The Immortal Hulk #43 - Marvel Comics

IMMORTAL HULK No. 43, April 2021

Despite not containing much in the way of pulse-pounding pugilism, Al Ewing’s script for Issue Forty-Three of “Immortal Hulk” probably kept its audience somewhat entertained with its intriguing insight into just how Joe Fixit is “real good at staying alive” and Henry Gyrich’s recruitment of the U-Foes as Alpha Flight Space Station’s latest super-group. Indeed, witnessing Bruce Banner’s alternative personality working his way up from a penniless bum to a financially-stable nobody through numerous lucratively criminal means, genuinely provides a fascinating contrast as to how the Nuclear Physicist ordinarily survives on the streets whilst trying to keep a low profile.

However, that still doesn’t mean that the former “2000 A.D.” writer’s narrative actually makes much in the way of progress to this ongoing series’ overarching plot. True, the Fantastic Four wannabes’ efforts battling a Hulk-bot for their acting commander’s pleasure arguably provides this comic with some much-needed action. But even this scene is somewhat sedentary in its execution, as each member of the quartet demonstrates their own unique abilities one-on-one with the green-coloured automaton for the benefit of any bibliophile unfamiliar with Bill Mantlo and Sal Buscema’s creations from the early Eighties.

In fact, with the exception of Vector’s team finally confronting Banner’s alter-ego at the very end of this twenty-page periodical, the only real step forward this book’s storyline debatably takes is Shaman, Puck and Doc Sasquatch’s visit to Los Diablos in New Mexico. Somewhat dialogue-driven and pedestrian paced, the trio's superficial exploration of Shadow Base Site G at least leads to the revelation as to what happened to the Leader’s heavily mutated body following the facility's mass evacuation a few issues back, before their discovery is infuriatingly then cut short by this book swiftly shifting its focus back upon Fixit; “This ain’t that complicated. They’re lookin’ for me -- If they ain’t found me yet, it’s only ‘cause I ain’t makin’ noise.”

Fortunately though, what this publication lacks in its penmanship it somewhat makes up for with its pencilling. Joe Bennett’s depiction of the U-Foes literally dismantling Gyrich’s robot and subsequently incapacitating his “volunteers” with Tear Gas is very well visualised, as is the Brazilian artist’s excellent illustration of an emaciated Hulk tearing into a hapless patrol vehicle of the New York Police Department.

The regular cover art of "IMMORTAL HULK" #43 by Alex Ross