Hulk [2016] #3 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 3, April 2017

Despite its narrative predominantly concentrating upon Miss Walters and her working life within the offices of Ryu, Barber, Zucker and Scott, Issue Three of “Hulk” rather cleverly additionally shifts a good deal of attention onto Jen’s “first client, Maise Brewn” who “is fighting eviction and trauma of her own.” Indeed, in many ways the most enthralling parts of Mariko Tamaki’s script for “Deconstructed” are when the “reclusive woman” is either shown hiding inside her dark flat ‘sobbing’ to the former yoga instructor’s unseen guardian, or being quizzed by two police detectives who are investigating her landlord’s recent, gruesome murder. The Ontario-born writer additionally manages to intermittently pique the reader’s interest by having the titular character’s alter-ego scour a selection of magazines detailing the fall of the podcaster “on wellness in the modern world” from normalcy, courtesy of her business partner paying a few men to try and kill her “because he wanted to sell the business.”

This slow, potentially ponderous exploration of the young girl’s mysteriously sinister existence is well-timed by the Canadian graphic novelist, as it arrives just as the comic’s storyline concerning the lawyer’s unwavering unhappiness, and constant battle to refrain from ‘turning green’, was arguably just starting to become a little tiring for the title’s audience. In fact, if it wasn’t for the softly spoken Brewn and her silent, formidably deadly flat-mate, it’s hard to think how much longer the twenty-page publication could continue to simply bemoan the day-to-day plight of Bruce Banner’s cousin without becoming a genuinely tedious bore. It would definitely take more than a brief cameo by Hellcat, especially if the pair's somewhat overlong conversation simply focuses upon “one of the world’s canniest lawyers” just wanting her “best friend” to ‘give her space.’

Somewhat disappointingly, Nico Leon’s breakdowns for this periodical are just as inconsistent as some of this comic’s written content, with the Argentinian artist’s drawings of the seemingly ever-weary Walters proving just as draining upon the eyes as the woman’s emotional fatigue. Fortunately however, the freelancer’s ability to capture all the atmosphere of a ‘by the book’ police investigation is incredible, and the two detectives' journey through “the creepiest building you’ve ever been in” proves so entertaining that its genuinely heart-breaking when they both meet a presumably grisly demise at the end of the book; “What the -- Aaaaaahhhhh!”

Writer: Mariko Tamaki, Artist: Nico Leon, and Color Artist: Matt Milla