Hulk 31
Written by Jeff Parker
Penciled by Gabriel Hardman
Review by currentcomicguy
General Thunderbolt Ross spent the latter half of his military career hunting the Bruce Banner and his alter ego, the Hulk. After years of failure, a desperate Ross fakes his own death and becomes the Red Hulk in order to finally defeat his foe. Despite his new powers, Ross failed in defeating the Hulk. Ross is now under the direction of the former Captain America and now head of the U.S. security, Steve Rodgers.
This issue picks up right where Hulk 30.1 left off. The Red Hulk’s current position is rife with irony. Ross is now being hunted by his military understudy, General Fortean. Fortean’s hunt is for one purpose, revenge for the “death” of General Ross. Fortean is obsessed with destroying the Red Hulk as Ross was the Hulk. The issue also introduces a new villian, Zero/One. Zeor/One is a scientist that was infected by one of M.O.D.O.K and the Leader’s Scorched Earth scenarios. She describes herself as “human and machine, and neither.” Her goal is to rebuild and use the Red Hulk for her own purposes.
I enjoyed Hardman’s first issue as penciler, especially the panel structure during the action scenes. I’ve been on the fence with the Red Hulk’s story every since the conclusion of the “Fall of Hulks” because I didn’t really see any direction. This issue; however, gives me faith about the future of this book. With the introduction of a new villain, the irony surrounding Ross being hunted by the military, and the reminder that the Watcher’s revenge is coming on the last page, Parker shows that he is willing to create new characters and villains for the Red Hulk to deal with. Kudos to Parker for that.