Comic Review: The Immortal Hulk (2018-) #19

The Immortal Hulk #19

Marvel Comics

Writer: Al Ewing

Artist: Joe Bennett

The Immortal Hulk goes against the new Abomination, made from the remains of Emil Blonsky and Rick Jones.

Seeing his former sidekick and friend turned into such a monster visibly upset Hulk, but he isn’t one to run away from a fight. To his unpleasant surprise, this new Abomination isn’t a monster he can just kick and be done with. He learns that the hard way – as he tries to punch it in the face, the Abomination catches Hulk’s hand (with its head, no less) and melts it. Not only that, but the acid also blocks Hulk’s regenerating powers.

These two aren’t the only gamma-monsters featured in this issue. The majority of the book actually follows the narrator – Betty Ross in her harpy form. She is following the trailer of the Abomination and the Hulk… And what she does at the end will shock you(™)!

I can’t stress this enough – <i>Immortal Hulk</i> is probably the best ongoing book coming from the Big 2 at the moment and this is one of its most shocking and terrifying (and best!) issues yet. Al Ewing is doing such a fantastic job with the characters and story. The pacing is superb, going from a flashback sequence with General Fortean, General Ross, and Betty Ross, then moving onto the fight sequence, before focusing on The Harpy’s rampage. It does it all without skipping a beat.

Now let’s talk a bit about Betty Ross, aka the Harpy. It has been some time since we saw her transformation in this book, but this is the first time we get a good and extended look at her. And she is terrifying. Not only in her design, or her inner monologue, but her actions and mannerisms in this issue are equals parts satisfying and horrifying. Sure, the Hulk gets creepy and scary at times, and the Abomination sure looks disgusting and horrible. But the Harpy is the one that would, in the end, make me s#&@ my pants.

Joe Bennett, the other half of the creative team behind the Immortal Hulk, deserves as much praise as Al Ewing. The designs are his, after all. Everything is nicely detailed, from the characters to the background. I wonder how the hell does he manage to put out so much high-quality work so frequently. The dash of realism he uses while drawing the monsters adds a whole other layer to the body horror flair this book is going for.

Paul Mounts is, as usual, on. colours, this time aided a bit by Rachelle Rosenberg on the flashback sequences. Mounts has been working in tandem with Bennett since day one and their work is getting bolder and better with each issue they put out. His colours compliment Bennett’s lines wonderfully, adding a great layer of depth to the whole ordeal. 

Honestly, this is the most I can write and praise the book without stepping into some serious spoiler territory. Where will the book go next? I don’t know,  but things aren’t looking that good for our Devil Hulk. We’ll just have to wait for the 3rd of July to find out.