Oh, dear, what have I got myself into here. Thanos Vs. Hulk is not only a book that shouldn’t exist, but a series that could possibly render everything that Infinity War film is trying to build in the future moot. But don’t think that that is my only gripe as a big fan of the movie universe as Thanos Vs. Hulk #1 falls flat for me in both writing and art.
First impressions can often make or break a book when on the shelves, be that at a store or online. The idea of having the mad titan Thanos duking it out with the Hulk on the books cover sounds good on paper, but its in the execution where the idea falls apart. Instead of seeing two massive monsters manhandling each other, it comes off looking like two midget’s, shoulder to shoulder, about to take a buddy picture together. Size and proportions are not something at play here, and unfortunately it doesn’t get much better inside.
The story revolves around Bruce Banner/The Hulk taking a vacation after being pretty stressed out from the workload S.H.I.E.L.D. has placed upon him. Iron Man finds out about this… because he does and demands answers from Hill. Considering Tony is one of Marvel’s smartest characters you’d think he’d realize giving Banner a vacation now and then would be a healthy idea.
As you can imagine things go butts up in a hurry and we see Banner transported off planet by the former X-Factor member PIP The Troll who THIS ENTIRE STORY revolves around. More than once I felt like I was ready PIP The Troll #1 because of how large a presence he plays. The writing throughout is pretty standard, but it moves at a blistering pace with PIP jumping all over the galaxy doing stuff. More than anything his teleportation just seems to be a way to throw in as many cameos as they could fit in for fans.
For a book involving two of Marvel’s biggest strong guys, you’d at least hope for a punch to be thrown, but all we get is Hulk getting mad for a little bit and then passing out. Thanos on the other hand just gets angry and plays on his computer for a majority of the story. It’s a shame that nothing really happens here, especially with such an intense looking cover of the two, but the most action and character development comes from PIP The Troll. I’m not kidding when I say that the most intense thing to happen in the book is PIP sticking Banner in the neck with a needle.
Art in the book is inconsistent with even itself throughout. Many segments look just fine, but more often than not, I found characters looking really odd. Eyes looking cross, misshapen body parts, characters not looking at who they are talking to. It all just comes off as a little bit lazy to me. There are moments that are quite nice, but it feels like this book was either rushed, or just wasn’t handled with the greatest of care.
A series like this has a lot of potential when it comes to Thanos and Hulk throwing down while cities crumble around them, but instead it looks and feels like a book that should have come out sometime in the ’90s. I know Jim Starlin is coming back to Thanos (a character he created), but sometimes the past should better be left there as nostalgia is a dangerous thing. As someone who isn’t familiar with his prior work I can only judge this book as it stands, and because of that I can’t recommend it, even if that makes me the odd man out with this review.
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