Customer Reviews

Incredible Hulk Vol. 2: Boiling Point

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This trade collects The Incredible Hulk Vol II issues 40-43. Bruce Jones, who I believe is a horror novelist, takes the Hulk and makes it an interesting fugitive story again. . This is the second story arc done by Bruce Jones. Bruce Banner is on the run framed for the murder of a boy named Ricky Meyer. He stops by a convenience store in a small mountain town. A crazed gunman takes the store hostage, and a disgraced Denver SWAT negotiator is on the scene to talk him down. FBI Special Agent Pratt shows up to take over the situation, but is he really in the FBI or part of a secret organization determined to hunt down the Hulk? Story has desperate people, redemption, and many references to the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner. I hope this collection includes the covers done by Kaare Andrews which were awesome. Oh and teh art is done by Lee Weeks, not by JR Jr.

Only a bare shade less awesome than its predecessor "Return Of The Monster" means "Incredible Hulk: Boiling Point" is still one of the best story arcs in the Hulk's decades-long history. An armed holdup at a convenience store goes Very badly for everyone involved - including a police negotiator living down the disgrace of botching a bank robbery negotiation that saw a little girl hostage get killed - when one of the customers inside the store is Bruce Banner, stil on the run and still on the quest he was set on at the end of the Return Of The Monster trade paperback. The twist is, with shots fired, Banner doesn't just turn into the Hulk and crush whoever he wants to like a hollow eggshell; with hostages, a wounded cop, a squad of police outside ready to storm the building, and a maniacal hostage-taker, that would be too many variables to insure that innocents don't die; especially considering that nowadays Bruce's control over the savage Hulk is tenuous at the best of times. Added to that, he of course can't simply choose not to transform, he has to control his own emotions and nerves very, very carefully in this volatile situation before any jarring of an adrenaline rush chooses the Hulk transformation for him.

Making matters worse still, the mysterious organization pursuing the Hulk from previous issues on the scene, posing as law enforcement themselves, hoping to force the transformation, and willing to kill as many innocents as needed to push Banner over the edge.

Reprints #s 40-43 of the current Incredible Hulk ongoing, with the final page of # 41 in particular one of the most dramatic and chilling scenes in comics history.

The story in this book is very well written and the art is done great. The story moves pretty fast and this story can be easily completed in one sitting. The Hulk is seen a decent amount of times while the story itself still helps evolve the character of Bruce Banner. I reccomend this book for anyone that's a fan of the Hulk.

Trapped in a hostage situation with more going on that is readily apparent, Bruce Banner tries to defuse a situation without losing his cool. Great writing by Bruce Jones, and fantastic art by Lee Weeks.

one problem. I couldn't put this book down. Lee Weeks is a great story teller; his pencils add the right mood to bruce jones' horror / road adventure script. great comix. try the one before this too.

The cover gallery alone makes this short (and I do mean SHORT) volume worth the purchase. Although not all of the covers really fit thematically with Bruce Jones' story, they are entertaining and enthralling in their own right.

Now to the story...Bruce Jones continues his run on the Hulk with a continuation of his idea of Bruce Banner on the run. This is, of course, nothing new for the Hulk (or for any serialized entertainment, for that matter - see The Fugitive). The television series was essentially the same idea and John Byrne tried to write something similar when he (VERY unsuccessfully)wrote Hulk stories several years back. In spite of their familiarity, however, Jones imbues his plots with something new and fresh. Certainly his bent toward the horrific helps, as Hulk moved far away from this notion during the terrific (but decidedly super-heroic) Peter David days. It also helps that Jones creates in Banner a sort of Everyman character - one who says little but feels much.

The art does not live up to the same standard as the story. Lee Weeks is a fine penciller, but his work here is bland and banal. It does serve the story, but it does little else. Though many have gripes about John Romita Jr.'s style, I found myself greatly missing his take on these characters in the second story arc.

Bottom Line: The story and cover art is worth the price of admission. A great collection for fans and budding fans.

The Bruce Jones story line continues here. And it is just as good as in the previous volume. The story and art continue its level of quality and this one, like volume one, has some nice turns to it.

The cover gallery alone makes this short (and I do mean SHORT) volume worth the purchase. Although not all of the covers really fit thematically with Bruce Jones' story, they are entertaining and enthralling in their own right.

Now to the story...Bruce Jones continues his run on the Hulk with a continuation of his idea of Bruce Banner on the run. This is, of course, nothing new for the Hulk (or for any serialized entertainment, for that matter - see The Fugitive). The television series was essentially the same idea and John Byrne tried to write something similar when he (VERY unsuccessfully)wrote Hulk stories several years back. In spite of their familiarity, however, Jones imbues his plots with something new and fresh. Certainly his bent toward the horrific helps, as Hulk moved far away from this notion during the terrific (but decidedly super-heroic) Peter David days. It also helps that Jones creates in Banner a sort of Everyman character - one who says little but feels much.

The art does not live up to the same standard as the story. Lee Weeks is a fine penciller, but his work here is bland and banal. It does serve the story, but it does little else. Though many have gripes about John Romita Jr.'s style, I found myself greatly missing his take on these characters in the second story arc.

Bottom Line: The story and cover art is worth the price of admission. A great collection for fans and budding fans.

Carrying on from Volume 1, Jones shows us what he can do with his run on the Hulk which is judging by the accolades its recieving, quite phenomenal. Making Banner a fugitive with all hidden forces chasing him , and every concievable conspiracy hinted at for a secret organization wanting the Hulk's serum for clandestine uses, is working very well. However if someone were to pick up a single issue from Jones run and read it, they would be someone lost entirely in a veeeeery loooooooong story arc which is past 15 issues and counting....to the day I wrote this. it pays dividends to read Volume 1 and then come to this as all loose ends are tied up, and more is revealed.

The Art in this Volume is subpar , not comparable with Romita's use of fluidness and panel dynamics of using visual storytelling cinematically. It is the same style though but the actions appear rigid and its lost a bit of the style Romita brought to the Volume 1.

However as a continuing plotline and Story, this does not fail to impress at all. A must buy. with Vol 1 preceding this.