Comic Info
Comic Name: The Immortal Hulk
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Writer: Al Ewing
Artist: Joe Bennett/Butch Guice/Mike Hawthorne
# of Issues: 5
Release Date: 2020
The Immortal Hulk #32
Reprints The Immortal Hulk #31-35 (April 2020-September 2020). Xemnu is the hero of the world…or at least everyone thinks that. Xemnu has spread his control through all of the airwaves and people remember how he shaped their childhood. Unfortunately, Xemnu has also warped the mind of Bruce Banner, and the Hulk isn’t happy about it. As the Hulk fights to escape the control of Xemnu, a darker and more dangerous enemy might be closer than Hulk thinks.
Written by Al Ewing, The Immortal Hulk Volume 7: Hulk Is Hulk is a Marvel Comics superhero comic book collection. Following The Immortal Hulk Volume 6: We Believe in Bruce Banner, the collection features art by Joe Bennett, Butch Guice, and Mike Hawthorne.
The Immortal Hulk has been a crazy ride, and now we are past the halfway point. The horror is starting to amp up with Hulk literally bursting from his body again, and the fickle nature of fandom is explored.
The Immortal Hulk has a lot of fun with Hulk’s history and Marvel Comics and represents the best of what makes comics tick. Many of the modern comics decide to ignore the past to make the read simpler and more attainable for new readers, but The Immortal Hulk manages to bridge this gap. The stories in the series often tie back to older stories and instead of being simply a “fans only” type story, Ewing manages to make them into stories that new readers can enjoy, but older fans can see the nuances and connections to other stories. It is a tricky needle to thread, but Ewing does it in a way that really enhances the story.
The Immortal Hulk #34
I have always been a fan of Xemnu the Titan. He’s goofy and looks like a teddy bear. With some of his encounters with She-Hulk, he really established himself as an almost surreal villain who preys on the memories of the people around him. Xemnu isn’t a villain in his appearance, but instead, he is a hero in his own mind. I also like how Ewing plays with the idea that Xemnu was Marvel’s “original” Hulk when he first appeared in Journey Into Mystery #62 (November 1960) which is just another means that Ewing deepens the story for faithful Marvel readers.
The story also sets up the Leader as Hulk’s rival. Like Xemnu, the Leader was always a favorite. Unlike Hulk who “got dumb” from gamma radiation, the Leader “got smart”. Samuel Stern turned from an average guy into a mastermind and he’s pitted against the Hulk who houses the mind of a genius. The contrast of the two characters was always an interesting dichotomy that links the two and I look forward to what comes of the Leader’s return.
The Immortal Hulk rolls on with this collection. Like the previous entry, it does feel like a lot of set-up for future storylines and not entirely a cohesive stand-alone story (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). Ewing is building to something and that could be either really impressive or a letdown…The Immortal Hulk will keep you reading and that is the ultimate goal. The Immortal Hulk 7: Hulk Is Hulk is followed by The Immortal Hulk 8: The Keeper of the Door.
Related Links:
The Immortal Hulk 1: Or Is He Both?
The Immortal Hulk 2: The Green Door
The Immortal Hulk 3: Hulk in Hell
The Immortal Hulk 4: Abomination
