series different, not better. Loeb needs to trim the senseless banter and offer readers more reason to care about the Red Hulk family.
Score: 2 (out of 5) |
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