Marvel Comics – April 2009 – $3.99 – 32pgs – Color
Writer: Jeph Loeb – Artist: Ed McGuinness
Synopsis: Hulk’s Defenders have been matched up against Red Hulk’s Offenders in four 1 vs 1 match ups. Each one of them is in an environment unfamiliar to themselves to make the battles more challenging and thus more entertaining to the Grandmaster and his brother The Collector. As the issue pans through the various battles it becomes apparent to the Grandmaster that each fighter is too evenly matched, so it is decided that more challenging elements must be added to shake things up. So, Galactus, Psycho Man, and Dormammu are added to the fights between Red and Green Hulk’s teammates, and Red Hulk stabs Green Hulk through with a trident.
Review: Ugh. I have been getting the feeling this latest story arc was intended for the 10 and under crowd! I was pulled into this series initially because of the Red Hulk and the whole mystery of who he really is. Now, it appears Marvel is just using filler to make money off of us poor saps who want to know! I would say the cheap dialogue and seemingly pointless nature of the story almost remind me of a Pro Wrestling match, except that the artwork and fight scenes were pretty nice. I enjoyed the retro looking Psycho Man with his giant honky controller, and I’ll give points for having someone impaled with a trident.
Cover: 8 (average) – Art: 8.5 – Story: 5 – Writing: 6
Average: 6.9
