Writer Mark Waid is taking some real chances with Indestructible Hulk. Not so much with the story arc, but more the fact that he’s keeping the adventures so short. Modern comic logic is to draw things out as long as possible, Waid doesn’t see it that way, at least not with Hulk. Bruce Banner, now working for SHIELD, has led his team to Jotunheim, an ice planet in a separate universe, in order to extract a rare element. As is usual, things go wrong.
In issue #6, Thor stepped up and assisted Hulk in bashing the attacking Frost Giants. The melee, however, cost the intrepid scientists their portal back to our world. Issue #8 opens with multiple things occurring at once. Banner is talking to one of his team members, a woman named Patty who is dying of a rare disease. Nobody is supposed to know, but Banner does. In fact, he knows secrets about his entire team. Patty’s secret is her coming aboard in hopes that she will be killed by a Hulk mishap, so her death could pay a hefty life insurance to her father. Meanwhile, Thor and another scientist named Veteri come up with a plan to reopen the portal. Nobody seems to notice that their final team member, Randall, is actually a Frost Giant who kidnapped the real Randall and took his place.
Once Veteri and Thor get the portal open, Frost Giants appear and start trying to invade Midgard, aka Earth. A battle ensues, hammers and green punches are thrown and, ultimately, good prospers over evil. The fight is lengthy, and action packed, but resolves itself rather quickly. Even the return of the original Randall is simple. Waid taps into an older idea of storytelling here, one that doesn’t require a massive investment in any one story arc. Part of it is a way to introduce Banner’s team via different quests, and part of it is to get people interested in Hulk again. Jason Aaron’s Incredible Hulk was so horrendous that most fans checked out on the emerald giant. Waid is bringing us in slowly, which is working like a charm.
Then there’s the art. Walt Simonson. Seriously? How good do you have to be? How much unstoppable comic art genius can one man be fraught with? Simonson is an icon for a reason. His style is unique, his pencils always excellent and always filled with movement that bursts off the page. I might have a skewed view since I’ve loved Simonson for years, but I find his work utterly flawless.
Indestructible Hulk is a winning book. Simonson and Waid a winning team. The best there is drawing and writing the strongest there is. What’s not to love?
(4.5 Story, 5 Art)
