Hulkverines! #1 // Review
Weapon H (aka Clayton Cortez) returns in a new three issue mini-series. Spinning right out of his 12 issue series that featured Roxxon, Weirdworld, and Morgan leFay, the fan-named Hulkverine now returns to face off against Wolverine and Hulk to see who the real monster is. Amusingly, Marvel seems to have gone the route of self-parody, calling this mini-series Hulkverines!
Written once more by Greg Pak, Ario Aninoito provides the art. Colorists Morry Hollowell and Andrew Crossley join in on the artwork, while Joe Caramagna letters the pages.
Escaped from the grasp of Roxxon, Clay and his wife Sonia have decided to live a normal life. Two kids returned from Grandma’s, playtime at the park, eating at the local diner, and video games abound. Except for when the Hulk comes knocking. While the Hulk faces off with his knockoff, the Leader also has his plans in motion to make sure the Hulk doesn’t come out of this alive.
Greg Pak and Ario Aninoito have found this lovely line to straddle between serious and absurd with Hulkverines!. Clay’s idyllic life is contrasted with both the Leader’s darkly comic escape from his prison and Bruce Banner’s slow approach by public transit, an effect that actually helps Clay’s life feel somewhat normal. When the crap finally hits the fan, the Immortal Hulk feels in character with Al Ewing’s take on the character. Also fun, the kids know that Clay is the Hulkverine. There’s no need to keep his identity secret, and the kids absolutely love that their dad is a superhero. When families normally don’t exist for superheroes, it’s remarkably refreshing.
Ario Aninoito’s art is also enjoyable as well. Combat between Hulks is a delight. Visceral and fierce, Marvel’s overabundance of Gamma-Powered powerhouses still doesn’t quite make this spectacle any less awesome. Going with the absurd side of things, the Leader also looks suitably creepy, and the Immortal Hulk actually looks great in Aninoito’s style. In all, it's a book that is unapologetically goofy in the art, and it doesn’t care one bit.
Hulkverines! Is a book where you pretty much get what’s on the box: Hulk, Wolverine, and their combined knockoff coming to blows in a traditional Marvel Misunderstanding for the ages. While it’s not going to win any major awards, Hulkverines! is an absolutely delightful romp with dark humor and gamma-powered action. If you’ve got some spare change this week, think about picking it up.
