The Weapon X Program has done it again! At the cost of their own destruction, they’ve completed their biggest and possibly most dangerous experiment yet… With the strength of the Hulk and the rage and claws of Wolverine comes WEAPON H!
It’s been some time since Weapon H escaped and destroyed his creators. Now, our hero is on the run, as he tries to escape his mysterious past and seclude himself from the rest of society. But when a new kind of Wendigo threatens the lives of others, will Weapon H be able to shirk his responsibility? Does any of his humanity remain?
I’ll admit, I was skeptical going into Weapon H #1 but the fact Greg Pak is writing the series had me intrigued full of some hope. Pak is an excellent writer and his Mech Cadet Yu is one of my favorite current series. While he’s made kids with mechas awesome and the Hulk interesting, what about Hulkverine? While the series feels like one no one asked for and one we don’t really need, Pak has delivered a first issue that has an old school feel about it all. Like the character himself, Weapon H is a blend of the Hulk and Wolverine. We have a loner whose trying to hide from the military and keep the beast within and a loner in the woods hiding out trying to keep the beast within. Whether Pak has done this on purpose is unknown but what he’s delivered is a surprisingly good comic.
Where Pak’s story stands out is the details and how he builds on the story. The story is most interesting when he has his character hide out within a bunch of day laborers hiding his ability to speak English and keeping his head low. That Pak uses this situation is an interesting one, especially where that goes. Not only does he highlight this real world slave labor situation but also the pitfalls that comes with it. It also helps build sympathy for the monster and at the same time reiterates the monster.
And “the monster” is a key focus. That’s down to the first major villain that’ll be be an obstacle Wendigo. Not only does the character have history with both Wolverine and Hulk it’s also a creature that Pak can work off of with juxtaposing monsters. Add in an evil corporation and there’s clearly thought as to why Pak has chosen this as the first obstacle for he series. That evil corporation is reiterated in a back-up story which adds to the world Pak is creating. It’s a smart way to add to the greater story without interrupting it and emphasizes some of the villains Pak is setting up.
The art by Cory Smith and Marcus To with color from Morry Hollowell and lettering by Joe Caramagna is good. There’s good detail and they use angles and perspectives so that we don’t always see the monster. It’s a trope in a way but one that works really well. Reactions, especially towards the beginning helps build the mystery and horror of it all and the artists help build towards the big reveal later. The lettering too helps emphasize the chaos of the monster emerging bringing together the dialogue and art.
The team has done a solid one here with a story that gives us some tropes and a blending of what we’ve seen before but does it all in such a way that it’s still entertaining. It feels like a story that honors what has come before in many ways. This may be a comic that felt like no one was asking for but what has been delivered is something I want to see where it goes.
Story: Greg Pak Art: Cory Smith, Marcus To
Color: Morry Hollowell Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna
Cover: Leinil Yu, Romulo Fajardo, Jr.
Variant Covers: Gustavo Duarte; Dale Keown and Val Staples; Adam Kubert and Matthew Wilson; Skan
Story: 7.85 Art: 7.85 Overall: 7.85 Recommendation: Buy
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
