Ultimate Wolverine vs. Hulk (Marvel – Lindelof / Yu)
So, it’s finally here! When it first came out I loved this story, a bead-wearing Hulk in the Himalyas with a harem beats Mr. Fixit anyday. Francis Yu’s art was new and fresh, clearly he was trying his hardest to impress, and now pos-invasion we’re finally back! And it’s just not the same product.
I like the beads and the Panda and the Incredible Hamster, I like the plot points but none of the motivation makes sense and the dialogue is forced and contrived. I just cannot see any reason for Betty to take the serum to save the Hulk, Betty detests everything about the Banner and the Hulk. I’m just not seein’ it, and why would Nick Fury think Wolverine wouldn’t cooperate in the debriefing so that he need to be tortured? Why would Wolverine even bother to listen to the giant, advice-giving Panda? I know they drop the bomb at the end of issue 3, but I’m trying to recall what else happened in issue 3 at all. Nothing seems eventful. Just blah.
And it’s too bad, because Lindelof adds some nice moments and I like some of the quirkiness of his story telling and ideas. They fit into the Ultimate universe as does the Hulk Sex. It just wasn’t pulled off very well.
It’s the art is the most disappointing, though. Ya probably know I’m a stickler for INKING your damn books. Pencils just don’t cut it. I understand Yu is an A-List Artist, but I’m disappointed Marvel is giving Yu this much leash instead of getting a professional looking book out of this. I also found some of the sequences confusing. It took awhile to figure out what was going on in that big ol’ Panda Double Page Splash, and I’m pretty sure there was only one panel with a background per page. It’s just shoddy.
It’s disappointing because the book could have been so, so much better, that much is obvious, but it’s like no one cares. And you know what? I pretty much couldn’t care less either.
Story B-
Art C- (and you won’t see me say that about YU very often)
