The Immortal Hulk #18 // Review
The Abomination is back in The Immortal Hulk #18, written by Al Ewing, with pencils by Joe Bennett, inks by Ruy Jose, and colors by Paul Mounts, but he’s not the same monster you all know and love. Previously, Banner was locked in a secret government base with the assassin, Bushwacker, and dosed with ultraviolet rays, so he couldn’t turn into the Hulk. What no one could have guessed is that Banner has more than one way to defend himself. Joe Fixit, the most cunning of his Hulk personalities, took over his body in his time of need and outsmarted Bushwhacker by altering the ultraviolet rays into gamma energy. This allowed Banner to transform, and overload his system, effectively exploding, and leveling a mountain. Now, Banner walks free, having regained control of his body, but he has no idea that the government has sent a new version of his old foe, the Abomination, to kill him. The twist? The Abomination is a resurrected, out of his mind, ex-friend of Banner’s--Rick Jones.
Ewing spends a good bit of this issue exploring the new “rules” of Banner’s fractured mind, and it makes for some very entertaining comics. A confused Bruce must sort out what the Fixit personality has been up to while he was out, where he is, and how he managed to take control of his body without a change taking place. Seeing Banner try to make sense of his fractured mind in such mundane ways as listing out his personalities on a notepad, is just a joy to read. Especially when he’s talking it out with his “Devil Hulk” persona in the mirror. Those kinds of approaches to the tried and true split personas of Bruce Banner are what make Ewing’s run on the Hulk feel so fresh each month, and they’re what keeps readers coming back for more.
Also explored this issue, is the goal of this new Hulk, and how it reflects what Banner wants. Since the newly-resurrected Samson has recently spent some time with Hulk, he can attest to his wanting to “end the human world.” What that means, and if it literally involves killing off humanity, are discussed by Samson and the Gamma Flight crew at length. They don’t come to any definite conclusions, but some interesting ideas are brought up that will leave you questioning whether Hulk and Banner are the villains of their own book.
The art team for this series continues to be one of the best in the comics industry, and it’s hard to imagine any other crew taking over the book if they should decide to leave. Bennett’s version of the Hulk is chock full of character, with his wide range of facial expressions illustrating his deep well of emotions. And the inks and colors of Jose and Mounts greatly enhance the unsettling horror tone of the book. It’s unusual these days to have such a perfect art team working together for a long stint on a title without anyone leaving, but Marvel has done well to keep these guys in place for as long as they have.
If you’re not already reading this book (and the sales indicate that many people are), then you’re missing out on a modern classic in the making. Not since the days of David and Pak has the Hulk been portrayed so pitch perfectly. This is a run for the longtime Hulk fans who have been hoping for a return to glory for the character, and it genuinely does seem like Ewing is just getting started.
