REALM OF KINGS: SON OF HULK

REALM OF KINGS: SON OF HULK

WRITER: Scott Reed

PENCILER: Miguel Munera

INKER: Terry Pallot

COLORS: Veronica Gandini

LETTERS: Fishbrain

COVER: Alex Garner

Warning: Contains Spoilers

Well I have to say that when I first heard they were doing a Son of Hulk - Realm of Kings book I was quite happy for a lot of reasons.

First, because I love the short lived, post Skaar, son of the Hulk and really enjoy Hiro as a character.

Second, because this is set on K'ai, for those not familiar, Jarella's home world from the microverse which appeared in various issues of the Incredible Hulk.

Third, because it features the Micronauts, characters from the 70s and 80s that I am fond of. On the top of all that, RoKs: Son of Hulk was written by Scott Reed, who wrote the sensational comic book, Overman.

Needless to say, it has all the qualifications to please me...well on the paper. However, with all those ingredients, I should be especially critical. So did it deliver?

I am happy to say, yes.

From the interactions between Axeman Bone and Hiro, to the dynamic between Arcturus, Rann and Princess Marionette, Reed delivers a very interesting fast paced and well characterized first issue with a very good grasp on the different protagonists.

Most of all this terrific characterization is shown with Hiro Kala, whom Reed gives tragic and complicated dialogue to. This is further exemplified by showing us how tortured Hiro is by being devoured by his all encompassing hatred, while at the same time showing us how cruel and merciless Hiro can be. In fact Reed makes Hiro seem almost like Thanos in certain aspects. Reed sets him up to be a great cosmic player, a huge threat and makes him far less two dimensional than his brother, Skaar.

On the art front, Miguel Munera, does a very decent job. While he might not be the most stylish artist around, he has a very good storytelling technique and manages to draw some interesting details. I really loved the updated look he gave to the Psyclops; they were just creepy and evil with a nice sinister feeling to them.

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