ANNOUNCEMENT! George Perez to draw Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk Bunny in Marvel Comics #1000 // Satire
The comic book industry was shaken last January when legendary artist and writer George Perez formally announced his retirement via his official FaceBook page. Citing age, health, and the grind of modern publishing as reasons for his withdrawal Perez offered his sincerest thanks to fans for their support over the years. Perez did, however, leave the door open for future projects should an opportunity come in that provides sufficient lead time or coolness. And it appears Al Ewing and Marvel have offered such an opportunity.
In a teaser announcement, Ewing and Perez's names were placed side by side in front of a backdrop of various iconic Marvel comic covers. Ewing and Perez were not the only familiar names teased in such a manner with icons like Mark Waid, Erik Larsen, J. Michael Straczynski, and Ed McGuinness among others. The predominant rumor being that all mentioned creators are contributing to an oversized anthology special called Marvel Comics #1000 in celebration of the company's history. You Don't Read comics has the exclusive honor of confirming these reports as accurate, but announce the first short story as Al Ewing and George Perez's The Immortal Hulk Bunny.
Debuting in 1983 in the same issue of Marvel Tails Starring Peter Porker, The Spectacular Spider-Ham as the now famous Spider-Ham, Hulk Bunny is a lesser-known anthropomorphic hero based around everyone's favorite unglamorous hero The Hulk. This new short story takes its cues from Ewing's recent critically acclaimed horror revamp of the Hulk character known as The Immortal Hulk.
"Well we were looking back at 80 years of Marvel, and we thought, 'what characters aren't getting enough attention?'" Ewing explained to YDRC when giving details about the development of Marvel Comics #1000. "You know I could've done a story about the Fantastic Four, or Spider-Man, or even another take on the regular Hulk but that seemed so uninteresting. The only way to celebrate the House of Ideas' 80th birthday, to me, was to feature an oddball idea that only four guys care about. So I picked Hulk Bunny."
George Perez was equally enthusiastic giving a spotlight to the underappreciated gamma radiated bun-bun.
"Al and Joe Quesada convinced me, but it honestly didn't take that much convincing," says Perez. "I loved Spider-Ham in that new movie, and bunnies and rabbits are two of my favorite animals ever. I love all long-eared super-heroes when I think about it. Captain Carrot, Thunder Bunny, Bucky O'Hare, Hoppy from Captain Marvel, Judy Hopps, that Star Wars guy, the Quik Bunny-,"
George Perez then listed no less than 60 bunny and rabbit-themed superheroes before continuing with the interview.
"- and Rabbit Hero: Mirko from My Hero Academia. So I really think I was a fit for the project! Although Al's script could have eased up on the gore."
A visceral gore filled script was the only option it appears, with Ewing refusing the project if he could not make Immortal Hulk Bunny as graphic as his main Immortal Hulk title.
"In my mind, I realized, 'THIS is what my time on Immortal Hulk has been leading up to!' And to see that all come to fruition from a legend like George Perez is just awe-inspiring. You have not seen the disembowelment of an anthropomorphic goose until you've seen it drawn by George Perez.
Other short stories for the anthology include a Forbush Man story by Alex Ross and a Guardians of the Galaxy story by Joe Hill and Mike Allred where every character is Cosmic Ghost Rider.
*This article is satirical and intended for humor purposes only. The events of its contents, while based on reality, are in no way meant to inspire anything other than the entertainment of our readers.
