The Immortal Hulk (comic book)
| The Immortal Hulk | |
|---|---|
 Cover to The Immortal Hulk #1. Art by Alex Ross. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date | June 2018 – October 2021 |
| No. of issues | 50 |
| Main character(s) | Hulk |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Al Ewing |
| Penciller(s) | Joe Bennett |
| Inker(s) | Ruy José |
| Letterer(s) | Cory Petit |
| Colorist(s) | Paul Mounts |
| Editor(s) | Tom Brevoort |
The Immortal Hulk was an ongoing comic book series written by Al Ewing, pencilled by Joe Bennett, and published by Marvel Comics. The series starred the various dissociative identities, or "alters," of Bruce Banner as they grapple with the discovery that gamma-irradiated beings such as the Hulk are unable to die.[1]
The series began in the aftermath of the "No Surrender" storyline in Avengers, with the Hulk returning from his death at the hands of Hawkeye during the Civil War II crossover event. It quickly garnered critical acclaim,[2][3] [4] including three Eisner Award nominations for Best Continuing Series.[5][6][7] After spawning numerous one-shots by various creative teams and a spinoff miniseries starring Gamma Flight, the series concluded with issue #50 in October 2021.[8]
Summary
[edit]The Immortal Hulk begins as a series of single-issue horror stories, many of which cast the Hulk in the role of the monster. However, a larger story soon emerges, involving the Green Door through which gamma creatures must pass on their way back from death. Learning the truth of the Green Door sets the Hulk on a path which leads him to confront his father, the machinations of a secret government organization, the first Marvel Comics character to be called the Hulk, and the driving force behind all evil in the Marvel Universe.
Themes
[edit]In its 50-issue span, The Immortal Hulk addresses a wide range of themes. Its opening issues focus on the idea that all people have a monstrous side to their nature. After Hulk travels to Hell, questions of the Problem of Evil and the nature of morality come to the fore. The introduction of Joe Fixit and the Savage Hulk leads to an exploration of Dissociative Identity Disorder and the reconceptualization of the Hulk's psychological makeup as a "system" rather than a Banner-Hulk binary. The Roxxon storyline takes an environmentalist approach, portraying the dangers of capitalism and propagandistic media. Additionally, race, gender identity, and religion (particularly Judaism) are also explored.
Reception
[edit]The Immortal Hulk garnered high praise following its debut in 2018. Matt Lune of Multiversity Comics called the first issue "extremely well done," praising the reimagining of the Hulk as "a terrifying figure, with a grim, twisted, toothy smile, piercing stare and distinctly disturbing eloquence."[2] In 2019, 2020, and 2022, the series was nominated for the Eisner Award for Best Continuing Series.[5][6][7] Upon completion of the series, Tony Thornley of Comicon.com called it
the greatest run ever written about [the Hulk]. This is a seminal story that started as a monster movie, evolved into a supernatural thriller, then a cosmic horror. It further molted into an anti-capitalist protest. A psychological thriller. Back to cosmic horror. And then a meditation on the character himself and what made him great. [...] In the end, we got a single, continuous Hulk story that redefined the character, his powers, his world, even his mental illness. [...] We find ourselves at the conclusion of one of the greatest comics series Marvel has ever published.[4]
Artist controversy
[edit]Bennett caused controversy by including what was interpreted as antisemitic imagery in the background of a panel in The Immortal Hulk #43.[9] Though the imagery made it to print in the single issue, it was removed in collected editions. Following this, a 2018 political cartoon resurfaced in which the then-Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro was allegorically depicted as an “Independence Dragoon” (a member of a historical Brazilian military unit) fighting political opponents (including former presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Dilma Rousseff and Michel Temer) in the shape of monstrous rats.[10] In response to this illustration, Ewing severed ties with Bennett.[11] On 9 September 2021, Marvel announced that he had been removed from his current assignments and was not on any future Marvel projects.[12]
One-shots
[edit]In addition to the main fifty-issue run, several Immortal Hulk one-shots were released. Initially created as a way for the series to tie into crossover events without intruding on the main series, these one-shots expanded their focus to allow other creative teams a chance to tell self-contained Immortal Hulk stories.
| Title | Writer | Artist | Colorist | Notes | Release date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1 | Al Ewing | Simone Di Meo | Dono Sánchez-Almara | Tie-in to The Best Defense crossover | December 5, 2018 |
| Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1 | Filipe Andrade | Chris O'Halloran | Tie-in to Absolute Carnage crossover | October 2, 2019 | |
| Immortal Hulk: Great Power #1 | Tom Taylor | Jorge Molina Adriano Di Benedetto Roberto Poggi |
David Curiel | February 5, 2020 | |
| Immortal Hulk #0 | Al Ewing | Mattia de Iulis | Original framing story | September 16, 2020 | |
| Bill Mantlo | Mike Mignola Gerry Talaoc |
Bob Sharen | Reprint of Incredible Hulk #312 | ||
| Peter David | Adam Kubert Mark Farmer |
Dan Brown | Reprint of Incredible Hulk #-1 | ||
| Immortal She-Hulk #1 | Al Ewing | Jon Davis-Hunt | Marcio Menyz | Tie-in to Empyre crossover | September 23, 2020 |
| Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 | Jeff Lemire | Mike del Mundo | Mike del Mundo Marco D'Alfonso |
September 30, 2020 | |
| King in Black: Immortal Hulk #1 | Al Ewing | Aaron Kuder | Frank Martin Erick Arciniega |
Tie-in to King in Black crossover | December 16, 2020 |
| Immortal Hulk: Flatline #1 | Declan Shalvey | February 17, 2021 | |||
| Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1 | Alex Paknadel Al Ewing |
Juan Ferreyra | Introduces prehistoric "original Hulk" | May 19, 2021 | |
| David Vaughan | Kevin Nowlan | ||||
Collected editions
[edit]The series has been collected into a number of hardcover and trade paperback collections:
Trade paperbacks
[edit]| Volume | Title | Material collected | Page count | Publication date | ISBN | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Or Is He Both? | Immortal Hulk #1-5 and material from Avengers #684 | 136 | November 20, 2018 | 978-1302912550 | |
| 2 | The Green Door | Immortal Hulk #6-10 | 112 | February 12, 2019 | 978-1302912567 | |
| 3 | Hulk in Hell | Immortal Hulk #11-15 | 112 | May 14, 2019 | 978-1302915063 | |
| 4 | Abomination | Immortal Hulk #16-20 | 136 | September 3, 2019 | 978-1302912550 | |
| 5 | Breaker of Worlds | Immortal Hulk #21-25 | 136 | November 19, 2019 | 978-1302916688 | |
| 6 | We Believe in Bruce Banner | Immortal Hulk #26-30 | 112 | March 17, 2020 | 978-1302920500 | |
| 7 | Hulk Is Hulk | Immortal Hulk #31-35 | 136 | September 1, 2020 | 978-1302920517 | |
| 8 | The Keeper of the Door | Immortal Hulk #36-40 | 112 | January 19, 2021 | 978-1302920524 | |
| 9 | The Weakest One There Is | Immortal Hulk #41-45 | 112 | June 8, 2021 | 978-1302925970 | |
| 10 | Of Hell and of Death | Immortal Hulk #46-50 | 184 | December 7, 2021 | 978-1302925987 | |
| 11 | Apocrypha | Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1, Defenders: The Best Defense #1, Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1, Immortal Hulk #0, Immortal She-Hulk #1, King in Black: Immortal Hulk #1, and material from Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1 | 248 | January 11, 2022 | 978-1302931162 | Anthology collection of the Ewing-written Immortal Hulk one-shots |
| Great Power | Immortal Hulk: Great Power #1, Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1, Immortal Hulk: Flatline #1, and material from Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1 | 112 | November 2, 2021 | 978-1302931179 | Anthology collection of the non-Ewing-written Immortal Hulk one-shots | |
| Gamma Flight | Gamma Flight #1-5 | 112 | January 4, 2022 | 978-1302928063 | Spinoff miniseries following Gamma Flight after the events of Immortal Hulk #47 | |
| Defenders: There Are No Rules | Defenders #1-5 and material from Marvel Comics #1000-1001 | 144 | May 3, 2022 | 978-1302924720 | Related miniseries revealing where Harpy went at the end of Immortal Hulk #48 |
Hardcovers
[edit]| Volume | Material collected | Page count | Publication date | ISBN | Additional notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Book 1 | Immortal Hulk #1-10 and material from Avengers #684 | 264 | October 15, 2019 | 978-1302919658 | Compilation of Vol. 1 & 2 trade paperbacks |
| Book 2 | Immortal Hulk #11-20 | 232 | July 7, 2020 | 978-1302923471 | Compilation of Vol. 3 & 4 trade paperbacks |
| Book 3 | Immortal Hulk #21-30 | 256 | May 11, 2021 | 978-1302928308 | Compilation of Vol. 5 & 6 trade paperbacks |
| Book 4 | Immortal Hulk #31-40 | 248 | November 16, 2021 | 978-1302931285 | Compilation of Vol. 7 & 8 trade paperbacks |
| Book 5 | Immortal Hulk #41-50 | 304 | December 6, 2022 | 978-1302945268 | Compilation of Vol. 9 & 10 trade paperbacks |
| Omnibus | Immortal Hulk #1-50, Immortal Hulk: The Best Defense #1, Defenders: The Best Defense #1, Absolute Carnage: Immortal Hulk #1, Immortal Hulk #0, Immortal She-Hulk #1, King in Black: Immortal Hulk #1, Gamma Flight #1-5, and material from Avengers #684 and Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1 | 1,616 | August 15, 2023 | 978-1302916688 | Collection of all Ewing-written Immortal Hulk material. Does not include Immortal Hulk: Great Power #1, Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1, Immortal Hulk: Flatline #1, the non-Ewing-written material from Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters #1, or the Defenders miniseries |
References
[edit]- ^ Schedeen, Jesse (March 14, 2018). "Here's How Hulk Is Resurrected in Avengers: No Surrender". IGN. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b Lune, Matt (June 7, 2018). ""The Immortal Hulk" #1 – Review". Multiversity Comics. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Matz, Kyle (October 22, 2019). "Immortal Hulk #25 review: alone at the end of the universe". AIPT Comics. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b Thornley, Tony (October 15, 2021). "Review: 'Immortal Hulk' #50 Is The Ending No One Expected And Everyone Needed". Comicon.com. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (April 26, 2019). "Eisner Award Nominees Revealed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (June 4, 2020). "2020 Eisner Nominees: The Complete List". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ a b Damore, Meagan (May 18, 2022). "Marvel Comics and Creators Nominated for 2022 Eisner Awards". Marvel. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ "Giant-Sized 'Immortal Hulk' #50 Concludes Al Ewing & Joe Bennett's Legendary Run". Marvel. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
- ^ Cronin, Brian (February 3, 2021). "Immortal Hulk Artist Issues Statement on Anti-Semitic Imagery". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Leung, Yasmine (2021-09-03). "Joe Bennett's political cartoon ft Jair Bolsonaro drama explained". HITC. Retrieved 2022-02-19.
- ^ Adams, Tim (September 2, 2021). "Immortal Hulk's Al Ewing Severs Relationship with Joe Bennett Over 'Reprehensible' Illustration". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Adams, Tim (September 9, 2021). "Joe Bennett No Longer Working on Marvel's Timeless After Posting Anti-Semitic Image". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
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