Publishers: Marvel Comics
Writer: Greg Pak
Artist: Frank Cho
Colourist: Sonia Oback
Editor: Mark Paniccia
Release Date: OUT NOW!
Price: $3.99

Below The Totally Awesome Hulk #4’s humour and action is a layer of psychological tension that never lets go. On the surface, the fun story is never silly or dumb and is cousin indeed to John Byrne’s whimsical She-Hulk. New Hulk boy genius Amadeus Cho is still trying to understand his power while fighting Lady Hellbender and a company of monsters.

Along the way in The Totally Awesome Hulk #4, we get to see how Cho appropriated Bruce Banner’s alter ego. Since then Cho’s sister Maddy has been warning him to control the Hulk personality lest it overwhelm him. Both siblings understand that Amadeus must achieve a balance within the classic Hobbesian dialectic of civilized man versus barbarian. “You keep saying you’re a different kind of Hulk,” says She-Hulk. “Prove it.”

In The Totally Awesome Hulk #4, Cho thinks he has reached psychological enlightenment. “Did you not just see all that brained-based day-saving that just happened here?” he asks Maddy. But is the Hulk a force that can so easily be contained? This tension is constant, and the theme carries forward.

Frank Cho’s art in The Totally Awesome Hulk #4 is beautiful as usual, and easily lends itself to the overall light-hearted story’s nature. Sonia Oback’s colouring adds dimension to the visuals.

Making The Totally Awesome Hulk #4 series a humour adventure is an interesting choice. But Greg Pak, writer of the very serious Planet Hulk, manages not to insult the Hulk’s legacy while still exploring a new direction. No small feat that, and worth reading.

 

Reviewer: Joe Lovece
Reviews Editor: Steve Hooker