Red She-Hulk #61 Review

Too often it seems as though superhero comics can offer big, grandiose ideas and epic action, or they can offer intimate character moments and strong dynamics, but not both with any degree of regularity. With Red She-Hulk, Jeff Parker is effortlessly proving that you don't have to choose between one or the other. What was always a cerebral, character-centric Hulk book has become even more so since the recent rebranding.

Parker brings his first arc full circle and answers a number of lingering questions in the process. The early pages chronicle the battle between a completely Hulked-out Betty and General Fortean's troops. But following this clash, the focus shifts to the growing bond between Machine Man and Betty and an exploration of what led to her single-minded crusade against Fortean's Echelon program. It's always fun to see a Hulk smash things, but the more subtle interaction between the two heroes is the more engaging part of the books. By this point, readers can fully understand where Betty is coming from and why she's been behaving so questionably of late.

Parker's use of Nikola Tesla and material from Jonathan Hickman's S.H.I.E.L.D. series is also a welcome bonus. At this point there's no telling when Hickman's book will actually finish shipping. It's a testament to the strength of his material, though, that it has such wide-ranging impact on other titles and can so enrich characters as seemingly unconnected as Red She-Hulk and Machine Man.

Once again, the art duties are divided between Carlo Pagulayan and Wellinton Alves. This issue is perhaps the most successful yet in terms of blending the two and making it difficult to discern which artist rendered which pages. I always considered Pagulayan's strengths to lie more with action and general character design, but he shows a real flair here for emotion and facial work. Alves' work sometimes suffers from a slightly hazy quality, but it too offers some strong storytelling.

Parker's Hulk work has never enjoyed the attention it truly deserves. With the series actually improving in the shift to Red She-Hulk, it's more deserving of your love and money than ever.

Jesse is a writer for various IGN channels. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter, or Kicksplode on MyIGN.

Source : ign[dot]com