DC's been getting all the attention for their new number ones, but over at Marvel there's one new series that deserves a bit more attention than its been getting. I'm talking about Jason Aaron's reinvention of The Incredible Hulk.
After a decent first issue and a lackluster second issue, Incredible Hulk finally hits its stride in issue three. The story is pretty simple, the Hulk(now separated from Bruce Banner) battles some of Banner's gamma powered animal monsters. Along the way we get some great narration from the Hulk that gives us some insight as to his character.
First we see that the first thing Hulk remembers are little fragments of memory from Bruce's childhood, generally when Bruce is suffering at the hands of his father. We also see a short flashback showing Hulk being "freed" from Banner, but we don't see how exactly or who is freeing him. This scene was interesting because it seemed to contradict the scene in the final issue of Fear Itself, when Hulk just suddenly ripped out of Banner, but maybe that will be explained later.
The Hulk's thoughts that go on through the issue show that all he really ever wanted was quiet and peace, making it all the more sad because we know that he'll never get it. The Hulk angrily blaming himself for believing he could be happy was also a nice and tragic touch.
The villains of the issue, The Boar Brothers, aren't unsympathetic ever. Despite the fact that they're uprooting the Hulk's peaceful life, they're only trying to earn the love of their "father" AKA Bruce Banner. Its clear that they actually love him despite the fact that he never seems to love them back, and, despite their immense power, they act more like children than anything else. The last page really makes me hope that they'll be returning in the future.
In my last issue I complained about the art, which was absolutely terrible. I was informed via the comments that artist Marc Silvestri was unable to complete a few pages, so they had other artists fill in for him. Either way the result looked awful, but Silvestri appears to be back this issue and the art looks, aside from a few little inconsistencies here and there, great. There's a splash page of Hulk battling the Boar Brothers and it looks(no pun intended)incredible! There are also some really badass shots of the Hulk in the issue(I really hope he keeps the beard and hair for a while longer).
I only have a few complaints about the issue. Despite looking great thanks to Silvestri, the fight between Hulk and the Boar Brothers is extremely one sided. The Hulk completely pummels them. Of course, its not really a surprise that he does but a still would've like to see the Boar Brothers put up a least a bit more of a fight(there's a scene where a moloid says, "God help you brother Hulk," despite the fact that the Boar Brothers don't even appear to get one hit in). My only other complaint is that I'm still not entirely on board with Banner being an evil scientist. I understand his motives and that he went a little nuts, but he is TOTALLY evil in this issue and it seems a bit out of place.
Overall, this issue is a step up from the previous. He has some hardcore action that is supplemented with some nice Hulk dialogue. The cliffhanger at the end ensures that I'll buy the next issue.
8.5/10