REVIEW: ‘The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place,’ Issue #1

The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 is published by Marvel Comics, written by Jeff Lemire, art by Mike Del Mundo, colors by Mike Del Mundo and Marco D’Alfonso, with letters by Cory Petit.  A little girl is missing. With the locals at a loss for where to find her, lonely wanderer Bruce Banner makes his way into town to see if he can help. And he instantly catches that all too familiar scent that warns him this isn’t just a missing girl. There’s gamma in the air. And that always spells trouble.

The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 is a familiar feeling story in a new, darker coat of paint. As the story opens, Banner is traveling through what one instantly assumes is the American Midwest. Huge open plains surround him as he internally muses about how claustrophobic he feels. This is a classic, live-action tv show, wandering the world eternally alone Banner.

He’s come to this particular town because a young girl by the name of Rebecca Green is missing. She disappeared three days ago. In the same spot where two other locals were mutilated and killed by what witnesses called a monster. Banner suspects someone is tampering with that always unpredictable radiation he is all too familiar with. And so, he sets out to save a little girl before it’s too late.

When I read a story, I always hope to walk away with the understanding of what the point was. Was there a message to the story? A cautionary lesson, or an example to live up to? Was it written with the intent to entertain, or make me laugh? When I walk away from a story and that understanding is absent, I find the absence of it disconcerting. And that is exactly what I felt as I walked away from The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1.

Now that’s not to see the book is bad. It’s not. Lemire delivers a well-written script that tells a smooth narrative. There is a beginning, a middle and an end. The characters are all well handled. Whether it be Banner’s dark sense of foreboding, or young Rebecca’s dad’s desperation, each character is delivered well enough. But then the story just kind of ends. It gets it’s cast to satisfying spots, and that’s it’s.

Just as The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 struggles to deliver a noteworthy story, so too does the art struggle to stand out. It’s good, but it never really captured me. The only moments that were noteworthy were the uncharacteristic killing the Hulk does once he shows up on the scene. Now, in fairness, this is my first The Immortal Hulk story, so maybe he operates differently in this line, but the unnecessary deaths didn’t really help this story to me.

The most striking part of The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 visuals is the colorwork. Much of the book is given a washed-out sort of look. These often muted colors help enhance the more somber mood much of the book delivers.

Lastly, we have the lettering. Petit’s letters work well enough to deliver the story clearly, though they often feel disconnected from the rest of the art. The previously mentioned coloring causes the standard dialogue boxes to clash with the rest of the presentation. The design Petit employs for Banner’s thought boxes meshes much better with the art. It’s too bad the dialogue couldn’t have been given a similar touch.

When all is said and done The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 delivers a serviceable story. If it was a simple filler issue in an ongoing series it would be worth picking up just to keep a collection intact. As a stand-alone one-shot, however, I can’t really find any compelling reason to go out of the way to pick it up. It’s not bad, but there is plenty out there that is better.

The Immortal Hulk: The Threshing Place #1 is available on September 30th wherever comics are sold.