Review-a-Thon: Incredible Hulk #4, Scarlet Spider #1

I know, I know: "Where are the retrospectives, Gary?" I've been terribly remiss in bringing any historical pieces to this blog in the last few weeks. There's a very good reason for that, and one that you'll get within a few short weeks if all goes well. (Here's a hint: It likely involves a Kickstarter project you'll want to get in on.) I'll go back to those history pieces very soon, but in the meantime, here are two more reviews, culled from this week's releases. Without further ado...

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #4 - Marvel Comics, $3.99
By Jason Aaron, Whilce Portacio, Allen Martinez, Rick Ketcham, Arif Prianto & Veronica Gandini

For better or worse, "Hulk Vs. Banner!" begins this issue with "Island of 1000 Hulks," without the series' first artist (and most of his countless assistants) and with another Image Comics alum, Whilce Portacio. With the last three issues' pretense out of the way, the Hulk and the "government-sanctioned mad squad of crazy scientist assassins" headed by Amanda Von Doom (no relation!) go to kick Banner's butt. From the title of this portion, you can guess--sort of--what they find there.

If you've been following the series for its short duration, you know what you're apt to find here: Bruce Banner playing the mad scientist role to the hilt; the Hulk providing the voice of reason; Amanda Von Doom being hot for the Hulk's bod while insisting she's got no relation to the famous Von Doom; and dozens of monsters and widespread destruction. At the very least, this issue brings Banner and the Hulk together for the battle fans have wanted to see since they separated in Fear Itself.

I don't envy Jason Aaron's assignment month in and out. It's clear he's done a lot of thinking about this new status quo embodied in the storyline's title. But is it really a place the series should go? The Hulk is the hero, and without the "monster's" influence, Banner is the villain. You can take it that way, or you can take it differently, considering that the Hulk was the receptacle for every emotion Banner chose to repress. And while these scenarios should lend an air of tragedy to Banner's saga, the sad truth is that Aaron only seems to know how to play this card one way: Bruce has gone around-the-bend looneytunes, period, end of sentence. He's invading military bases and absconding with "gamma juice" (?!?) with which he churns out mutated animal after mutated animal.

At the very least, I'd believed the departure of Silvestri would be an asset to the series; after all, it's hard to establish any consistency with a multitude of artists contributing to each issue. Unfortunately, while Portacio's art is much cleaner than his predecessor's, his execution leaves much to be desired. Characters are awkwardly posed and out-of-proportion, and the finished art--full of crosshatching and vacillating between two very different inkers--only lets down any promise offered by the new penciler. We need artistic consistency, and we need it yesterday.

In short: Nothing's changed, move along, move along. Burn It.

---

SCARLET SPIDER #1 - Marvel Comics, $3.99
By Chris Yost, Ryan Stegman, Michael Babinski & Marte Gracia

This isn't your father's Spider-Man. That much is obvious, from the cover whose logo conjures memories of the jagged Spidey logo from the nineties' animated series, to the sell that promises "All of the Power, None of the Responsibility" in the same typeface as which adorns Marvel's own Wolverine. What this is, however, is a whole mess of webby fun.

Kaine has traveled a rocky road to arrive where he is. The imperfect clone of Spider-Man (about whom I wrote a duo of in-depth articles here and here), who became a stone-cold killer after the Jackal, his creator, rejected him, has recently been cured of the degenerative condition that caused him near-constant agony since birth. In "Spider-Island" he saved New York City and perhaps the world. He's picked up a few things from his "brother" Peter, and perhaps the other clone, Ben Reilly, as well. In a new town, with a new lease on life, he tries to suppress his more violent instincts--only to find that it isn't quite that easy.

When Kaine began appearing in Amazing Spider-Man several months ago, during "Grim Hunt" and even "Spider-Island," I thought there were flashes of the character I remembered, the one who prospered under the pen of "Clone Saga" architect J.M. DeMatteis. Still, some things about the "new" Kaine really rankled. Thankfully, Scarlet Spider scribe Chris Yost really seems to be familiar with those early stories--particularly Spider-Man: The Lost Years and Redemption--and lets those sagas inform his take on the villain-turned-wannabe-hero. Peter Parker's angst has been turned, twisted and amped up to "11" in Kaine, a character unsure if he wants to be redeemed. It's amazing what he's been given these last few months, and still, he's suspicious to a fault. He still relies on some of his bad behaviors, and when he tries to do the right thing, it backfires. Can anything smooth the rough edges of his soul?

Speaking of rough edges, the artistic team of Ryan Stegman and Michael Babinski, aided and abetted by colorist Marte Gracia...has none. Seriously. I've watched Stegman and Babinski work on a few projects, like the "Red She-Hulk" back-up stories in Incredible Hulk, as well as their own four-issue She-Hulks series, but this is the book destined to make spidery stars of them both. And, dear God do I want page 14 (you'll know the one)! Kaine's soul is bared in this story, with Stegman's facial expressions telling stories all by themselves. The fact there are no costumes for the majority of this story is a terrific asset.

Yes, that's no misprint: About the only piece of the puzzle not provided in this outstanding introductory story is the new Scarlet Spider's actual costume, but with the darkness inherent in the character, it's not missed. In fact, were there not the need to hide Kaine's face--because it just so happens to also be the face of ol' Peter Parker--I would want every issue to be just like this. No tights? No problem!

If you were scared that this story would relaunch the whole nineties "Clone Saga" all over again: Don't fear. This is the tale of a darker Spider-Man. It's spooky, and it's a thorny road the Scarlet Spider will travel. Let's walk the road with him, yes?

If you enjoyed the Marvel Point One one-shot, you'll love this one. Buy It.

~G.

Future Reviews: Comic Book Comics, Incredible Hulk & Marvel Point One

Last time, I reviewed a bunch of comics that had already been released for many weeks. This time, I'll review one of last week's Marvel comics, plus not one but two books you'll find in this week's releases at your local comic shop. Thanks go out to the inimitable Fred Van Lente for providing Comic Book Comics for review, and to Comixology for messing up and letting fandom assembled see Incredible Hulk a whole week early.

Now, in order of release...

MARVEL POINT ONE - Marvel Comics, $5.99
By Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb, David Lapham, Chris Yost, Fred Van Lente, Matt Fraction, Brian Michael Bendis, Javier Pulido, Ed McGuinness, Dexter Vines, Roberto De La Torre, Ryan Stegman, Michael Babinski, Salvador Larroca, Terry & Rachel Dodson, Bryan Hitch & Paul Neary

This special one-shot was conceived to give a preview of all kinds of titles and events that Marvel will be bringing to its line in 2012. It's named "Point One" to capitalize on their program of the same name, whereby they produce special new-reader-friendly issues of their series at a lower price point. This edition, while reader-friendly, is at a decidedly unfriendly price point. I hear, however, that due to Marvel shipping double the initial number of copies ordered by retailers, this book can be bought on the cheap at most shops.

Let's take this puppy down in order, shall we?

In a Nutshell: New York Comic Con 2011

Okay, okay, I can't quite squeeze everything into a single post. More likely, you're going to get a trickle as I start to follow up on my many, many leads from this year's New York Comic Con. I don't know how the other press do it! Anyway, those of you out there who have my card: you'll be hearing from me sooner than later. Today I was back to the grind, working and slaving. In a few minutes from now, I'll be watching some TV I missed.

The show was amazing this year and I really have to give props to the folks at ReedPOP for a job well done. This was my second year attending NYCC, and if this is any indication of how the show is only going to grow, sign me up!

Of course, this year my enthusiasm was also heightened by the fact that I actually got to explore. No, I'm not talking about exploring the convention floor, although I certainly did my share! I'm talking about traversing the length of Manhattan Island! From my arrival at Penn Station with my friend Don on Thursday morning, I really took advantage of having that extra day to familiarize myself with the territory and see some sights. The subway took us from midtown, south to the Staten Island Ferry. The ferry brought us out near the Statue of Liberty before returning us to the isle, where once again we rode the subway a few exits.

Shake Shack for lunch!

After walking by the construction zone around the 9/11 memorial, more subway time...this time riding to Central Park, where I saw Strawberry Fields. And then, back to the subway until arriving in Times Square. There was a TKTS booth, and I wasn't leaving until we had tickets to Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark!

After we got the tickets but before the actual show, we attended NYCC's Thursday night preview. Surprisingly, the place was pretty busy! But it was only a small taste of what was to come in the following days. That night, I met up with FoxyArt's Kristin Allen, who'd drawn a terrific Scarlet Witch piece for me a few months prior (and one that you'll see soon on this very blog!). I also finally met the talented David Gallaher, writer of High Moon (which I'll review shortly), Box 13, and various Winter Guard projects from Marvel, all with his collaborator Steve Ellis (who drew a terrific Rom sketch for me in '10). I also once again found the artist Franchesco, who'd drawn a piece featuring Dracula's daughter Lilith nearly a decade prior, and who was just itching for a shot at outdoing himself. Then there was Gabriel Hardman, who'd drawn Morbius for me last year, and--well, we'll get there.

What about Turn Off the Dark? We'll get there. Suffice to say, I ran into another one of my friends from the west coast in the lobby during intermission. Things have a way of working out.

After a long train ride back to Jersey and a short night's sleep, Friday beckoned--the first full day of the show. The highlight of the day was IDW's presentation of a brilliant Fox pilot that sadly never went to series. That's right: I saw Josh Friedman's adaptation of Joe Hill's Locke & Key! (I'll share that in a few days, too.) Oh, and I also picked up Hasbro's exclusive "Composite Hulk" figure at their booth. Nice little item.

Saturday brought more chaos, including a rendezvous with Hulk Vs. Dracula and brand new Scarlet Spider artist Ryan Stegman. (The man threatened me with bodily harm if I don't buy and review his new series when it arrives in January. He actually looks like he might be able to carry through on that promise.) There's a sketch from him you guys'll also see soon, one that may or may not have something to do with his upcoming series.

I also picked up a sketch from a longtime favorite artist. Geof Isherwood, who drew Dr. Strange when Roy Thomas was on the book in the mid-nineties, was ever so gracious, and I presented him with an interesting idea he couldn't pass up. You'll see it right here soon. (I'm full of teases, aren't I?)

Greg Pak even put in an appearance in the middle of Saturday, bringing with him a copy of his and Tony Parker's sure-to-be-a-success book from Aspen, Dead Man's Run. Expect a review of that "Zero" issue early next week.

There's more I could talk about. Like meeting a terrific Hulk fan who also used to be one of Marvel's editorial staff. Or trying not to gush like a fanboy when I met one of my idols after a panel on Sunday afternoon. There's also my secret project I've been seeding throughout the con. Yeah, there's all that stuff.

And, of course, I was one of a half-dozen souls outside the Marvel offices who were the first to read Jason Aaron and Marc Silvestri's Incredible Hulk #1. You'll get some of that early next week, promise. Can't spoil the details. Can't.

But enough with the teases. I leave you with two of the colorful costumes from the convention floor. Ladies and germs: Silk Spectre and Poison Ivy!

 

I do deliver the goods once in a while, don't I?

~G.

Review Special: Fear Itself: Hulk Vs. Dracula #3

Good evening, campers!

As I type you these words, I'm mere hours away from attending this year's New York Comic Con. There, I'll be hobnobbing with the comic industry's best and brightest (and yeah, the ne'er-do-wells, too!). I thought I'd give you a review to get you in the mood, especially since it has been longer than usual between entries these past few weeks.

So, courtesy Victor Gischler, Ryan Stegman, Mike Babinski & Frank Martin Jr., here comes Fear Itself: Hulk Vs. Dracula #3, in which the hammer-ized Hulk--possibly, maybe?--faces the evil might of Count Dracula himself.

With the beginning chapter doing an okay job of setting up the key conflict of this miniseries, and the second piece a regurgitation of the first, Gischler and Stegman, et al. had their work cut out for them in this final entry in the series. While events occur in this chapter that do contribute a good deal to the overall tapestry of Marvel's summer event, so much so that I'm honestly shocked, the overall effort falls squarely in the realm of "too little, too late."

This story features the second-ever confrontation between the Hulk and Dracula (the first was in Peter David and Gabriel Hardman's one-off prose story from Monster-Size Hulk), and it's quite a bit different than that tale. The whole series long, Gischler has painted this version of Dracula as a master strategist, sending other vampires into battle in his stead with no regard for their well-being. This time he finally involves himself directly in the main battle. With the title of this miniseries being what it is, I would have honestly expected more of a battle than the handful of pages devoted to the event herein.

Last time out, I remarked how artists Stegman and Babinski weren't working up to their potential, probably due to the clash of their "comedy" sensibilities with the book's horror-oriented tone. While not perfect, this issue the duo balances their efforts much better, and achieves a stronger finished product. Stegman's artistic high point comes in the finale, where Dracula preys upon the Hulk's emotional core. Just like the titular monster, he manages to find strength in emotion.

The story isn't a total wash as in previous segments. True, the Hulk never finds a consistent voice, moving from "Hulk smash" to speaking fairly intelligibly, to grunting out those unusual Norse runes that mark him as a tool of the Serpent. It is also true that none of the vampires emerge as a credible threat, or a worthwhile protagonist, if there is one to be found in the narrative. Succinctly, I was surprised the story ended in the manner it did, if only for the reason that such an event should have taken place in the main Fear Itself series. Then again--and this is as big a hint as you'll get from me about the story's conclusion--I thought for sure all of "The Worthy" would be shown getting their hammers in that series' second issue, too.

I'm right on the line here. Nobody will remember the events of this miniseries in just a few weeks. On the other hand, this entry was better than the two before it, even if it only briefly delivered on its promises.

Go ahead and Read It.

~G.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Quick Reviews: Hulk #40, Fear Itself: Hulk Vs. Dracula #1

Greetings, Hulk fans!

Many apologies for my absence these last weeks. Between family issues, health issues, and work-related stuff that couldn't be put off, it's been a rough time for the Delusionally Honest. The good news--that I can't really talk about--is that yours truly has decided to embark on an exciting new venture that will likely mean you'll see less of me around these parts for a while. On the plus side, the likely result will be that you'll see more of me than you've ever seen before! (How's that for a tease?)

Now then, two reviews for the price of one! Because I've been away, and these things are now weekly, ya know...

HULK #40 - Marvel Comics, $2.99
By Jeff Parker, Gabriel Hardman, Bettie Breitweiser & Jim Charalampidis

Gabriel Hardman's finale on art chores continues this issue with the climactic battle between Red Hulk and the cosmic threat Omegex. Along the way, writer Jeff Parker piles in various plot elements and characters from the previous fifteen issues of the series since the duo started on the book. General Fortean is here, blaming his old friend for the chaos. Dr. Kurinji, now better known as Zero/One,and the threat she created, Black Fog, are also on the scene...and helping the Red Hulk?!

With all the characters in this story, you'd think these twenty pages would be a cluttered mess. In fact, they're anything but. Parker uses the middle third of the Omegex saga to explore the dichotomy between Ross and Kurinji and their alter-egos, Red Hulk and Zero/One. He compares them with the question, "Are they better before or after their recent changes?" with Zero/One taking the side of cold logic while Ross addresses emotion. It makes sense, as Ross has always relied on his emotions, particularly toward his daughter Betty, whereas the original Hulk's alter-ego prided himself on logic. Can he convince Zero/One that there were advantages to her humanity? Whatever the case, this battle does give her a considerable depth and a fun little character arc.

The same can't be said for General Fortean, who through sheer brevity of his appearance here becomes a caricature of his former self, and by extension, a caricature of who Ross used to be. He's blinded by his desire to rid the world of the Red Hulk, to the point of ignoring the larger threat of Omegex. Unless we see some significant changes soon, I'm afraid Fortean will just be a sad echo: Ross 2.0.

With so many plates in the air here, the narrative momentum does slow to a crawl, with the only significant plot element being the conversation between Red Hulk and Zero/One. And that's fine, because it is truly important. But I do hope Parker is able to pull out a strong conclusion here. Will Ross again be able to change to his human self with the help of Zero/One? Will Fortean see that Red Hulk can do more than simply destroy? Such good questions deserve excellent answers.

An excellent plus, the artwork is as good as it's ever been thanks to Hardman, Bretiweiser and Charalampidis. The colorists' work blends together very well here, to the point I honestly couldn't separate one from the other. I said it before and I'll say it again: I'm going to miss Hardman's formidable talents on this book.

The verdict? Another issue, another instance where I gotta say Buy It.

---

FEAR ITSELF: HULK VS. DRACULA #1 - Marvel Comics, $2.99
By Victor Gischler, Ryan Stegman, Michael Babinski & Frank Martin Jr.

The book that would have been Incredible Hulk #636 arrives, transitioning the Green Goliath from Greg Pak's series through the first five issues of Fear Itself, Marvel's summer event, and on to this issue. For those not following that series, Bruce Banner and Betty Ross decided to escape to Brazil to sort out their relationship. However, a magical hammer fell from the sky, and when the Hulk picked it up he transformed into Nul, Breaker of Worlds, and swiftly went on a rampage through the rainforest. Neither Red She-Hulk nor the Avengers could stop him. He finally arrived in New York where he fought the mighty Thor alongside the Thing, a.k.a. Angrir, Breaker of Souls. Thor knocked him into orbit, but as we all know, what goes up must come down...

Victor Gischler is famous at Marvel for his recent involvement with the X-Men in "Curse of the Mutants," an event which brought the company's vampire nation in conflict with the mighty mutants. In those adventures, too, Marvel has shifted away from the previous depiction of vampires in books like Tomb of Dracula (itself taking cues from the classic depiction and Universal Studios' films). Now, Dracula appears as a white-haired, armored hybrid of several visions glimpsed in Francis Ford Coppola's Bram Stoker's Dracula. His history has been thrown in a blender, with his son Janus popping up again out of nowhere, and another son, Xarus, having figured in the earlier crossover.

The story here is straightforward: the possessed Hulk lands in the Carpathian Mountains, the homeland of Dracula and his assembled legions. Hulk smashes mindlessly, and the vampires mount their response. It's a very by-the-numbers response that reflects precious little of what is enticing about these two corners of the Marvel Universe. It's hard to root for Dracula and his ilk because of their infighting and their inhumanity; moreover, it's only slightly less difficult to root for the Hulk. Possessed, he's not really going to have any powerful character moments: as such, the only thrill can be had by seeing how much he can smash. In this issue, that's not much.

The story's sole saving grace so far is Ryan Stegman, who ably illustrates the Hulk's sheer power. I also really love the looks of the various monsters during the battle scenes. (Was that a Wendigo? What's it doing outside North America?) If this series is remarkable for nothing else, Stegman certainly brings his "A" game here.

Still, in spite of the energetic art, I can't see past the flat story. Unless you're a hardcore fan of Hulk or Dracula's legions, Skip It.

~G.

The Ever-Changing Lyra, Daughter of Hulk! (Among Other Things, a SHE-HULKS Review)

Hulk & Thundra in the shadow of their daughter, from All-New Savage She-Hulk. Art by Alex Garner.

I daresay the Hulk-related portion of the Marvel Universe has exploded over the last few years. We've had She-Hulk get her own book again, then it got canceled. Then in the wake of World War Hulk came an arguable spinoff, Incredible Hercules, followed quickly by the introduction of Red Hulk, then the return of the Incredible Hulk, and some other series here and there centered around events like "Fall of the Hulks" and "World War Hulks."

Unfortunately, with the market being what it is ("unhealthy" is a bit of an understatement--sort of like all of print media) the line is due for contraction. The first casualty in these matters appears to be Lyra, the Hulk's daughter from a future timeline. Since her introduction in Hulk: Raging Thunder, where the Hulk first met Thundra and she scraped his cheek for DNA, she's been featured prominently in no less than three limited series of no more than four issues apiece. She's had some jarring status quo changes, and now it appears, barring a real outpouring of fan support, she'll be relegated to Greg Pak's Incredible Hulks series (not that it's a bad place, necessarily), if not altogether forgotten. But is it a real shame to see Lyra's star falling, or is it more a mercy killing? Before fandom en masse attacks me for that last comment, let's examine her brief history:

Hulk: Raging Thunder - Hulk, as we know, is Marvel's original man-monster, "the strongest one there is." This fact attracts Thundra, a warrior-woman from a future matriarchal society. In her era, men and women live separately and war with each other. The men are sterile from radiation exposure, and both sexes only survive through human parthenogenesis. Thundra travels to our present with the intent of conceiving an heir. Only one born of superior stock, she rationalizes, can have a hope of succeeding her when she grows too old to ably serve the United Sisterhood Republic. This means a fundamental change from the last several generations, in that her daughter will have both a mother and a father.

In the back of the All-New Savage She-Hulk #1, writer Jeff Parker mentions that it was his original intention to have the Hulk and Thundra actually sleep together to create Lyra, but that this idea got "downgraded to scraping cells from [the Hulk's] cheek." Page twenty, without the dialogue in later panels, can even be interpreted with the former explanation. True, the change could have come because editors thought Thundra wouldn't "sully herself" by direct contact (even though, in main continuity, Thundra had been involved with Arkon, if indeed this was not a divergent Thundra). It's more likely the decision had something to do with Jeph Loeb's Ultimate Hulk Annual, in which the Ultimate universe's Hulk slept with the Squadron Supreme's Zarda.

The first appearance of the then-unnamed Lyra, from Hulk: Raging Thunder #1.

Regardless of the decisions behind the as-yet unnamed daughter of Hulk's creation, it's revealed at the end of the story that she was the narrator of the entire story, with her "present" being established as twenty years after Thundra's return from meeting the Hulk. She is a conqueror, taking back the male-inhabited lands of this divergent future while her mother serves elsewhere. In her mind, males won't stop fighting until they all die off, a fact she doesn't fret over. She thinks once all men are gone and their atrocities forgotten by generations of women, that "maybe those women will decide that the Y chromosome can return to the world." She seems dignified and mature as well as battle-hardened.

"Daughter of Hulk" (from Hulk Family) - This brief vignette by Paul Tobin and Benton Jew showcases the again-unnamed Lyra in battle alongside her friend Nella, and explores the world of the men of the 23rd Century via Lyra's infiltration of one of their parthenogenesis facilities. The story also reinforces the dynamic that Lyra is different from her sisters in that she is the only one with a father. Just as she can be seen then as the inverse of a messianic figure, she can also then be seen as a devil of sorts, corrupted by the male species by virtue of her lineage. This story paves the way for what follows...

All-New Savage She-Hulk - After two stories, it's finally in the third story that writer Fred Van Lente gives our heroine a name. In the back pages of the first issue, Van Lente attributes the name to the protagonist in the 1971 story "The Femizons" from Savage Tales #1 by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. He dramatically shifts the narrative of the Daughter of Hulk for the first time (but not the last) by having her follow her mother's path, time-traveling to "our" present during Marvel's "Dark Reign" umbrella event, wherein Norman Osborn rose to power and oversaw many security initatives like H.A.M.M.E.R. and A.R.M.O.R. The latter agency, the Alternate Reality Monitoring and Operational Response Agency, tracks Lyra's arrival on Earth-616 from Earth-9008. She abducts A.R.M.O.R. agent Alex Erde to use as a field guide on her mission to look for the time period's greatest hero, but soon encounters resistance in Jennifer Walters, the first She-Hulk, as well as Norman Osborn's officially sanctioned team, the Dark Avengers.

Van Lente makes some interesting alterations to Lyra beyond giving her a name, and the art, primarily by Peter Vale and Robert Atkins, provides the best vision of Lyra to date. She is charged with a mission by the Gynosure, ruler of Milago, to bring back technology that will allow them to again use the Cradle, the device that enables the parthenogenic processes that enable them to birth more women. To this end she is armed with Boudicca, an artificial intelligence she wears on her wrist like a watch. (Boudicca's commentary very often steals the show. It's a shame she's not still around...but I'm getting ahead of myself.) He also gives Lyra a weakness in, ironically enough, her anger, as the angrier Lyra becomes, the weaker she gets. Conversely, he also gives her "gamma vision," where she goes into a Zen-like trance and harnesses the gamma energy around her to perform superhuman feats.

Too much tongue? Lyra kisses Osborn, from All-New Savage She-Hulk #3.

In the final issue of the series, we finally discover the reason Lyra is tasked with meeting the era's greatest hero, who's stated to be Osborn himself: she is to collect his seed for the Gynosure, presumably to father another generation of women in the future. Interestingly, Lyra seems ready to collect the old-fashioned way, as A.R.M.O.R. notes that she's ovulating! Of course, she rejects those impulses, and rightly so, in the end teaming with Jennifer Walters to battle the Dark Avengers before teleporting away to A.R.M.O.R., where she becomes one of their field agents. Along the way, she discovers Boudicca has fulfilled their mission and left the processor the Gynosure needed in a location where it could be reached in the future. Hence, she is free to remain in the present. (Marvel now no longer seems to adhere to the principles of time travel set by Mark Gruenwald in the 1970s, else everything Lyra did since arriving would merely cause another divergence.)

A few more Van Lente-penned adventures of Lyra appear in back-up stories in Greg Pak's Incredible Hulk series from #600 through 605. In them, Lyra encounters the fruits of her meeting with Osborn, as he used her information about the future to set up the Origins Corporation, chaired by the Hulk's foe General Ryker and specializing in commoditizing superhuman powers. While trying to find the missing Jennifer Walters, she and Alex Erde are attacked by women with the powers of Zzzax, the Abomination, and the Glob. (This marks the fourth such woman imbued with the Abomination's powers--but that's a tale for another article!) Erde's unrequited love is cut short as Axon (the Zzzax analogue) causes the crash that leads to his death. Lyra swears revenge and kills two of the three women, while after her failure, Ryker gives the kill order for the third. She appears to be coming into her own as a She-Hulk, but that's before she's brought into the...

Lyra, from Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks #1 by Jelena Kevic Djurdjevic.

Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks - The next writer to handle Lyra is Jeph Loeb, in both Fall of the Hulks: Gamma (with artist John Romita Jr.) and Hulk #19 (with Ed McGuinness). As framed later in the three-issue tie-in to the main event by Lyra's co-creator Jeff Parker and Salva Espin, Lyra allies herself with the Intelligencia in order to attempt a rescue of Jennifer Walters, who has been their captive for several weeks. She mixes it up a few times with the Red She-Hulk, and even meets her mother, Thundra, who still hasn't returned to the future to allow the scientists to artificially inseminate her (or however their process worked). She becomes the fourth member of the Frightful Four, and while naked (!) defeats the Human Torch in battle, taking one of his 1970s-era red outfits to wear.

The Human Torch gets a fiery green eyeful. From Hulk #19, art by Ed McGuinness & Mark Farmer.

Lyra loses her companion Boudicca, destroying it (her?) to prove her loyalty to the Intelligencia, but its central processing unit is restarted remotely by Bruce Banner, who for the first time makes contact with his daughter (after learning about her in Fall of the Hulks: Red Hulk #1-2, also by Parker). During the siege of the Intelligencia's Hellcarrier, she makes a three-panel cameo in Incredible Hulk #608, meeting her half-brother Skaar (to whom she refers as "little brother") before Banner blasts her up "at least four levels" to rescue Jennifer. Jen accosts her over her opinion that Thundra "ran away" from her and hid in the 21st Century, confronting her with the truth that she nearly jeopardized her chances of being born. She also tells Lyra that, once the battles are finished, she will show her "what a normal life is supposed to be...and how wonderful it is," the earliest allusion to the upcoming She-Hulks series. After uniting with the Red She-Hulk, the three of them fight the legions of AIMarines-turned-Hulks as well as the Hulked-out heroes. Lyra records a message on the barely-functioning Boudicca and leaves it for Thundra to find in the future, telling her mother she is the greatest woman she has known.

The four-issue She-Hulks limited series, with covers by Ed McGuinness.

 She-Hulks - And that brings us to the post-"World War Hulks" portion of this entry, where writer Harrison Wilcox and artist Ryan Stegman (late of the ill-received Red She-Hulk back-ups from Incredible Hulk) contribute the most jarring changes to the young Lyra. That's the right describer, too: "young," as under Wilcox's pen, she becomes a teenager, molded to the role of a companion and "little sister" to Jennifer Walters, the original She-Hulk. Perhaps the shift is due to a stigma that's existed since Lyra's introduction; namely, the idea that she was introduced to eventually replace the original She-Hulk. It's a preposterous idea, certainly, as Jennifer has such deep roots in the Marvel Universe, as a solo hero as well as member of the Fantastic Four and the Avengers, as well as being a peripheral Hulk cast member. Perhaps Marvel believed the safe middleground was to team the two titanesses together and establish them as a generation apart.

I'm going to loosely state, although I have no independent confirmation, that Lyra's supposed to be roughly sixteen years old during this series. The de-aging of Lyra to high school age creates some interesting problems in her treatment under previous writers, certainly--chief among them that whole "search for the greatest hero of the 21st Century so we can procure his seed, and oh, wait, I'm totally ovulating" storyline, which in revision nearly reaches a "Gwen Stacy in 'Sins Past'" level of yuck. That goes double for Johnny Storm, who burned Lyra's clothes off and then made juvenile comments while she was in the buff. These are the two most irritating examples, although there's certainly also the Stockholm Syndrome-esque developments between Alex Erde and Lyra in Incredible Hulk #601, all of which add up to the conclusion that Lyra wasn't originally intended to be, for want of a better term, Teen She-Hulk.

Mourning that perfect prom dress? Art by Ryan Stegman & Michael Babinski.

Lyra has been stripped of much of the accoutrement she had since her first appearance, as well as much of the rest of what defined her in those earlier stories, right up to Fall of the Hulks: Savage She-Hulks. Her military bearing, which should be obvious as having grown up around Thundra and her soldiers, is almost wholly absent, as is her complex attitude toward the opposite sex from being raised in a society where men and women are literally at war. Furthermore, thanks to S.P.I.N. Tech (Super-Power Inhibiting Nanobots), Lyra no longer grows weaker when she gets angry, and she now has a smaller, pink-skinned form invented just for this narrative. The onslaught of changes made to Lyra in such a short time really makes it apparent that the powers-that-be don't really know what to do with her character. Here, it's like Wilcox took that aforementioned idea of "Teen She-Hulk," partnered her up with Jen Walters, and then sparsely fit bits of Lyra's prior history in the narrative where they could fit. The Lyra of She-Hulks bears little, if any, resemblance to all of her earlier appearances.

The dynamic of She-Hulks again really reads like, well, exactly what you'd think a series about a Teen She-Hulk would. Lyra is largely the center of the narrative, as we follow her time in school, her being coached by Jen, and the talks between Bruce Banner and Jen about her. Jen acts as an aunt of sorts to young Lyra, having her attend high school at Bruce Banner's urgings. (See? That pink-skinned form comes in handy!) The two of them live in a sweet Manhattan apartment, and Bruce has charged them with capturing the remaining free members of the Intelligencia, solving some very important loose ends from the "World War Hulks" story. In fact, Bruce Banner and the Hulk have a substantial supporting role in the series, headquartered at Gamma Base and using funds from the Olympus Group to finance the women's missions. The base also houses a detention facility where the villains are held once the She-Hulks capture them.

The book's lighter tone aids in Lyra's likability, and she certainly needed some lightening up in the wake of, let's face it, some rather dark showings in her first dozen appearances. (Often the Boudicca unit served as comic relief in the earlier series, as counterpoint to Lyra's "straight woman.") You might be thinking, "Having been transported to this new time period where she isn't surrounded by all the war and gender politics, why wouldn't Lyra lighten up?" It's a fair point, and one I'm sure the creators had in mind when developing this series. The original point of creating a second She-Hulk seemed to be making her different from the original, who had become something of a punchline in the Marvel Universe, with no one able to remove her from John Byrne's intimidating shadow. It becomes obvious why Lyra began as a warrior-woman. Apparently that paradigm didn't quite mesh, because now Lyra has lightened up and become absorbed into the first She-Hulk's world--humor, girl talk, boys and all. Again, quite literally, she's Teen She-Hulk, "Jen's li'l sis."

You're not the only one, Lyra. Art by Stegman & Babinski.

And I hate it. And I love it.

I didn't mean to suggest that the Wilcox/Stegman series isn't any good. It's actually an intensely pleasurable read if taken out of context of Lyra's earlier appearances. Yes, I know I spent six paragraphs disparaging the changes made to Lyra in this four-issue limited series, but it works and I can't explain why. She-Hulks is just a fun ride. Harrison Wilcox writes a fun interplay between Jennifer and Lyra, and his Bruce Banner and Hulk are on point. In addition, he's nailed the voices for all the villains. True, the final issue features an abrupt, forced message about tolerance and fearing that which people don't understand that seems more at home in an X-Men book than a Hulk one. Overall, Wilcox hits more than he misses.

Furthermore, if one creator had a real "breakout moment" in this series, it must be Ryan Stegman. The man needs a high-profile gig, as his work here with inker Michael Babinski is just tremendous. He's grown by Hulk-sized leaps and bounds since working on the aforementioned Red She-Hulk backup stories. I mean, take a look at this:

Yes, I want to buy this page and frame it. Alas, a blogger's salary...! Stegman & Babinski FTW!

This was only page two of the first issue, and the piece shows that Stegman just gets it. His pages are clear and action-packed. If he wasn't having fun drawing all four issues, he certainly fooled me. The fun factor comes through on nearly every page. Wilcox's script is filled with "big" moments and every time he's asked, Stegman delivers, whether it's the Hulk catching the She-Hulks' Gamma Jet, or the She-Hulks fleeing an avalanche, or fighting the Wizard in an awesome double-page spread filled with bikini-clad women. His facial expressions are a delight, as well. In short, Stegman's fun, energetic, and expressive style fits the She-Hulks to a T, and I'd really love to see him on another project--whether it be more She-Hulks or something else--in the not-too-distant future.

What are the chances of seeing a second volume of She-Hulks? I can see Marvel's cautiousness in this volatile market, in wondering if this series would truly find an audience. Initially solicited as an ongoing series, evidently orders weren't as high as Marvel had hoped, and news broke on Diamond's weekly shipping list that the book had been changed to four issues. (It wasn't until the last issue was solicited in Marvel Previews that the company publicly acknowledged the series was scaled back.) It didn't help that the first issue was priced at $3.99 (although subsequent issues were all $2.99). The backdoor cancellation announcement probably doomed the series in retailers' eyes, although luckily for fans, only the last issue showed any hint that the book was in fact a limited series. (Why luckily? Fans who don't read solicitations likely thought the series was ongoing, and somewhere in my messed-up mind, I like to think fans wanted to settle in for a long haul.) Sadly, the book received anemic pre-orders, with only 18,616 copies of the first issue distributed according to Diamond. Subsequent sales figures confirm that the series only fell from there, with a 21% drop in December, and another 12% in January, where orders were at an abysmal 12,926 copies. We can only hope that the book sells out at the retailer level, and the inevitable trade paperback collection is heavily ordered, otherwise we may never see another Hulk-based series that's this fun. Or, more likely, we'll see yet another revision of Lyra, and probably Jen Walters as well...again, not as fun.

After my initial resistance to the core concept of She-Hulks, I have to say I greatly enjoyed the finished product and hope more adventures of Lyra and Jen are on the horizon. It's a case of so-so ideas with incredible execution. However, it's going to take more than Jen's magic cure-all, a cup of hot cocoa, to get this duo to see another day...

Hot cocoa can cure a lot, but can it get us She-Hulks volume 2? More Stegman & Babinski.

'Nuff said,

~G.