Abominable – Immortal Hulk #19 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
General Fortean and Shadow Base have recreated the Abomination out of the bodies of Emil Blonsky and Rick Jones. The resulting monster is something worse than before, and it creates and acid that stops the Hulk’s healing ability. This may be a monster even the Immortal Hulk can’t conquer. However, Betty Ross, currently manifested as a Harpy/Red She-Hulk hybrid, and reporter Jackie McGee have arrived on the scene. Will they be Hulk’s salvation…or damnation?
At this point in the Immortal Hulk series, I was beginning to think I’d be hard to shock, but damn if Al Ewing and Joe Bennett didn’t find a way to surprise me once again with Immortal Hulk #19.
Immortal Hulk #19 is possibly the most violent and gory issue of the series yet, and that’s saying something for this particular series.
The battle between the Hulk and the new Abomination is brutal on its own, but it doesn’t actually take up that much of the comic. Betty Ross, who narrates this issue, actually takes the lion’s share of the comic, and she earns it.
The Betty Ross scenes are arguably the most shocking and brutal. I won’t spoil the specifics, but it manages to outpace even the horrid mutant iteration of Abomination advertised on the cover.
Bennett continues to outdo himself with the visuals. The brutal and bloody horror just wouldn’t be the same if it weren’t for Bennett’s particular visual style. He’s worked in the industry for a long time, and its familiarity makes the horrific scenes all the more disquieting and stomach-churning. Inkers Ruy José and Belardino Brabo and colorists Paul Mounts and Rachelle Rosenberg add to it with impressive work of their own that really brings this superhero horror comic together.
Immortal Hulk #19 once again hits the reader hard with another brutal, bloody, and shocking issue that chills the reader to the bone when they’re not struggling to keep their last meal down. It’s action-heavy yet pensive. It subverts your expectations and leaves you wondering where the next issue could possibly go. I can’t recommend this one enough. Give it a read.
Immortal Hulk #19 comes to us from writer Al Ewing, artist Joe Bennett, inkers Ruy José and Belardino Brabo, color artist Paul Mounts and Rachelle Rosenberg, letterer VC’s Cory Petit, cover artist Alex Ross, and variant cover artists Ema Lupacchio with David Curiel; and Greg Smallwood.
Final Score: 9.5/10
