Many Pieces Come Together In Immortal Hulk #8
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Hulk is in pieces–literally. A shadowy government facility working under General Fortean took the body of Bruce Banner after his battle with the Avengers, and they have vivisected the Hulk to discover how his biology functions now. The Hulk is alive, but he has been rendered to parts. Meanwhile, Captain Marvel isn’t happy about the disappearance of the Hulk, and she tasks Walter Langkowski, formerly the Sasquatch of Alpha Flight, to track down Bruce Banner.
Immortal Hulk #8 is another chilling chapter of the Jade Giant’s return, and this one is especially gruesome. If you think looking at the segmented pieces of the Hulk sounded bad enough, the comic has a couple of surprises in store for how unsettling things can get–and I absolutely love it.
This issue may have cemented Immortal Hulk’s place as Marvel’s best currently-running title. Make no mistake, the House of Ideas has some absolutely impeccable offerings right now–from Black Panther, Captain America, Venom, and Daredevil to the long-running Ms. Marvel by G. Willow Wilson, and the new West Coast Avengers by Kelly Thompson–and there are more promising books on the horizon like Uncanny X-Men, Captain Marvel, and the Winter Soldier miniseries. However, even with that impressive stack, Immortal Hulk stands supreme, with the best fusion of horror and superheroics I’ve seen in years.
In this installment, we are also treated to how intelligent, sadistic, and outright monstrous this “Devil Hulk” personality is. It is something new, and it may very well be evil.
Joe Bennett continues to absolutely rock the visuals on this book, giving those skin-crawling moments the texturing and detail to make them truly unnerving. The Hulk and his massive brow are both inhuman and intimidating. Ruy Jose’s inkwork keeps things both neat and impactful. Paul Mounts’ color work is dim but, lit by the occasional neon green or bright red.
Immortal Hulk #8 succeeds in its ability to further darken and warp the tale of the new Hulk persona with a mixture of steadily disturbing revelations and impeccable artwork. This one earns a strong recommendation. Give it a read.
Immortal Hulk #8 comes to us from writer Al Ewing, artist Joe Bennett, inker Ruy Jose, color artist Paul Mounts, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Alex Ross, and variant cover artists Carlos Pacheco and Rafael Fonteriz with Edgar Delgado.
