The Immortal Hulk series will change comic books forever
By Mark Lynch
Immortal Hulk has concluded, but the series will revolutionize how writers create stories.
The Immortal Hulk comic book series will be looked at as a classic run. We’ve seen horror in comic books before, but not like this. Writer Al Ewing took a beloved Marvel hero and Avenger and turned him into a monster. People have called the Hulk a monster before, but, in this series, he accepted and embraced it. He made people scared of him and even adopted the name Devil Hulk.
The character and the writing is only one part of what made this series so memorable. The visuals helped make Immortal Hulk horrifying. First there’s Bruce Banner’s transformation from man to monster. This series made it look excruciating. His bones, organs, and skin changing looked more realistic than the smooth growth that we’ve seen in cartoons, the comics, and movies. Banner’s face was always in pain. Then there’s the violence. You’ve never seen a Hulk this ruthless before. It’s doubtful you’ll see it again.
Readers don’t always like change. Some responded aggressively when Spider-Man writer Dan Slott put Otto Octavius in Peter Parker’ body (Spider-Man No. 699). But Al Ewing took a bold step with Immortal Hulk. There were changes to the character that could have garnered angry readers and a canceled series. Instead it will change the way we look at comics forever. Let’s take a look at how he did that.