Indestructible Hulk Special #1 Review


Arms of the Octopus Crossover Banner

Are there time travel shenanigans at play here or is something more going on?  Should you care which it is?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Marvel:

PART TWO OF “THE ARMS OF THE OCTOPUS!”

• Banner helps The All-New X-Men and Superior Spider-Man get to the mystery of Doc Ock!

• But before they solve anything they’re shocked by the return of the believed-dead ABOMINATION!

Indestructible-Hulk-Special-1_CThis zany adventure that brings three franchises together continues to engage even as we dig into the middle of this journey.  The creative team delivers a lot of good here, so much so, that the few missteps along the way are almost excused by the care that’s clearly taken.  From the first page to the final panel I enjoyed the ride but I’m not sure if this arc , in the end, will offer much to justify the connection between these properties.

Mike Costa pens the script with enough tenacity and humor to make the landscape of Marvel NOW accessible to even the unseasoned browser.  What we get is a fairly grounded interpretation of the Indestructible Hulk, Superior Spider-Man and All-New X-Men.  The reasons for their common goals and joint appearance makes sense, as the author does a fine job allowing narrative nuances to pierce the veil while relying on stereotypical reasoning to justify the alliance.  The pacing is strong but I did find a couple of the jokes to be somewhat lacking, but these were few and far between.

The art by Jacob Wyatt works well enough to deliver on each unique quirk and character.  My only complaint comes from his visualization of Bruce Banner, which seemed to be, from my perspective, far too young to fit within the confines of the tale. That said I absolutely enjoyed the encounter between our green Goliath and the Abomination.  The overall display fit with what fans might expect, as the talent breathed life into complicated panels.  To sum up: the illustrations were indeed worthy.

Indestructible Hulk Special #1 is good comic book that does enough to continue the momentum of the previous outing.  Recommended.

3.5/5

threehalfstar

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