Comic Review – “Incredible Hulk: Nightmerica #1”

Although this issue doesn’t go on sale for almost three weeks, I managed to get a free copy at a local grocery store with the purchase of two Kraft products that have the Hulk on them. (In my case, it was a bag of chocolate creme Oreos and Jell-O Instant vanilla pudding, which will change colour to green.) I don’t know how widespread this promotion is.

General Information

Title: The Incredible Hulk: Nightmerica #1
Author: Robin Laws
Illustrator(s): painted by Brian Ashmore
Original Publication Date: June 25, 2003 (free Kraft edition available
now)
Cover Price: Free

Premise

Banner meets a fellow fugitive, and the people chasing her decide to
go after both of them.

High Point

“I was thinking – you need the services of an experienced fugitive.”

Low Point

The painted panels look great, but they seem to subdue some of the
action and disrupt the flow in those scenes.

The Scores

So far, the only original aspect of this (compared to other
Hulk stuff I’ve read) is the fact that Banner’s not travelling alone.
I give it 3 out of 6.

The artwork looks great in the individual panels. I like the
painted look, as it brings a quaint feel to the story, and just looks
like it’s in some area near a small town in backwoods U.S.A. I give
it 5 out of 6.

The story is solid for one part in six. You learn about the
relationship between Banner and the Hulk, you know that his secret
identity isn’t secret anymore, and you get to see some of the danger
and mystery that surrounds the new character. It’s a good opening to
the series, and just might convince me to pick up the inevitable trade
paperback. I give it 5 out of 6.



The characterization works fairly well. We’ve got three
central characters (counting Banner and the Hulk as two), and a couple
of lesser developed villain figures. Banner and the Hulk have a clear
relationship and distinct personalities, and Chrissie is easily
likeable if still one-dimensional. The villains are extremely
one-dimensional, but that’s not unexpected when they have less than a
single page. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was limited until the
last few pages. Up to that point, I hadn’t seen Hulk doing anything I
haven’t seen him doing before. Then, Banner surprised me. That’s
worth 3 out of 6.

The flow during conversations is good, but it’s just terrible
during the action sequences. It doesn’t look like action, it looks
like a sequence of stills. I give it 2 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a decent issue, well worth the price. If
you’re out grocery shopping sometime soon, keep an eye out for it.
Hulk fans can look for the normal issue to go on sale on June 25. I
give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Hulk: Nightmerica #1 receives 26 out of 42.

2 replies on “Comic Review – “Incredible Hulk: Nightmerica #1””

  1. After all these years

    Banner meets a fellow fugitive, and the people chasing her decide to go after both of them.

    Why doesn’t the Hulk just kill them? I’ll bet he’s quakin’ in his boots.

    Anyhoo, I haven’t read a hulk comic in years. Over the past few months I’ve quickscanned the Hulk issues currently out, and there haven’t been too many fights. Are there any decent fights in this one?

    • Re: After all these years

      Why doesn’t the Hulk just kill them? I’ll bet he’s quakin’ in his boots.

      Anyhoo, I haven’t read a hulk comic in years. Over the past few
      months I’ve quickscanned the Hulk issues currently out, and there
      haven’t been too many fights. Are there any decent fights in this one?

      To answer the “why doesn’t he just kill them?” question first: he
      recognized that the fugitive is no threat to him, and doesn’t want to hurt
      him, so he just walks away. As for the fights, there are two short ones.
      The first was decent, but the second was unimpressive.

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