Broken Frontier

The Hulk returns to Sakaar to teach his son some lessons in morals and leadership in Skaar: Son of Hulk #9. No kidding!

In Part 3 of 4 in the Silver Surfer Returns storyline, after embarking on a murderous rampage of wrath, Skaar is forced to confront his father, The Hulk. The forces of the Red King and Axeman Bone are joined in allegiance with the Hulk to end the carnage. But the entire planet faces a new threat, for where the Silver Surfer goes, a giant pink god tends to follow. The confrontation between Hulk and Skaar leads to a surprising, and satisfying twist, so I won't say too much about it.

I was drawn to this issue for two simple reasons. The Silver Surfer, a favorite character of mine, and Ron Lim, long time Surfer artist and likewise a favorite. Though I enjoyed Planet Hulk, with its amalgam of science fiction and Roman Empire type fantasy elements, I never cared enough to try Skaar: Son of Hulk. None of the excitement and wonder that made Planet Hulk so enjoyable seems to have made its way into the spinoff, despite the presence of writer Greg Pak. Giant dragon-like worms and an axe-wielding villain just don't strike the chord of originality that propelled the Hulk series.

Ron Lim's artwork was disappointing. His rendering is as sharp as ever, but the storytelling was confusing at times, particularly the transitions in the action sequences. And more annoying, particularly since it is one of the great pleasures of reading sci-fi/fantasy, is the lack of establishing shots and background details of Sakaar. Nearly every panel has a background of red rocky terrain or speedlines. His take on the Silver Surfer has always been excellent, but the Sentinel of the Spaceways doesn't get much time to shine in this issue.

In all fairness, this issue is smack in the middle of a 4 issue arc, but it didn't seem like Skaar had much of a personality, so for a new reader he doesn't hold much interest as a protagonist. I don't want to seem unduly harsh, as I am sure the arc will read better in its entirety than this issue does on its own. The final page provides the sense of wonder I'd hoped to find in the entire issue, so the conclusion to the storyline may provide sufficient bang for the reader's buck.

On a side note, not related to the content of the book, I noticed a Parental Advisory in the UPC box for the direct edition of the book. Interestingly enough, nothing in the book, the language, artwork, or story contained anything I would find objectionable. Even the violence was rather subdued and tame compared to some other books. This is the one comic I have read recently that I would have no problem showing a child and it’s one of the only ones carrying a warning! But I digress.