Al Ewing‘s magnificent, horror-twinged take on Immortal Hulk was the most exciting and celebrated monthly superhero comic for five+ years spanning June 2018 to and the artist most associated with it has been Joe Bennett. The Brazilian born artist has been particularly well-suited to Ewing’s ground-breaking approach to The Hulk because he got his start publishing his own horror comics in the early 1990s. Occasional and intermittent Marvel assignment work followed (including a fill-in issue of Hulk 2099 in 1995), but it really took the matching of the under-appreciated journeyman with a writer of Al Ewing’s calibre to demonstrate his incredible talent. Together they have crafted a tale that ties together obscure elements of the Hulk’s comic book history with characters from the 1970s television show, and developed them into a generation-defining story about one of pop culture’s most recognizable but previously underdeveloped intellectual properties.
This cover tribute to Jack Kirby‘s “This Man, This Monster” from Fantastic Four #51 was art directed by Pop Sequentialism’s own, Matt Kennedy – with Betsy Ross as her Red Harpy identity in place of the Invisible Girl, and Dr. Frye in his irradiated state as Reed Richards. The Hulk, of course takes center stage in place of the The Thing.
As you can see, Joe knocked it out of the park, turning classic Kirby crackle and machinery into his own. Also included is an inked blue-line page by Belardo Brabo, who was Bennett’s regular inker throughout their majority residency on Immortal Hulk’s 50 issue run. It’s easy to see why this team was nominated for the 2019 & 2012 Eisner Award in the “Best Continuing Series” category, and had earned publisher Marvel Comics a 2018 Diamond Gem Award as “Best New Comic Book Series.
BATMAN: WHITE KNIGHT #2 pg.15 - Joker & Harley prelim splash by Sean Gordon Murphy
