In 2018, Marvel Comics’ most famous, rampaging, green giant got a brand new ongoing series and its first five issues are collected in Immortal Hulk Vol. 1. This new series is an original take on the character and is much more of a horror comic than the Hulk has ever been before. With a mature reader, Swamp Thing like feel, Immortal Hulk really packs a punch. The series begins after Hawkeye has supposedly killed the Hulk by shooting a gamma-enriched, vibranium arrow into the base of his brain which Banner, himself, created the arrow and gave to him. It was Banner’s the ultimate test of whether or not the Hulk could truly die but despite Banner’s hope of a true death, both he and Hulk yet again return to life. This time however, Banner has lost much of his genius and the Hulk is smarter as well as more brutal. Banner walks the earth by day and the Hulk comes out at night to prey upon those who are guilty enough to be smashed.
Immortal Hulk Vol. 1 introduces readers to what the Hulk and Banner have become and spends three of its collected issues showing just how dark they and their world are now. The fourth and fifth issues feature not only a detailed origin of Alpha Flight’s Sasquatch but an earth shaking showdown between the orange and green giants. During the battle, the Hulk discovers that Sasquatch is possessed by entity from beyond the “Green Door”. Hulk sets out on a search that will take him to this Green Door in an attempt to discover why it exists and what exactly it is leaving a crippled and powerless Sasquatch in his wake.
Well written and mostly well drawn, Immortal Hulk represents a new path for an old character retold in a much scarier and adult fashion. If you’re a fan of darker comics like Swamp Thing and Man-Thing, Immortal Hulk is a title you’ll want to add to your must read list.
