HULK #1

  

   I can't even remember the last time I was really excited to read a new superhero comic from the big two. Marvel and DC have been pretty forgettable lately for various reasons, but when I heard that writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Ottley were going to be the new team for The Incredible Hulk, I couldn't wait to read it. Cates is Marvel's best writer these days. Not everything he writes is solid gold or anything (his Venom started great and ran out of steam, his Thor run is dull), but he's very creative. With Venom, he literally created an entire new mythology around the character and really reignited a pointless book. Plus, Ryan Ottley is one of my favorite artists ever since he worked on Invincible. Ottley's art just screams superhero. I'm still baffled why he mysteriously left The Amazing Spider-Man and hasn't been drawing anything for the last year. But here's two creators I love with a new #1. So...of course Hulk #1 is kind of a letdown. Maybe, just maybe, I'm not really a Hulk fan. After all, Cates' and Ottley's Hulk #1 comes right after the 50 issue run of The Immortal Hulk that Al Ewing wrote. A ton of people online mentioned multiple times how Ewing's run was one of, if not the, best Hulk runs in history. I tried reading it twice and didn't think it was very good...so maybe I just don't give two shits about the Hulk. I'm not entirely sure if Cates has continued things from Ewing's run or not...but the basic premise is that Bruce Banner is evil and can now control the Hulk from his mind. Banner defeats Tony Stark and takes over a base that Stark had. Everything else is a bit confusing. I will say that Cates is as creative as ever with this book, and that's one of the reasons I usually enjoy is writing. Obviously, we'll have to get further into this run to see what it's going to be about and if it gets better or worse. And while I love Ottley's art...I'm not entirely sure putting him on a Hulk book was the best idea. Ottley's art is more cartoony than anything, so his serious, brutal, powerful Hulk looks a bit less menacing than it's supposed to since the book looks like a cartoon. The color in the book is also not as vibrant as it should be (Frank Martin did the colors). I really hate being so excited about a new book and then being letdown. Maybe I should have reviewed What's The Furthest Place From Here? #1 from Image, which I just read and is a 4 star masterpiece. Oh, well. **