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The Infernal Hulk and Merleau-Ponty: Body Schemas and Structuring Absence

Won't the Real Hulk Please Stand Up? The Infernal Hulk comic series grants Bruce Banner his wish of separation from his monster, but the progression of the story reminds us to be careful of what we wish for. One of the most unsettling ideas in The Infernal Hulk is not that Bruce Banner loses the Hulk, but that losing him doesn’t bring relief. Banner is free of the monster, yet he is weaker, disoriented, and haunted by something that refuses to stay gone. The Hulk persists, not as a body, but as an absence that still shapes Banner’s life. This dynamic closely mirrors what philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty describes through the phantom limb. Amputees often continue to feel sensations in limbs that no longer exist. For Merleau-Ponty, this happens because the body is not merely a physical object, but a lived structure, a body schema through which we orient ourselves in the world. When something is removed, the body’s orientation does not immediately adjust. Banner’s condition in The ...
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Splash-Page Spotlight: Spectregraph

 


"...Beautiful, Isn't It"  



I believe an explanation is in order concerning the splash-page spotlight section. Anytime the mood strikes, and a particular splash-page from a comic and/or graphic novel invokes strong emotions within, I hope to share them as inspiration and heap praise upon the talented artist that conjured them up. 

This particular piece comes from the comic, Spectregraph, written by James Tynion IV in collaboration with artist, Christian Ward. A bone tingling graphic horror novel on one excentric's quest to create ghost, and unlock the secrets of eternity. Some serious 13 Ghosts vibes from this one, and this particular Splash-Page so perfectly capturing the dark and myterious tones of this offering. 

The naivety of the real estate agent augments the ominous feel of the book, in conjunction with the well balanced use of black, blue and grey colours. A title not to be missed, and one certainly worth pre-ordering now. 



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