Fall of the Hulks: Alpha #1
I've had little to no interest in this event, formerly named World War Hulks, mainly because of the name Jeph Loeb. And it's a shame it's come to that because Loeb's been one hell of a writer in the past (Dark Victory, Daredevil: Yellow). Luckily, one of Marvel's aces steps in and laces a gem. Things only get tricky when Loeb's version of Hulk's world gets thrown into it near issue's end. We all know of his incarnation, and it's something we've got to deal with. Word has it that Parker is taking on a mini for the Rulk, so perhaps this character could be likable to the more serious Marvel crowd. I like things as fantastic as the next, and it's not worth mentioning how Rulkdiculous the Hulk book has been.
Alpha is all about The Leader and his own version of the Illuminati, The Intel. The banter and squabbling between silver age villains is priceless and the Perezish art featuring lots of panels and lots of stuff in them from Pelletier fits the storyline. They go onto discover a double-crossing, in aluded to the origin of Red Hulk, but not the identity. There's still lots to love here as the book takes quite a fair time to read. It's always nice to get a $3.99 book that doesn't seem thin.
Parker and Pak are writers that add the right edge to the Hulk saga and if it weren't for Loeb, I'd be here for the entire ride. Thankfully, this special reads well enough on it's own.
4/5 Eggheads - A very good buy