ALL THE HULK FEELS

Dr. Bruce Banner is angry…but at what cost?

The title’s opening sequence establishes our hero’s defining trait—that Dr. Bruce Banner turns into the Incredible Hulk when enraged. But canonic table-setting aside, this tale forgoes the high-flying flash of standard comic-book fare for a more nuanced message. As the Leader, Banner’s longtime nemesis, crafts increasingly zany scenarios to elicit rage from his foe, tension builds between Bruce and his muscle-bound counterpart. When is anger worth feeling? And what do you do when you experience it? Written exchanges between the big-feeling scientist and the green behemoth drive the text’s dialogue; after each transformation, Bruce or the Hulk finds a note in his pocket. Subversively, rage-monster Hulk challenges Banner’s predisposition for fury, encouraging a more holistic approach to defeating evildoers. Anger is a legitimate emotion, per Hulk, but it’s one of many. Author/illustrator Santat breathes new life into the nature of comic-book conflict, exploring the emotional stakes of a consciousness divided. And while the topic is heady, the text introduces tools for self-regulation without veering into the didactic. Shifts in perspective may make the narrative challenging for younger readers to follow (events that precipitate angry transformations don’t always occur on the page, for instance), but the tale will start a conversation worth having. Readers holding out for a “Hulk smash” won’t be disappointed, either. Bruce is light-skinned; other humans are diverse.

Supervillainy has been relegated to the subplot, but to a worthwhile end.