Weekly Round-Up 25/08/2012

BATMAN INCORPORATED #3

After the brief respite of Talia's origin last issue, we're back, knee-deep in Wayne family affairs. It's quickly revealed that Damian is alive and well, hiding out from his mother's Leviathan army in the safety of the Batcave. But as anyone who's known Damian for more than five minutes will tell you, he's not likely to stay there! The majority of this issue falls to long-time Batman alter-ego, Matches Malone. It's been a while since Bruce donned this disguise, so it's good to see him take the wannabe-mobster out of mothballs. He puts so much gusto into his performance, it's hard to believe Bruce isn't having just a smidge of fun in the role. However, when coming to the aid of a hassled club singer, he gets himself into more trouble than he bargained for. Ultimately, a fantastic read with fantastic art. Why aren't you reading this already? 9/10

SUPERMAN #12

Continuing the trend of the past year, the adventures of this New 52 Superman have been spotty at best. No true drive or overarching storyline, they're simply random fights against forgettable foes. This issue is no different, opening on Superman held captive by an aggressive alien race (who bare an uncanny resemblance to Predators) and he's unable to communicate with them. Little more actually happens, besides a bizarre B-plot that bookends the issue, with Lucy Lane wanting to go bungee jumping. These don't feel like essential Superman tales that someone has been waiting a lifetime to tell. If anything, it's pure filler material. No one will remember this issue, no one will quote it in the future, it exists purely to have a Superman series on the racks. 2/10

THE PUNISHER #14

As this volume of The Punisher enters the home stretch, the reasons behind the upcoming War Zone mini-series become a little clearer. This issue opens on Frank surrounded by discarded Marvel Universe tech. Iron Man's helmet, Cyclops' visor, Spider-Man's webshooter, one of Doc Ock's mechanical arms, etc. How could he not draw the Avengers' scorn amassing an armory like that. But until then, he still has plenty of mobsters left to kill. To this end, he and his protege set up a buy for pieces of said technology, in an otherwise impenetrable location. Little do the criminals know, that's exactly where Frank wants them! The evolution of Rachel Cole-Alves over the past 13 issues has been fantastic and this installment provides yet another important piece of the puzzle. It'll be a wonder if this character isn't a permanent addition to the Punisher status quo going forward. 8/10

BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: SPIKE #1

While the idea of a Spike solo mini-series is a no-brainer, this book is so steeped in recent continuity, it's sure to confuse alot of casual readers. To clarify, in a recent issue of Buffy Season 9, Spike decided he could no longer be Buffy's consolation prize, the dark place she runs to when things don't go her way. As such, our favourite English vampire has taken his spaceship (that's right, he has a spaceship now) and retreated to the dark side of the Moon for the purposes of excessive drinking and all-around moping. His insectoid crew don't take kindly to their captain's new melancholy attitude and verge on mutiny. While being a fun issue in and of itself, I can't help but feel the character is so far out of his (and our) comfort zone, the point of this series is entirely lost. Take William the Bloody back to Earth and have him carve out a niche where it really counts. 6/10

The Incredible Hulk #008 Review

In the story so far, the Hulk had force ably separated himself from long-time alter ego, Bruce Banner. The good doctor didn't take losing his better half well and became the quintessential mad scientist in the hopes of recapturing the raw power he had lost. This brought the two halves into direct conflict, climaxing in a catastrophic Gamma bomb explosion, seemingly killing puny Banner once and for all!

This issue begins a new arc titled "Stay Angry". If the name wasn't enough to hint at the series' new direction, it transpires that the Gamma bomb in question fused Banner and Hulk back into one body. But while past issues focussed on the struggle of Banner to control the monster inside, he has now become that very monster and the Hulk must fight to stay angry enough to keep the mad scientist from re-emerging.

Jason Aaron's take on the Hulk had failed to grab me thus far. While I admit the notion of Hulk fighting Banner physically instead of psychologically was an interesting one, seeing Banner devolve into such a vile twisted shell of his former self felt like a horrible misrepresentation of a once noble man. Especially at a time where everyone is flocking to the cinema to see a heroic Bruce Banner in The Avengers. The character was the breakout success of the summer and Marvel choose to capitalise on this by...making him the villain?

The issue begins (and ends) with Hulk waking up amidst one of Banner's nefarious schemes. The reader is dropped into the story with just as much information as the main character i.e. none. All we have to go on is that he's in a rancid Mexican motel room, surrounded by a gang of bizarre "man-dogs" and a suitcase lying on the bed containing two million dollars! As much as I didn't like the first arc of this series, this is definitely the preferable way to approach the evil Banner concept. Having your hero wake up and have to investigate his situation is a fantastic way to begin a story. However, the truly interesting aspect of the issue (and one assumes the ensuing arc) are the methods by which Hulk has to remain angry at all times or fall prey to the evil Doctor Banner's machinations. Ranging from being shot in the face to diving out of a moving truck, a lot of the set pieces read like a superhero version of Crank. Imagine a big green Jason Statham doing crazy stunts to keep his heart rate up and you can perfectly envision this story.

Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the reunion of writer Jason Aaron with former PunisherMAX artist Steve Dillon and (although a different incarnation) the Punisher himself. The cameo of Frank Castle was pretty damn gratuitous. He just happens to be hunting down the gang that Banner has been dealing with and takes advantage of the Hulk by having him run offence for a few local missions. I'm not even entirely sure there's closure on what the Punisher was doing. He's in the story one moment, gone the next. At it's heart, I think it was just an excuse for Aaron and Dillon to work together on the Punisher again. But even so, their reunion did create a few funny team-up moments between the two anti-heroes. Frank being oh so gracious as to shoot Hulk in the face a half dozen times is an image you're not likely to forget in a hurry.

Along with the recent issue 7.1 that came out a few weeks ago, Aaron is slowly drawing me in to his version of the Hulk. I'm beginning to think that the only reason I didn't like the opening six issues was the terrible art by Marc Silvestri. With both issues since he left, I've found an enjoyment that was lacking before. There's a certain whimsical absurdity to Aaron's writing that can only be captured in appropriately cartoonish art. As long as this arc can maintain a consistent style that complements the writing, I don't see why I can't stick around for the whole story.

8 out of 10