The Thing kicks the Hulk's ass in Immortal Hulk #41 preview

Fans of old-time Marvel rivalries may want to avert their eyes from December 16's Immortal Hulk #41.

The two Marvel strong men are some of the biggest and most powerful in their weight class, and their super-large physics has traditionally made them perfect sparring partners, even if the Hulk always had something of an edge.

But that edge is gone in these preview pages from next week's issue. Ben is kicking Bruce's butt all over Coney Island, and unlike the Alex Ross cover that shows the characters in their more classic forms, the Hulk is obviously dealing with some things and as the official solicitation copy describes, is "a shadow of his former self..."

Shadow is an understatement. Eat a sandwich, Hulk!

Of course, Immortal Hulk readers already know why the Hulk looks like he overdid it on the Nutrisystem in these pages by Joe Bennett, anyone who isn't versed might want to check out writer Al Ewing's work on the entire Immortal Hulk series, which is building to something of a conclusion in the near but still interminate future.

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I'm not just the Newsarama founder and editor-in-chief, I'm also a reader. And that reference is just a little bit older than the beginning of my Newsarama journey. I founded what would become the comic book news site in 1996, and except for a brief sojourn at Marvel Comics as its marketing and communications manager in 2003, I've been writing about new comic book titles, creative changes, and occasionally offering my perspective on important industry events and developments for the 25 years since. Despite many changes to Newsarama, my passion for the medium of comic books and the characters makes the last quarter-century (it's crazy to see that in writing) time spent doing what I love most.