There’s a lot to cover on Wednesdays. We should know, as collectively, we read an insane amount of comics. Even with a large review staff, it’s hard to get to everything. With that in mind, we’re back with Wrapping Wednesday, where we look at some of the books we missed in what was another great week of comics.
Let’s get this party started.
Incredible Hulk #1
Written by Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Illustrated by Nic Klein
Colored by Matthew Wilson
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewed by Alexander Jones
Bruce Banner is suffering yet another internal conflict with his alter ego in the pages of Marvel’s latest “Incredible Hulk” series. Lately, Marvel has explored the horror background of the Hulk with titles like “Immortal Hulk” and the Jade Giant’s latest series looks to follow in that direction with the latest villain known as The Primordial Mother of Horrors. Author Phillip Kennedy Johnson has recently experimented with darker stories in the context of Superman while artist Nic Klein is perfect at capturing weighty emotions with his strong facial work.
Nic Klein’s art makes for a great introduction to Marvel’s latest “Incredible Hulk” title. The first panel of the issue is a mysterious black that fades in the detailed line from Klein. Klein lends so much detail in the depiction of The Primordial Mother of Horrors. Klein is able to capture lots of different emotions in the issue as the scene with the Mother begins with a sense of intrigue and ends in horror. Klein also extends a fascinating line with veins and expressions from Bruce Banner but his features feel consistent from one panel to the next.
From a writing standpoint, Johnson is incredibly ambitious with the plotting of his debut “Incredible Hulk” chapter. Bruce is in conflict with The Hulk, trying to stop him from taking over his body. Bruce is also suffering from extreme paranoia so it will be interesting to see if he is able to rise up and fight The Primordial Mother of Horrors. Charlie’s storyline in the issue is very subtle and somber. Charlie faces lots of adversity in the issue, in subsequent issues of “Incredible Hulk” I hope to see this character get more agency. The amount of subplots that Johnson opened up in one issue is impressive.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Marvel’s latest ”Incredible Hulk” #1 series focuses on strong characterization and horror elements to deliver a subversive debut issue.
Miles Morales: Spider-Man #7
Written by Cody Ziglar
Illustrated by Federico Vicentini
Colored by Bryan Valenza
Lettered by VC’s Cory Petit
Reviewed by Alexander Manzo
Miles is a hot name in the comic and movie world right now, and this issue coincides with that perfectly. Cody Ziglar does this crazy balancing act of a fast-speed chase/fight in the sky with the Extrembiote and tries to come up with new forms of attack during the conversation. Ziglar also includes quick quips and a positive attitude of Miles to keep things lighter. Although Miles is still weary of the Cape Killers (Scorpion, Electro, Taskmaster, and Hightail) he also realizes they have the same goal of protecting the city. Eeven if his goal is genuine, they’re semi-forced because of a badge given by Agent Gao. On the initial read of the issue, Iron Man coming to help finish off Carnage felt like a solid sucker punch, but upon further inspection, Ziglar’s laying the breadcrumbs from the first page: Carnage’s “zombies” are working with Stark tech, and even Miles hints at The Avengers coming to help out. This doesn’t take away from the flair of Tony Stark with an Iron Man suit in the shape of an old-school knight. Little on the nose since the symbiote is part dragon, but it still plays for the audience.
Federico Vicentini’s artwork throws the reader into the thick of the action between Miles and Carnage. Vicentini uses a close-up right in front of the hero/villain to bring home the adrenaline everyone has going on as Carnage is on the hunt and Miles and the team strategize between leaps and bounds. At the beginning of the chase, Electro makes a “business decision” by letting Taskmaster fall to a lower building to try and make a counter move to Carnage. It already starts the feeling of desperation in trying to take down this powerful villain. The layouts by Vicentini, at a glance, can look disorientating. Still, once the reader scans the page and follows the speech bubbles, it goes back to that feeling of trying to think quickly while the action is surrounding everyone. Bryan Valenza also does an outstanding job of making sure the colors of not only the heroes but the destruction around them are distinct and sharp because the fight does take place at night, and buildings are collapsing with smoke, but still, things remain distinctive to differentiate one from the other.
Continued belowFinal Verdict: 8.5 – It’s a fun, adrenaline-driven ride that even someone jumping into the series here would thoroughly enjoy.
Nightwing #105
Written by Tom Taylor
Illustrated by Bruno Redondo
Colored by Adriano Lucas
Lettered by Wes Abbot
Reviewed by Quinn Tassin
“Nightwing” #105 is definitely a very cool experiment. Like the technically single panel story told in “Nightwing” #87, this issue definitely raises above the gimmick that it might be in the hands of a different creative team. This is a real, compelling story that relates to the larger arc of Taylor’s run and better yet, it’s character driven while being action packed. The artwork is strong as ever but there are decisions big and small, obvious and subtle, that make it about as interesting as this comic has ever looked. At the same time, it’s a little hard not to have moments where you wonder what the point of all of this is.
There are definitely moments where you get the unique strengths of making this issue point of view. Thanks to Redono and Lucas, things like swinging through Blüdhaven, a missile derailing a train that Nightwing and Batgirl are on, and Nightwing crashing through an office window feel fresh and exciting where they’re really pretty standard comic action. The art is generally great but the team is learning to flex muscles it hasn’t before when it’s tasked with giving a new perspective on what a Batsuit looks like or what it’s like to be in a fight against a bunch of henchmen. The bright coloring helps instill a sense of wonder into the whole affair and it’s definitely a lot of fun.
But still, would the fighting not be more fun if we could actually see what was happening? And wouldn’t confrontations with some emotional weight land better if we could fully see Dick’s body language? It’s not arbitrary that we’re seeing Nightwing’s reflection when he speaks to Lyle Shelton. Given that he’s the emotional anchor of the scene, we just need to see him. Moreover, outside of a handful of pages, there’s little here that really takes advantage of this point of view tool. Those big superhero moments that we really can’t fathom like fighting a giant robot or seeing a literal monster seem perfect for this. Of course, to get all of that, we’d need to sacrifice some of the quality of the plot. In that balancing test, a good story should always come first so Taylor certainly chose well but one can’t help but wonder.
Ultimately, despite the point of view tool not feeling strictly necessary for this issue to work, it’s good that the team did it. Storytelling is always better when every story isn’t told in the same way. Pushing to try new things in mainstream comics is basically always a good move and helps pave the way for more interesting swings. It would definitely be nice if “Nightwing” #105 had been a home run but hey, no reason to complain about a double.
Final Verdict: 7.9- Not quite great but an admirable experiment nonetheless.
