Incredible Hulk #606 - Marvel

Honestly . . I wasn't going to pick up this issue, but . . I'm afraid that if I only pick up the one Hulk title, I'll probably be lost. Plus, I noticed that Paul Pelletier does the art this issue. I love his style. Even way back in the old Ex-Mutants books I thought the guy had potential. But his art in this issue was leaps and bounds from those old books. This whole issue looked fantastic. Plus . . I'll probably pick up the Red-Hulk book, so . . if I'm going to pick up 2, I might as well get the third. Anyways, this book is all about Bruce's endeavor to teach his son, Skaar, to be a hero. The story starts out in Times Square as Skaar, and the Fantastic Four, are facing a hero's welcome. However, Bruce is ambiguous. He remembers when he got a hero's welcome as the Hulk for saving the world. He knows that the adulation is fleeting. Plus . . Betty always kept him grounded. And with her not around . . . but, then he thinks he sees her in the crowd. Shortly after a Watcher shows up. He's tries to dig into the mystery, but then he's transported to the Red Hulk. They talk and banter a bit, and then he's transported to Latervia. This is where we get to the real meat of the story. In Latervia, Doom is being attacked by a Hulk robot. It's been given the power cosmic and sent to test him by MODOK and the Leader. Skaar shows up and also attacks Doom because he doesn't know that this isn't his real father. Doom siphons off the power behind the robot, and then uses his magiks to change Skaar into his child-form. By that time Bruce shows up. But, as Doom begins to attack him, he finds out that the Leader also put a little virus in with the Cosmic power, knowing that Doom wouldn't be able to resist garnering it. Basically . . it gradually turns Doom dumb. As he's attacking Bruce . . he forgets the spell. Which leaves Bruce to talk to his real son. He finds out that as much as Bruce has been keeping an eye on him, so to has Skaar been watching his father. The boy hates Skaar for what he did back on that planet, but he hates his father even worse for luring him here. And he knows that he's only doing it to somehow try to save, or bring back, Betty. And then . . they're off to save the Avengers. I really like Greg Pak's story here. I didn't understand everything that was going on, but . . the meat of the story, the relationship between Bruce and Skaar, was there. And despite everything else, it seems like that's what this issue was all about. It was entertaining. I think that this will be an interesting story-line.