Broken Frontier

Note: This is review is spoiler-free. You can read on safely...

Hulk’s World War hits critical status as the Hulk takes on the Avengers and the Fantastic Four.

This past year in the world of the Incredible Hulk has been nothing short of awesome, and it is all thanks to the fantastic plotting of Greg Pak. Now he gets the chance to have some fun by bringing the Hulk and his Warbound to the Earth to face off against the world’s greatest heroes.

However, issue two belongs to John Romita, Jr.

Romita flexes his muscles in this issue and reminds all the readers just why he is one of the top artists in the history of the medium. Throughout the entire issue, everything he does just feels right.

The first thing JR, Jr. gets right is that Hulk is big, Hulk is strong, and Hulk likes to smash. While Hulk has seen his share of action over the Planet Hulk storyline, it’s been a while that Hulk fought like this. The battles within the covers are exactly what anyone who has ever read Hulk wants, large panel splashes with punches being throw at full force. There are several times over the issue that I couldn’t help but wince as I watched the hits land, feeling the pain of whoever was at the receiving end of these mighty blows. Even when pausing to think, or glare menacingly, the Hulk takes up the majority of the panels, as he should.

The second point that really shows the artist’s skill is the different points of perspective throughout the book. I haven’t paid much attention to perspective until I looked over this issue and saw how a master handles it. Here, Romita wields his pen as if a director controlling a camera, every scene seems perfectly placed, every point of view exactly where it belongs. Throughout the title, it feels like I’m watching this on a screen. In fact, it reminds me of Sin City, where the books translated easily to film – every scene already drawn on paper – thanks to Frank Miller and his masterful control of perspective.

It’s amazing that something so devastating can be so breathtaking.

As for the story, the majority of it is taken up by these large splash panels, and therefore a little less may happen then could be expected. Pak does find time to instill the questions of who is right and who is wrong, as well as making the reader really think about what attributes constitute friendship. But with She-Hulk, Ares, and the Thing all having lead roles, action is what the readers expect, and action is what they get. Pak wisely allows his words take a backseat to the Hulk’s brutality.

World War Hulk started with a phenomenal premise, and now with the second issue has delivered on that promise with thrills and excitement. Summers are all about the blockbuster, and Marvel seems to have capitalized fully on that fact this year. If you’re looking for the pure adrenaline of summer entertainment, you need look no further than your neighborhood comic shop.