The Incredible Hulk [2023] #19 - Marvel Comics [Part Two]

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 19, January 2025

Following on from Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s ‘main event’, Issue Nineteen of “Incredible Hulk” probably disappointed many of its customers due to "Marvel Worldwide" padding out the celebratory, super-sized special with a trio of arguably underwhelming side-shows. Sadly, none of these 'fillers' have been penned by this ongoing series’ guiding hand, and resultantly bear little relationship with the publication’s current “City Of Idols” storyline. Indeed, two of the “all-new tales” don’t even feature either the theoretical physicist or the Jade Giant at all, and instead frustratingly focus upon some minor exploits of She-Hulk and Thunderbolt Ross.

Leading the ‘charge’ is Greg Pak’s ten-page trek to some undisclosed American woodland, where Bruce Banner is suddenly attacked by a pack of peculiar-looking skeletons because “that’s what’s what these days.” Seemingly making little to no sense whatsoever, the long-haired scientist is unable to transform into his sensationally strong counter-part, and resultantly has to rely upon the ultra-convenient appearance of a laser-beam gun packing Amadeus Cho – who just happened to implausibly hear that his friend was being “hunted by ghosts and zombies…” Rather stiffly illustrated by Lan Medina, this tale is just plain odd, and rather shockingly ends with a smiling Banner mercilessly gunning down his would-be protector with Braun’s own wrist-mounted weapon.

Far more entertaining, largely on account of Torun Gronbekk’s tongue-in-cheek humour and Lynne Yoshii’s somewhat anime-like art style, is “Night Eternal”. Debatably emanating El Dorado vibes, this reasonably fast-paced little narrative hurls the reader to the mysterious frozen land of Henunder, and subsequently explores the distinctly dishonest behaviour of the late explorer Harold Dawson; “The family is convinced the items are cursed, which is why you’re tasked with figuring out what to do with them.”

Perhaps the best of the bunch though is Benjamin Percy’s “Prisons”, which within the space of just ten pages manages to quite beautifully encapsulate the cold-blooded, patriotic persona of disgraced American General Thunderbolt Ross. Admittedly, its plot is seemingly penned to be an enticing advertisement for the New York City-based publisher’s upcoming “Red Hulk” title. But alongside Geoff Shaw’s prodigious pencils, this covert penetration of a Russian penal colony makes for a truly mesmerising read.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #19 by Nic Klein

Monica Rambeau: Photon #3 - Marvel Comics

MONICA RAMBEAU: PHOTON No. 3, April 2023

Leaping all over the place from Monica Rambeau’s supposed home with ‘husband’ Doctor Voodoo, through to the Sorcerer Supreme’s Sanctum Sanctorum and then on into deep space, Eve L. Ewing’s narrative for this comic probably infuriated its audience as much as the Avengers did Photon by wrongly insisting that the superheroine’s mother had died “a while ago now.” True, all this “topsy-turvy” nonsense is eventually revealed to be as a result of “the universe… folding in on itself.” But that arguably doesn’t explain what is actually happening to the former Captain Marvel, nor why her apparently deceased parent is able to simply call her up on the mobile phone; “Mama?! How totally not surprised I am to hear from you.”

Similarly as frustrating as the gobbledegook plot though, is the American author’s heavy reliance upon sheer blind luck helping the titular character find, and then later aid, a mysteriously 'invisible' race of green-skinned aliens who also just happen to be able to decipher the Stone of Hala. This incredible journey across the stars alone debatably contains more contrivances than most comic books contain, especially when it's made clear that the human mutate just happens to be the only person who can connect with the ancient relic’s energy signature in the first place. However, once Rambeau has arrived from her “self-discovery journey” the protagonist discovers that she is handily able to transform into yet another form of energy so her eyes can properly see all the “stellar nurseries full of embryonic stars” and spot the Guardian Hall of the Charos veiled “deep inside a forgotten corner of the cosmos.”

Such manufactured moments must surely have increasingly grated upon the audience’s nerves, and only get worse when it turns out that the one resident from amongst the “group of wanderers” who might help Monica is dying from a chest tumour. Once again Roger Stern’s co-creation just happens to be able to perform the necessary x-ray scan required to locate the life-threatening growth and replicate the low-level radiation therapy treatment necessary to immediately cure them. Indeed, literally within seconds of Photon blasting her terminally ill patient with her super-powers, artists Ivan Fiorelli & Luca Maresca are proficiently pencilling the diminutively sized extra-terrestrial miraculously back up on its feet ready to “refer to some notes from the Grandmothers” as to how the Stone of Hala works.

The regular cover art of "MONICA RAMBEAU" #3 by Lucas Werneck

Monica Rambeau: Photon #2 - Marvel Comics

MONICA RAMBEAU: PHOTON No. 2, March 2023

Despite Eve L. Ewing desperately attempting to tap into the success of the much-lauded Stern-Buscema-Palmer years on “The Avengers”, her script for Issue Two of “Monica Rambeau: Photon” most likely landed with a disappointing thud when it first hit the spinner-racks in January 2023. In fact, this twenty-page periodical’s “topsy-turvy” storyline is debatably so unfollowable as it sucks the audience “across the infinite cosmos into the wrong corner of fragmented space-time", that many a perusing bibliophile probably popped it straight back into its empty pocket once they realised that at best this book’s guest stars were just the creations of the ever obtrusive Beyonder.

Foremost of these frustrations is arguably the way in which the “associate professor” attempts to create an aura of mystery within this comic by simply not explaining why anything is happening, and randomly throwing the titular character into one bizarre situation after another. True, this technique does initially work when the former Captain Marvel attempts to stop a flaming meteor from exploding into New Orleans and strangely finds herself unable to detonate the deadly satellite with her formidable super-powers. However, by the time Photon is depicted inexplicably battling a giant-sized crocodile in the Bayous of Lousiana whilst the rest of the Earth’s mightiest heroes idly stand by watching from the deck of a land-stranded yacht, the audiences’ heads are probably spinning as badly as Rambeau’s purportedly is.

Indeed, so little of the plot actually makes sense by this stage, including the gobbledegook dialogue of an entirely reimagined Beyonder, that many a Marvelite doubtless needed a rest and moved on to something else before soldiering on through this comic’s final few scenes; “Imagine my surprise in discovering that the one with the great power was also one enshrouded in a tremendous yearning. A being at the nexus of cosmic ability and tumbling, cacophonous wants.”

Disappointingly, artists Ivan Fiorelli and Luca Maresca don’t seem able to do much with the narrative either, even though the pair do a reasonable job in replicating the look of the Avengers from the mid-Eighties. The illustrators’ doe-eyed, gossamer-wearing central antagonist is especially disconcerting, appearing far too cartoony amongst some of the more ‘realistic’ figures. Whilst Monica appears to wear nothing but a bedazzled, open mouthed expression across her face for the entirely of the book.

Writer: Eve L. Ewing, Artists: Ivan Fiorelli & Luca Maresca, and Color Artist: Carlos Lopez

Avengers [2018] #11 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 11, February 2019

Considering that the high-point of Jason Aaron’s narrative for Issue Eleven of “Avengers” is arguably Thor snogging in the Savage Lands with the She-Hulk, it is probably a safe bet that many of this book’s 52,820 readers could well understand just why the title saw a disconcerting drop in sales of almost twenty five thousand copies in December 2018. Indeed, despite this twenty-page periodical featuring some of the most flamboyant international superheroes in the Marvel Universe, such as Captain Britain, Michael Twoyoungmen, Arabian Knight and Shiro Yoshida’s fiery alter-ego Sunfire, the Alabama-born writer’s plot doesn’t get any more exciting than having Ursa Major teleported back to Siberia for forgetting his table manners, and a deluded Phil Coulson apparently gunning down a mysterious victim in cold-blood simply because the bound figure refuses to denounce Captain Rogers as a traitor..?

Instead, this comic seemingly offers some nonsensical insights into Robbie Reyes’ homework memorising “Steve’s super villain recognition quizzes”, and the God of Thunder enjoying “turkey legs, mead and dinosaurs” whilst dating an utterly bored Jennifer Walters in Ka-Zar’s kingdom. Admittedly, there is some fun to be had from watching the Ghost Rider desperately plead his case to Captain Marvel that he shouldn’t need to study having “single-handedly defeated the Final Host”, and Jen’s suddenly realisation as to how deep Odinson apparently cares for her when he finally opens up as to his true feelings for the former member of the Fantastic Four. But, alongside the Black Panther’s ‘star-studded’ International Super-Summit, such interludes disappointingly provide the backbone of this book’s contents.

Frustratingly, this publication’s interior artwork doesn’t do much to help remove the impression that the entire comic was only printed as a ‘filler edition’ either. It’s clear, just from the first appearance of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s former Supreme Commander and Thor’s riotous obsession with warring battle dragons, that both Ed McGuiness and Cory Smith are prodigious pencillers. However, there are only so many splash pages a bibliophile can surely peruse featuring either Coulson or King T'Challa, before it becomes abundantly obvious that Aaron’s script was distinctly lacking in content; “I apologise for the disturbance. But we should not allow this unfortunate business to derail our summit. We have much to discuss. Iron Men. Clean up this mess.”

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artists: Ed McGuiness & Cory Smith, and Color Artist: Erick Arciniega

Avengers [2018] #10 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 10, January 2019

Publicised as a “heroic 700th issue”, and shifting enough copies to make it the ninth best-selling book in November 2018, Jason Aaron’s narrative for “The Battle For The Right To Be Called… Earth’s Mightiest” certainly shouldn’t have caused much disappointment for its 77,715 readers. For whilst the oversized, thirty-two page periodical debatably plods along somewhat at the beginning as the Soviet Super-Soldiers are reformed under the leadership of Dmitri Bukharin - the newly appointed Minister of Superhuman Defence, and Steve Rogers makes it crystal clear to an agitated General Ross that “the Avengers don’t work for any [one] country”, its plot soon throws together a truly breath-taking roster of the Marvel Universe’s most formidable heroes and villains.

Indeed, it’s hard to imagine a more crowded confrontation this side of “Secret Wars” or “Civil War” than that depicted at the international undersea biosphere known as Hydropolis, as King Namor’s Defenders Of The Deep, the Avengers and the new Winter Guard all cataclysmically collide with one another over the future sovereignty of the planet’s oceans. Admittedly, some of the Sub-Mariner’s troupe, such as the Piranhas, King Crab and Manowar, aren’t widely regarded as some the Marvel Universe’s biggest hitters. But a battle which incorporates at least three deities, the Avenging Son, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, She-Hulk and Captain America should not be treated lightly.

In addition, almost all of this impressive cast are given a moment to shine within the Alabama-born writer's script, whether it be Perun and Chernobog’s fragile alliance swiftly breaking down over which is to strike Namor's final blow, the increasingly intriguing Red Widow monitoring her team-mates’ performance so as to recommend any terminations, or Ghost Rider’s utter astonishment at facing zombie sharks. Perhaps unsurprisingly however, it is Atlantis’ monarch who receives the greatest share of the spotlight, with Aaron penning the underwater hybrid as a complete homicidal maniac who openly threatens to kill Black Panther in front of the biosphere’s scientists, and even momentarily looks set to lethally attack his old World War Two comrade, Captain America; “I’m right here. Come kill me. Old friend.”

Adding tonnes of tension to these sense-shattering shenanigans are David Marquez and Ed McGuiness’ layouts. The London-born illustrator pencils some wonderfully impactive panels reintroducing this book’s audience to the likes of an ever-eager Major Mikhail Ursus and the fatalistic former KGB operative Bukharin. Whilst the famed “Superman” illustrator takes on the lion’s share of the work, piecing together an incredibly fast-paced patchwork of punches, kicks, shield throws and explosions, the majority of which occur with the combatants waist-deep in water.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artists: David Marquez & Ed McGuiness, and Letterer: VC's Cory Petit

Avengers [2018] #9 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 9, December 2018

Whilst Bill Everett’s creation Namor has arguably always been portrayed as a holier-than-thou, pompous anti-hero, it is doubtful many within this comic’s 58,185 readers were expecting the paranoid Human/Atlantean hybrid to show quite such a lethal willingness to believe the worst of land-dwellers as he undoubtedly does in Issue Nine of “Avengers”. In fact, the King of Atlantis appears so determined to play the insane, homicidal arch-villain in Jason Aaron’s “The Defenders Of The Deep”, that it’s hard to reconcile the Alabama-born writer’s incarnation of the Sub-Mariner with that of the man who was once actually a well-respected member of this comic’s titular team; “This man is an invader in my realm. And invaders will no longer be tolerated. War Sharks. Finish him.”

Happily however, the Defender’s downward spiral into the darkest depths of his unstable personality provides this twenty-page periodical with some thoroughly memorable moments, including the truly sickening, cold-hearted murder of the hero Stingray, who was supposedly one of Namor’s “oldest friends from the surface world.” Walter Newell’s demise really is incredibly well-penned by the Inkpot Award-winner, with the hapless oceanographer being brutally beaten so mercilessly by the Scourge of the Seven Seas that even the horrifically savage Tiger Shark visibly blanches at its severity.

Somewhat less vicious, though just as surprising, is the Sub-Mariner’s apparent ability to hold off the latest roster of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes single-handedly. Marvel's First and Mightiest Mutant has always been one of the publisher’s more formidable powerhouses, especially when submerged, fighting beneath the waves. Yet his ability to withstand both Thor’s Asgardian hammer and Iron Man’s technologically-enhanced grip simultaneously is a stunning achievement, even if the underwater monarch’s strength has been additionally fuelled by “the power of righteous rage!”

Wrapping this tour-de-force up with a pleasing bow are David Marquez’s story-boards, which at times, such as Namor’s all-too brief tussle with the Black Panther, and the aforementioned gory demise of a hapless Stingray, are breathtakingly dynamic. Colour artist Justin Ponsor’s contribution to the murky ambiance of this comic’s deadly deep fathoms can also not be overstated, especially when the book’s sudden return to the bright daylight of the surface world will momentarily blind any perusing bibliophile whose eyes have become accustomed to the rich blue-greens of the Sub-Mariner’s domain.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: David Marquez, and Color Artist: Justin Ponsor

Avengers [2018] #8 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 8, November 2018

Lacking any notable action whatsoever, unless any of this book’s 58,060 readers felt Captain America’s all-too brief training exercise with Roberto Reyes qualified, Jason Aaron’s somewhat sedentary storyline for Issue Eight of “Avengers” may well have struck many in its audience as being a rather lack-lustre affair when compared to all the sense-shattering shenanigans the eight heroes had previously experienced whilst battling the Celestials for the very future of Humankind. Indeed, apart from an intriguing flashback to the creation of the super-group’s new global headquarters at the North Pole and an off-screen battle aboard a whaling vessel “on the other end of the world”, little else arguably occurs within this twenty-page periodical apart from plenty of wordy-heavy discussions, disputes and disagreements.

Fortunately however, that doesn’t mean for a moment that the Alabama-born author’s narrative isn’t an enjoyable experience, with T’Challa’s exploration of the “desiccated, armoured corpse of an Alpha Celestial who died four billion years ago” posing all sorts of intriguing possibilities for future predicaments in its own right. Doctor Strange’s research into Jennifer Walters’ rocketing “Gamma counts” also looks set to provide the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes with some quite literal explosive exploits, especially if the increasingly strong She-Hulk continues to demonstrate her inability to keep her formidable strength in check as she does when angered by the Sorcerer Supreme’s suggestion to undergo “more testing before you return to the field.”

Of course this comic’s greatest hook though is the utterly barbaric killing of three Fish People who storm the aforementioned fishing ship in an unsuccessful attempt to reach its Bridge. Brutally gunned down for their impudence by the boat’s heavily-armed security team, and then distastefully suspended from one of its sides like any other dead catch of the day, the sudden arrival of a giant squid, alongside the “Avenging Lord of the Seven Seas” is such a truly pulse-pounding moment that it must have had any perusing bibliophile begging their local comic shop owner to pre-order this ongoing title’s subsequent edition with spirited sincerity.

Undoubtedly adding to the grand look of “Inside Avengers Mountain” is David Marquez’s artwork, wonderfully coloured by Justin Ponsor. The University of Texas graduate’s opening splash page depicting Ghost Rider driving up to Avengers Mountain is particularly well-drawn, and really helps put the technologically-advanced place’s sheer size into jaw-dropping perspective.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Artist: David Marquez, and Color Artist: Justin Ponsor

Avengers [2018] #6 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 6, October 2018

It must arguably have been hard for the majority of this publication’s 58,925 readers to work out just how Jason Aaron’s script for “Planet Of Pathogens” somehow managed to make this particular book the nineteenth-besting selling comic in August 2018. For whilst the Alabama-born author’s action-packed and undeniably pulse-pounding storyline ultimately brings to an end the super-group’s “final battle against the Dark Celestials”, it is debatable as to whether many within its audience actually managed to successfully follow just how “the new team of heavy hitters” were successful in winning “a battle a million years in the making.” Indeed, even the twenty-one page periodical’s heavily-narrated opening sequence debatably provides plenty of head-scratching puzzlement with its bizarre carousel of Man-Thing, Gladiator, Iron Fist and Odin all apparently somehow sensing “the Earth’s peril from afar… with a heavy heart” and bewildering deciding not to do anything about it..?

Dishearteningly, things do not get any better once the book focuses its sole attention upon the giant-sized Avengers fighting “somewhere in Russia”, as despite their enormously exaggerated strength and confidence, Iron Man, She-Hulk, Thor and Ghost Rider seem unable to overpower their silent opponents without resorting to some utterly unfathomable “Uni-Mind” mental merging. True, Jennifer Walters alter-ego, who disconcertingly seems to have developed a peculiar desire to both eat her foe’s bomb-tasting flesh and continue snogging the God of Thunder, does manage to knock Obliteron down to the snow-covered ground. But the blow is soon shrugged off by the blue-skinned Celestial, as the leaders of the Final Host increasingly demonstrate their superiority over the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes by slicing away one of the arms belonging to Tony Stark’s Godkiller Armor MK II and suddenly somehow resurrecting all their fellow dead extra-terrestrial cosmic beings into gigantic zombies.

To make matters even more indecipherable however, the conclusion to Issue Six of “Avengers” is based upon the premise that all of the planet’s super-powered inhabitants are part of “a live virus vaccine” against the Horde, and can therefore defeat the Dark Celestials simply by using “an ancient method the Eternals use to combine their energies.” Somehow united due to Doctor Strange’s incantations and some baffling rewiring by the Black Panther, the heroes inexplicably manage to imbue Robbie Reyes with their coalesced energies and in the publication’s final splash panel are pencilled preparing themselves for a final assault upon their enemies alongside the disconcertingly regenerated good Celestials; “So we’re right back where we started. Still trying to defeat the Final Host.”

Writer: Jason Aaron, and Artists: Paco Medina & Ed McGuinness

Avengers [2018] #5 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 5, September 2018

Sticking to its reasonably straightforward revelation as to “the startling secret of the Progenitor”, Jason Aaron’s script for Issue Five of “Avengers” must have provided many within its 55,850 strong audience with a thoroughly enjoyable reading experience, which not only parades the increasingly irritating Loki trussed up like a chicken inside the trunk of Ghost Rider’s modified 1969 Dodge Charger. But also staunchly shows an entrapped Captain America bravely blindsiding the God of Mischief with an eye-watering head-butt and boot to the jaw despite being held captive some leagues beneath the icy waters of the North Pole; “You really love to hear yourself talk, don’t you? But who’ll be around to listen once we’ve all been fed to space bugs?”

Delightfully, it isn’t just the star-spangled World War Two veteran who provides “The Secret Origin Of The Marvel Universe” with plenty of punch either, as the Alabama-born author pens plenty of entertaining moments for Flag-head’s team-mates too, most notably Roberto Reyes, whose ability to resurrect a fallen celestial as a giant-sized fiery “All-New, All-Different” incarnation of Eli Morrow’s spirit really helps bring this publication to a jaw-droppingly good cliff-hanger. Indeed, the Inkpot Award-winner manages to imbue his narrative with several such stand-out scenes, like She-Hulk amusingly admitting that Thor and her were busy “smashing and kissing”, Ghost Rider’s human alter-ego having doubts as to whether he’s “more than a car”, Doctor Strange confronting Loki as “the [true] Sorcerer Supreme”, and Tony Stark demonstrating his vast wealth by summoning “the Godkiller Mark II” from where he keeps it “parked on Mars for eventualities such as this.”

Of course, none of these scenes would be anywhere near as fun or impactive if it wasn’t for the vibrantly dynamic artwork of Paco Medina and Ed McGuinness, whose intermingled storyboards are all superbly brought together into a beautifully blended feast for the eyes by David Curiel’s colours. Certainly, it’s hard to imagine a more moving death scene than that of “the first Celestial to ever set foot on the Earth” as the “omnipotent space god”, overcome by a “nasty infection”, pitifully sinks to its knees in its death throes and spews out a disgusting, oil-slick like substance from its maw, only to then have its submerged, partially decayed corpse be revisited four billion years later by Steve Rogers…

Writer: Jason Aaron, and Artists: Paco Medina & Ed McGuinness

Avengers [2018] #4 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 4, September 2018

Despite “Marvel Worldwide” clearly hoping this comic’s 61,897 readers would focus upon its pre-publication question as to just how the Avengers could “possibly defeat a crew of 2,000-foot-tall, nearly omnipotent Dark Celestials bent on annihilating the human race”, it’s entirely possible many within this twenty-page periodical’s audience were actually more occupied trying to make sense of Jason Aaron’s incredibly choppy and convoluted narrative. Indeed, the sheer number of sub-plots and secondary cast members which the Alabama-born writer crams into “A Battle That Was Lost A Million Years Ago” is bewilderingly breath-taking, with the likes of Agamotto, Starbrand, a swarm of cosmic locusts, Celestials, Eternals, Frost Giants, Proto-Humans and even the “Dragons of K’un-Lun” all getting at least a mention.

Of course, such a wide ensemble would be perfectly palatable if this book’s script actually tried to tie the different races and their fantastic locations together into a sensible, logical storyline. But any perusing bibliophile who casually glanced inside Issue Four of “Avengers” would instead have first found themselves being thrown back in time to the prehistoric Pleistocene Period, before arriving at Old Asgard, the Mountains of Greece, Alpha Flight Space Station, and the North Pole, all within the passage of a plethora of Paco Medina and Ed McGuinness’ perfectly pencilled panels.

Disappointingly however, few of these trips actually appear to make much sense, with Iron Man’s surprise visit to the Home of the Eternals proving particularly puzzling as Tony Stark’s alter ego discovers that Zuras, Sersi and Thena have all apparently killed one another “within the last few hours” simply because they were driven mad by “the deaths of all those Celestials”..? To make matters worse, Thor’s outing to see the All-Father is arguably even more bizarre with Odin refusing to help his son recover the Blood of Ymir, and She-Hulk deciding the best way to warm up an all-too conveniently faltering God of Thunder is to give the bearded warrior a huge kiss on the lips; “Thank you… For, Ah… Saving my life back there, my Lady Hulk.”

Fortunately, such debatably poor penmanship is entirely survivable thanks to Medina and McGuinness’ sumptuous storyboarding and this comic’s attractively lavish inking by Juan Vlasco (with Mark Morales). Ordinarily, any series “scheduled to release eighteen issues per year” would understandably prove too “large load for one artist to handle by himself”, so Executive Editor Tom Breevort’s decision to add Paco “in the mix” with his similar style to Ed, really seems to have paid dividends with the illustrations for this specific edition.

Writer: Jason Aaron, and Artists: Paco Medina & Ed McGuinness

Avengers [2018] #3 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 3, August 2018

Pausing only to provide its audience with incontrovertible proof as to what a “full-power jerk” Tony Stark is, Jason Aaron’s treatment for “Where Space Gods Go To Die” pretty much picks up with precisely the same pulse-pounding pace as its preceding publication by presenting a series of dramatic action-packed sequences involving She-Hulk, Ghost Rider, Doctor Strange and the Black Panther. In fact, with the notable exception of Loki Laufeyson explaining to Steve Rogers just why the “naughty star-spangled boy” failed in his attempt to “murder a sorcerer of my calibre… by throwing said sorcerer into the Sun”, there probably isn’t a dull moment in the Alabama-born writer’s narrative until Colonel Carol Danvers finally informs the rest of the anxiously-waiting Avengers that the Alpha Flight space programme have confirmed Captain America is still alive and has been teleported away by the God of Mischief; “Of course he is. That old man will outlive us all.”

Such sense-shattering shenanigans, superbly pencilled by Paco Medina and Ed McGuinness, could admittedly have become a little wearisome for this comic’s audience if there was little plot progression to accompany it, but fortunately nearly every blow thrown seems to advance the story further on, especially Jennifer Walters and Roberto Reyes’ rollercoaster of a ride down towards the centre of the Earth, and subsequent rendezvous with a beleaguered Sorcerer Supreme and T’Challa. This disconcerting ‘rescue’ from an underground army of ferocious spider-sized robots is fantastically penned and provides both a genuine belly laugh moment as the Master of the Mystic Arts apologizes to his flaming-headed saviour for “throwing up so many times” in “his demon-possessed car”, and also finally brings the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” together just in time for Iron Man to demonstrate just why the character was only ranked twelfth on “IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes in 2011”.

Indeed, the founding member of the super-group really comes across as an especially dislikeable fool in Issue Three of “Avengers” as he arrogantly blames Captain Marvel for “the giant dead bodies” which have been falling from the sky, accuses the Human/Kree hybrid for having previously put him in a coma, and then rudely dismisses the man “who just drove to the centre of the Earth and back” simply because he doesn’t know “this Spooky and the Bandit guy.” Such utter condescending haughtiness on behalf of the new team’s armoured leader is incredibly infuriating, and alongside his subsequent disregard of the savage She-Hulk’s help, arguably must have sadly convinced a few disenchanted perusing bibliophiles to place this twenty-page periodical back upon the spinner rack.

Writer: Jason Aaron, and Artists: Paco Medina & Ed McGuinness

Avengers [2018] #2 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 2, July 2018

Shifting 66,646 copies in May 2018, “Still Avenging After All These Years” arguably doesn’t let its audience pause for breath until its final shell-shocker of a concluding cliff-hanger which reveals that Loki, “the greatest Avenger who ever lived”, has been aiding the Final Host of Dark Celestials in their bid to “correct the grievous mistake they made one million years ago.” True, Jason Aaron’s script does contain one quiet moment where a “surprised” Jennifer Walters encounters a tower-block sized dead giant which “fell from the sky”, but the lawyer is immediately forced to transform into the She-Hulk courtesy of an attack by a host of killer robotic arachnids, and subsequently sets about ‘squishing’ the extra-terrestrial life-forms with all the savage ferocity one would expect from Bruce Banner’s cousin; “Though I suppose the Avengers rainbow just wouldn’t look the same without the usual splash of green.”

Similarly as sense-shattering is the gamma-fuelled human mutate’s one-on-one with Ghost Rider, which entertainingly sees the former member of the Fantastic Four impressively wreck Roberto Reyes’ “demon-possessed car” with her bare hands and then battle the “skeletal superhuman wreathed in ethereal flame” in close combat. Sadly, the Alabama-born author’s rationale behind this titanic tussle is a little artificially penned, due to She-Hulk supposedly being momentarily mesmerised by one of the fallen Celestials. Yet debatably such a contrivance is easily forgivable, especially when such an exhilaratingly well story-boarded punch-up concludes with the “ghost of Eli Morrow” briefly encircling his enraged opponent with his sickle-ending chains and watching her being towed away by his fiery “black classic muscle car”.

Unfortunately however, this significant spotlight upon Stan Lee’s savage co-creation also means that the Black Panther and Doctor Strange’s struggle against a (second) wave of metallic spiders deep beneath the crust of the Earth is frustratingly relegated to just a single panel inside the twenty-page periodical, with an incredibly impotent attack upon the death-dealing Dark Celestials by “Marvel’s big three Avengers” occupying the vast majority of the publication’s remaining ‘screen time’. Such a disappointing visual disparity between the super-group’s myriad of members is then unhappily made all the more infuriating by Ed McGuinness’ disconcertingly poor pencilling of Captain America, Thor and Iron Man, as the perturbingly square-headed, angular-looking trio desperately attempt to teleport their opponents into the molten centre of the Solar System using “omega-level warp grenades attuned to the coordinates of the Sun.”

Writer: Jason Aaron, Penciller: Ed McGuinness, and Inker: Mark Morales with Jay Leisten

Avengers [2018] #1 - Marvel Comics

AVENGERS No. 1, July 2018

Printed as part of “Marvel Comics” “revamping [of] its entire publishing line in 2018”, this Jason Aaron reboot sold an impressive 131,450 copies upon its release and certainly seemed to deliver on the Alabama-born writer’s double promise of it featuring “the biggest characters” and going “to the coolest, most exotic locations around the Marvel Universe.” Indeed, it’s arguably hard to think of a broader scope to a story than the one contained within Issue One of “Avengers” as the “Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” bravely battle both a downpour of “giant dead bodies falling from the sky… all over the globe” and a robotic arachnid army “miles below the surface” where “the pressure here would crush me into a puddle of goo and then the air would set that goo on fire.”

Alongside “Marvel’s big three Avengers”, the thirty-two page periodical even features “the popular stars of last year’s massive Marvel Legacy one-shot: the Avengers of 1,000,000 B.C.”, utilising the “group of powerful beings assembled at the dawn of man” as a sense-shattering springboard into its modern-day tale of the Final Host of Dark Celestials arriving to destroy the Earth. Such a massive cast admittedly means that few characters obtain much in the way of ‘screen time’, but even so the interplay between Doctor Strange and T’Challa deep beneath the Earth’s crust, as well as Roberto Reyes’ almost antagonistic relationship with “his demon-possessed car” genuinely must have made this book’s readers wanting to see more.

Unfortunately however, perhaps as a result of being so ‘super-sized’ this “fresh start” does sag in its story-telling from time to time, most notably when it focuses upon Tony Stark’s grating doubts as to the validity of reassembling the Avengers alongside “Hydra Cap” and “The Unworthy Thor”. It’s clear that having returned from “suddenly being clinically dead”, the genius engineer has his doubts about hurling his body back into the fray so soon, yet surely the American author didn’t need to spend quite so many panels, intermixed throughout this comic, laboriously depicting the business magnate’s negative view-point; “In the beginning it just happened. It wasn’t us. It was actually more Loki than us. And who says it has to be the three of us anymore at the --”

Rather agreeably though, Ed McGuinness’ clean-lined pencilling imbues even these boring bar room scenes with some semblance of energic urgency, through his clever use of Thor Odinson as an increasingly enraged advocate of the team embracing its ideals. In addition, the American artist also provides plenty of jaw-dropping visuals for the rest of this tome’s ensemble, such as the somewhat surreal, face-hugger egg-sack infested catacombs uncovered by the Black Panther, or the significantly sized “2,000 feet long” Celestials crashing amidst the world’s most populated civilisations.

Writer: Jason Aaron, Penciller: Ed McGuinness, and Inker: Mark Morales

Hulk [2016] #6 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 6, July 2017

As conclusions to scintillatingly scary six-parters go, Mariko Tamaki’s script for Issue Six of “Hulk” must arguably have been a major disappointment for this magazine’s 20,482 followers, with the periodical’s opening half seemingly stalling the inevitable change from Jennifer Walters into the ‘gamma green goddess’, and its latter pages overcomplicating what should have been a cataclysmic fist-fight by having the titular character not only battling a sentient building, but also trying to rescue a suddenly suicidal Maise Brewn; "I'll burn this whole place to the ground before you take me." In fact, compared to the tight, orchestrated writing of this adventure’s previous instalments, this particular twenty-page publication’s storyline appears awkwardly paced and choppily plotted. 

For starters, any pretence that Brewn’s apartment building merely contains a lethal non-human killer lurking within its shadowy hallways and corridors, is completely thrown aside in favour of the accommodation block visibly manifesting itself into a multi-storey homicidal creature of brick and mortar. This change of tact at least provides the Canadian writer with an opportunity to detail how the monster looks to the general “Hey! We have a right to be here!” public, yet somewhat ruins the mysterious claustrophobic atmosphere of the piece which the script has previously tried so very hard to maintain.

Likewise, just as soon as Walters is encircled by the building’s tendrils it is obvious what is going to happen next, so just why Tamaki decides to waste several frames trying to implicate that Jennifer’s transformation was fear-related appears rather nonsensical. Surely, the “lawyer” could simply be shown to have been motivated wholly by anger at her first client’s misplaced belief that the She-Hulk’s alter-ego had somehow betrayed her? Why the utter injustice at Maise’s indignant, self-righteous delusion that Walters is the monster, and by horribly mutilating innocent people she is simply protecting herself, would certainly warrant Stan Lee’s co-creation losing her control in my book, especially when the human mutate is next of the murderer's list… 

Artist Nico Leon similarly appears just as confused as to where this tale is heading, with the freelance comic book illustrator’s drawings becoming increasingly undisciplined (and rather sloppy) as the action progresses. Indeed, inconsistent artwork would appear to be this edition’s biggest downfall with the building’s living embodiment harkening back to the appearance of the Sub-Mariner’s rival, Orka, and the Hulk disconcertingly suffering with a bright green vein which quite ludicrously runs right across the bridge of her nose.

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

Hulk [2016] #5 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 5, June 2017

It’s entirely possible that illustrator Nico Leon wasn’t particularly enamoured with Mariko Tamaki’s lack-lustre script for Issue Five of “Hulk”. For whilst the twenty-page periodical’s narrative does touch upon Jennifer Walters' frightening flight from Maise Brewn and her “dark solution”. It doesn’t actually do so until halfway through the publication, and only then actually progresses the plot by having the increasingly battered and bruised lawyer race from inside her client’s flat up onto the roof of the apartment building.

Indeed, it could be argued that this title’s followers could quite easily have omitted to purchase this particular instalment of “Deconstructed” and still not have missed out on any storytelling value whatsoever. It’s certainly hard to imagine many readers would’ve been sorry to have squandered the opportunity to once again revisit the titular character’s “Post-War” hospital room, and witness its patient both struggling to come to terms with the death of her cousin, Bruce Banner, and begrudgingly acknowledge an awkward offer of friendship from a subdued Captain Marvel.

As a result, the vast majority of work ‘selling’ this comic disappointingly rests upon the shoulders of its freelance artist, who, despite a brave attempt to depict Jen’s mounting anger at the bleak naivety of her persecutors, can only draw so many pictures of the same skyline confrontation before the scene’s pacing completely goes flat. In fact, in many ways, the Argentine penciller may well have found more success in focusing upon the Police Department’s seemingly unwise attempt to force their way into Brewn’s building using a heavily armoured house entry team than labouring over the former jade giantesses inactivity; “Push these people back another two blocks! And get access to that building now.”

Sadly however, Leon instead decides to slowly tease out what little suspense lies within Tamaki’s writing, by sluggishly depicting Walters’ encirclement by a plethora of strange-looking tenants and they’re sharp-toothed grotesquely-shaped protectors, using nothing else than two-panel breakdowns with the occasional splash page thrown in… A decidedly underwhelming technique for imbuing the action with any semblance of excitement, and one which must surely have tested the author’s confidently-publicised belief that “Nico pulls out the most interesting details and uses them to tell a story.”

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

Hulk [2016] #4 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 4, May 2017

In many ways Mariko Tamaki’s script for Issue Four of “Hulk” doesn’t really get going until after Jennifer Walters leaves an indignant Miss Soef standing in Ryu, Barber, Zucker & Scott's reception area and subsequently steps from out of a yellow cab just “one block from Maise Brewn’s apartment.” True, the Canadian author does beforehand somewhat graphically elaborate upon the worst day in the life of the lawyer’s mutant client as the terrified “human with latent Inhuman lineage” is left within a pool of her own blood by a gang of white-masked assailants, and likewise, touches upon the disappearance of two police detectives who had been investigating the murder of Mister Tick. But essentially both of these sequences are simple ‘window dressing’, designed merely to set the scene for the She-Hulk’s alter-ego to finally pay her timidly insecure customer a visit, and discover just how formidable a tenant the former yoga instructor can really be; “You see it coming. You feel it coming. Not because you can stop it, but because it’s there waiting for you no matter what you do.” 

Indeed, just as soon as the ‘meek and mousy cousin of Bruce Banner’ enters the supposed “only safe place left in this terrible world” and encounters a pair of the dwelling’s less than ‘unfriendly’ inhabitants, this twenty-page periodical’s audience must surely have become irresistibly enthralled by the book’s palpable aura of creepiness. Certainly they can’t not have felt the hairs rise up upon the back of their necks when Maise narrows her eyes at Jen when she is told that her landlord sold her home to some redevelopers several months ago and “there’s not much we can do to stop them”, and resultantly drops her cup of tea whilst telling Walters she is “a bad lawyer!”

Such a wonderful increase in this comic’s tension is equally as well enhanced by Nico Leon’s breakdowns. Arguably somewhat ‘flat’ in places at first, such as the scene in which Bradley’s ‘threatens’ to bring his boss tea and bagels in order to ensure “everyone’s world… got better”, the Córdoba-born artist genuinely ramps up the publication’s ‘fright factor’ by both imbuing Brewn’s fellow tenants with the same all black pupils as she now exhibits, and then drawing the Manhattan resident’s own eyes with a frighteningly haunting red glow…

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

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

Hulk [2016] #2 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 2, March 2017

Focusing almost exclusively upon Jennifer Walters’ battle for justice in the courts “as an effective lawyer”, Issue Two of “Hulk” makes it incredibly clear that the titular character’s alter-ego is “not doing so good” trying to “just go about her day." For whilst the twenty-page periodical doesn’t actually feature an appearance by the “savage” human mutate, it does make it abundantly clear that lurking beneath the thin veneer of normalcy, Stan Lee’s co-creation is waiting to erupt, and no manner of 'tasty pastry' is going to keep the former member of the Fantastic Four at bay for long.

Indeed, Mariko Tamaki’s second instalment of “Deconstructed” seems to contain little else but ‘set-pieces’ which continually test Jen’s patience and temper, even when the “very capable person” is trying to mind her own business sipping a hot drink whilst sat in a snow-covered playground or desperately trying to calm herself as she watches a programme concerning “scrumptious strawberry shortcake” on her mobile phone; “Breathe. Please. You can do this. Make this stop. I can’t. Please.” It’s certainly abundantly clear that the female graphic novelists’ narrative is all about the attorney not transforming into the emerald-skinned Avenger when “the persistent-but-well-meaning woman who’s trying to write about” her startles the green-eyed Walters as she is “dealing with the loss of her cousin” Bruce Banner. 

Such emotionally exhausting, and arguably inactive shenanigans, unless one counts children having a snowball fight in Central Park, could easily have made Mariko’s sedentary storyline a somewhat monotonous, almost wearisome reading experience. But fortunately, this progressively bleak look into She-Hulk’s “regular human world” is punctuated with Jen’s increasingly unpleasant meeting with Mister Tick and newest client Maise Brewn’s unnerving conversation with the terrified recluse’s sinister, heavily-shadowed protective flatmate…

Sadly, this comic’s artwork by Nico Leon and Dalibor Talajic definitely doesn’t live up to the high standard set by Tamaki’s writing. In fact, besides the manga-like features the book's illustrators bestow upon the faces of the playground’s adolescent occupants, and the secluded Inhuman’s wonderfully vulnerable demeanour whilst sat trapped within her home as a thuggish landlord loudly pounds upon her front door, this comic’s breakdown’s are arguably competently-drawn at best.

The variant cover art of "HULK" No. 2 by Elizabeth Torque

Hulk [2016] #1 - Marvel Comics

HULK No. 1, February 2017

For a comic which sold an impressive 89,810 copies in December 2016, and, at least according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, resultantly became the ninth best-selling title of the month, Issue One of “Hulk” contains very little in the way of action. Indeed, Jennifer Walter’s “sensational alter ego” doesn’t even make an appearance within the twenty-page “Marvel Worldwide” periodical, unless one counts the “razor-sharp” attorney’s momentary break-down within an elevator when she buckles the lift’s control panel, or her subsequent collapse whilst listening to a baking video; “Said she couldn’t cook but believed the art of cooking could soothe the savage beast?”

Luckily however, Mariko Tamaki’s omission of penning a dynamic, pulse-pounding plot focusing upon ‘Shulkie’ and her super-heroic exploits doesn’t mean for a moment that the Toronto-born graphic novelist succumbed to the “amount of pressure that goes with writing” so beloved a character as She-Hulk. But instead, simply scribed an incredibly engrossing story which digs deep into the consciousness of Bruce Banner’s cousin, and brutally reveals all of the non-green woman’s everyday fears to the reader. It’s certainly hard to recall such a “meek and mousy” incarnation of Stan Lee’s co-creation since she was first infused with gamma radioactive blood way back inside the first edition of Eighties “Savage She-Hulk”.

Equally as fascinating as Jennifer and her anger management issues, is the Joe Schuster Award-winner’s depiction of the mysterious Miss Brewn. Terrifyingly timid, and imbued with “restorative powers… so nothing hurts me”, the pasty-skinned punter immediately attracts incredible sympathy with her desperate desire to avoid being evicted from her flat by an unseen landlord. Indeed, the petite woman’s need for Walters to promise her that she won’t “lose my home” is wonderfully childlike and is only surpassed by the unease caused by this comic’s cliff-hanger when it is revealed the 'mutant' shares her abode with a dark, potentially malignant presence…

Unfortunately, far less successful than Tamaki’s script for "Deconstructed" are Nico Leon's breakdowns. The Argentinian artist can undoubtedly pencil even the most sedentary of panels when he seemingly wants to, as his detailed drawings portraying the dispirited lawyer’s life within her condo attests. Yet every now and then, the freelancer’s work appears to be either rushed or badly overblown; most notably a double-splash featuring the reception area of Ryu, Barber, Zucker and Scott, which contains several sketchily-drawn ‘super-powered’ clients.

The variant cover art of "HULK" No. 1 by Skottie Young