Comic Roundup: Hell Yeah, Evil Inc. and Indestructible Hulk

It’s Tuesday and everyone knows what that means: tomorrow is Wednesday! Oh, and a new Comic Roundup is now live and ready for you. This week I look at the return of Hell Yeah from Image, the new take on the Green Goliath in Indestructible Hulk and this week’s Philly Spotlight Comic, Brad Guigar’s Evil Inc.

Philly Spotlight Comic: Evil Inc. #10
By Brad Guigar

Philadelphia’s own Brad Guigar has been making webcomics for more than 10 years now, and odds are you have probably read at least a few Evil Inc. comics in your day. Aside from drawing some of the best looking comics on the web (for which he won a Philly Geek Award last year) he has also been on the cutting edge of the webcomics business model, constantly trying new ways to present Evil Inc. to his fans. And his latest idea could very well be a game changer.

See, what Guigar does is create a month’s worth of comics in advance and presents them as the digital only Evil Inc. monthly comic book. So instead of having to read all of January’s comics a day at a time, you can read them all at once for just $3, before everyone else. And you even get bonus material such as older storylines and so forth. He has formatted the comics for whatever tablet you happen to be using and they look amazing; the colors are vibrant, the lines crisp and the stories funny as hell.

As I said, this is just an amazing idea that could really be the beginning of something big if more creators follow Guigar’s example. Of course, it helps that Evil Inc. is such a great comic in the first place, but what else would you expect from a Philly guy?

Indestructible Hulk #3
By Mark Waid and Leinil Yu

When Marvel announced Marvel NOW, they made a lot of promises about what fans could expect. New creative teams, new directions, new first issues, all of this was coming and it wasn’t anything like DC Comics New 52. (Right). Well, we got a whole bunch of new first issues and almost every book has a new creative team, but in the new directions department, they seemed to fall a bit short. Except for the Hulk, surprisingly enough. Not only did he get a new adjective, first issue and Mark Waid, but he also got a whole new direction that is so simple, I’m shocked nobody else thought of it.

Waid has taken the Hulk and made him an agent of S.H.E.I.L.D. of all things. Basically, Banner has finally decided to stop trying to cure himself and instead will focus on science, leaving S.H.E.I.L.D. to use the Hulk as they see fit. It’s a stunningly simple concept that works so well, it’s amazing. No longer moping and full of angst, The Indestructible Hulk is a funny, action packed comic that is now at the top of my reading pile every month. The art in the first arc is by Leinil Yu and matches the widescreen feeling Waid is trying for flawlessly. Next up on art is Walter Simonson with a guest appearance by Thor. (Cue fanboy squealing.)

The best book to come out of Marvel NOW so far, Indestructible Hulk is the best the character has been in a very, very long time. Check it out if you know what’s good for you.

Hell Yeah #6
By Joe Keatinge and Andre Szymanowicz

After a couple month break, Hell Yeah is back on comic book stands, unapologetic as ever. That was the thing that really impressed me about the first volume of the series; it’s balls to the wall attitude. This sure isn’t your father’s superhero comic and issue #6 keeps the fun going with a new arc that also serves as a great primer for new readers.

Benjamin Day has become the superhero version of a cleaner; he goes in after the fight and ties up all the loose ends across the entirety of the multiverse. His latest job sends him to Mars where things don’t go exactly according to plan. With that, Keatinge once again throws the doors open and has more fun that I thought was possible in a comic book. Hell Yeah reads like what would happen if Superman and Preacher had a love child; a twisted superhero in a twisted world. All bets are off and you feel like anything could happen at any moment. There are no safety nets in the world of Hell Yeah, no predictable plots. The gritty art style of Szymanowicz has improved and become tighter since issue one, yet still is a perfect fit for the story.

Keatinge and Szymanowicz have created something different and wonderful with Hell Yeah. It’s a blast of a comic book and whether you read in it trade of floppies, it should definitely be on your reading list.