“Is he Man or Monster, or is he both?” That’s the question writer Al Ewing is looking to explore in this darker, more horrific Hulk than we’re used to lately. It’s a welcome tonal shift, however. Read on for our review of “The Immortal Hulk” #1, which does contain spoilers.
Written by Al Ewing
Penciled by Joe Bennett
Inked by Ruy Jose
Colored by Paul Mounts
Lettered by VC’s Cory PetitHORROR HAS A NAME. You’d never notice the man. He doesn’t like to be noticed. He’s quiet. Calm. Never complains. If someone were to walk up and shoot him in the head… all he’d do is die. Until night falls. And someone else gets up again. The man’s name is Banner. The horror is THE IMMORTAL HULK.
If you hadn’t guessed by the solicit (which drops the word twice in one short paragraph) “The Immortal Hulk” #1 is the start of a new series that sits firmly in the world of horror. It’s not the first time that Bruce Banner and his monstrous alter ego have dabbled in the genre, but it’s certainly been a while since fans of the not-so-jolly green giant have been treated to anything besides the superheroic.
We’ve currently got the best big-screen representation to date of the Incredible Hulk, thanks to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s a take that’s decidedly more action oriented, with a heavy dose of humor thrown in (especially in the case of Thor Ragnarok). On the comics side of things, Bruce Banner Hulk has been dead since “Civil War II,” but Amadeus Cho has had the mantle for a while now of “Totally Awesome Hulk” which, if the name wasn’t a giveaway, is in no way a horror book. There’s also the Jen Walters “Hulk/She Hulk” book, which is closer, but it’s really more of a tense psychological thriller.
So where does this horror aesthetic come from? Well, from the original comics. Ewing states in his own words at the back of this issue that he’s taking his cues from the Stan, Jack and Steve books of the ‘60s, and the character fits so well within that genre here in “The Immortal Hulk” #1 that it makes you wonder why it took so long to return him to his roots. At his core, Hulk is a Jekyll and Hyde riff viewed through a ‘Marvel Monster Books’ lens, but for too long writers have either played off the nostalgia of the original TV series (a man isolated and wandering the country, fighting his alter ego) or, more commonly, have no idea what to do with him.
Here though, from the narrative to the imagery, from the color scheme to the characters, everything is darker. In a lot of ways, “The Immortal Hulk” #1 takes its cues from, weirdly, “Punisher Max.” That idea of viewing the story from the criminal’s point of view, turning the titular character into a sort of boogeyman, withholding his appearance until later in the story, then having that “hero” dole out his own brutal form of justice all feels like it’s right in the wheelhouse of Ennis’s Frank Castle.
Witness – and victim – of a violent armed robbery gone wrong, Bruce Banner dies thanks to a bullet to the brain and, come nightfall, Hulk arises to exact his revenge. Revenge is the right word too, if not for him then for the young girl also murdered in the robbery. There’s no doubt that justice is far from Hulk’s mind, instead he smashes his way through a biker gang before reaching the individual responsible. When he’s face to face with the murderer himself, it’s surprising to find that this terrifying, visceral Hulk is far more verbose than he has been in years, having a full conversation with the killer about the violence that lives inside us all. It’s a jarring juxtaposition between how he looks and how he talks, but what’s on the surface versus what’s inside is sort of the premise of the whole book.
A big part of this tonal shift for “The Immortal Hulk” is hanging on the art, and Joe Bennett’s pencils depict a truly scary story. Most of the book is tense close-ups, flashing back and forth around the scenes, often taking the point of view of the killer himself, always at eye-level to the characters, putting us directly within the scene. The panels switch between widescreen and tight, six-panel grids that draw your eye eagerly through the action. A couple of times the camera stays still from one panel to the next, leaving the action up to the characters and leaving you feeling like you’re staring for an uncomfortable amount of time.
Continued belowAs mentioned earlier, Hulk himself is withheld from the reader, much like the serial killer in a horror film. We see the dead arm of Banner slowly come to green-hued life, then we see the devastation wrought on the bikers before we get to see him in all his glory. Again, Bennett leads us through that scene via the point of view of the young killer, terrified for his life from an unseen monster. Then, when we finally see Hulk, he overwhelms our view. He fills a double page spread in a medium shot, then fills a second double page with an extreme close-up of his face. This monster is coming for you, facing you, addressing you. Much like a jump scare in a 3D movie, you are the victim of this attack, no-one else, and it’s superbly done.
“The Immortal Hulk” pulls from many influences. Whether it’s the original “Incredible Hulk” comics, books like “Punisher Max,” or straight-up enveloping itself in horror movie tropes, this is a dark and violent new world for Hulk. Quite whether he’ll die in every issue, like a Jade Captain Scarlet, remains to be seen, but it presents a fascinating dynamic for this first issue. There’s a tense build up to his eventual reveal, placing him very much as the monster at the end of the book, and the promise of a deeper exploration of just who is monster and who is man. This Hulk casts a terrifying figure, with a grim, twisted, toothy smile, piercing stare and distinctly disturbing eloquence. The less we see of him, the greater the pay off when he appears, which is in direct contrast to the desire to see as much of this new Hulk as physically possible. Extremely well done.
Final Verdict: 9.0 – A fantastic – and genuinely scary – return to form for the now Immortal Hulk. May it live forever.
