Splish Splash: Incredible Hulk #12

"If it was Thanos or Dr. Doom breaking into your secret old underground prison, you'd get Captain America and Thor. But when you got a Hulk problem... You get us."

In "The Incredible Hulk #12," writer Jason Aaron wraps up his five-issue story arc ("Stay Angry") with another moment of the Hulk waking up in a strange situation and piecing together Bruce Banner's evil plot.  In this issue the Hulk awakens in a forgotten S.H.I.E.L.D. prison nestled deep within the confines of Antarctica; he realizes that his plan of 'staying angry' has not worked out quite as planned, and is promptly pitted against Wolverine and The Thing in an all-out slugfest.

Unsurprisingly, the Hulk does a lot of damage; there is a lot of pain for all parties, lots of stabbing, and lots of punching.  It is an action-packed issue that instantly becomes the highlight of Aaron's story arc.  By bringing Wolverine, the Hulk and Thing together for an all-out brawl it has a sort of throwback feel to it.

Overall, I really enjoyed this issue--more so than the last few.  I had never really considered myself a huge Hulk fan up until reading Aaron's run, however, with his writing and  the stellar art it's hard not to be a fan!  In particular though, this issue caught my eye--from page two onwards (which features Wolverine and The Thing heading into the prison discussing their reason of being there).  Carlos Pancheco's art and Frank Martin's coloring are spectacular, and at its heart is the inspiration for this post.  That coupled with the line above really sets the tone for the whole issue.

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Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #4 of 12 (2012)

Avengers vs. X-Men #4 is very much a filler issue. It is nothing more than a transition comic from one major plot point to another. It does not stray too far in either direction plot-wise, so all-in-all the comic serves its purpose.

Starting off where the last issue left off (almost to the panel) Wolverine is depicted trudging through the snow with a newly adorned Polar Bear for warmth. All of a sudden he finds a can of beer protruding from the snowline, then another, and another, and so on and so forth. Eventually this trail of ‘Wolverine candy’ leads to an awaiting Hope Summers, who is interested in employing Wolverine’s aid in an effort to get to the Phoenix Force before the others. All of this is on the promise that if things go awry Wolverine has Hope’s permission to slay her like he always intended to do.

Personally, I thought the opening sequence was great!John Romita’s artwork really shone during the introduction, and the narrative was humorous, but still on point.

The issue then segues into the various skirmishes across the globe that are occurring between the X-Men and the Avengers. I loved the action sequences, and the battles presented really showcase Romita’s talent, but a lot of the material seems to have been recycled from the Avengers vs. X-Men companion series, Versus. I would rather have an extra four or so pages of battle sequences in the main series and Versus cut entirely, or have the panels that are already represented in the Versus run to be stricken from the core cannon and replaced with a little more exposition and narrative to iron out the inconsistencies in the plot.

Essentially, the issue splits into three (almost four) different narratives that all tie-in at the end in a finale that takes place on the moon. Several pages are devoted to following the Avengers and/or the X-Men, others follow Hope and Wolverine on their trek to the moon to receive the Phoenix Force, and the last plotline follows Thor and company as they try to thwart the Phoenix Force’spath towards Hope and subsequently Earth.

I do not want to divulge too many plot points, but I found Wolverine’s actions to be very contradictory to his prior rhetoric. A more thorough transition from one school of thought to another would have been much appreciated. I feel as if Wolverine backtracked a bit, and then dived further down the rabbit hole with his whole handling of the Hope situation and resulting journey to the moon.

Overall, the story was solid, but nothing momentous came to fruition. Jonathan Hickman’swriting is admirable, but very un-Hickman-like; it is as-if he were following a strict outline or guide, so very little of his style bled through in the final product.

The art was phenomenal at its high points, such as Romita’s introductory panels with Wolverinetrudging through the snow with a newly slain Polar Bear upon his back. But, for every high…there was an equal low. I thought Thor’s blood was incredibly fake-looking, and several pages in, there is a shot with Quicksilver running over the crest of the hill that is so horribly skewed it looks like he is a little person jogging. Jim Cheung’s cover was slick, and appropriately held the tone for the issue.

I rate Avengers vs. X-Men #4 a middle of the road three-and-a-half stars out of five.

(SOURCE: Review: Avengers vs. X-Men #4 of 12 (2012))

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Comic Book of the Week (4.25.2012)

Battle Scars #6

Prior Comics of the Week

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Comic Book of the Week (4.18.2012)

Batman #8 and Avengers vs. X-Men #2

Prior Comics of the Week

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The Avengers Snipet Trailer

The last fifty seconds or so of Captain America yields this clip, which spills right over into an Avengers teaser, teaser trailer.  Hopefully this will harken to a full-fledged teaser trailer within the next couple of weeks.

Also, swirling about the rumor mill is that the central plot of the Avengers will involve Loki summoning the Skrulls via the Cosmic Cube (featured at the end of Thor).  Sounds very interesting and Secret Invasion-esque to me.  Regardless of the film’s true plot it looks to be shaping up to be a fantastic film and I cannot wait till 5.4.2012 rolls around.

Update:  I just returned from watching the new Captain America film, and I was definitely quite impressed.  Probably the best superhero film of the year.  Nevertheless, the Avengers trailer at the end of the film is a lot more impressive than the clip that I attached to this post; so, I apologize for the lack of finesse, but as soon the official teaser trailer is released online I will create a new post showcasing the new trailer.  

I would definitely check out Captain America if you have the funds and the time.  It is well worth the money and even if you have just a passing knowledge of Captain America lore the film did nicely by explaining  his origins while not bogging the viewers down with unnecessary details.

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The Avengers

I grabbed this Avenger poster featuring the entire lead cast (Black Widow, Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Hawkeye, Nick Fury) of 2012′s the Avengers from the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con while I was wrapping up my “Top Ten @ the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con” article for the Examiner.  I’ve been starin’ at it for days and it reminds of the original Star Warsposters…I love it!  Check it out!  (Click to enlarge…it’s a lot more impressive that way. 

Also, even though the first poster released is fairly simple I still dig it.  It’s elegant in its simplicity.

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