it's one of the most acclaimed runs in recent Marvel Comics history but can Al Ewing's The
Immortal Hulk live up to the hype? WOOF WOOF! Hey guys it's me Marcus AKA The Maddogg and
we're back with another video! Written by Al Ewing and illustrated primarily by Joe Bennett,
the first issue of the immortal Hulk was published by Marvel Comics in June of 2018. with the 50th
and final issue being released in October of 2021 and the Hulk is back from the dead but with the
line between Bruce Banner and the green monster growing thinner the horror that lies between their
split will be harsher than ever and if you throw in Joe fixie the professor the Gladiator and all
the other personalities that he's had over the years the possibility of ever seeing Bruce again
seems Grim but what happens when he's forced to confront the damage that he's caused along the
way and what if his path to Redemption leads him directly to Hell itself VR okay so to start off
I do have to mention that Joe Bennett does have a few controversies under his belt one of which
even involved The Immortal Hulk and I don't think I'm nearly intelligent enough to really start to
tackle the kind of topics he's involving but long story short it doesn't sound like a great guy and
Al Ewing's already began to distance himself from the artist and honestly I don't really think there
was much special about his style and admittedly whoever was going to be the artist on this book
started at a massive disadvantage because of those absolutely beautiful Alex Ross covers holy [ __ ]
talk about showing someone up credit to Benny to fired that I was the person whose art was
waiting behind 50 issues of Alex Ross's covers I probably would have just quit and the best thing
is that the covers actually had a meaning to the issue itself sometimes and especially with rash
you think it's just going to be a striking image that doesn't really have a lot of relevance to
the issue that's inside but it's great because if you saw the Avengers on a cover then they
were going to be in the issue but Bennett's style really hitting stride when it came to the horror
and especially the body horror stuff which very much reminded me of stuff like John Carpenter's
a thing it was disturbing and unsettling and especially when you've seen it happen to a
well-established character like the Hulk he also did a great job of illustrating how monstrous the
Hulk is and distinguishing between the different personalities there were subtle differences in
the mannerisms the posture and even the design so that you could still know which brain was
inside the character however overall I was a bit underwhelmed by the interior art a majority the
Great Moments in this run I remember because of the shock value or the impact on the story and
not so much because of the way they loot the way of a few instances where he does try to break the
mold with the paneling but it's just not really an impressive style for me and that's okay because
artists subjective there's been artists on this channel that have raved about that people have
just straight up told me I'm wrong like it's gonna be that easy to just change my eyes but it's just
one of those styles that does its job it tells a story but it never really feels like it's trying
to work overtime and there was one issue early on where the story followed the perspectives
of a few different characters and each of those stories had a different artist to represent the
life of that person and I thought that was really inventive and I did enjoy it and I thought it was
one of the standout issues looking at you from an art perspective and I wouldn't have complain too
much if they would have done that a few more times throughout the series and one thing that I noticed
happening which threw me out of the book on a few occasions was just the faces looking off I get
that they were going for a horrified but I didn't think they'd be doing that with The Pedestrian
characters I don't know if it was something to do with the pencils the shading the coloring but
there was a few occasions where it looked like a character was missing at notes or just looked
like stuff had been rubbed out and they forgot to fill it back in if it would have been one of
the Monstrous characters I probably would have let it slide and think that this was intentional but I
can't really see being intentional for the human characters if nothing else so Benny is consistent
I didn't notice much of a drop in quality from the first issue to the last which does really help
move the plot forward and I reckon that will be an advantage to people who want to read this in one
go now that the series is finished and especially because it's getting that upcoming Omnibus which
you can already order from the channel sponsor organic Price Books they've got great packaging
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codes as many times as you like jumping into the story section now and I can't remember the
last time a Marvel title had this much hype and praise it's probably something like Tom King's
Vision which is coincidental because I'm reading that at the moment yep the reviews coming soon so
make sure you subscribed and for the first 20 or so issues of the immortal Hulk the hype was
real I've had quite a few Hulk series now and I've always enjoyed them and I'm even somebody who's in
apologies for the Jeff low run were you into take felt like it was trying to be something different
from everything that's come before it sure yeah we've had a few writers that have tried to look
into the psyche of Bruce Banner and the other alter egos that he's had but I got the center
early on that all you was trying to give a linear answer to all of that so like the early on this
had a sense of direction and almost like a thesis I think I'm excited that this was going to be a
longer run and I thought it was going to be one of those series that I didn't want it to end coupled
with that was a fantastic tone this wanted to be a horror book and it succeeded especially
in the first issue just following characters that knew that the Hulk was nearby and he might attack
soon gave me that impression that I needed to be looking over my shoulder which became a bit
redundant and the thing is I've noticed there's two types of tones when it comes to Hulk's stories
you've got the type that suits that sad song that plays at the end of the Lou Ferrigno series and
then you've got ones that are more in line with Hulk Ultimate Destruction and overall from the
darker tone it is clearly it's the former but I liked it felt like a perfect mix between both at
first because Hulk was just on a rampage he didn't really show a lot of reluctance towards creating
anyone but you knew that there was something deeper going on underneath and that was something
that I particularly loved early on they put that focus on the Hulk's kills and the destruction that
he leaves in his wake and it tells that delicate balance because the Hulk is attacking the right
people which the collateral damage that he's forced to face The Duality between banner and
the Hulk is a real strength as well and something that's really at the core of this story for the
most part the longer that the one goes on it does incorporate more of those personas that he's had
over the years so although early on this is a great starting point for this character so much
so that I did include it I mean where to start the Hulk in some of the later issues I did have to do
with cheeky Google search as some of the personas so that I could catch up on the history because
it's been quite a few years since I'd hated them and at least it did give an additional layer to
the mystery that element of not knowing who might appear next the problem is it's hard to do horror
or mystery for a while without needing to either change the direction move the goal post or lose
what makes it special to begin with because it's difficult to make us constantly fear the whole
gift with following him for a while but the same time you can't make a Hulk book that's trying to
explore who he is as a character without putting him as the focus and I think that's why I tried
so many different things in the beginning and then just kept doing the same thing throughout the rest
of the run but with less of an impact and honestly despite what I was hoping for really on this could
have been near perfect if it was only about 20 or so issues he could have kept the tension developed
the characters in pretty much the way they did anyway and then just end the series on a high
before it went on for too long but once you win had begun to settle in there was a very clear
Rhythm to the plot of each story arc a character would be introduced sometimes would be good
sometimes it'd be bad we'd follow their life for an issue there would then be an issue that shows
the reaction towards that character from the rest of the world the focal character of the art would
then come face to face with the Hulk and then we'd have an issue in hell and somebody has to try and
find the way out now hearing me saying that out loud that sounds like a really cool plot and at
first this was which is why I had such a good time with the early experience and I really understood
the hype but just imagine if that exact same plot happens quite a few times in a quick succession
all of a sudden it doesn't really have that wow factor sure yeah they do move or change
one or two of the elements and at first I thought this was some kind of reference to Groundhog Day
Shane white was really like to be inside mind of Bruce Banner and then all of a sudden this
Monster's just wrecked your entire life in one night and then just having this revolving door
of people showing up and blaming you for something but I've said this before and even being called an
idiot for it which is a surprise to absolutely no one but I will always stand by the fact that
an entertaining plot should always have a higher priority over subtext which is where I think many
of my problems with the immortal Hulk really lie I'm no strange to tell you when I really enjoyed
his run on Loki that was one of those books that really called me by surprise and a new going into
this it was going to be more of a psychological story than an action-packed one but it's almost
as if you inhered the praise that this was getting for being a deep and thinking man's Hulk story and
decided instead to focus only on that the priority became more about what I wanted to say rather than
the story they wanted to tell and as a result of that there were stretches of issues in the
second half that just felt like pure filling with that exact same plot structure that we
talked about earlier and it just felt like it was treading water that we'd already gone over
and forcing itself to focus on characters that had already saved the purpose gamma flight was
a perfect example of that when they were brought in early on I enjoyed them they felt like a unique
and interesting challenge for the Hulk to go up against and brought some comedic relief to the
often melodramatic tone but then they kind of just stayed in the book and only really had a
few memorable moments after the opening Arc another one you had the reporter Jackie at
least I think that's what her name was she had a perfect backstory for this series showing us how
the Hulk can destroy lives without us even knowing about it and that speared on her desire to go into
journalism which gave us this really unique lens to start the book with and then she kind of just
waited around after initial interactions with the Hulk and that also felt the same with Betty Ross
I was hyped when she entered this book they gave her a great development early on and then she just
kind of hovered around until the plot needed her again I actually kept forgetting that she'd been
in this series and if Ewing had been willing to leave stuff behind not feeling the need to
carry everything with him until the end of the series there probably could have been a lot more
meaning and impactful moments but instead what we get is an ambitious series that just has a
lot of fluff in it that's not to say that all the characters are bad I love Sasquatch doc Samson and
The Duality between them and also how that maybe between Bruce Banner Hulk and all of his personas
Pock was probably my favorite part of gamma flight and I hope that he appears in more series zenmue
or however you pronounce his name was fun even if the example of the repetitive storyline was
one that he was very heavily guilty of and to be a hypocrite I loved his art because it was before I
noticed that pattern and it shows it is a good formula to use just not if you're gonna use it
constantly and I think that's what really aches me there's a lot of greatness throughout this run and
even some moments in the second half it doesn't completely drive off a cliff it's not like Robert
kirkman's Outcast where I feel like he just forgot what story he wanted to tell halfway through and
then just hit the keyboard and hope for the best but for example one of my favorite issues came
quite late on and it followed his security guard that was working for Roxanne there was this Hulk
gang that had been forming in the background and he didn't know how far to take his job or
the impact they'd have on his life and it was another great example of showing The Wider will
being impacted by the Hulk but at the same time he didn't feel the need to keep the security guard
hanging around in case it needed him in the last issue he told the exact story that they needed
with him and then just left him behind and I just wish that the second half of this story had more
gems like that perhaps the difference is that the second half does decide to put the horror aspect
on the back burner and it becomes more sci-fi focused in Parts as well weirdly none of them
ever feel out of place they just never reach the same Heights that the horror did like at one point
there was a massive corporate Espionage storyline that was going on that was really fun to follow
even if again it did kind of relegate the Hulk to the background some kind of torn between enjoying
some of the stuff that the latter half did but not really in a Hulk book that started out as
something different maybe if they just rebranded this as something else I wouldn't really have as
many criticisms but that's not the case and I can only judge the book that I read there was
also some great inclusions of why the Marvel characters and also lesser-known Hulk figures
The Avengers feature in a few issues and they pretty much just do the same thing every time
they appear which I can't lie is fun but again repetitive kinda like the majority of what I'm
saying in this video there was also a fantastic issue with the thing and I really loved the bond
that those two characters have in the gave it time to develop and found a way to connect it to the
main story so what I loved is that album clearly knew who the Hulk was this was a great exploration
of his character and the person that he's been for all the years since he faced was published we just
felt like Ewing didn't really know the impact they wanted to leave on this character and I'm
struggling to get to the bottom on why I feel so mad about such a highly acclaimed run and I think
it's because it lost that direction that I enjoyed in the beginning and in the end just felt long for
the sake of being long which yeah I can't really criticize too heavily on I have watched some of
my videos back but the immortal Hulk was never outright bad and in isolation I enjoyed a lot of
the elements they brought to the table I just wish it would have been a bit more disciplined with how
it utilized them and be willing to take a few more risks in leaving stuff behind and the interesting
thing is that when I'm hearing the hype that this title has it mostly seems to be from people
who have yet to read this sure I can only give my limited perspective and I've only got one pair of
eyes but I think it's because of the transition of height between single issue readers and collected
editions if you only read the latter option like myself and you wait first series to end before you
jump into it then you heard the praise early on and maybe even picked up a hardcover or two and
now it's the way for the Omnibus to be released to finally see what this is all about and I think
it's important to remember that you don't just have to agree with the general consensus as well
because this is a deeper title you run the risk of being labeled an idiot if you don't enjoy it like
everybody else already has it reminds me of how everybody had to get the message of Joker which
isn't difficult at all because the main character wrote it on a notepad so that the audience could
read it and guess what I'm trying to say is that the hype now seems to be more from people who are
just waiting for the Omnibus rather than people who have already finished off this series and
know exactly what waits for them at the end and if that's you that's fine that's how I chose to
read this run but all I'm saying is don't go into this expecting some kind of 11 out of 10 series
because it isn't possible and if you do adjust your expectations and know that it does change
gear in the second half then I think you can still have an enjoyable experience because I think if
this was something that I hunted everybody's feedback on already I probably would have really
enjoyed this and it does feature a majority two of his enemies and his allies and he tries to
do a few interesting things it's just a shame because I think the height really ruined this
for me and I don't want the same thing to happen to anybody else this is my final verdict and if
I had a quid for every time that hype negatively impacted something that I was looking forward to
I could probably afford my electricity bill this month without needing to borrow money from your
parents The Immortal Hulk is one of those titles that's always had unanimous praiseful we need from
its very first issue and it's not completely undeserved we couldn't maintain its momentum
all the way to the Finish Line valuing takes Bruce Banner the majority of his personas on
a journey that few writers have attempted before him and he mostly succeeds what started as a great
horror comic looking at the collateral damage left in the wake of banner and an existential
crisis for everybody's favorite gamma-laced hero lost its way somewhere around the halfway mark and
seemed to forget what made it special there are still a handful of great moments but just never
seems to reach the same highs that he consistently did in the first 20 or so issues but despite my
criticisms I do still think this is worth checking out if nothing announced for the great first half
alone but just know that it is very front loaded and after the Buddy horror stuff leaves a series
The Art isn't really anything to write home about maybe this will be one of those series that I come
back to a few years down the line with adjusted expectations but all things considered I'm gonna
have to go against the grain with the immortal Hulk and give it a very modest and probably
surprising score of 60 percent so that's a video hopefully you enjoyed it but until next time just
make sure that you stay safe and stay mad all you dogs with roof see you at the next video