165. Iron Man vol 2 #2 ... Marvel ... Whilce Portacio ...

As always, we start off with a little rant about the artist and the artist for this is Whilce Portacio, one of my all-time faves. I admit he has a very strong signature style and after a while most of his characters seemed to look alike including the hairstyles but hey ... it's a style (not the hairstyle) that I enjoyed ... similar to Art Adams if you know what I mean

The only I usually have to Whilce is his cover-work. Most artists really give a good showing for cover better than interiors but somehow Whilce is lacking. Once in a while, his covers are good and this issue? AWESOME

For those who have read the first issue, you will be aware of what is going to happen here. Even though the title is Iron Man, in the relaunch universe of the 90s, this particular first arc of Iron Man has double duties as it explores Tony Stark's transformation into Iron Man and Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk ...

Hence if this is titled Astonishing Tales: Iron Man/ Hulk it wouldn't be amiss

As the cover clearly indicates, after the end of 1, an enraged and confused Hulk arises from his creation looking to settle some scores and release his first pent-up rage at the perpetrators (Hydra). Unfortunately Hydra is not the main chap around because Tony, who is injured and now drapes the IM suit ... ran into him and thought ... he is perhaps ... one of the causes of the destruction around them

At any rate, with the Hulk's rage, he does what he does best - cause destruction

And so it's time for a titanic showdown and what a glorious fight it is! One issue is not enough to contain all the slambang goodness and we find ourselves at the last page eagerly awaiting issue 3. This is HOW a comic should be - escapist entertainment, over-the-top action, good artwork, great colouring ... all wrapped in an entertaining storyline

Ratings: 9/10 - to get 10, I would have loved a nice foil enhanced cover hahaha!