Now back to the Greek guy in a skirt. I must say I didn't follow World War Hulk, though Planet Hulk, I did initially. But this issue made me feel welcome. It's not necessary to understand all that's gone before. Co-writer Greg Pak has lived and breathed Hulk and co. for the last 2 years and he sets up the new direction on this book with ease. The opening page will tell you all you need to know. Hercules and his young pal Amadeus Cho are left behind after the events of the smash fest that was World War Hulk. They now have no-one to lead them, or anyone left to battle really, but they have some fight left in them. Amadeus Cho is, according to Angel of The X-Men (in his worst costume ever) "the seventh smartest person on the planet." He appears to be to Herc what Rick Jones once was to Hulk - a young ally without superpowers who's along for the ride, but is more than a side-kick.

The relationship between him and Herc is an interesting one. It comes across as the high school nerd who gets away with a lot because he's friends with the toughest kid. I sense wacky adventures ahead. In this ish alone we have the pair throwing wine barrels at a S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier followed by an escape from detention via a mammoth burst of water and a convertible. But before that we have Herc surrendering to S.H.I.E.L.D so as not to endanger Cho any further. Herc meets his older brother Ares, god of war and Mighty Avengers member. They're not too happy to see each other and reminisce about their centuries old encounters. Ares demands that Herc rebuild Stark Tower and join the army of registered super heroes,  The Initiative. Meanwhile Cho has his own orders - put his considerable intellect to the task of rebuilding the lives of the many refugees after Hulk's rampage. Neither seems willing to accept. Then it's the convertible escape as Cho hatches a new plan with his freshly stolen S.H.I.E.L.D laptop - destroy them. So now Herc and Cho are two buddies on the run with the might of Marvel's greatest military organisation (and by the looks of the last page) an angry Ares, Wonder Man and Black Widow in hot pursuit. It's a great start to this new arc and with scripts by Greg Pak and rising star Fred Van Lente it looks like despite the lead character's death, this book will lose no momentum. Khoi Pham's art is well executed. The flashbacks look great and the pacing is well done. Realistic but without all the detail. The visualisation of Cho's mathematical ponderings are a great idea - a simpler rendering than the TV show Numbers. Hulk fans need not fear. His book is in good hands. Hairy, Greek hands to be exact.

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