The Gamma-Powered Abattoir That Is The Immortal Hulk #10
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
Gamma Flight is still looking for the Hulk, and they have picked up two signatures at Los Diablos that could very well be him. They are the Hulk and the Absorbing Man battling in the desert. Something has happened to the Absorbing Man, though. After absorbing the Hulk’s energy, he split open. Now, an entity controls Crusher Creel. A Shadow Base agent is watching all of this go down, and he has a specialized sniper rifle trained on the Hulk. The Hulk himself has had his strength sapped by the Absorbing Man, and he doesn’t know how to get it back.
Immortal Hulk #10 is a surprisingly gruesome showdown between the Hulk and Absorbing Man…or whatever the Absorbing Man as become. Crusher Creel’s body has split in half, leaving a spine and a fanged skull left standing at the center of what was once his torso. His body is still fighting though. Meanwhile, the Hulk is a gangly figure with skin flailing at the margins of what was once his massive musculature.
It’s a delightfully macabre showdown, but the Hulk is still viciously fighting on.
The other players in this game, Shadow Base and Gamma Flight, barely understand what is going on–and for good reason. Something horrible and eldritch lies at the center of this morose tale, and it comes to fruition in the finale.
Joe Bennett brings this gamma-powered abattoir to life with the skill of a master. It’s gut-wrenching and all-around horrendous to read, and it’s all the more fascinating for it. I didn’t want to know what the Hulk looked like at the same size and shape but without muscles–it’s awful. I love it. The same goes for bifurcated Crusher Creel. The detailing is fantastic throughout, and Paul Mounts’ color work is great.
Immortal Hulk #10 is another knock-out of an issue from Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, and the team. It’s a bizarre and chilling showdown at the place of Hulk’s birth, and I can’t help but hang onto every word and panel of it. This one gets a strong recommendation. Give it a read…if you can handle the body horror.
Immortal Hulk #10 comes to us from writer Al Ewing, artist Joe Bennett, inkers Ruy Jose, Le Beau Underwood, and Rafael Fonteriz, color artist Paul Mounts, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Alex Ross, and variant cover artists Marko Djurdjevic and Inhyuk Lee.
