The Immortal Hulk: Time of Monsters Review

 Writers: Al Ewing, 

Alex Paknadel and David Vaughan

Artists: Juan Ferreyra and 

Kevin Nowlan

Rating: 7 of 8

The Immortal Hulk

Time of Monsters

True monsters never stop. The cries of mercy fall on deaf ears. You beg for reason and you're ignored. You just want them to stop, but there's a rage there that won't be quelled, even though they could ignore it any time they wanted...

... But that's the problem. They don't. In Time of Monsters, we see two tales where a man could listen to their better angels, but refuse, wreaking only pain, fear and death. In the opening tale, the village elder, desperate to feed his village, sacrifices one of his own to do it.

What he unleashes is a very different kind of monster. One born from death, pain - and a glowing, Green Door. It's here that Ewing and Paknadel incorporate Immortal's death and rebirth mythology and we meet the One Below All. If you're the right kind of monster, He's the one you meet on the other side.

Though He does grant you gifts, they might not seem like it at first. But for the right person, this incredible power and hate might be exactly what they're looking for. Such is the case for Tammuz, whose thirst for vengeance empowers his hate - and power.

It's here that Ferreyra unleashes an incredible milieu of horror, delivering just the kind of body horror Immortal Hulk is known for. Vaughan and Nowlan present a different kind of horror in their tale, as Bruce visits an empty Kansas town, looking for a show. What he finds is a boogeyman named Scarecrow and a very different kind of show.

Nowlan envelops the story in black and white, a fitting callback to classic monster movies like Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. Hulk's inclusion fits, as you see one hulking monster stalk another and both his colour and size make for a great contrast.

This issue is just fantastic and the opening tale alone is worth the cover price. I don't really think it needed another, but it was a good tale nevertheless, even if it doesn't match up to the previous one.