Indestructible Hulk #1

The wait is over!  Mark Waid and Leinil Yu's Indestructible Hulk has smashed its way into stores a week late, but was all the hype worth it?  The answer is a most definite yes.

Indestructible Hulk sets up a new reality for our favorite green, Jungian monster.  During a My Dinner with Andre-esque conversation in an Alabama diner, Maria Hill and Dr. Banner clue us in on the future of the series.  Banner is sick and tired of being known as a dumb brute and is determined to show the Pyms, Starks, and Richards of the world what a genius is capable of.  This scene - entirely devoid of Hulk action - could have been filled with blocks of tedious expository text, but Mark Waid is better than that.  He manages to convey Maria Hill's tension (the ticking clock theme is brilliant) and Banner's pride, exhuberance, and controlled anger through natural dialogue, while also showing us what direction he plans to take with the Hulk.  The ideas introduced here show the very real possibilty that we're looking at the start of a classic run.

Leinil Francis Yu holds his end on the art side.  At times it seems like he's trying a bit TOO hard, though.  Primarily during the scenes in the diner, Yu has people popping out of panels awkwardly and using an abundance of lines everywhere (expecially Banner's face).  It's a small complaint, really, and when Hulk gets his chance to shine in his "audition" for S.H.I.E.L.D., his work really blows you away.  The attention to detail and almost show-offy range of technique in these action sequences are exactly what Hulk fans have been waiting for.  The most notable thing here is Yu stresses that Hulk is FAST.  He's not the Flash, but this is certainly not the lumbering Ferrigno character.  Sketches at the end of the issue showing an armored Hulk design show more evolutions of Hulk action to come.

The future of the Hulk is bright!  Judging from this introductory issue, Waid's run on Hulk could concievably eclipse his great runs on Flash, Irredeemable, and Daredevil.  Already teased is Hulk vs. Iron Man in issue 2 and further battles with villains across the Marvel Universe, as well as intellectual duals between Marvel's genius's are sure to keep the title interesting.  Although things seem to point towards the series being filled with self-contained story's from one issue to the next (a true rarity these days), look for bigger story arcs to emerge soon.  For now, add this to the other spectacular Marvel NOW! debuts like Thor: God of Thunder and Fantastic Four and I'll see you at issue 2.