An interview Al did with NOIR comics
#NOiR 's Exclusive Interview with Al Ewing, writer of Immortal #HULK
1.Immortal Hulk, the character spun out of Avengers No Surrender. Was this interpretation of the Hulk conceived
prior to the character's 'death' at the hands of Clint Barton? Or did Marvel approach you about it with regards
to reviving Bruce?
I think it was generally understood that Bruce would be back, but in what form he'd be back definitely wasn't decided before Hawkeye shot him. Once it became clear that his resurrection was on the table for NO SURRENDER to do - and that we needed to think of a way to play it that was different to the false resurrections that had come immediately before - I started pushing for the horror angle. And I think there was an agreement at Marvel editorial that a horror direction was the way to go - that said, I still had to prove that I was the person to deliver it, writing-wise. There was definitely competition for the job, right up until the second draft of the pitch for the series.
2.Among collectors, much has been made about his first appearance. Just to reiterate, could you inform our readers
what you consider to be the Immortal Hulk's first appearance?
Why, INCREDIBLE HULK #1, of course... but seriously, folks, I'd say AVENGERS #682 is the first appearance of the character, with the Immortal Hulk named and appearing on the final page. But that's just a taster, really - if you're looking for the first collaboration between Joe Bennett and myself - planting the first seeds of what we'd do in the series - that's two issues later, in AVENGERS #884, with the ten-pager we did together.
3.Jackie, who was introduced in issue one, has been an onlooker for the first two arcs. Without spoiling anything, there's
a slight tease in the past three issues about why Jackie is interested in the Hulk. Has she come to terms with anything
after her encounter with the One Below All? Or is she stubborn enough to keep digging?
Jackie takes a brief break from the narrative - going through literal Hell is enough to make her want a break, and she goes through some stuff there she needs to reflect on. So in some ways, she's working things out - but when a new lead turns up, a new angle on the story, she finds herself unable to stay away.
4.There are parallels with Bruce and his father, and Frye's relationship with his son.
Dr. Frye has been a splash among collectors. Will we see his decapitated body again? And, what of his son?
Del Frye has been in the background for a while, in his tube - that's a subplot we'll keep brewing, I think. Dr. Frye, meanwhile, isn't going anywhere, and I'm still undecided as to whether we'll ever see him again...
5.Hell, Magic, Science. What inspired you to draw on these themes for Immortal Hulk and did you face any resistance
about taking the character in this direction?
No resistance at all - editorial have consistently been great about it. I guess what inspired me was digging into quotes for the front pages of the book - we've ended up keeping that going instead of recap pages, because a) it's a sign we trust our readers, b) nobody else is doing it and c) it means I have to constantly do research outside of back issues of superhero comics, which was how I discovered Anna Kingsford, who's a fascinating character. I was already thinking in terms of religion - hell, the Devil, Job - but that really crystallized things and got me looking in the occult direction, too.
6.Will the One Below All ever meet the One Above All?
I'm not sure what that comic would even look like! I have to assume that they're always "meeting" in some sense. Maybe that's the plot of every Marvel comic!
7.What's your working relationship with Joe? I presume team Hulk is like an oiled machine by now.
There's been a consistent effort to keep the creative team the same throughout both arcs. Will that remain
the same moving forward? Any fill-ins?
We're going to carry on bringing special guests in when we need them - Issue #14 has a guest art appearance from Kyle Hotz, who delivers a fantastic issue set around the funeral of Thunderbolt Ross. I do think of our guest artists as guests rather than fill-ins - I think issue #3 really helped us in establishing that, and every time we need to bring a guest in, I try to make sure that it fits the story we're telling and it's artistically fantastic stuff. I want people to get excited about the guest artists, to look forward to them as a kind of art happening.
Joe's great, though - he's always asking for more grotesque and horrible things to draw, which is good, because it keeps the book in that horror zone where I think it needs to be. Plus we have the same taste in horror films - the Thing, the Blob, the Fly, etc - in fact, it was our mutual love of The Thing that made a lot of the body horror in the second trade happen. I'm really happy to see how many people are looking at him with fresh eyes now, after seeing what he can do when he lets his horror flag fly.
8.How long do you have Immortal Hulk mapped out for?
I've got it mapped out until #25, and I just worked out this week what #26 will probably look like. So I'm pretty far ahead.
9.What's been Marvel's response to the critical success of Immortal Hulk as it was on many best lists at the
conclusion of 2018?
Marvel are very happy with the team right now! I think it's given us a very free hand to do what we think is best with the book - we've been able to keep it as its own thing, and while there are plenty of Hulk guest appearances to be found, there aren't any actual tie-ins to anything. So if you can only afford one and a half books per month, with the occasional extra-sized issue - well., that can be us.
10.Betty Ross returns to the pages of Hulk next month. From what I understand, Betty lost her abilities
in 2014. On top of that, her father, Thunderbolt Ross just died. Will Betty play a role moving forward?
Or will this be a standalone issue?
Betty is going to be playing a significant role moving forward - we're bringing her back into the cast for the foreseeable future. How that squares with her losing her powers, or General Ross' death - well, issue #14 will start to tell that story.
11.Will we see a return for Red Dog?
"Red Dog" was only ever a one-use codename - I had to roll my eyes slightly at places like CBR claiming this was a new status quo for the character. The Absorbing Man - that's his name, don't wear it out - will be back in future issues. Who will he be allied with? Will Titania be joining him? These are questions #13 starts to answer.
12.What's your response, to virtually every issue of Immortal Hulk going back to print?
I'm extremely happy about it! Hopefully we'll be printing more to match demand, but that area's completely outside my wheelhouse. I'm very glad it's doing well for retailers, though.
13.Have we seen the true face of the One Below All?
I don't think we've ever seen the true face of the One Below All OR the One Above All - and I'm not sure we ever will. I think they just "wear" an aspect for the occasion. That said, we do know that TOBA can only affect the world through a host personality - whether Brian will continue to act as his "face" after the events of #13 remains to be seen.
14.Outside of several one shots, you're currently working on Avengers No Road Home. Do you have any other
ongoing work scheduled for Marvel?
I have more work scheduled - and soon to be announced, I'm sure. I'll let you know!
15.Does your Marvel contract allow you to do indepedent work? Is that something on the cards?
It does, and it is - again, right now it's top secret, but in the next few months you can probably expect something.
16.What's it like having Alex Ross grace your book's covers? Will Alex continue to do covers
for the series throughout?
I very much hope so! From what I understand, he's a big fan of the Hulk, and he seems to be enjoying the work - he's certainly turning in some of the most phenomenal covers I've seen in a long while. I know we've got at least a few readers who only got started with the book because of his covers! Needless to say, I'm over the moon.
17.We would be remiss if we didn't ask, since we're a collector based site...any more new characters
coming up in the pages of Immortal Hulk?
Yes! Well, new versions of old favorites - but take a look at #16, #17 and #18 - that should be the zone to find out more.
18.Guilt and Resentment are also themes explored in Immortal Hulk. Will we see Rick Jones again?
We absolutely will! In fact, if you've been checking out upcoming Alex Ross covers, you'll see he plays a big role from #16 onwards.
19.What can we expect from the Immortal Hulk in No Road Home?
It's not quite as horrific - NO ROAD HOME is an epic, bombastic superhero action story, not a dark exploration of the human soul. But Hulk's still the same "immortal" character - the same snarling, violent, terrifying monster readers have learned to love to hate to love - only his surroundings have changed. It's a lot of fun plugging someone like that into a very different kind of story.
20.Lastly, many of us at Noir believe there hasn't been a significant shift in the character since Pak's Planet Hulk.
Immortal Hulk is just that. What would you like to tell your readers about what they can expect in the future?
Well, speaking of Greg, he's taking on our version of Hulk in HULKVERINES, and it's fascinating to see - I've read issue #1, and I couldn't have asked for better... or creepier. As for what readers can expect in the future - we're going to keep things shifting. We'll keep pulling the rug out from under you, giving you what you don't expect. And most of all, we're aiming to keep up the quality and keep people talking - roll on the best of 2019 lists!
Thanks Al for your valued time with us at Noir. Hopefully, we can do another contest one day!
Daniel Wilgren
NOIR
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