When I last left the Immortal Hulk, he had just completed a venture through Hades, reunited unsuccessfully with ex Betty Ross Banner, and then went back into therapy with long thought dead Doc Samson. Then both Hulk and Samson went to pay their respects to the late Rick Jones, only to learn that someone had stolen the body. And then... for some reason I let 3 years pass before following up on this amazing series by Al Ewing (Defenders) and Joe Bennett (Checkmate).
I had last read volume 3 in the autumn of 2019. So COVID wasn't just the only reason why I took a break. See, Abomination was the last volume available at the time. I figured I could wait a couple of months and then binge volume 4 and 5 at the same time. And then the pandemic hit, my library closed for almost 2 years and I added several volumes of this series to my 'To Read' list.
Finally, Immortal Hulk came up on my list of things to read and the time was right. After a cursory review of the third volume, I dipped my toe into gamma infested waters and I got swept in the undertow! Not only does the Hulk learn about the whereabouts of Rick Jones body, the Big Green Machine learns the secret of gamma radiation! But the revelation that blew me away was the return of a long forgotten part of Bruce Banner's psyche!
I really screwed up with my last trip to the library. I only checked out 1 unread volume of Immortal Hulk! Hopefully, I can make a trip without excessive delay in order to get my hands on 5, 6, and maybe more.
What I didn't screw up on was reading this book. It was violent and bloody and crude and I loved it. I'm not a big fan of how Hell and its denizens are key players in this series. But it's not done gratuitously like some of those 1970s Doctor Strange stories that how goten under my skin recently, so I'm dealing. There's a lot of Dante's Inferno mixed into this story as this is also a very psychological narrative about the Hulk.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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