Hulk Visionaries – Peter David, Vol. 4 (Marvel) [collects #355-363, MCP #26, 45]
w. Peter David; a. Jeff Purves, et al.
| Writing |  | New reader? |  |
| Art | | Non-comics reader? |  |
Peter David’s run on The Incredible Hulk was … well, incredible, but this was probably at the low point of the series. It’s the latter part of the Gray Hulk days, in 1989, when, presumed dead, a Hulk regressed to his initial cranky gray thug form served as a leg-breaker in Vegas.
The stories here aren’t fabulous, as David struggled with a lot of second-string villains — and, worse, the clumsy-at-best, downright-ugly-at-worst art of Jeff Purves. The saving grace is David’s sense of irony, and his ability to take an unlikable character like the Gray Hulk and actually let us accept him as the protagonist, even feel sorry for him as things fall apart (or are torn apart) around him.
Loveless: Thicker Than Blackwater, Vol. 2 (DC) [collects #6-12]
w. Brian Azzarello; a. Marcelo Frusin, Danijel Zezelj, Werther Dell’Edera
| Writing |  | New reader? | |
| Art | | Non-comics reader? | |
Azzarello’s post-Civil War dark Western continues, as things in the burg of Blackwater continue to spiral downward, driven by cowardice, blood, vengeance and madness. Anyone who’s big into the HBO series Deadwood will probably enjoy this title.
That said, it’s not without some problems, most of which center on the art. It sets a nice mood, and is well-crafted for all of that. But it’s uniformly dark and murky, and you get a bunch of guys dressed in similar outfits, and it starts to get tough to recognize (or remember) who’s who — especially when Azzarello throws in brief flashback after brief flashback, people change between uniforms and civies and disguises, and there’s lots of quick, sharp action. Throw in changing artists on the title, and it gets more complicated.
I need to go back and reread this and the preceding volume back to back, to see if that helps.
(listening to: Carroll, Pat, “Little Mermaid – Poor Unfortunate Souls” from Disney’s Greatest Vol. 3)
(listening to: Fitzgerald, Ella, “Bewitched” from Rodgers & Hart Songbooks, Vol 2 – My Funny Valentine)
(listening to: “Warlord Theme” from Unreal)
(listening to: Bach “Air in D, BWV 1068,2” from Treasury of Baroque)
(listening to: Enya, “How Can I Keep from Singing?” from Shepherd Moons)