Superman: What Price Tomorrow? (comic)

Writer: George Perez
Artists: Jesus Merino, Nicola Scott
Collects: Superman (vol. 3) #1-6

Now it's time to tackle the other Superman comic.

So, you relaunch your entire line. Obviously you do it partly to try and get new readers to jump on with your new initiative. Preferably young readers, in contrast to the aging fanbase that's held the industry up for a decade or so. Of course you want a writer that will speak to younger readers, so the natural choice is... George Perez?

They are looking to appeal to new readers, right?

Just to be clear, this is not a knock on Perez. He's a very skilled artist and I've always loved his work. But that's the thing, he's known for his art, not writing; had he been put on a monthly to draw, this might have been an entirely different review. But he wasn't.

More than that, he's one of the "old guard", I guess you could say. I've never been as big a fan of Marvel as I am DC, but they've long been better at cultivating fresh talent while DC is more likely to stick to what it knows. Relaunching your entire line and then putting a guy you've used for decades doesn't exactly dispel that notion and it is, in fact, probably detrimental when you're looking to get new readers.

This is all important, because it's easy to tell Perez is from a different school. This comic is very wordy, to the point where, if not for the art, you could be fooled into thinking this was a Bronze Age comic. He sometimes slips into using thought balloons as well, a practice the medium has essentially abandoned in favor of the less glaring narration box.

None of this is to say the book is particularly bad. The "is the hero a magnet for the danger his people encounters" well has been hit in the past, but there's a reason for that. The story also has Superman fighting some elemental creatures and an invisible lizard, which is fun. But if I'm looking to bring new eyes to comics with one of the biggest books in the company, this is the last thing I'd slot in to kick it off. A part of monthly comics is hooking a reader, after all. It may not be a particularly elegant way to put this, but screw it; What Price Tomorrow feels like the kind of thing you'd slot in between bigger runs by name creators, not the kickoff in an initiative meant to bring fresh eyes to the product.

On the upside, Perez has some talented artistic partners. I don't really need to sing the praises of Jesus Merino and Nicola Scott, do I? Their work kind of speaks for itself. Especially Nicola Scott. George Perez himself doesn't do any interior artwork, but we do at least get some covers, so there's that.

This is another of those "one and done" volumes we've already encountered a couple times in the New 52. George Perez is gone next volume. I doubt it will be the last time this happens. DC's apparently had some serious creative issues behind the scenes ever since the regime change. Whatever's going on, they need to get it together.

My Opinion: Try It

Not exactly the direction I'd have gone, but What Price Tomorrow isn't terrible. If you like the way comics used to be written, you'll probably get a kick out of this. Can't say it's something I'd recommend purchasing though. Check the library for a copy if you're interested.

Hulk: The End (comics)

Writer: Peter David
Artists: George Perez, Dale Keown
Collects: The Incredible Hulk: Future Imperfect #1-2, Hulk: The End

For those not in the know, at some point years ago, Marvel decided it might be a good idea to put out some comics centered around the end of a given superhero. Obviously, "the end" in superheroics means death, since they're not going to stop fighting until they croak, and that point is not one superhero comics tend to go to. Even if they did kill off a hero, it would be in the more likely outcome of dying in the line of duty or something similar. It can be powerful, of course, but in a different way.

Marvels answer was "The End", a line of books centered chiefly around the possible end of a given hero. Each book was its own thing, not tying to any greater events. The line had no continuity between the books; Marvel simply rounded up the iconic creators of a given character and asked them to put together an "end" to that hero as they envisioned it. The Hulk was the first hero to get the treatment and they tapped Peter David for the project, since he's one of the few definitive Hulk creators.

The result is striking and it becomes clear pretty quick this isolated form was the right way to go. It allows Peter David to go back to the core concepts behind the character to fashion his "end", as it were. Hulk was, of course, a product of the Atomic Age, with all the fears and problems that came with it. Obviously, the Cold War came and went - and while the possibility lingers in our worst nightmares, the probability of that terrifying "World War III" coming to pass is very low - but even today the spectre of nuclear radiation and the damage it can do hangs over us like a Damocles sword. Japan can attest.

Well, in this reality, that dreaded World War III came to pass and humanity is gone. Bruce Banner and his alter ego are the only ones left. It's the loneliest of lives, Banner struggling to keep his sanity while wanting nothing more than to die, but with the Hulk refusing to allow him that peace. Banner is left to wander the wasteland, looking for perhaps some sign that something has survived. But it's a sign that never comes.

Peter David brings us right back into the thick of the Jekylll and Hyde dynamic that sits at the heart of the concept. Banner is weary and wants nothing more than to join his loved ones - Betty, Rick, the whole nine - in the aftermath. But the Hulk is our dark side personified, here more than ever. He's selfish, crude and hateful. Everything is out to get him, of course, even when the only thing left to attack him are cockroaches. Rather than deal with the last remnants of humanity - who, when you think about it, Banner could probably have helped if Hulk let him - he walks away, leaving them all to die to seal himself in a cave so he doesn't have to hear them die. So he can be alone.

Peter David is in top form here, if you ask me, putting forward a story that perfectly suits the Hulk. There's a reason David is considered one of the definitive Hulk creators; he gets the character and everything that goes with him to a tee. His long run on the book proper attests. Here he's distilled it all down to a grim, unsettling portrayal of the last days of the Hulk. The Hulk is the monster personified and when he finally gets what he wants, we start to see that one chink; maybe, just maybe, he was always fooling himself.

Hulk: The End was a one shot. As you can guess, that's not going to fill a trade, not by a long shot. Luckily, Marvel pulled the shrewd move of packing in another classic from David. The two oversized issue miniseries "Future Imperfect" that Peter David had done with George Perez. Man it's great.

It hits some - but not all - of the same themes as The End. It's another possible future for the Hulk, only this time, when the bombs dropped, humanity survived and Hulk turned into a vicious ruler of all known as The Maestro. It is, again, the worst of the Hulk to the extreme, now ruling over a rotted, dystopic, seemingly hopeless future.

It's a classic for a reason.

If there's a downside, it's the future lingo. This is always such a dicey proposition. On the one hand, lingo is going to change in the far future, but making it feel organic or outside of the realm of completely goofy is a challenge. David doesn't quite nail it. Still, it's not too difficult to get past, at least for me. It's ignorable, at any rate.

What puts it over the top is the art by George Perez. Man, can that guy draw. Perez has always been able to pack in so much detail in his work with excellent figurework and storytelling. Perez is one of the greats of the business, for sure, so having him on a project is a definite boon.

The Score: 9 out of 10

This trade is fantastic. Both stories are great reads and well worth the time. Great stories, great art, great package. Definitely pick this up if you like the Hulk. It's a worthy addition to the bookshelf.