I suppose it’s hard to write a decent Hulk story. As a big green
monster that’s always angry and strong and misunderstood, I suppose
it’s easy to fall into stereotypical, gimmicky writing (which is always
a constant thing to be weary of when writing any comic book). The other
and main Hulk title at the moment, Hulk – half green, half red, all
dumb – is a perfect example of this. Of course, the mainstream comic
audience has been eating up that tripe enough for one or two reprints
of the title. Stupid sells, I suppose.

Meanwhile, Greg Pak, who has done stellar work with Incredible Hulk and
Incredible Hercules, has been trying his best to develop the Hulk
mythos without deriving to hack writing and different color palettes.
Although it started out well enough, in sales and skills, it seems to
me that Pak’s spoil of war and fruit of Hulk’s loins, Skaar, may be
losing its grasp on people.

Frankly, I don’t blame people for being impatient with this book. We
are six issues in, and only now do things seem like they’re going
somewhere. Yes, there has been plenty of action between Skaar and
Axeman Bone – a name as awesome as it is facepalm-inducing – but there
has also been a substantial amount of talking. Much more than I
anticipated, anyway. While constant bloodshed and death may not be the
ideal for even a tale of barbarians and Axemen, at least keep things
exciting and intriguing. I don’t think that’s asking for much out of a
comic.

The writing isn’t the only thing holding this book back, though. The
art is just ever so boring. Two artists producing the quality of half
another is, simply, unacceptable. In a world of lava monsters and
bloody battles, the pencils and colors should be sharp and bold, making
me gasp and mutter “ho’ shit!” out loud. Instead, we get just pencils
and colors. Nothing special. Sometimes they don’t look anything better
than high school doodles. Skaar’s hair is so boring and drab, it almost
makes me want Greg goddamn Land on the book. (Actually, the artist of
the variant Leader cover, Francis Tsai, would be an excellent
replacement, and would only demand half the pay! A sound economic
choice, if you ask me.)

I want to continue holding Pak in a positive regard, as well as keep
interest in what happens on (Post-)Planet Hulk, but it has become more
and more difficult to do so with each issue of this. With an imminent
throwdown between Space Conan and Space Jesus, hopefully everything
will come together smashingly.