“The Thunderclap of Thor will destroy you in the name of The Living Pharoah…”
This must be the year that the Hulk faces classic monsters. This month we see him duking it out with Frankenstein’s Monster, but in July ol’ tall, green and angry faced off a New York full of mummified superheroes. Marvel Adventures is the comic book house’s range of titles that are safe for all ages but if you’re not afraid to unleash the inner kid in you, then this is full of fun. Bruce Banner, Rick Jones and their pet monkey, called, er, monkey arrive back in New York to discover that the citizens are cowering in their homes, the streets are abandoned and a giant pyramid has been built slap bang in the middle of the big apple. When they spot NYPD officers in the distance, they rush over to New York’s finest to discover what’s going on, but before you can say “Great Cheops” they realise that the cops have been turned into brain-dead mummies and Banner is hulking out to save his friends. Things go from bad to worse when it transpires that it isn’t just the police that are wrapped up (geddit?) in the affairs of that evil mutant, the Living Pharaoh, but any figure of authority on Manhatten. Unfortunately, in the Marvel universe that also includes the likes of the Avengers, Fantastic Four and X-Men.
As I said this is just fun, pure and simple and refreshingly old fashioned to boot. Don’t be expecting the creep out horror of Marvel Zombies, or any plot that will tax your brain. That’s not to say that there isn’t something a little spooky about the mummified heroes; the wide staring eyes of Captain America is a little unsettling and the ending? Well, you’ll never look at the Silver Surfer in the same light again.
3 (out of 5) Tana Leaves
Monster Mayhem 