Devil Hulk. That’s all you need to know.

I turned to Twitter a few weeks ago to ask for recommendations for new graphic novel series to check out, and The Immortal Hulk was far and away the most mentioned title. I’ve never been a huge Hulk fan outside of Mark Ruffalo’s portrayal of him and the Greg Pak Planet Hulk series, so giving the character a fresh try seemed like a solid idea.

Bruce Banner, thought of as dead, is continually popping up as a Hulk, much like Big Foot appears in the trashy grocery newspapers of our era. The Hulk keeps following the trail of Gamma radiation, often trying to involve himself in situations where he can avenge the deaths of innocent people because of how gamma radiation has effected them. He can also “smell lying” and knows who is guilty of crimes, leaving a trail of beaten bodies in his wake. 

Over the course of the these three volumes, the Hulk grows from the one note character I know him as into an almost horror character. The art fully reflects a darker perspective on the Hulk, take advantage of gore and guts in all the scenes in which he and others are ripped apart. If you’re not into a substantial amount of violence in your graphic novels, you might want to steer clear because holy guts batman. During the day Bruce Banner is in charge and can control the Hulk more easily, whereas nighttime belongs to the Hulk. I don’t want to give too much away in terms of the story because I thing Ewing does a lot of fantastic stuff here, bringing in different characters from Avengers to Betty to other Hulk related villains that are a bit B list. He manages to combine a lot and still keep it feeling emotional, so for me this is a total win. As the trade paperbacks keep being released, I’ll absolutely be picking them up!

Title: The Immortal Hulk
Author: Al Ewing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 112
ISBN: 9781302912550 // 9781302912567 // 9781302915063

Three Descriptors: Horror, Dark, Character-Driven