Al Ewing wants Immortal Thor to surpass his epic Immortal Hulk run: ‘I have to try’
This August, writer Al Ewing will take the reins on Marvel Comics’ god of thunder with Immortal Thor #1. For fans of his blockbuster series Immortal Hulk, that title immediately raises eyebrows. Ewing’s Hulk ran for 50 riveting, horrifying, smashing issues, climaxing with a story in where Hulk traveled through the hell of hells to force God to explain why bad things happen.
Naming an Al Ewing project “immortal” is no subtle thing. Speaking to Polygon via email, Ewing said the book’s title is his version of throwing down a gauntlet. If he has his way, Immortal Thor won’t just equal Immortal Hulk, it will surpass it.
“Putting [Immortal] on a book I’m writing is a promise to the reader, and to myself,” Ewing wrote. “I was the one who pitched the title — not editorial, not anyone else — and it was basically a self-challenge. Can I do a book like that again? Can I do my end of it better this time? I have to try, because the alternative is just lie down and let the grass grow where I fell.
“I want to take another swing at that ball, and this time, I don’t just want to knock it into the outfield, I want to hit it right out of the park and stroll calmly around the bases. I want to write something that goes as far and as hard and as powerful as the other book did, to give a similar experience to the people who supported that book and supported me through it and took something deep out of it, but with the benefit of experience.”
“In Norse myths, they called him Thunderer,” says Marvel Comics’ official solicit for Immortal Hulk #1. “Vuer has he been called, and Hloriddi. The Gods know him as Asgard’s King, keeper of Mjolnir, hero of the tales. When injustice grips the Earth and ancient powers bring down the sky, he fights for
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