Broken Frontier

Hulk just dropped Black Bolt off in New York (quite literally). Where to next? Westchester to have a little talk with Xavier about his voting proclivities.

Set between the pages of World War Hulk #1, the X-Men’s foray into this war may be short lived but is nonetheless powerful. After defeating Black Bolt and making his ultimatum to the world, Hulk goes to see Professor X to have a little talk about the Illuminati. When he gets there he is very angry and faces off against the New X-Men. Do I really have to tell you how that battle goes? But the intensity doesn’t really hit until Professor X and Hulk meet at the end of the issue and Hulk poses the same question Iron Man asked Charles at the beginning of this issue: "If you’d been there . . . how would you have voted?"

Alas, we don’t know the answer yet. But Chris Gage builds up the suspense and drama to a tingling pitch in a mere twenty-two pages. Gage’s characterization is right on with every actor on this multi-colored, two-dimensional stage. Rockslide is goofy and unaware of how horrible the situation is. Beast is the protective teacher asking his students to do the unthinkable. Hulk is the driven, angry warrior bent on finding someone to blame for the tragedy that has befallen him. Beyond that, the issue is fast paced and powerful, a perfect insert into the "World War Hulk" story.

Andrea DiVito’s art is also quite something here. DiVito has a smooth, refined look that is pleasing to the eye. The paneling is right on, with enough splash pages and two paneled pages inserted between the heavily paneled ones to make the tale move at a pace that actually forces you to turn the pages quicker and quicker the closer you come to the climax. Laura Villari’s colors here are also an added bonus. With such a dark tale being told, and taking place at night, the colorist could make or break the story in a comic. Villari makes it.

X-Men: World War Hulk so far seems to be the one to watch. Though it is only three issues, or perhaps because it is only three issues, the tale, if it keeps up the rate it began here, will be moving, poignant, and action packed.