Review: THE INCREDIBLE HULK #8

THE INCREDIBLE HULK #8
Written by Jason Aaron
Art by Steve Dillon
Release Date: May 30, 2012

STAY ANGRY. What a pair of words for a book involving The Hulk. Jason Aaron is holding nothing back in this book, giving readers a Hulk like we expect. This Hulk is damn angry and he will smash whatever he has to in order to get the answers he wants. Aaron has taken this entire Hulk series in a way that few expected: Hulk attempting to rid himself of Banner is not something I ever expected to see, and even 8 issues in, there is so much mystery surrounding how the two are linked that I really feel like I have no choice but to keep reading. Even though Hulk is doing a LOT of smashing in this book, there is a cerebral thread that flows through it. This is not just a stupid action book. The script twists and turns when it is least expected and there are some absolutely bizarre things happening in this book that I never thought I’d see in a Hulk book (Pit Bull? Man Dogs? What the hell?).  Aaron is doing a great job with this series (and issue, in particular) with pacing and letting the mysteries unfold at the proper time. Nothing feels rushed, nor drawn out, and that is not an easy thing to do. As you can see on the cover this issue has a guest appearance by a character Aaron is no stranger to, but I applaud him for not making The Punisher take this book over. He’s really a silent guest star in this book and his character adds some great moments to issue #8.

On art detail, Steve Dillon is an immense upgrade over the village of artists that worked together to make the first arc of this series happen. Dillon’s art is a complete 180 compared to what has been seen on the title so far with extremely crisp lines and sharp definition throughout the book. I don’t know if it is the inking, the coloring, or perhaps the pencils themselves, but I did find at times the book looked like it had some bad CG art infiltrating the pages, but overall the art is such a huge upgrade over what it was that I can’t complain too much. I think Dillon does Hulk’s rage justice, and excels at the splash pages.

Overall, this issue of The Incredible Hulk is quite a bit better than the books from the past arc. Aaron’s writing has been strong for the entire series and continues to be, with the art finally taking steps to catch up with him.

Verdict: 7.5/10

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