REVIEW: Indestructible Hulk, Volume One: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

PLOT: Hulk: Indestructible force more weapon than man. Banner: Smartest man alive. Combined, they are the strongest, smartest weapon on the planet! And NOW!, the Indestructible Hulk is an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.! Hulk's first official missions include taking down the all-new Quintronic Man and battling Attuma on the ocean floor! But not everything is as it seems: What is Banner's secret hold over S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Maria Hill? What and where is Bannertown, USA? And which one of Banner's lab assistants holds a deadly secret? Plus: Bruce Banner and Tony Stark are friends but Hulk and Iron Man are anything but!

REVIEW: For some reason, I was really excited to start reading Indestructible Hulk because the last few times I've encountered the green monster, I've had a lot of fun. Being that this is Marvel NOW!, I wasn't really expecting too much but this was probably one of the better entries in the NOW! Initiative. The first issue in particular is great, because any time the story of Bruce Banner and Hulk is picked apart and analyzed, it's really complex stuff. There's so much more to Hulk now that I'm an adult, and understand the underlying factors and personality traits that make Hulk part of Dr. Banner. This isn't short on action, and it's one of the few Marvel NOW! titles that was actually very visually impressive. I really dug the artwork in this one, and other than Marvel NOW!'s Deadpool, this may be the best I've read and that's shocking. Somehow they've managed to do pretty awful with their title characters in the Marvel universe, but are treating their second tier characters like stars. Granted, Hulk has arguably moved from second tier to top tier because of the movies, but before all of that I don't think he was one of the most popular characters in the universe. For Hulk fans this is a must read, and if you're looking for a good entry point into the NOW!, I'd give this a shot. Of course, after you're done laughing and being entertained by Deadpool.

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )

STORY : ( 6 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )

REVIEW: Avengers, Volume One: Avengers World

PLOT: The greatest heroes in comics together on one unbeatable team! The Avengers "go large," expanding their roster and their sphere of influence to a global and even interplanetary level. When Captain America puts out his call - who will answer? Big threats, big ideas, big idealism - these are the Avengers NOW!

REVIEW: Well it's about time I stumbled across a Marvel NOW! title that didn't completely suck. In the Avengers, a clear and complex enough storyline presents itself on the first pages. Ex Nihilo, creator of change and good in the universe has captured the Avengers and plans to recreate everything in his vision. It's a plot of grand scope, and it completely incapacitates the Avengers which to do at the beginning of a story is pretty bold. It ends up resulting in a much greater resolve of conflict though at the end of the book, and seeing the whole team of Avengers together and rescuing each other is awesome. I really like in this volume that before each issue there is an Avengers crest like thing on the page, along with all of the names of those in the group, and then the ones that are in bold and not faded out are the characters that will be in the issue. It's something small but I thought it was neat to see and keep track of who you'd be looking for in the action in each issue. Other than that, it's a fairly normal comic. The artwork doesn't stand out in any way, but the story does because it's surrounded by a lot of garbage in the rest of the Marvel NOW! catalog currently. Let's hope that Avengers isn't the only title that is of a little quality in Marvel's Phase NOW!

WRITING : ( 6 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 6 / 10 )

STORY : ( 7 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 6 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 6 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 6 / 10 )

REVIEW: The Incredible Hulk: Planet Hulk

PLOT: Savage alien planet. Oppressed barbarian tribes. Corrupt emperor. Deadly woman warrior. Gladiators and slaves. Battle axes and hand blasters. Monsters and heroes... and the Incredible Hulk! Let the smashing commence!

REVIEW: To say that I'm a Hulk-sized fan of The Incredible Hulk would be incorrect, though I do put a lot of value to the character. I was one of few who was impressed by his appearances in film recently, but I haven't read too many comics. Planet Hulk was one of the first I've ever read, and I have to say I was pretty blown away. The story is great, Hulk has been launched off to another, more primitive planet, and has to make a new life and name for himself. But he doesn't just find one name on this new planet, he finds many because of the many people's lives he touches upon arrival. This is a really cool original story for the Hulkster, and obviously it really wouldn't work for much anyone else in the Marvel universe. I geeked a little bit when the Hulk and Silver Savage did battle, and the fact that Savage was using the surfboard as a shield was just plain badass. With this, I would definitely continue into reading some more original Hulk stories as this one has done a lot to surprise me. Hulk is a great character, and I never really saw him that way until I read this and then the bit written at the end by the author saying how great of a story Planet Hulk is for him and truly displays his potential for fiction and sequential art. This is a must-read for any Marvel or Hulk fans looking for a new book, or possibly non-Marvel fans looking for a good book to get into.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 9 / 10 )
STORY : ( 8 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )