A Sense of Doubt blog post #1874 - More comic book stuff - Immortal Hulk and more

A Sense of Doubt blog post #1874   - More comic book stuff - Immortal Hulk and more

From now on until I state otherwise, Sundays are going to be days for comic books on the blog. I am dedicating myself to a comic book related post every Sunday just as I am dedicating myself to some self care and reading, often of comic books, every Sunday. I did not get in enough reading time today, so I am at a self-care and comic book reading deficit.

I have been working on a new series related to comics: a re-reading of my favourite comic, Warren Ellis and John Cassady's Planetary. And though I have made progress, the post is not ready yet.

So instead I present this post about Al Ewing's The Immortal Hulk, which goes well with the post about COMICS that I linked last week, too, that argued for the value and merit of current comic books (how they are NOT going downhill) based primarily on Ewing's The Immortal Hulk.


I love this book!!

So, here's a big share. First, the interview with Ewing by Comics Beat, and then the recent Comics Beat newsletter with a great deal of comic book news and other interviews that I read but chose not to reprint, such as Ben Percy on Wolverine and Gerry Duggan on Marauders, the latter of which is my favourite by far of tall the newly re-launched X books, with X-Force as a close second. However, to be fair, I did like the first issue of Percy's Wolverine quite a lot, but I am bemused with the artist switcheroo that's coming as Adam Kubert will not be consistently drawing it throughout even its first year. I GET the work load issue, and the situation is different with a regular series than a mini, which is something I wrote about here:

Hey, Mom! Talking to My Mother #1156 - Magic at Band Follies 1978 - the WOUND - Throwback Thursday for 1903.14
actually no, that's just a good one. :-)

I can't find my take on artists starting on a book and marketing promoting the writer-artist team for a short six issue series only to have another artist take over after two issues. It's here somewhere.

But that will wait for another time. One thing that makes The Immortal Hulk so great is the art of JOE BENNETT, so I should have been claiming it was Ewing and BENNETT'S COMIC BOOK. Sorry.

Here's the stuff. I am out.

https://www.comicsbeat.com/interview-al-ewing-talks-body-horror-and-politics-in-immortal-hulk-and-guardians-of-the-galaxy/

INTERVIEW: Al Ewing talks body horror and politics in IMMORTAL HULK and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

The British writer explores his critically-acclaimed comics work.
By Hussein Wasiti
-03/18/2020 10:30 am

Al Ewing has always been a fan favourite writer, with his work on The Ultimates, Loki: Agent of Asgard, and Captain America and the Mighty Avengers. In 2018, he made his biggest entry yet on the mainstream stage alongside artist Joe Bennett, inker Ruy Jose, colourist Paul Mounts, and letterer Cory Petit with the mega-hit Immortal Hulk series.

His body horror take on the character proved to be a huge success, and Immortal Hulk is consistently the best title that Marvel’s currently publishing, or at least this humble writer thinks so. The Beat caught up with Ewing during this year’s C2E2 and we chatted about his runs on Hulk and Guardians of the Galaxy, the themes he’s tackling in his books, and the stories that superhero comics can tell in today’s climate.

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The Beat: The first twenty-five issues of Immortal Hulk featured a lot of body horror elements. With issue twenty-six, you’ve shifted your focus from that to more of a capitalist commentary with kaiju fights. Can you talk about your decision to change that focus?

Al Ewing: I don’t think it was quite as sudden as that. For one thing, I’ve been telling people this all weekend, body horror is coming back in issue thirty-three, the big 750th legacy issue. Before that, leading up to issue twenty-five, we’d brought in various political ideas. We’d brought in the environment as a theme. I think the through-line there is both in the horror of the everyday, and anger as a theme. I was really thinking about things that make people angry, and of what makes them afraid. If you’re talking about the end of the world that we’re currently living through, it’s both anger-making and horrifying.

The other thing I touched on, particularly in issue twenty-six, is the Hulk as a counter-cultural figure. If you look back at those early issues, he’s hanging around with juvenile delinquents. In the ’60s, Iron Man’s building weapons for the military industrial complex. Hulk is beating them up. From a time before Stan Lee thought, “Actually, I’m feeling very counter-cultural myself,” Hulk was still the earliest example. I feel like Immortal Hulk is a book where we can do that and it won’t be out of place. It’s been an interesting journey, though I think some readers didn’t appreciate it as much as others. I don’t think it was unnecessary or that it veered off-track.

The Beat: It just feels very prescient. I feel like I see a lot of what’s going on today reflected in this current arc. I see, I’m gonna say it, a very Trumpian villain in the Minotaur.

Ewing: The Minotaur is Trump before he became Trump, but you could say Trump, or Jeff Bezos, or Mike Bloomberg. If somebody went up to me and said, “The Minotaur reminds me of Bloomberg,” I would say, “Oh. Ok.”

The Beat: I say Trump because of the way the Minotaur dispatches his subordinates, like we’ve seen on the news recently.

Ewing: I will say, as a British person, we don’t have the same respect for the office as the Americans have. They have a strong respect for the office of the president. The current situation, which I think is similar to Nixon, is a different dynamic. I don’t like to comment on American politics in my personal social media feeds because British politics are so appalling. How would I spare the time? Nobody wants to see me talk about Trump when Boris Johnson is the British Prime Minister.

So the Minotaur, for me, isn’t going after anyone in specific, but it is definitely taking a political stance. I try to avoid pretending to be an expert in another country’s politics, but I think there are certain political stances that can and should be taken. If I choose to make the work apolitical, that is itself a political decision. Likewise, if I don’t throw all of myself into the work then that short-changes the reader. Not every book would do this, though. You’re not going to get stuff like this in Guardians of the Galaxy, for example. Hulk is special. And part of what makes Hulk special is you can do this.

The Beat: It’s in the DNA of the character. 

Ewing: Yes, exactly.

The Beat: You’re allowed to stretch those limits. 

Ewing: Hulk is, I think, the most limitless character Marvel has. Part of that lack of limits is that you can speak to things that superhero comics generally shy away from. I say that, but I’m not doing anything Steve Gerber didn’t do. Or Steve Englehart. I’m following the traditions of Marvel in the ’70s. Maybe this is just part of comics. To be honest, I haven’t had that much back-chat on it. Editorial have been wonderful in letting me do things my way. Joe [Bennett] has been wonderful as an artistic collaborator, and I’ve been working with him to make sure the stuff he wants to do is in the book. And the readers seem, generally, willing to come onboard. There are times when I thought I’ve gone too far on certain things. But I’ve been very happy with it.

The Beat: With the great success you’ve had I’m not surprised people are sticking with the book. You’ve blown them away, the book is a breakout. 

Ewing: I’m very grateful for those who have stuck with it, and maybe that includes people who are picking up the book and reading things they don’t agree with. I’m grateful to those readers as well. I can’t give them half a job. I need to put all of myself into it, and sometimes that means going to these places.

The Beat: You’ve explored Hulk as this anti-authoritarian hero of the people since he’s taken action against Roxxon. 

Ewing: I think he’s always been heavily anti-authoritarian. He’s always had a strong following in the counter-culture, in those early issues like I said with the Teen Brigade.

The Beat: I meant more in how it’s reflected in the journalist character Jackie, and how she’s jealous that Bruce gets to express his rage in a way that she can’t. And now that sentiment is kind of applied to the world as he’s captured the world’s anger and is directing it at Roxxon. Is he the hero we deserve or the hero we need?

Ewing: We’re going to get to a point that questions what is effective. It’s not saying that anger isn’t effective, it’s about how Bruce may fall down in other ways. It’s tough because the Hulk is not Batman. He’s not a hero with a plan. I think in that sense, at this point in time, someone with a plan is needed? But also that rage, that anger, is valid. As an avatar of rage, the Hulk should not be feared and we shouldn’t be locking that anger away. He’s also a representative of people with dissociative identity disorder. There’s a lot of things that the Hulk is, but the question is whether it’s enough for Roxxon. That gets to a larger question of, in the real world, how do we deal with late-stage capitalism? How do we deal with the horrors in our lives? I’m not sure I have the answer, but maybe I can at least provide a moment of catharsis.

The Beat: I wanted to talk about Guardians of the Galaxy. In the upcoming third issue, like with Immortal Hulk, you tell the story from multiple perspectives with multiple artists. What’s the thought process that goes into this? Is it a coincidence, is it a method of storytelling you like, are you trying to give your main artist a break, or is there something else?

Ewing: It’s a thing I’ve done three times now. The first time was an Immortal Hulk, the second time was on Valkyrie because it worked so well on Immortal Hulk, and then it worked well enough on Valkyrie that I thought I’d do it again for Guardians. Each time it’s been slightly different, but it’s to give the artist a little break in the middle of a trade. Before I started doing this there was a narrative in certain parts of the comic press where swapping an artist out was almost a failure. With schedules and the abilities of artists being what they are… no artist is superhuman. The sands of time fall through the hourglass. If you want the best work, it’s not always the quickest work. It was bad to put this expectation on the artist that they should do five issues and that the last issue of the trade would be as mindblowing as the first five. Not everyone is capable of that.

So I came up with this thing I do in the first arc where the third issue would be a guest artist spotlight, and I’d bring a few fun artists in to do that. I’ll probably do it again because it’s a nice thing to do and makes for great issues. That’s mixed with a thing I’m doing in Guardians where it seems to have fallen into a pattern of two issues of non-stop action with an issue to breathe, and then action all the way for two issues with another issue to breathe. Then we start breaking the pattern. I get to have this emotional issue, this issue that falls on the heels of the events of issue two with the seeming death of Peter Quill. I get to explore everyone’s emotional reaction to that and I get to do it with three wonderful artists. We’ll see what people will think of it. We’ll see if they like it as much as the other times I’ve done it.

The Beat: I feel that with the success of Immortal Hulk, people were expecting who would be the next solo character that you would take on. Why the Guardians?

Ewing: I’ve done teams before, and basically Marvel editorial asked me if I had any ideas for Guardians. Suddenly I had a whole bunch of them. Generally it was an idea of how to do Guardians. I really wanted to go back to the Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning days. Not those days exactly but the feel of those days where there was a coherent space political landscape. This kind of happened around the same time as a few other initiatives that bubbled up at Marvel that involved the cosmic side of Marvel, so it was a good time to get involved.

To be honest, I guess what I’m hoping to do with Guardians is to swing away from the Guardians as a super-team and more as a gateway to a massive, almost Game of Thrones-style space landscape of different factions. I’m trying to get to that place. I feel like the big test of my ideas on this will be what we do in response to Empyre. We’re not tying into Empyre. I’m kind of writing a team again, but I’m also writing a landscape. And we’ll see how much I manage to do of one or the other. I hope it becomes a book for not just people who like the particular team that we’ve built, but people who like all the cosmic characters.

The Beat: You’ve employed this reflective and summative look at the Guardians. You’re taking advantage of their history; these characters are tired and beaten down. Was that the hook that you found in the group, to examine the characters and what they’ve been through over the course of the last couple of years?

Ewing: Part of it is that I do enjoy telling stories about characters who are at the end of their rope in one way or another. There are a lot of people who like their superheroes to be indefatigable and ultra-powerful. I always find superheroes at their most interesting and most heroic when they’re at their weakest. The idea of starting with the Guardians as just burnt out, it made it interesting for me and, like I mentioned earlier, I wanted to get into something without getting into current politics. But maybe I could touch on the feel of current politics.

The Beat: You get to make up your own politics in a cosmic landscape.

Ewing: There is that, but I wanted to give the sense of not knowing where things were going, but we know they aren’t going to be good. I think in a way it becomes more of a holiday from the world than an actual reflection of it, but I wanted to do space politics. Part of that involves treating the Guardians as veterans of wars. At what point do you say, “You can go home.” If you treat them as superheroes they’re always expected to go out and keep fighting. There were a lot of people who were astonished that Gamora would say, “No, I don’t want to fight anymore. I’m not re-upping, I’m not re-enlisting. I’ve done my tours.” And she’s done about ten. That’s why I’m not treating them as superheroes but as a group of veterans. That’s something that’s definitely come out as I’ve written it, and it’s part of the appeal in that I think treating them as superheroes almost lessens them as characters. I feel like I’m continuing where Donny [Cates] left off in that respect. He started a procedure and I’ve carried on from him, but obviously doing it my way.

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Published by Marvel Comics, Guardians of the Galaxy #3 is on sale now, while Immortal Hulk #33 is due out next Wednesday, March 25th.

NYCC '19 Interview: Journey to the center of the id with Al Ewing & THE IMMORTAL HULK

How do you do, fellow shut-ins?!  Hopefully, this newsletter finds you in good health. It’s hard to believe that a little more than two weeks ago, I was frolicking at C2E2, although avoiding more than a fist bump with old friends I hadn’t seen in months. What a precious, light-filled world that was. And how quickly it ended.  I’ve worked from home part and full time on and off for the last 18 years, so shifting back to the home office hasn’t been too much of a stretch.  The biggest problem has been finding space to store 300 rolls of toilet paper.  The streets of New York are eerily silent, all my favorite local restaurants and bars are closed, their windows papered over. When I saw I Am Legend in the theater, I didn't like the fact that a lot of it was set right near where I live (outside Grand Central). I never thought we'd all be living that fantasy in our own ways.  I do go for regular walks, playing Pokémon Go, which brings me into contact with no one. Niantic has cancelled its larger events and raid hours, although when I went on a Giratina raid I could see the other plays across and down the street, all easily 20 feet or more away. Very socially distanced. On the plus side, they’ve made more Pokemon spawn from pokéstops, so it kind of evens out.  Anyway, PoGo is my little sanity saver. Friend me up (trainer code 8048 4673 7039) - I live over several poké stops and get lots of gifts and pretty soon that may be our only way to get poke balls and candy.  Pulling the camera back a bit, I’ve been through a riot, an earthquake, 9/11, hurricanes, blackouts, and numerous blizzards. And now the pandemic.  This is the worst.  The others were each a trial in their own way - the LA riots and 9/11 were social upheavals that changed the world in fundamental ways. The rest were mostly weather, the natural world saying we needed to take a time out. But in all of them, friendship and company was the glue that held us together. My social network held together after 9/11 and just got stronger. Blizzards in the city are often adventures…joining up for snowball fights or eerie walks through icy urban drifts.   So this one is already hard for me - and for you, I’m sure.  But it will end someday. For now, we have other ways to stay together. Comics are a strong community, something I’ve known for a long time, but learned about in greater depth than ever in the last few years.  The industry is facing ominous changes in the coming months - so is every industry, really, but The Beat will stay focused on our world. I often say that comics will never go away, but the business as it existed on January 1, 2020 might be very different on January 1, 2021.   But comics will be around.  Here at The Beat, we’re planning ways to keep you informed and entertained, with reading lists, binging guides and more. Beat writers are busy working on features and we’ll be rolling them out over the next few days and weeks or however long this lasts. We’re just getting started.  But let’s try to keep the engine moving. Order some comics from your local shop by whatever means they are using - we’ll keep you updated on what’s available. Support artists. People are podcasting and live streaming like crazy so you will never lack for something to read, listen to or watch. The Beat will be adding to the offerings in the very near future.  And The Beat will be around whenever this ends. So that you will too, please, practice social distancing, wash your hands frequently and if you are sick, stay home and self-quarantine.  The new rules are simple to say, and more difficult to endure, especially if you are suddenly forced to live on your own bad cooking, like me. But it will end sometime, as all things do. So take care of yourself and stick with us. Our community is stronger than any virus.  -- Heidi MacDonald Advertisement  THE LATEST STORIES FROM THE BEAT! Publishers respond to COVID-19 with retailer relief Diamond will offer relief to retailers amid COVID-19 pandemic, IDW says Image Comics Eric Stephenson’s open letter urges other publishers to act to help retailers now SPX announces revised schedule for exhibitors and Ignatz Award ReedPOP officially postpones Emerald City Comic Con 2020 until the summer BLACK WIDOW release postponed due to COVID-19 Birds of Prey gets an early VOD release on March 24 Heavy Metal, in major reorganization mode, hires Erwin and Illidge Developing: Diamond allows stores to put accounts on hold and mulls changes to Free Comic Book Day Mariko Tamaki taking over WONDER WOMAN in June THREE JOKERS due in June from Geoff Johns, Jason Fabok Matt Reeves unveils first look at new Batmobile Quirky new publisher Bad Idea announces first 50 retailers…and adds 50 more CHERNOBYL helmer Craig Mazin is bringing THE LAST OF US to HBO The STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER novelization confirms what we already knew G. Willow Wilson introduces Ruin, the newest addition to The Sandman Universe Comix Experience announces mail order and pick-up options DuckTales Season 3 episode titles unveiled—Woo-oo! The final BLACK WIDOW trailer is a sister act Laurie Halse Anderson to curate WONDER WOMEN OF HISTORY anthology for DC Comics EXCLUSIVE: Read an excerpt from DUNGEON CRITTERS, First Second’s D&D-esque middle grade graphic novel The Witcher returns in new Dark Horse miniseries C2E2 ’20: Hickman and Ewing chat during the “Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski” panel Bandai Namco Launch Naruto and More at Toy Fair 2020 CHU spins out of CHEW, expanding the Chew-niverse C2E2 ’20: MY HERO ACADEMIA Q&A: Mineta VA explains the character’s importance C2E2 ’20: Random House creators talk about their new kids graphic novels A first-timer’s totally subjective comparison of C2E2 and NYCC INTERVIEWS Gene Luen Yang talks DRAGON HOOPS and his first foray into memoir EXCLUSIVE: COPRA to transition to miniseries format in June, kicking off with COPRA: THE OCHIZON SAGA The team behind the disturbing world of HOTELL discusses bringing horror to AWA The Creative Team of ZATANNA AND THE HOUSE OF SECRETS sllet lla! Amy Wolfram on writing the most overlooked Robin for the 80TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL Al Ewing talks body horror and politics in IMMORTAL HULK and GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY Gerry Duggan holds fast with CABLE & MARAUDERS Benjamin Percy sinks his claws into WOLVERINE & X-FORCE REVIEWS Russell, Pace, & Kirk’s SECOND COMING critiques religion with the same kindness it advocates for Mita Ori's OUR DINING TABLE serves a heaping helping of wholesomeness MISS ENDICOTT is a bright light in dark London FROM THE ARCHIVES Just a random photo from C2e2. I was going to write a Con report about it and mention how weird it is at McCormick Place that they have these, like, treehouse restaurants. You can see it under the wavy yellow thing in the photo below. The South Building is so huge that there are two of these, and not close together. I went up there to eat a hot dog at one point, and realized from close up what I had suspected from the ground: those wavy yellow coverings were probably white once, long ago, but years of greasy grilling have left them browned with age. Kind of gross to be honest, but the hot dog was good.

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- Bloggery committed by chris tower - 2004.05 - 10:10

- Days ago = 1737 days ago

- New note - On 1807.06, I ceased daily transmission of my Hey Mom feature after three years of daily conversations. I plan to continue Hey Mom posts at least twice per week but will continue to post the days since ("Days Ago") count on my blog each day. The blog entry numbering in the title has changed to reflect total Sense of Doubt posts since I began the blog on 0705.04, which include Hey Mom posts, Daily Bowie posts, and Sense of Doubt posts. Hey Mom posts will still be numbered sequentially. New Hey Mom posts will use the same format as all the other Hey Mom posts; all other posts will feature this format seen here.