The Immortal Hulk #34 // Review
The Immortal Hulk #34, written by Al Ewing, with guest pencils by Butch Guice, guest inks by Tom Palmer, and colors by Paul Mounts, takes a break from the ongoing saga of Banner and Hulk to focus on their longtime enemy the Leader, aka Samuel Sterns. Previously, it was revealed that all gamma-powered beings on the planet are connected to an evil entity called The One Below All. Through this connection, any gamma-powered person has a sort of ill-defined immortality. They can be killed, but they return at a later time (sometimes hours, days, weeks, or years later). With the revelation that the Leader has returned, and is up to his old tricks, there are many questions about how much he knows of his own immortality, and what his connections are to The One Below All, and they’re all answered here.
This chapter of Ewing’s ongoing “Immortal” story serves as a kind of catch-up/character study of the Leader, while also filling in the blanks in reference to Hulk’s current situation. Sterns has been dead a few times, and there was always some crazy explanation as to how he returned. Ewing cleverly ties it all back to his “they always come back” angle and lets the reader know just how much the Leader has figured out on his own. Of course, with Sterns’ numerous deaths, and high intelligence, he’s a lot more clued in on just what ties all gamma people together, and he’s unwilling to let an untapped power source go on ignored.
Ewing has shied away from the Leader throughout his 34 issue run, only hinting at his presence, but it is apparent he has a big part to play in the story after all. With this being his first real-time handling the character, Ewing proves that he understands what makes Sterns tick just as well as he understands Banner and his multitude of personalities. He has used the history of his heroes and villains well, while providing a horror twist, throughout the run, and his use of the Leader is no exception to that rule.
Guest artist and inker, Guice and Palmer, are both capable artists, but it’s always hard to see main penciler Joe Bennett not handling his usual duties on the book. Marvel has pulled off a rare feat by having Bennett draw most issues of this title so far, and it has gone a long way to giving the book a particular visual identity. That being said, with the change in pace of the narrative for this issue, Guice and Palmer’s presence makes total sense, and they do an admirable job of telling this specific story. Mounts, a usual member of the art team, contributes at his usual fantastic level of professionalism in the color department.
In the end, this issue was a nice break from the usual focus on the titular hero and still managed to move the story forward in a meaningful way. The Leader is always a fan favorite, and his hard, science fiction edge may have been expected to be a challenge to fit into the horror story Ewing has been telling, but that kind of genre-bending seems to be his specialty. This chapter of The Immortal Hulk adds yet another layer to the already complex story and pulls off the return of a major player in a very satisfying way for longtime fans.
