Marvel NOW First Impression: Red She-Hulk #58

FIRST  IMPRESSION


MARVEL NOW


RED SHE-HULK #58
Written by Jeff Parker
Art by Wellington Alves, Carlo Pagulayan & Val Staples
 Marvel Comics


 INTRODUCTION:

         Over the course of the last decade, creators have worked hard to change the Hulk and help him sell better by changing things up ... to make him and his cousin Jennifer, no longer the only Hulks around. Hulk found himself to be surrounded by a new Hulk family: a son and daughter who were both Hulks, his close friend Rick Jones who became A Bomb but more significantly, his former father in law becoming the Red Hulk and his thought to be dead wife Betty, was changed into the Red She Hulk.

  Betty, as we came to find, was quite okay with becoming a Hulk. She actually finds it invigorating. Betty had embraced herself as the Red she Hulk and decided to be adventurous.Since then, she's been estranged with Bruce, was recently a Defender and just became the star of the Hulk book, written by Jeff Parker. He has decided that it is Betty's time to shine as part of the new Marvel NOW intitiative. So, let's find out what happens.


FLIPPING THROUGH:

  We are treated to the military having their own set of super soldiers who will follow orders and be government agents. During the test in a restricted, government location, Red She-Hulk thought it was time to have some fun and crash the test. She wanted information on this program called Echelon.

 We soon come to find out 2 things: 1- General Fortean wants to capture her, even asking Captain America for info. 2 - REd She-Hulk wants to take down Echelon and she is getting all the intel she can on them to do so.

  Her investigation brings her to a lab in Arlington , VA where she stops a doctor from being raped by one of Echelon's guinea pigs ... VIOLENTLY.


ART:

    Pagulayan and Alves do a stunning job with this first issue of Red She-Hulk. Betty looked smart, beautiful while her Red She-Hulk persona seems to be fun . . . and dangerous. Everyone had a great, distinct look. Emotion was easily conveyed. The panels were fun and full of kinetic action.

     Staples colors were amazing. They really helped the characters jump out, look distinct and complemented the art of both artists extremely well. Kudos to the art team with a good, strong showing.


WRITING:

    Parker gives us a strong impression with this first issue. There is a lot of mystery in the air with this first issue of Red She-Hulk. Echelon and General Fortean are being built up to a big threat to the heroes and villains at large.Parker definitely leave us with a strong impression that Betty is not playing around with her new mission to take down Echelon ... especially considering how the soldiers are getting their powers.

   You get the feeling that Betty is not going to stop till she takes down Echelon and that Fortean could end up like her father was towards Bruce before her. Yet, there is only one misstep with this issue was good set up to mysteries and the threat that Echelon will be but for Betty ... it kept her a mystery. And while that can be somewhat good, it made me feel like we are watching Betty more than getting to know her. And she is gonna be the star of this book but we got Red She-Hulk smashing with little reasons behind her own motivations.

  That seemed to be what bothered me but otherwise and great job by Parker cause it definitely makes readers wanting more.


OVERALL IMPRESSION:

   Red She-Hulk #58 is a good jump on point. We get a dynamic new star with a strong mission and the determination to see it through. We get interesting and appealing new villains to work with. The art is superb.  A feast for the eyes and fits the book. There is tension, there is mystery and a lot of things get smashed. The whys have not been revealed but this does help set up an exciting start to Betty's adventures.


I give Red She-Hulk #58 a 4 out of 5. It was good. It made me want more but us getting to know our star a lil more would have been good for a jump on point. Otherwise, a strong read. 

NEWS EDITION # 28 - THUNDERBOLTS GO DARK, INFINITE HORIZON & STEVE NILES CHANGES HOW COMICS ARE DISTRIBUTED

Welcome to the News Edition #28 for the week of March 21st, 2012. We got some news from Wondercon. Are you ready?


THUNDERBOLTS GIVE WAY TO DARK AVENGERS 

by Frankie Rodriguez 

  It seems that the Thunderbolts have been given a bad wrap. Sure they started out as villains disguised as heroes and since then have become people who seek redemption .. . well, most of them. Yet now, it seems that the Thunderbolts are coming to an end ... again. But they are NOT getting cancelled? Oh no. They aren't getting cancelled , they are merely getting replaced.

   The majority of the brand new Dark Avengers introduced in the current storyline from New Avengers (Trickshot, Skaar, Ragnarok, Dark Spiderman & Dark Scarlet Witch) are all taking over the title, being renamed Dark Avengers as of issue #175. Writer Jeff Parker & artists Declan Shalvey and Kev Walker will remain as the title switches over.

  Another part remaining in the Dark  Avengers is Luke Cage, who will be overseeing the Dark Avengers like he did the Thunderbolts .. . yet this time, it is a bit more personal.

Jeff Parker added:

The overseers of Thunderbolts obviously knew who they were picking when they recruited the Dark Avengers for this upcoming mission, it's not some random choice that happened to be the last people on Earth Luke would want to see again. And Luke isn't into being manipulated like that, so he's staying on.

Dark Avengers #175 will be the new jump on point for the boo this June.


IMAGE COLLECTS AN INFINITE HORIZON


From Image Comics Website






The completion of Gerry Duggan's and Phil Noto's Odyssey-inspired THE INFINITE HORIZON hasn't taken quite as long as Odysseus's journey home, but the nearly five years since the publication of the first issue of the Image Comics series to the April publication of the 186-page trade paperback collection (FEB120448) have been a saga of their own.


"When Phil and I began the comic in 2007 we tried to imagine scenarios that would make make a soldier's ten-year journey home believable," said writer Duggan. "I hope we made some interesting choices about the loss of technology and a crippling energy crisis, but I know we did a pretty good job of imagining a world that's pulling itself apart. We could not have imagined the Arab Spring, but the fractured world of The Infinite Horizon seems much less fantastic just five years later."


THE INFINITE HORIZON takes place in the not-too-distant future, with a small group of abandoned soldiers being led home by one man: The Captain. To get back, he’ll have to cross half the globe and endure deadly encounters with mythic enemies.


The Captain escapes shipwrecks, beats a vicious opponent wearing a cycloptic combat armor...and resists the siren's call of a predatory society, all while encountering everywhere dying breaths of a great and horrible war. Artist Noto depicts the horrors of war and The Captain's long trek home with an understated palette, the violence taking on a haunting quality as The Captain sacrifices more and more of himself to return home.


Duggan found his inspiration both in Homer's 2700-year-old epic and current events in global conflict. "In the years following the 9/11 attacks I re-examined the poem and found it to be very fresh and relevant to our society," he said. "We're now living in a state of almost perpetual war. Contractors and drones will probably remain behind long after combat troops are withdrawn. The burden of these conflicts are not shared. Military families shoulder the load, and I have doubts about whether or not they are adequately supported for their service and sacrifice."


THE INFINITE HORIZON is a full-color, 186-page trade paperback for $17.99. It collects issues #1-6 of the series, as well as bonus material from Phil Noto


NILES & EPITAPH RECORDS TO DISTRIBUTE INDY COMICS

From CBR & Digital Spy

Steve Niles and Matt Pizzolo are teaming up with Epitaph Records to distribute indie comics.

The creators, who will join forces with the punk rock label to support the creator-owned scene, announced the new venture at WonderCon over the weekend.

"We teamed up as like-minded people who both came from music backgrounds. So we went and met with Epitaph Records and their subsidiary King's Road Merchandise," Niles told CBR . 

"We are talking to them now about comics we will produce, a special line of comics yet to be named by the studio, that will be distributed through Epitaph."

Niles, who is best known as the writer of 30 Days of Night, said that he also struck up the deal because the entire comics industry is dependent on the success of Diamond Comic Distributors.

"We only have one distributor - one distributor that at any moment for any reason could go under. If they're strong now, great. If they're weak now - it doesn't matter. We have one distributor holding up our entire industry. I found it really scary," he explained.

Niles, Pizzolo and Epitaph are expected to finalize the deal soon.




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