Can we just give it up for Mark Waid? He not only now has two incredible series working for Marvel (more on Daredevil later) but he has now revived two flagging superheroes for the company. Hulk has been really struggling as a character lately with writers clearly having a hard time making him relevant. He’s the ‘Superman’ for Marvel in that it is hard to find stories to tell with a seemingly invincible character. But leave it for Mark Waid to find some way to make a Hulk book not about Hulk.

Writers have tried to make Bruce Banner the central character in a Hulk comic with various degrees of success. What makes me like this new take on Banner is that he is now being portrayed as a jealous man. He is tired of seeing other geniuses of the Marvel U get all the credit while he is continued to be a monster. So what can a hulking madman do? Why, ask the head of SHIELD to let him do his work in peace while be their ‘battering ram’ of sorts for other issues. Waid writes a cocky, and indifferent Banner and he easily writes him like it’s second nature. He introduces some crazy science in this issue and I hope we see more of this cause crazy science is in his wheelhouse. Also, I hope he brings more obscure Marvel villains in this run. I know very little of ‘The Mad Thinker’ but again, he is a character Waid can write with ease.

The biggest draw for this issue though, by a mile, is the art by Leinil Francis Yu. I’ve fallen in love with his work the moment I laid eyes on it in Ultimate Hulk vs Wolverine. What can I say? He draws one hell of a Hulk. His style involves a lot of cross hatching, incredible detail, and some slight Manga influences in each page. A good portion of this issue is talking heads and yet he is about to lay out the issue in a way that isn’t boring. But once we get a good look at his Hulk, good lord it is hard to put the book down. Probably one of the best double page spreads occur in this first issue and I want a poster of that Hulk. How he is able to put this much detail into each page AND ink his own work AND do it on time is a mystery to me. But how can I complain? If he can make a mech vs Hulk fight look this good I don’t wanna question how he does it. Long story short (too late): This is one gorgeous looking issue.

Mark Waid was able to hook me in with Daredevil #1 and now he has down it again with Indestrucible Hulk #1. He brings a fresh take on Bruce Banner that we haven’t seen in a long time. If the book is going to be half Banner and half Hulk then I am all for it. If Leinil Francis Yu is able to keep up this schedule then you might see the best looking ongoing series Marvel has to date. So thanks to you Mr. Waid my wallet will be cursing you for losing more money. But at least the money is going to such an amazing series.