[spoiler]Immortal Hulk #01

[Haquim]

Weeeell... this was a great start for the new series. The story is simple yet brutally effective in driving home what this series will be about. The relationship between Bruce Banner and his other half, the Hulk, in an horror setting. Only the horror, at least in this issue felt very "real world" like and makes one question what any man can do under some not so ideal circumstances.

spoilers:

Issue starts with a gas station being robbed by a guy in a hoodie. He enters, points his gun at the guy behind the counter, asks for money. He's clearly nervous... then a 12 years old girls sees him and, startled, let le bottle she was holding drop and break on the floor. The hooded guy with a gun panicks, shoots and klills her. Another costumer notices what just happened. His eyes start turning green. The robber shoots him as well and puts him down on the floor next to the girl. Now having completely lost it, the man with the gun kills the the counterman, takes the money and runs. There's a brief interlude with a detective woman informing a reporter about what happened at the gas station, then the scene moves to the local morgue where the body of the people killed during the day starts moving, increases size, and colors green. The scene changes again. This time it opens on a dilapidated house in the middle of the desert. A biker gang's lair. Here we find the robber, this time without the hoodie. He looks traumatized by the gas station events and tries to relate them to the biker gang's boss guy. The robber can only speak about the triple murder he committed and explain how it was all just a mistake, a freak accident caused by his sudden panick at being discovered. He clearly wants the biker gang leader to agree with him, yet the biker doesn't seem to care at all. He just wants to know how much the robber stole. It was 200 bucks. The biker takes it as partial payment for the amount he lent to the robber. Apparently the guy has a family, can't get a job, can't pay his bills and was forced to ask for money to the biker gang. In order to repay them he robbed the gas station where he panicked and committed a triple homicide. The biker gang leader doesn't care. He even jokes about it and sends the robber turned murderer away to get the rest of his money. The robber moves out of the house, but then something explodes near it. The lights do down. The bikers take out their weapons and go checking. Shoots are fired. Bikers start screaming. Two gigantic green arms break down a wall. The robber guy runs away. Tries to reach a car but his hands shake and he drops his keys on the ground. When he gets them everything around him is silent. He looks around. Behind him a gigantic green monster looms and tells him the name of the 12 years old girl he killed. The green monster is fully articulate. It asks the robber turned murderer how did it feel to have all that stopping power in his hands. If a part of him wasn't wondering about what he could do with it. The man denies it at first. Then he realizes the monster is right. And tries to shoot him. It has no effect. The monster calmly explain how he found the murderer. It did because the murderer was lying to himself and it can smell a liar, it says. The murderer asks forgiveness. He promises to confess. To give himself up to the police. He begs. He's got a family... a little girl! He's not a bad guy... is him? The monster listens, answer the robber's question, lunges forward with its gigantic hands and then the scene shifts again. It's moring. The police is investigating the biker gang's hideout, now a broken ruin. The murderer is held in an hospital room. He's in a coma. Every bone of his body was shattered and even if he wakes up he will never walk again. In the room with him there are his wife and daughter, crying. On the outside the detective and reporter we previously met are talking about the situation. The bikers were terrified of what happened and have given testimony about the gas station murders. The assaliant is considered unknown, but the detective makes clear that what happened it the work of a green skinned monster. One that was dead, and it is not anymore. The scene shifts one last time. In a motel room a man that was shoot in the head the day before is in the bathroom, washing his hands. He asks "I am not a bad person... am I? What do you think?". The green skinned monster reflected in the mirror doesn't answer, just grins.

end of spoilers

Very powerful stuff.

5/5 imo.

[zinderel]

I am, in general, ambivalent towards the Hulk. I grew up, as many of us did, on the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno campfest. When I got into comics, I was a mutant fan, through and through, so Avengers stuff - and consequently, Hulk stuff - was less important for my preeteen dollars.

Through the years, I have kept aware of Hulk's various incarnations, from his origins as a green Mr. Hyde homage, to the gray days of Mr. Fix-It, to the fully integrated days of the Pantheon, to the triumph and tragedy of the Worldbreaker, and so on. Some of these have interested me on the merits of the story being told or the creative team. Others did nothing for me one way or the other.

It is, of course, impossible to not have SOME understanding or awareness of characters who share a universe with your faves, because that is the nature of comic books, but until this book, the Hulk has pretty much always read as a character who encapsulates the things I hate most about 'masculine' expectations: obscene strength power fantasy, destructive impulses and actions as both super power and personality, intelligence and empathy being overridden in deference to brute force because intelligence and empathy are 'weak' and smashing things without thought is 'strong', zero consequences for his callous brutality because 'he's one of the good guys' (except when it was convenient to the story that there be consequences...). He has basically always occupied this space, to me: Toxic Masculinity, the "super-hero".

This book totally shifts the Hulk in an organic, "I'm shocked no one has had the balls to do this before" way. A way that makes a scary amount of sense, given both Hulk's long history and most recent traumas. This makes the issue a compelling read, even for non-fans, and puts Hulk where he belongs: in horror.

I can't say how long time fans will react, but as a new fan, give me more of THIS Hulk!

5/5

[stormphoenix]

It was interesting, felt like a Horror Movie. I like Horror.

[Ptrvc]

I am, in general, ambivalent towards the Hulk. I grew up, as many of us did, on the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno campfest. When I got into comics, I was a mutant fan, through and through, so Avengers stuff - and consequently, Hulk stuff - was less important for my preeteen dollars.

Through the years, I have kept aware of Hulk's various incarnations, from his origins as a green Mr. Hyde homage, to the gray days of Mr. Fix-It, to the fully integrated days of the Pantheon, to the triumph and tragedy of the Worldbreaker, and so on. Some of these have interested me on the merits of the story being told or the creative team. Others did nothing for me one way or the other.

It is, of course, impossible to not have SOME understanding or awareness of characters who share a universe with your faves, because that is the nature of comic books, but until this book, the Hulk has pretty much always read as a character who encapsulates the things I hate most about 'masculine' expectations: obscene strength power fantasy, destructive impulses and actions as both super power and personality, intelligence and empathy being overridden in deference to brute force because intelligence and empathy are 'weak' and smashing things without thought is 'strong', zero consequences for his callous brutality because 'he's one of the good guys' (except when it was convenient to the story that there be consequences...). He has basically always occupied this space, to me: Toxic Masculinity, the "super-hero".

This book totally shifts the Hulk in an organic, "I'm shocked no one has had the balls to do this before" way. A way that makes a scary amount of sense, given both Hulk's long history and most recent traumas. This makes the issue a compelling read, even for non-fans, and puts Hulk where he belongs: in horror.

I can't say how long time fans will react, but as a new fan, give me more of THIS Hulk!

5/5

Yeah, from this post I can agree one hundred that you know nothing about the Hulk, particularly none of the classic stories.

Hulk completely lacking empathy? Bah, maybe when written poorly in crossovers.

I'm glad you like Ewing's take on the Hulk, I'm enjoying it as well. What a don't really get is why you have to qualify that with disrespecting the character, his previous writers, and longtime fans.

[MajorHoy]

Why is it that I keep thinking the title looks "The Immoral Hulk"?

[nickytesla96]

I've never been interested in Hulk before. Still have to read the issue b/c mail order, but leave it to Ewing to get me interested.

[zinderel]

Yeah, from this post I can agree one hundred that you know nothing about the Hulk, particularly none of the classic stories.

Hulk completely lacking empathy? Bah, maybe when written poorly in crossovers.

I'm glad you like Ewing's take on the Hulk, I'm enjoying it as well. What a don't really get is why you have to qualify that with disrespecting the character, his previous writers, and longtime fans.

Where do I do...any of that? I shared my perspectives on the character as they related to my personal experiences trying to read him through the years. I made no claim that my view was the only 'correct' one, I admit that I did not read the character except through the occasional crossover event in which characters I DO care about interacted with or talked about him, explained why - because he didnt appeal to me based on my perceptions of his escapades throughout the years - and then state how happy I am that a new creative team has made him interesting to me. All I said in my little review was that I PERSONALLY have never cared for the Hulk. I explained why, but never called anyone names for liking him, didn't insult any writers or creative teams.


If anyone is disrespecting fans and blah blah blah, it's you for acting as a gatekeeper to other people's enjoyment of a character or story and for taking offense that someone might have an opinion not in lockstep with your own. Acting like an opinion that you disagree with - about a FICTIONAL CHARACTER - is somehow a personal attack because I don't like something that you do is a big part of why 'fan' culture is so god-awful toxic right now. So maybe take this as a lesson in not taking inoffensive, personal opinions and perceptions about a fictional character as a personal attack.

Just a thought.

[GrandEleven]

My only knock on this otherwise great book was the conversation at the end between the detective and reporter. I just didn't need things spelled out like that, nor the absolute certainty that it was Banner. Though Ill take the last part back if no one believes her and she ends up being like Mulder in X-Files chasing a beast no one thinks is alive. Regardless, I didn't need the hand holding of the plot.

Outside that … very solid book. OH and can we comment on how _massive_ hulk is in this? Feels like it's been forever sense we've gotten a green monster who dominates the page with his size. Wonderful touch.

[Tendrin]

My only knock on this otherwise great book was the conversation at the end between the detective and reporter. I just didn't need things spelled out like that, nor the absolute certainty that it was Banner. Though Ill take the last part back if no one believes her and she ends up being like Mulder in X-Files chasing a beast no one thinks is alive. Regardless, I didn't need the hand holding of.

Just so long as her name is Jacqueline McGee.

[Tofali]

The title of the Immortal Hulk doesn't suit this book at all they should have gone for maybe the "Psychopathic Hulk" it fits much better

[responsarbre]

My only knock on this otherwise great book was the conversation at the end between the detective and reporter. I just didn't need things spelled out like that, nor the absolute certainty that it was Banner. Though Ill take the last part back if no one believes her and she ends up being like Mulder in X-Files chasing a beast no one thinks is alive. Regardless, I didn't need the hand holding of the plot.

Outside that … very solid book. OH and can we comment on how _massive_ hulk is in this? Feels like it's been forever sense we've gotten a green monster who dominates the page with his size. Wonderful touch.

I think part of that was just catching readers up with the new premise who otherwise may have missed out on No Surrender. I also felt like this issue benefited from spelling out some of the main concepts of this approach, like that the Hulk only comes out at night. The conversation mostly felt more like a look into how the world is starting to react to the Hulk. I have a suspicion that word will continue to spread as Hulk stays active.

Honestly, my favorite thing about Ewing is that, unlike his cousin in the Nu-British Invasion, Kieron Gillen, Ewing does a generally stronger job of communicating all the grand themes that he's trying to hit on. I do like Gillen's subtlety and I think it's a breath of fresh air in an era of genre comics that seems to have forgotten how to nuanced stories. I just think that Gillen has a tendency to go frustratingly obtuse with his metaphors (like the Patriot ghost in Young Avengers). Ewing has a kind of old-school tendency where he likes to show and tell, and I think he hits a sweet spot where he's not doing too much of either.

I DEFINITELY agree on the size thing. I've never been intimidated by a comic book as much as I have by those two double page spreads. It was chilling and wonderful.

[Kirby Krackle]

This is the best Hulk has been in a VERY long time. It was proper spooky.

[numberthirty]

I am, in general, ambivalent towards the Hulk. I grew up, as many of us did, on the Bill Bixby/Lou Ferrigno campfest. When I got into comics, I was a mutant fan, through and through, so Avengers stuff - and consequently, Hulk stuff - was less important for my preeteen dollars.

Through the years, I have kept aware of Hulk's various incarnations, from his origins as a green Mr. Hyde homage, to the gray days of Mr. Fix-It, to the fully integrated days of the Pantheon, to the triumph and tragedy of the Worldbreaker, and so on. Some of these have interested me on the merits of the story being told or the creative team. Others did nothing for me one way or the other.

It is, of course, impossible to not have SOME understanding or awareness of characters who share a universe with your faves, because that is the nature of comic books, but until this book, the Hulk has pretty much always read as a character who encapsulates the things I hate most about 'masculine' expectations: obscene strength power fantasy, destructive impulses and actions as both super power and personality, intelligence and empathy being overridden in deference to brute force because intelligence and empathy are 'weak' and smashing things without thought is 'strong', zero consequences for his callous brutality because 'he's one of the good guys' (except when it was convenient to the story that there be consequences...). He has basically always occupied this space, to me: Toxic Masculinity, the "super-hero".

This book totally shifts the Hulk in an organic, "I'm shocked no one has had the balls to do this before" way. A way that makes a scary amount of sense, given both Hulk's long history and most recent traumas. This makes the issue a compelling read, even for non-fans, and puts Hulk where he belongs: in horror.

I can't say how long time fans will react, but as a new fan, give me more of THIS Hulk!

5/5

Have you read this?

http://marvel.com/comics/collection/...rade_paperback

[Jekyll]

I've never been interested in Hulk before. Still have to read the issue b/c mail order, but leave it to Ewing to get me interested.

Same! I was captivated from the first page and am definitely hooked now. This is definitely my pick of the week!

[Sensational C]

I very much enjoyed it from the amazing art letting me sink into the setting, lending a weight, a focus on the actions of panels, the scaling the Hulk too big to fit in shot, etc. as well as the story relating to Bruce's situation of a what a person does or perhaps what they become with extreme power.