Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: Tea for Two
Written by: Bruce Jones
Art by: Jae Lee
Colored by: June Chung
Lettered by: VC’s Randy Gentile
Editor: Axel Alonso
Publisher: Marvel Knights/ Marvel Comics
Does anyone else remember Hulk & Thing: Big Change? It was a graphic novel released in 1987, written by Jim Starlin with art by Berni Wrightson. I only mention it because I do and it may have colored my opinion of this issue. Because I really loved that story, goofiness, dumb Hulk, and all.
This first issue, on the other hand…well, sufficed to say, I do not really love.
I would like to consider myself a smart man (and it is entirely possible that I am way off on that opinion), but I just don’t get this issue. I mean, I get what is happening plot wise, that is none to complicate. I just don’t get the why of it. Specifically, why is this happening and why should I care.
The plot is this. Thing finds Bruce Banner, in all his puny glory, in a desert shack/coffee shop. Petunia Grimm’s favorite nephew pulls up a stool, chats with Banner briefly, punches him to release Hulk, and begins to tell a story. Hulk reverts to Banner and the process begins anew. Oh, and a little girl and her family show up at one point. The girl, apparently to offer lollis to our 2 protagonists, and her parents, to call them both monsters.
Ooooookay.
That really is the whole of the plot, right there. Ben wants to talk with Hulk about being a monster because…who knows and Hulk keeps changing back to Banner so The Thing is forced to punch him again.
There seems to be no plot development from panel #1 page #1 to the final splash page. Hey, if this was due to two of them just beating the tar out of one another for 24 pages, I probably could get onboard with that. They are two very angry gents, after all. However, 24 pages that feature not one iota of character development nor an outrageous fight sequence between these two behemoths is a waste of pages.
Well, at least the pages are pretty to look at. I am a big fan of Jae Lee’s Marvel work (with the exception of his Namor…I never read that particular title) and the stuff here is of the quality I have come to expect from him. I do have one minor complaint, however. There is one panel, about halfway through the issue in which Hulk grasps Thing’s head between his hands. This is odd enough, but the next panel features a sound effect Whump!, Thing’s head and only one of Hulk’s arms. I would guess that Hulk hit Ben there, but it is by no means clear. Still, Lee’s work, combined with the dusty color palette befitting of the desert locale, is far and away the best thing about this issue.
The Final Word: Unilluminating dialogue, brief uninteresting fight sequences, and a little girl with a lolli do not make an interesting start to a miniseries.
