Review: ‘Immortal Hulk’ #46 Finally Gets Angry… And, Well… You Know
by Tony Thornley
For three years now, we’ve seen a cold, calculating Hulk, a very different take on the character versus the classic giant, green rage monster. However, Immortal Hulk #46 finally shows us what this calculating monster is like when he gets angry. And well… You’re not going to like him when he’s angry.
The story from Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts, and Cory Petit is building to a climax that is clearly going to change the Hulk forever. Pieces are being moved into place. However, it’s time for the Hulk to smash.
The Hulk’s allies are on their way. However, the Hulk himself has woken up angrier and more powerful than he’s been in ages, so strong that he can tear the U-Foes apart without any effort. Can anything or anyone assemble to defeat the strongest there is?
Ewing doesn’t fool around in this issue. In just a few pages, he moves every one of his main plots forward, giving the issue a ton of forward momentum. That carries through from scene to scene, giving readers several issues worth of plot as it builds. It also carries a sense of tension, that compliments the weird world around the characters.
Bennett continues to up the creep factor, but Mounts is the star in this issue. Bennett, Jose, and Brabo pace the action well and make even the surreal action between Hulk and the U-Foes interesting and clear. However, Mounts’ color work is surreal.
He makes the U-Foes feel off, a mixture of dangerous energy and noxious gas that could go wrong at any moment. The texture he gives to Vector in particular makes the villain jump off the page. The Hulk himself is a strange mixture of green, grey and red, shifting depending on the angle he’s being viewed from, never the same tone twice.
It’s enough to make me question which Hulk we’re seeing here. It’s not the bug guy, but is this Fixit? The Worldbreaker? Or did last issue’s sudden ending to the Hulk versus Leader battle actually have an unseen, sinister coda?
The Hulk and his allies are starting to draw together, and the final conflict may be on the horizon. It’s still one of the best rides in comics.
Immortal Hulk #46 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
The series continues to build to its endgame. This issue shows how each part of the creative team is essential to telling a story. Where the line art is good and generally solid, the colors really added a ton of nuance.
