'Hulkverines' #1 Review: Exactly What You'd Expect for Better or for Worse

With Weapon H, you have a little bit of the Incredible Hulk and a little bit of Wolverine. Hulkverines #1 takes the character created out of that combination and throws him into a comic with those he's based on, creating what is at the very least an entertaining comic book.

As I was reading through this book, I couldn't help but think of Phyllis Vance's "big personality" monologue from The Office. It's such an overdramatic line and unnecessary, you can't help but to chuckle at the situation.

In Hulkverines, you have three larger-than-life personas that clash on their personalities alone, never mind the raging testosterone and superpowers. You have Weapon H, the Hulk, and Wolverine each battling for their time to shine, and ultimately, things start to get mucky.

The thing is, Greg Pak likely knows the Hulk better than anyone in the Marvel stable today. (Even with Al Ewing putting in a redefining run.) In fact, Pak is probably one of the most knowledgeable writers to have ever touched the character.

But this doesn't feel like a Hulk book. Even then, it doesn't feel like a Wolverine book either. If anything, it seems like an annual to the Weapon H line, but if it's meant to be that, it falls short. The book struggles to find an identity throughout, and in the case of this ultra-short miniseries, it's nerve-wrecking to think how future issues will end up when the series is already a third over.

One of the bright points is the reintroduction of The Leader, one of the most conniving, sneaky little guys that's so easy to hate. Pak nails the villain's character right on the head, and, as expected, The Leader's somebody you want to try jumping into the comic book yourself to help take down.

Speaking of The Leader, that's where Ario Anindito's artwork really shines throughout the issue. While his artwork is consistently good throughout, it's kicked up a notch every time the scheming villain shows up on the page. Between the initial splash page that first shows The Leader to a panel a page or two later that practically allows you to feel The Leader's forehead veins pulsating off the page, Anindito's artwork in this book is sublime.

In a Hulk vs. Wolverine vs. Weapon H showdown, fans will expect top-notch artwork, and that's something the House of Ideas certainly delivers here.

At first glance, Weapon H seems like a character that was dreamt up in a Liefeldian fever dream in 1995, but Hulkverine manages to expand on the character's depth in satisfactory ways. At the end of the day, it's unlikely these three characters could sustain an ongoing series without becoming one-dimensional, so one has to applaud Marvel for deciding to make this as short as it is. At the very least, there will be enough "Hulk Smash" and "Snikt!" to go around for quite some time.

Published by Marvel Comics

On February 20, 2019

Written by Greg Pak

Art by Ario Anindito

Colors by Morry Hollowell with Andrew Crossley

Letters by Joe Caramagna