CREDIT: Marvel
Rating: 3/5 – A Funeral for Yet Another “Dead” Marvel Hero.
By ComicSpectrum senior reviewer Shawn Hoklas.
It was recently announced that, like the first Civil War event, the concluding chapters of Civil War II have also been delayed. Also, like Secret Wars from last year there will now be an additional issue added to the series, which will add to the total dollars spent to read the event. In my review of the zero issue of Civil War as well as my review of The Accused one-shot, I mentioned that the pricing structure for these books is on the high side. The Fallen is no exception. You get thirty pages, but you’ll pay five bucks for it. So is it worth it? Definitely not, in my opinion.
The Hulk was killed by Clint Barton, A.K.A. Hawkeye, who has since been acquitted. Now the Stark-side heroes are attending Bruce Banner’s funeral. Familiar Hulk scribe Greg Pak writes this one-shot where heroes like Tony Stark, Ben Grimm and the characters from Planet Hulk pay their respects, while a group of protestors look on and shout their displeasure for a character who has caused so much damage and destruction. There are a couple of touching moments, but for a long time reader who has seen the funerals of Steve Rogers, Superman, and more, those moments read and play out like so many issues I’ve seen before. Since I know that it’s only a matter of time before Bruce Banner returns, the skeptic in me couldn’t align with the sad feelings these characters display.
After the funeral we see how Bruce Banner’s will affects those closest to him, but part of me wondered why some of the gifts weren’t given prior to his death. For example, Banner gifts to his friends from Planet Hulk reverse engineering plans for a ship that’s capable of getting them off earth to find a new home. Why didn’t he just give it to them during, or immediately after finishing them? For me, it was also a little close to the story of Professor X’s “will reading” storyline from just last year and it made me wonder if we’ll also be reading about James Rhode’s (War Machine) funeral soon too?
The whole funeral and will reading scene didn’t connect with me and it’d be more than fair to say it’s because I’ve read so many issues similar to this one. For the price, I was expecting something more and/or something different. Also, while the cover by Leinil Yu does a fantastic job of conveying Hulk’s “death”, the internal pencils by Mark Bagley seem like an odd choice for a story like this, since they cannot help but feel clean and upbeat. I enjoy Bagley’s art and style, but it clashes so much with the cover and it failed to capture that same dark tone I saw when first picking this issue up. If you want to attend the Hulk’s funeral, then this may be a solid read for you. For me, it just missed the mark on so many levels and has me questioning my continued investment into these Civil War II tie-ins.
Reviewed by: Shawn Hoklas
(shawn@comicspectrum.com)
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