Waid (w) and Yu and Alanguilan (a) and Gho (c)
Even though it's something I write about every time I write a review for an issue of Indestructible Hulk, I find myself surprised by the focus of this series with every new release. Like I talked about yesterday with Captain America's Steve Rogers-centric book, Waid is writing a Bruce Banner-centric Hulk book and it's working. Frankly, no one writes a successful Steve Rogers or Bruce Banner book because we're not reading these comics to hear about morally unambiguous people and genius scientists. We're typically here for super-soldiers and unstoppable monsters. However, when we're given books about Steve Rogers and about Bruce Banner by good writers with good artists, I'm one hundred percent sold. Bruce Banner, for possibly the first time in my experience with the character, is an interesting person. Sure you still can't really help but wait until Hulk shows up to punch whatever he's aimed at, but it never feels like wading through (WAIDING through, more like, haaaaaaa) interminable grounds to get there. I've felt genuinely interested in what Banner has been up to this whole series and that's a place I'm not sure I ever expected to end up but it's a place I'm glad to be. As I've said time and time again, I'm a guy who likes character. Sure I like plenty of the stories but, at the end of the day, a good character can compel me to read a bad story in a way a good story can't compel me care about a bad character.Waid is making Banner a good character. I'm not just rooting for Hulk to punch something in this book or for Hulk to go sulk somewhere about how he's never left alone; I'm rooting for Banner to make something good come out of his relationship with Hulk. I'm rooting for Hulk to work alongside Banner. There's also something going on in the background. Banner has forced this team up with the Hulk so that he can get SHIELD support with his scientific aspirations. He has recruited several suspicious characters to assist him in his lab. He came away from this issue with a Lemurian scroll that contains the formula Attuma's magicians used to create a universal solvent, a liquid that can eat anything. Banner's up to something and the pieces seem to still be a ways off from fitting into place. Next issue sees a team-up of Waid and Walt Simonson for a Hulk and Thor arc. Bound to be exciting.
Nova 2
Loeb (w) and McGuinness and Vines (a) and Gracia (c)
Okay, so maybe a little more boilerplate than I would have hoped but I suppose I'd be complaining if Nova 2 had done anything different too so we appear to be at a stalemate here. Sam, last issue, awoke in a hospital bed faced with Gamora, Rocket Raccoon and the idea that maybe all of his father's stories were true. At the start of this issue, they present him with the Nova helmet before he freaks out and provokes Rocket to attack and Sam runs out of the room to get help and when they go back to the room, Gamora and Rocket are gone. Sam eventually puts the Nova helmet on and gets the full armor and flies a bit after hearing a short message from his father. The message is of the "if you're hearing this message..." variety. Sam panics again and goes home, but eventually puts the armor on again and flies to the moon, where he runs into the Watcher as the issue ends.
Like I said, I probably would have been annoyed if this book hadn't gone through the whole "you are the Chosen One, meet your destiny" kind of steps. They feel worn and tired but they're there because they work. In theory, it's what everyone would go through upon learning that they were the one meant for this life, that the armor was coded to their specific DNA and no one else could use it. You can't typically skip that part because you have to see our reluctant hero realize that he's in this position and begin to embrace this fate. Likely he'll push it away again at some point, citing that he never asked for it, but we'll get to that when we get to it. So yes, you know this story already. Hopefully whatever comes next is a bit more of a surprise.
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