Review: The Immortal Hulk #30

With the shear amount of political intrigue, horror elements and cosmic elements Al Ewing brings to his story-telling, we might forget that he also has an incredible grasp of how to give us an action-packed monster fight. This issue reminds us that first and foremost, this book is a monster book. Al Ewing discusses in the letter’s page his own fondness for Greg Pak’s writing. This issue is a perfect representation of that type of Hulk comic with a massive action sequence with Hulk and his team at the foreground, even as we get classic Ewing elements building behind the scenes.

Given the Monster Mash nature of this issue, the absolute soul of this issue lies within Joe Bennett’s masterful artwork and Paul Mounts amazing colors. This is Hulk smashing and tearing through monsters with all the bombast and Gamma powered destruction one would want. The artwork depicting the damage to both Hulk and his enemies is astonishing. The action carries a larger weight given the stakes revealed by the end of the issue.

Ewing uses this action to reflect on the cost of war, highlighting the difference in perspective of those with powers, such as Rick, and those on the ground losing friends, such as Jackie. It also looks at the battle from the skewed perspective of the public. Here, public perspective is very much formed by corporate and media manipulation. Roxxon and the Minotaur are able to use their control over television and social media to introduce bias against Hulk and his team in presenting the events as they unfold.

Ewing allows fans to enjoy an incredibly strong set of battles against gamma beasts, and then adds the added horror of parasites released as Hulk tears them apart. Rather than a simple battle with a pat-ending, this battle includes consequences on every level, with the release of even more deadly enemies, the media turning the public further against The Hulk and the human toll. The frenzy of battle gives way to real tragedy, representative of the consequences of any war which often comes with failure following victory.

The cover deserves a mention of its own. Alex Ross has somehow grown even more as an artist over the decades we’ve known him. His cover conveys action, movement and the shear intelligence of it’s subject beyond all expectations. It would be worthwhile to collect his recent Marvel covers in a book all of their own just to have this incredible work highlighted.

The weaker points of this book are minor but generally center around characters speaking much more than expected in the midst of battle. For an issue including Doc Samson commenting on how little Betty speaks, there are some scenes with an incredible amount of dialogue. While this might be expected in scenes surrounding media coverage or corporate intrigue, it’s a bit odd to have characters chatting about themselves as Hulk is literally being eaten by monsters.

The largest criticism of this issue is one which is too commonplace in modern comics. Ruining the final page reveal on the cover itself, showing us Xemnu on the final page should be a stunning twist elevating the issue even further. Including him on the cover of the issue robs much of the impact. Clearly comics must be in the business of selling themselves first and foremost, but an artist of the caliber of Alex Ross could create another image to bring in readers and this cover could have been reserved for the next issue.

Writing — 4 Stars
Art — 4 Stars
Colors — 5 StarsÂ

Overall — 4 StarsÂ

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Written By:Â Al Ewing
Art By:Â Joe Bennett
Colors By:Â Paul Mounts
Letters By:Â Ruy Jose, Belardino Brabo, Cam Smith
Cover By: Alex Ross
Published By:Â Marvel ComicsÂ

Author Profile

M.R. Jafri

M.R. Jafri was born and raised in Niagara Falls New York and now lives with his family in Detroit Michigan. He's a talkative introvert and argumentative geek. His loves include Star Wars, Star Trek, Superheroes, Ninja Turtles, Power Rangers, Transformers, GI Joe, Films, Comics, TV Shows, Action Figures and Twizzlers.