Issues: IMMORTAL HULK #'s 3 (Epilogue) 4, 5, and 6 (Interlude)
Writer: AL EWING
Artist(s): JOE BENNETT(penciler), RUY JOSE (inker): #'s 3-5 / LEE GARBETT # 6
OVERVIEW:
A Gamma-centric problem leads Walter Langkowski to reach out to a reporter determined to find Bruce Banner.
REVIEW:
When I first read the Solicitations For August about IMMORTAL HULK # 4 in which "Walter Langkowski is going to die today, because he went looking for (Bruce) Banner...and found the IMMORTAL HULK" my first thought was "Here we go. Marvel is about to put the biggest nail in original Alpha Flight's coffin."
Then, when I saw Joe Bennett's pencil artwork posted, I was impressed. But this being about a member of Alpha Flight (which is not Marvel's favored property by any stretch of the imagination), I thought: "Well, at least Walter's death will be well-illustrated."
And then I saw the Immortal Hulk #4 preview with the inked and worded pages and it was becoming clear that this was going to be different, probably good...possibly very good. But this being a member Alpha Flight...well it's better not to get one's hopes up too high.
The throwdown between the Immortal Hulk and Sasquatch is every bit as brutal as it was promised to be. Not only is the set-up an excellent and effective use of a guest-star, the resolution and the consequences are not glossed over.
I admit I did not think that Marvel was interested in telling stories with this level of commitment, craftsmanship, and creativity, anymore. I thought the big 2 were more interested in parody, mocking and ripping off each other's characters/ideas/intellectual properties instead of focusing on telling stories about characters who are truly heroic, interesting, and entertaining. On at least this title, I thankfully thought wrong.
The creative team and the editorial team have done an outstanding job not just in re-envisioning the Hulk, but in their portrayal of the supporting characters, as well.
#4 in particular would not be as good as it is without the well-developed characterizations of Jackie McGee and Walter Langkowski. And while it might be easy to bemoan the lack of the Hulk, #4 is as much about Bruce Banner and his alter ego as it is about Walter Langkowski and Sasquatch.
This review/opinion piece is supposed to focus on the issues mentioned above, but to get the fullest sense of the direction and development of this series, it would be a good idea to pick up #'s 1 & 2, as I did after reading #4.
SPOILERS:
Walter does die. Reporter McGee does find Bruce Banner...or, more accurately, Bruce Banner finds her. And both Walter and Bruce end up jammed royally by whoever is behind THE GREEN DOOR.
I did not intend to read Immortal Hulk beyond the issues that featured Walter Langkowski and Sasquatch. I did not expect it would be what it turned out to be: a very good comic book that should be read, savored...and enjoyed.
RATING:
IH # 4 - solid 9 stars
IH # 5 - 8.9 stars (only because the reason for Jackie's big reveal is unknown: Does she want to be immortal? Does she want to be a hero? Does she want to tear up somebody else's neighborhood? Don't know.)
IH # 6 - solid 9 stars (Walter's on the hook for stuff somebody else did; big trouble)
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