IN EVERY MIRROR

"THERE ARE TWO PEOPLE IN EVERY MIRROR", with that great line the Immortal Hulk begins, after a quote to Carl Jung put on a dramatic black page, which tunes us into the tone of the series. And I can't say anything more than it's true. I am an example of that. On one side of the mirror, there is the young man who excitedly started his blog mainly to share his views of Immortal Hulk, and on the other side is the young man who didn't know how to start the review of the very #1. And the frightening part is... THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON, MYSELF!

It's nothing new to say that Immortal Hulk is  great, that it's not only one of the best comics Marvel is putting out, but one of the best American comics out there in  the last two years. After more than 40 issues already released counting the One-Shots, two Eisner awards nominations, and being critically acclaimed, it's a widespread truth that Immortal Hulk is good, or at least that many people like it. I'll like to say that I come to tell you something that it's not more of the same, but it's impossible for me to write about Immortal Hulk and not start with "Immortal Hulk is great", because, in my opinion, it is. Al Ewing, Joe Bennet, Ruy José, Berlardino Brabo, Paul Mounts and Cory petit, along with Alex Ross in the covers and a good amount of tremendous guest artists, have been doing an astonishing job with this incredible series since the beginning.

Let's go back to Immortal Hulk #1, an almost standalone story titled "OR IS HE BOTH" about a robber who assaulted a gas station to pay his debt with a gang, killing all the witnesses in the process, including a poor 12-year-old girl, and got his divine and rough punishment by the heavy hands of the HULK. A very good and surprising start, the reading is smooth and intriguing, but also shocking because it could be a little unexpected what Hulk does here, especially if you're expecting this to be a Savage Hulk (Classic Hulk) story. 

Regarding that, #1 also establishes the new status quo in an excellent way, by making you bite your nails as a side effect, either because you got caught up in the story and you want to read the next issue so bad, or because you found the Hulk somewhat disturbing.

The issue tells us this Hulk is apparently a new one. He talks fluently but doesn't talk like Joe Fixit (Gray Hulk). More than righteous, he's vengeful but even more than Green Scar (the main Hulk in Planet Hulk and World War Hulk), and it's more ruthless. In fact, he acts like karma itself, rough and brutal after sentencing by seeing the true self of people that they deserve nothing more than punishment. And I have to admit this is very appealing. Most of us understand revenge, and few things are better than seeing the bad people getting what they deserve. Who wouldn't want to have such power to do, more or less, what Hulk did in this issue?

It also shows us, in a very straightforward way, the Hulk is immortal, as the title tells. Bruce dies but comes back at night as the Hulk. "Bruce Banner can die, but then... There's the other guy" says the officer. The introduction of a new character, Miss Mcgee, a reporter who apparently has some personal problem with the Hulk is also well done. And with these new dynamics that include immortality, rough justice and revenge, and a new Hulk on the loose, I couldn't help but want to see what will happen next, and believes me, there's no way to imagine what happens next.

Now, the art is more than outstanding. I'm not exaggerating. The visuals of this comic are full of dramatism and detail. The emotion they transmit is huge, and the distribution of the panels reinforces this considerably. It's possible to feel the fear, the rage, the sadness, the satisfaction... Some images and pages by themselves are very striking and expressive, like the one illustrating the murder of the girl, the resurrection of Bruce Banner as the Hulk, and more. But the ones that stand out above the others are the two double-page splashes, one after the other to intensify the effect. It just leaves you cold. The Hulk never looked so colossal, so imposing, I have to admit. What a way to express how powerless we are when we have the full force of justice (but also of our own guilt) in front of us.

Having said that, it's more than clear the entire art team did an amazing job. Pencils, Inking, and Colors were on top. These strong images with dark colors and pronounced shading give the issue the perfect atmosphere, an atmosphere that matches 100% with the tragic nature of the plot. And this is another wonderful thing about Immortal Hulk #1, the art is an absolute reflection of the writing and vice-versa, the match is flawless and direct. Comics have two layers, obviously, one is visual and the other is verbal, with words; they're written and drawn at the same time. The message is expressed through images and the plot, and it is the point that both layers go for the same meaning, but Immortal Hulk, and particularly Immortal Hulk #1, achieves this in a very clever, thoughtful way. The broken mirror in the car of the robber, the use of the red color to express killing intent and death, the succession from the pannels of Miss Mcgee talking with the officer to the resurrection of Banner as the Hulk... are really good examples of this, tremendous examples of writing and art perfectly fused to express a message. 

And that's it, that's Immortal Hulk #1! Just that, not really. It so happens that Immortal Hulk # 1 is more than it seems. There are some underlying elements that must be mentioned. 

A rereading lets you see how detailed the creative team was, and how they were writing with a clear future in mind because, in the most subtle way, the very first issue settles some of the core elements and topics the series will touch upon throughout the whole story. These are psychology, ethics, and politics. And, yes, politics. Immortal Hulk has been political since the beginning. It's subtle in this issue, yes, but there you have a clear criticism of the gun industry and the lack of gun control.

It is inevitable to return to the line "there are two people in every mirror". The whole issue is an exemplification of the premise behind said quote visual and plot-wise, and we could say that's the point of the Immortal Hulk series and of the Hulk as a character, to deal with and show the multifaceted nature of humanity. Through the mirror analogy, the comic is saying the human being is a compound of two aspects, the one we recognize as the defining part of our self, our good attributes and positive things about ourselves, and the other one, the aspect we hide, we ignore in purpose and even don't considerate part of ourselves, which is what we abhor about our way of being. In other words, the human duality of reason and instinct, analysis and reaction, or simpler, the good and bad things that exist within our self. In the terms of Immortal Hulk, the aspect we can see, and the one we don't want to. 

Just look at how much we separate that shadow-half of our self from ourselves that when we harm our loved ones, we say something like "I'm sorry, I really didn't want to hurt you. It was a mistake." As if to suggest that what led us to say or do ugly things was an external force that doesn't exist within us. But the truth is, that's a lie. At that time we wanted to purposefully cause harm, we let ourselves be driven by our dark motivations, incubated in the malicious part of our self, to hurt them. And what happens is that, as soon as we return to our analytical state, we notice we did wrong and we want to amend the mistake, and so to be able to bear the blame, we pretend that aspect of our conduct that wanted to provoke the damage was, in fact, not part of us, in a way to avoid the responsibility. But this is a lie, and Hulk knows it. 

When Hulk confronts the apparently poor Tommy about the murder of the little Sandra, the guy says "No. I didn't--didn't want--". But Hulk now is able to see through the veil used by people to cover their dark self and tells him what he sees behind it: the heavy truth the poor Tommy is unable to process. He wanted to kill the counterman of the gas station, he wanted to kill Bruce, and he wanted to kill Sandra; he, no one else, decided to pull the trigger and even it felt good to a degree. But it happens that Tommy is not just a killer, he's also a father that was looking for a way to give a good life to his family, to his little daughter; he -Tommy says- just committed a mistake in the process. Seeing this, how he killed three people, but at the same time is a "good" father, he says to the Hulk "I'm not a bad guy. Am I?" "What do you think?" Hulk replies.

The issue ends with the very same question. Bruce Banner, in front of the mirror of a bathroom, asks himself if he's a bad person. "What do you think?" he asks, and all he sees in the mirror is his own dark side, the part of himself he's afraid to confront, the aspect of himself he doesn't want to see, all he sees in the mirror is himself, is the Hulk. Considering the duality of the human being, what we should take into account to say if someone is a good person or not? What has more weight? What defines us? The bright, visible, analytical side of the psyche, or the dark, repressed, reactive one? In the case of Bruce Banner, whose duality is even accentuated physically, he has saved Earth countless times, but he has caused massive destruction many times too. Bruce Banner is not more the hyper-intelligent scientist than the green giant fueled by rage that despises humanity. Bruce Banner and the Hulk are the same, just two aspects of the same person. And from the fact that Bruce and the Hulk are the same comes the classic question that has accompanied the character since the first Hulk comic and gives name to this first chapter, the one that says: "IS HE MAN OR MONSTER? OR IS HE BOTH?"

This is something true about humanity. We are both the person who lies to our mothers and the person who feels bad afterward. We are both the person who wants to be more productive and the person who decides not to because of whatever reason, too. And there are many more examples, some a lot more concerning.

And now I ask you, what do you think? Not regarding Tommy or Bruce, but about us in general. We're not bad guys. Are we? What do you think?