Why The Immortal Hulk is So Good: A Horror Comic about Revenge
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 29 ก.ย. 2024
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The Immortal Hulk is a new take on Marvel's Hulk character. It's become the best selling ongoing book, surpassing perennial top sellers like Batman. Why? This video analyzes what's so special about it, taking a look at how the title is now a horror book. It's a story where the Hulk gets revenge for those who can't get it for themselves and it's executed incredibly well.
This sounds like what Shin Godzilla is to that franchise.
That's the best way I've heard someone describe this run.
I love this series. I always felt like Banner/Hulk was a cross between Jeckell/Hyde and Frankenstein/The Monster, so it's fitting that it reverts back to it's horror roots.
it was always a super-hero comic. It has no horror roots other than a loose reference to hyde/Frankenstein monster. He fought supervillians from the get go.
@@CuriousCritter17 maybe not the original run but IM hulk definitely has horror
@@CuriousCritter17 You gotta be really blind to not catch the clear horror elements Immortal Hulk had
Man I love your videos, thank you for doing what you do
Hulks new regenerative ability is both awesome 😎 and scary as hell 😱 I mean seriously he basically ate someone without even chewing
Chris, may I? Thank you. I am new to your channel AND Immortal Hulk. Both are unlooked for treasures. You balance humor with concrete content in an extremely high functioning manner that works very well for me- like Red Letter Media. And this magazine.. yes, swamp thing is my faveorite title.. guy which author. Bravo Chris, I'll be chirping away in your comment sections for years to come.
I love the research you put into every video. It's educational and funny which is a deadly combo!
Absolutely love your videos. And I reaaaaaally really love your intro theme. Amazing video keep up the good work. Only criticism I could possibly have for these videos is the audio has a bit of an echo when you do the front facing cam. Idk how else to describe the audio inconsistency
I love the aura this man gives off
Al Ewing has his tropes, like putting the issue title on the final page. It would be fun to examine why his stories are always so brisk and enjoyable. He's that guy who can take whatever's left over in the kitchen and whip up a brilliant meal because he genuinely loves the ingredients. His run on New and US Avengers were giddy fun with the most unlikely characters and storylines.
Wouldn't it be amazing if they establish that sometimes people with gamma radiation can take a long time for them to begin to regenerate, most likely people who have died an exsteme amount of time. And over time lengthen the time so much that it takes multiple comics for someone to come back. Then have a character take so long that the only logical conclusion that the characters could have is that they actually died.
The idea of a necrotic/undead sort of hulk that fucks up his usual transformation schedule because he died and is in an improper form is so neat.
Got hooked on this channel about a 2 months been binging episodes ever since. This and ComicPOP are easily my 2 favorite comic related channels. Comicpop has a show elseworlds exchange where he has guests from other youtube comic channels and sometimes creators like Scott Snyder and JM Dematteis. Would be awesome if you were a guest host for an episode.
I've been a Hulk fan since the 90's animated series,and the re-runs of the 70's live-action series. I know there have been different hulks over the years but above all this latest one terrifies me.
A comic tropes video on Kevin o' neill's works(especially Marshall law) would be awesome
Mountain Breeze? No, my friend... MOUNTAIN SHOUTIN!
I have always wanted Hulk to be the most powerful creature in the superhero universe.
Why didn't we get THIS Hulk against Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic universe
Dude, i also made that comparison between it and moores swamp thing. Wrote that up in my fb posting sharing your video...then, a minute later you also made the comparison!!
See, what Hollywood SHOULD'VE taken from the comics was a live action movie for Wolverine vs. Hulk, with Hugh Jackman playing Logan and Ed Norton reprising his 2008 Hulk. But it's too damn late now...
so its basically the equivalent of Shin Godzilla for the Hulk
I believe this is the maestro, in one of the latest issues after ********SPOILERS******** Bruce banner heads to the motel that Joe fixit had set up for him, banner is speaking to the devil hulk in the mirror, showing a list of the personalities and the categories they fall under (and Joe is under the Bruce body one?), then he says he needs a name for the devil hulk, and starts to say "maes-" before abomination shows up. Alluding to the name that will be given to him in the future.
So happy to get the Complete collected Omnibus because Immortal Hulk is the best :P
f in the chat for grizzlies, hulk threw them all
Something else cool with the new run is the Hulk and his abilities have shifted, but still could sit within Marvel.
Well thought out and I agree - LOVE the series - I’m actually excited for the next issue of IH .....something that hasn’t happened in a long time . Great video and it’s evident you have a deep love and appreciation of the hobby - even tho it can be a bit wonky occasionally.
Well I know a comic series I’ll be picking up some issues in the future
9:20 I got flashbacks to the "King Kong Butler" from "Cats Don't Dance"
Thanks, now I can't see anything else. Lol
@@jacobstaten2366 You're welcome!
So it's not just Hulk who's immortal? It's anyone who's ever been powered by Gamma, even if they no longer are? Hmm... I doubt the Captain America title will take advantage of this, but that would be an excellent way to exonerate Steve for Thunderbolt's death.
Holy shit, that intro. Great video as always
I had to watch this episode again.
I’m going to have nightmares about being absorbed by the hulk
that intro is fantastic. I love this channel.
Immortality would only really be good with regeneration or invulnerability, preferably both just in case.
Such a random video to land to... Subbed
Judging by that intro, it appears that Chris is a God
long time comic reader, got me reinvested with the marvel/dc boyos after being an indie head for a long time.
Nice to see another 2000ad writer hitting his stride in American comics. 2000ad gave you Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, Mark Millar, and of course Al Ewing. You should totally subscribe to it, and it will bring you many more. Al Ewing's second best work was Zombo in 2000ad, which is a whole shitload of fun.
12:46 was pretty dumb tbh
I understand some of the pardons since he's saved the world countless times while the government has been trying to keep underwraps how many times they've tried to capture him and his alteregos but I guess it's the people that actually know him on stuff like the avengers protecting him
Bruce and Hulk are two different souls. Hulk is not white because the Hulk isn't Bruce. He isn't held by the same standards because Hulk has a different mental capacity, and he has actively saved lives of thousands. The comparison is insulting to both sides.
Haha loved the intro, great humour ☺️
Another fantastic video thank you
Wait... If all Gamma beings return after death, doesn't that include Ross' Red Hulk?
Your intros are fucking hilarious
The only reason I haven't subscribed is the same reason I keep coming back. Your intros are so bad. You are so endearing. Your content is too high brow for me, but I'm often too gobsmacked by your segway to click away.
PS I'm kidding I'll sub rn ily 143
Comic tropes is probably the best comic TH-cam channel honestly.
No objection here.
Yeah it's pretty decent. One of my favorites like Comics Explained!!! I really like his love and enthusiasm for comics!!!
@@MARQUE9368 Comics explained is also really good, though much more formal.
Slimy_the _horrible_Guitarist Who?
@@AnimeLuffyFan Comics explained, he made videos like "too powerful for the MCU:Rune king Thor".
Hulk is THICC in this comic, but the evil kind of THICC.
Touch my Pudinzinho ......wat
What is evil thicc
@@noregrets3925 king k rool is evil thicc
THIKK
@@noregrets3925 That thicc that jellies in the night.
I’m surprised no one is going mention the reintroduction of characters from the 70’s show like Del Fry and Jack McGee, even if the latter is now a woman. The fact it’s a horror book without turning the Hulk into the bad guy is just a good way to go in general.
@giftofgab247 marvel has been this way for yeeeeeeeaaaaarrrrrs!
Well, he DOES talk about Jackie McGee
Is a woman, is implied to be trans, is useless to the plot and added nothing the entire time she was in it, rants about the writers politics all the time, is always getting unearned praise, was given the title of hulk expert even tho she met him once for a total of like 2 minutes, is a shitty journalist bc she gets literally no stories written and is always like “I have no idea what to write about” etc when there was heaps to write about, I can go on. This character fucking sucks and hurts the comic
But they keep making hulk seem like an abusive person all the time in the comic. They even had Betty learn to hate banner more than her father did bc he isolated himself after rising from the dead.
This isn't a criticism, I'm just genuinely surprised that you can talk about the scene with the Absorbing Man and follow it up with a discussion on the terrifying artwork without ever touching on the absolutely horrifying shot of the Absorbing Man standing in front of Hulk when, like, his body is ripped in half and his spine is standing up straight, and he's still ready to fight.
That's just the essence of body horror right there.
I mean, he did put that panel in the video. And at that point in his narration, the art pretty well speaks for itself.
It’s even in the thumbnail
I don't understand why you have been so upvoted considering you are just plain wrong
@@samuraibeluga3749 plain is he? I plain don't think so.
@@gustavgnoettgen not sure what you on about.
Immortal Hulk is one of Marvel’s best comics this decade.
Agreed! Its the only Marvel title I'm reading , besides Age of X-Man (which I'm reading because I really missed reading x-titles). Thankfully they are rebooting X-men, and cancelling all x-titles and bringing Hickman in. Should shake things up
Ow yes
It helps a little that most of Marvels other comics right now aren't that great.
Definitely, I was always a big Hulk fan but this comic run is legitimately really good and is pulling me back into Marvel
It really isn't hard to top that
Comic Tropes: The immortal TH-cam comic artist
We love you, man.
What makes Immortal Hulk so good, is that it brings back the classic elements that make the Hulk:
He is wandering from town to town- like the TV series.
He is being pursued by a military general- like the classic comics and animated series.
He is a horror monster that comes out at night- like his first appearance.
He is surrounded by superheroes, but he is doing his own thing.
It’s a return to form without having to retcon everything away. It is still a continuation of everything that came before it.
And the use of mirrors.
There has always been an element of "body horror" in his transformation if you think about it. It never seemed pleasant to me.
Yet he is officially stated in the comic to being smarter than banner, he is more mature than banner, he is not violent yet Bruce keeps isolating himself in fear causing Betty to “hate banner more than her father did” when the whole reason he isolated is irrelevant bc hulk isn’t dangerous anymore, he is more capable than banner but is always being one-upped by the female characters, Bruce is set up to being traumatised and suffering ptsd from childhood abuse but they always sideline that fact to say banner is actually the bad one and Betty is the real victim no then waste our time on a useless journalist who only exists in the story to force in the writers politics and rant about white men. She added nothing to the story and her relevance to the plot was completely gone when Walter was introduced bc she only existed to find leads on hulk to get a scoop about wether or not he’s actually returned, when Walter is added he carries the plot forward and Jackie meets and confirms the hulks presence therefore she has no reason to stick around. But the writer really likes his diversity so he continues to force her in the plot for stupid tangents and she’s always snarky and rude to banner and shows no gratitude for having her career boosted hard by hulk doing some favours. The plot keeps going on pause so the writer can go on psuedointellectual rants about god, who is god, is hulk god, is god god, is Satan really god, maybe hulk is Satan, hulk is Satan?, yeah, hulk is Satan, no, wait, hulk isn’t Satan, with so who is Satan, Betty is Satan, wait no, maybe hulk has always been Satan, is hell just hulk, idk, I didn’t write the story and I’m just making it up as I go so I guess I’ll answer these questions later maybe.
The writing is just shit, the characters all act out of character and the plot suddenly introduces things without any explanation.
The story never explains why hulk is suddenly a father figure, hulk claims it’s bc he wanted a father, but the story literally just explained that banner despises his father and wants his mother back, so it’s contradicting itself, then it introduces the whole nighttime thing but never explains it and in fact regularly has the hulk appear at daylight, they introduce this smelling lies thing which is useless to the plot and is barely ever relevant. I can go on. Immortal hulk is an overrated mess.
@@zzodysseuszz This little rant says a lot less about the story and a lot more about you than you think, man.
Let’s not forget to mention the absolutely amazing Alex Ross covers ! His best work!
True
For me, it's a toss-up between these covers, or basically the entire run of the comic Marvels
His art of top-notch in that.
Casai
What about kingdom come?
The collector
He did Justice as well, but both looked incredible, and I'm glad he did so much work for DC and Captain Marvel.
Okay, it’s great, but... Project Superpowers is still my favourite of Alex Ross’s cover work.
If you want to dissolve flesh you can use mountian dew
It was one of their defenses against the accusation of a mouse being in a can
"it would have dissolved into the fluid"
Most sodas are acidic enough to dissolve organic matter.
The guy suing Pepsi said he bought it on a specific date. They countered that if a mouse had been in there since that date it would have been affected more by the acidity. So the guy lost the case.
@@zakunick1 vinegar is acidic too.
PSA for those that didn’t know, Marvel is releasing Oversized Hardcovers of the series later this year. Joe Bennet’s Art is worth dishing out the extra dollars for the oversized pages
I'm down
Jake Nap Good looking out! Also PSA for those who didn't know. Hardcovers are cheap when you figure floppies are $5/issue. And tpbs are about $3.2 an issue. At full retail this OHC is about $3.5 an issue. Totally worth it. Love hardcovers, imma get this one.
Immortal Hulk reminds me *a lot* of Fullmetal Alchemist. All the body horror stuff, the large door after death, a group of immortal beings and even some of the ways hulk’s face is drawn. Interesting if it’s a coincidence, but cool nonetheless.
it reminds me of lovecraft in certain ways.
Existential horror.. fear of death a creature beyond comprehension and abominations it's got it all.
Well he did copy other things. Like one of the plot arcs is just stolen from dmc5
@@zzodysseuszzwait what which one
Holy cow, those body horror panels are amazing. Props to whoever at Marvel pushed that angle with this run.
6:07 Not an Anarchist... A nihilist.
Anarchism is no government, no heirarchical rulers.. Nihilism is nothing matters we're all going to die.
found the anarchist
@@neronthetyrant What a r/bettlejuice moment lol.
Yup, came to the comments to say this
i don't see nihilism in the statement either. however i haven't read the comic
Stale Bagelz most anarchists eventually become nihilists, ideals form bridges into worse mentalities.
Picked this up during quarantine and I am so happy to see Swamp Thing’s ecological themes and dark political story telling carrying into the 21st century
One of these days, he's gonna start a video with "Oh, hi! You just caught me becoming one with the universe and shedding my mortal form! Speaking of which-"
Sounds like an amazing series! I just hope that She Hulk can remain more upbeat and fun. I always liked that aspect of her character. We need some light to balance the dark.
Last I'd heard she was experiencing some serious PTSD from getting her shit kicked in by Bruce in World War Hulk or something... did she get over it?
Alan Moore's Swamp Thing for sure, regarding the storytelling, but visually some panels reminded me of Brian Yuzna's 1989 horror flick Society.
*"No grizzly bears were harmed during the making of this video."*
Comic Tropes: "Why The Immortal Hulk is So Good"
"She-Hulk" in Immortal Hulk: Allow me to introduce myself
Hasnt she been that ugly before? Its on the old avengers comic about the avengers braking up
@@LeadMetal82 Not that I know, She-Hulk looked good since her debut and in recent time
Hanif yeah a couple of issues before Avengers Dissasembled, there was a arc where She-Hulk lost control and hulked out uncontrollably. Then it was called back in the Avengers Dissasembled arc.
@@yeayared there you go. Though that one was temporary
What even is the criticism there? That she looked like a monster?
Cuz if you're that deep into Immortal Hulk and are complaining about that, hoo boy do I have a bridge to sell ya.
You must have been so happy when you found a comic book themed bowling shirt
Love the intro as usual, keep up the great work!!
I just realised that on the video cover Abomination's Skull has Teeth but his Body has Teeth as well.
Huh.
Abomination has two sets of teeth... he is a nephalim
@@checkpoint3260 oh ok my bad
@@feragosmyxixarashtra7948 naw just kidding
@@checkpoint3260 oof
Immortal Hulk recently appeared in Fantastic Four where he ruined the honeymoon of Ben Grimm and Alicia Masters as a pawn of the Puppet Master - Hulk took out his revenge on PM in a very gruesome manner adterward...
Best intro together with “oh hi, you caught me dying”
Slight correction. Walter Langkowski was always friends with Banner in college. We've seen the flashback to that years ago.
Please don’t watch other comic YT channels. I now believe this prohibition you have held to helps to keep your channel much different and better. There are two types, they complain about the same thing or they review the same thing. I’ve been a Hulk fan since the 70’s and I believe this run ranks up there with Jarella, Hulk international (starts back in #255) and the great runs you mentioned.
12: 56 That isn't really true. Men get harsher sentences than women for the same crime. xyonline.net/sites/xyonline.net/files/Bontrager%2C%20Gender%20and%20Sentencing%202013.pdf So I am pretty sure that men have a harder time getting forgiven for acts of anger than women.
To me, the most interesting aspect of this version of the Hulk isn't his immortality. Its his mind. He is the embodiment of Unreason.
But because of brain trauma, he is now much smarter than Bruce Banner.
So the forces that dominate in this new version are not science and logic, but intuition and metaphor. So its a dreamlike story, that if you ignore the superficial cool stuff, is about a man with brain damage and dissassociative identity disorder, wracked with guilt wandering the U.S.
So you can have the green giant hunting down and punishing the wicked. But you can also have lots of introspection and despair. They found a way to eat their cake, and still have it.
I HATED the Cho version of Hulk. Felt like they fundamentally changed what the Hulk was and the writing disrespected Bruce Banner's legacy in a weird way.
Plus...the Cho version looks sooooo douchey and is pretty full of themself. I hope we don't get that version in the MCU.
EpoxyMuffin endgame bro 😭
Chulk could've been great if they leaned fully into the idea of pride=strength instead of just using anger.
Allen Glass
Thanks for putting your miniscule, insignificant opinion and trying to initiate a fanboy war with a comment that obviously had no intention of doing so.
They were just agreeing with my original comment...
EpoxyMuffin
They said "Bro hulk sucks" which made it sound like he was saying Hulk in general sucks. Reread his comment and you can see why I may have misinterpreted what he was saying.
Hey, could you talk about Christopher Priest's Black Panther run in late 90's'?That's my favourite run on the character.
Legendary Gaming I talk about some of it in my Black Panther episode.
Christopher Priest's Black Panther is a freakin' masterpiece
There's a scene early on where Zuri and Thor yell at each other about how great they are and start fighting due to a misunderstanding and it's genuinely one of my favorite moments in all of comics. It's hilarious.
I feel like I’m the only one subbed to this channel who doesn’t know who Christopher priest is😂
Let's give credit where credit is due... the horror/monster designs in Immortal Hulk are taken directly from John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Neill Blomkamp's "Zygote."
Aaron I’d even say a bit of swamp thing for sure Alan Moore run
If you're really interested in giving credit where credit is due, those monsters in Carpenter's "The Thing" were designed by comic book artist Mike Ploog, who also storyboarded the film.
@@noneofyourbusiness4616 Ploog did the designs WITH Rob Bottin under the suggestion and final OK of Carpenter.
@@aaron2709 oh, I had no idea that a director of a film directs things
@@noneofyourbusiness4616 Why are you being a dick?
Stoppen watching the video after 5 minutes because you convinced me to buy this book and I didn't want to be spoilered 😁
He didn't really spoil anything
Discovers immortality
Reaction: indifferent "oh"
Beautiful.
Lets Remember all the People who dies about Mountain Dew Arguments....
Oh. Was that maybe a shout out to the green soda in the MCU?
Rest in Peace for once and for all, Uncle Rob...
People really died for Over an Argument over Soda
Whoever greenlit this at Marvel needs an award for having the biggest balls on earth. It was a giant risk but ended up being a huge hit and i personally rate it as one of the best runs in comic history.
Holy Hell that artwork is BEAUTIFUL! I cant tell what really makes it more, the inking or the pencils themselves (color is amazing as well!), genius level artwork in every panel. I absolutely love it, I might have to buy a comic for the first time in 15 years.
Alex Ross cover art. Nuff said.
Wish the interior art didn't look like it was from 2003 though.
@@Clay3613
I think it looks pretty good actually
Idk about that I remember Ross was drawing covers for Spider-Man towards the end of Slotts run
@@jasonjones3328 Many of the All-New Spider-Man comics have covers made by Ross
Excuse me sir ? Grizzly bears ? That was the genuine Bigfoot !
What a great recap. I just re-read all 50 and completely fell in love again. Your analysis in this is spot-on. Well done!
Oh you caught me watch comic tropes
Honestly hope immortal thor is just as good
0:18 And that's why Chris isn't featured in any of the big crossover events. He'd just tank whatever punishment the villain is throwing out, so the stakes would be nullified.
Never thought Hulk and body horror would go well together. The design and concept is like if Junji Ito created the Hulk before Stan did.
Bushwhacker is a Cyborg? I thought he was just some crazy dude cursed with body horror and had a craving for eating ammo
Solomon Grundy be like 'psst, poser'.
I'm sold - I order the first few Trades based on your review!
What a good episode. I have to buy the paperbacks because the individual comics are scarce. By the way have you seen the Comic Book Palace channel? Very good one.
@Django Fett Thanks for the info!
@Django Fett yeah, buying the trade is the way to go.
Try this website called comic extra. It's free, I've been using it to catch up on a lot of DC stuff, Rebirth mostly, as I primarily read DC not Marvel.
Why use a benchmark vs just a % of total comic sales, or sales within a category? Seems like they introduce an unnecessary confounding variable. Batman may be *relatively* consistent, but it's still had relatively unpopular runs.
Al Ewing has been a favorite of mine since MIGHTY AVENGERS. When I realized with issue # 13 of IMMORTAL HULK that he was writing the book I immediately jumped on, collecting the previous issues and buying the latest issues. It was totally enjoyable and a value his epic run. I enjoyed this video.
I like it all, except Jackie. Seems super whiny and sjw to me.
you people say you dont want politics in your stories but when something like this that is actually narratively interesting comes around you make it all about politics? why is that
@@sarbithinu How is it me bringing politics into and not her dialogue?
Sarbithinu Perhaps when the industry inserts the crap into every issue they can all the time it spoils things so when it’s a story appropriate situation our kneejerk reaction is to dislike it. That’s sort of our argument. This crap has been shoehorned in EVERYWHERE and laid on real thick. It has gotten old. A loooong time ago.
The art style and designs are fantastic. I love it when artists and writers actually act creatively.
Dude I've been intrested in comics but I haven't really invested in them but after watching this I might start
Well, did you?
Best intro yet 10/10
Captain marvel. Miss marvel. Sis marvel. Bro marvel. Baby marvel. Grand marvel. -cousin- -marvel- DC
Shoutin' Mountain. I had it once (I believe from Stop&Shop). Bit was pretty good.. but it had fat in it. Like, the nutrition facts had fat.. from vegetable oil. It had slight thickness.
The most interesting/creative thing, that I saw from the big 2 in a long time.
Also I like Comics Explained, I subscribed to Rob waaaaay back, and he really ignited my interest in comics.
"Oh hi! You caught me learning I'm immortal!
*I'M CRYING-*
goddamn that opening scared me. hey man i normally dont evewn comment but im loving your channel