What’s up everyone! Welcome to Beyond The Panel. Coming at you today with talk about Immortal Hulk #40! Geez, we expect a lot of crazy things out of this series, but what has happened recently has been the very definition of insanity. The Devil Hulk has been slain, Banner has been taken away, and the Leader is sitting in a seat of power which he has never had before. Right now there’s just no telling how this situation is going to reach a resolution.

Especially when in typical fashion this creative team continues with each passing issue to prove that we have seen nothing yet. When this issue kicked off, immediately there was that feeling of anxiousness as you wanted to see what the system looks like now with two personas stripped from it. On one had you have Joe, and on the other hand you have the Hulk who is just an overgrown man-child. And while that would seem to be it for them also being imprisoned by Gamma Flight, that is where we continued to expect the unexpected from this story. I was taken by surprise by what came next for them, yet also thrilled for the reality that you just can’t count a Hulk out in a world where no one knows them better than themselves.

This goes double for one Joe who has managed to be a bag full of surprises since he was first brought back in a human body instead of his normal shade of grey. He has certainly been one of my favorites so far for what he has proved to be possible just from being cunning. You wouldn’t think there’s much to accomplish in Bruce’s body, and then you would be proven wrong. Like what we see from Joe in this very issue.

That aside, it was good to see that by the end of this issue there was a better understanding by everyone of what is truly unfolding within the Green Door. This point in the story was inevitable, though the most important thing was how they would execute that moment. So far I would say that they done so excellently. Not to mention in their own way it was creative.

Between the last issue and this one, I was astounded by the work from this art team. If there’s one thing you will never forget about Immortal Hulk, it is the horror brought to these pages that you won’t see from any other book from Marvel. No one will go to the lengths of Joe Bennett to twist and distort the human body to limits that would make you squirm in your seat. I mean there were some scenes here which for a second made me believe that I may have been reading Aliens by accident. I know we all talked about how classic horror was being brought to these pages from this art team, but let’s also give them more credit than that. So much of what we see from these Gamma mutates and Hulks is simply unimaginable. These are creations which could only come from one person’s mind, and that is what makes it all such a unique experience. I should also give credit to the colors as well for the fact that you would not feel this kind of sensation if it was not for having a colorist who knows how to tap into that grotesque palette of colors. It’s one thing to have that unique set of greens to represent the Gamma irradiated, though another thing entirely to be able to play with such colors that can easily turn a story morbid.

Overall, this was a very exciting issue of Immortal Hulk. Issue #40 shook up the battle in a big way through big moves and revelations.