Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Cover Artist: Nic Klein
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Price: $4.99
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Hulk came crashing down at the Strange Academy looking for Doctor Strange to help Charlie, who’s trapped in a doll, and was instead answered by Doctor Voodoo. He came up with a possible solution: get an evil sorcerer called the Flesh-Weaver to make a new body for her. The problem, aside from the obvious, is they have to enter the prison he’s kept in to find and get his aid, the Soul Cage. The second problem: Hulk is finally alone with Bruce. Read Incredible Hulk #13 to see if the pair can figure things out long enough to find the menacing Flesh-Weaver in the Soul Cage.
Review:
Alright, so last issue ended very bad for Bruce and we pick up right where it left off with Bruce getting tossed around by Hulk. Who’s been itching to pound him into the ground for some time now. But Bruce reminds him that they’re in the Soul Cage for a reason: to help Charlie. Of course, even when they start working together, there’s still the matter of finding the evil sorcerer Sumanguru, the Flesh-Weaver. Thankfully, it doesn’t take long before the pair luck their way to the lair of the Flesh-Weaver.
I’ll start with the good then get into the negatives. First, I’m glad that the Soul Cage story isn’t dragged out for multiple issues and is just a two-parter. Second, Nic Klein does it again with the art as everything just looks so wrong, distorted and downright macabre and grotesque in the Soul Cage. It truly does feel like an eldritch prison filled with evil monsters and sorcerers who’ve probably been there for far too long, and it’s showing. And finally, I have to give props to Phillip Kennedy Johnson for how he writes the dynamic between Bruce and the Hulk. Yes, we get the usual threats from Hulk, who’s ridiculing and threatening Banner for the first quarter of the comic. But after their first monster attack, Bruce really let’s Hulk have it and gives him a piece of his mind, and it shows thanks to Nic Klein’s art. Bruce is tired, exhausted and just so sick of the Hulk that he doesn’t care and really stands up to him. It felt a little cathartic.
Now, here’s where I get into the negatives which also have some positives accompanying them too. The negatives start when they finally find Sumanguru and enter his lair. It’s got a good horror vibe and really leans into the “Flesh-Weaver” aspect of his title as Bruce and Hulk face his many warped creations and they look monstrous and unnatural. Sounds good, right? But when it comes to the actual confrontation with Sumanguru himself, it’s over too quickly. He’s literally beaten in two panels by Hulk. This is disappointing because since the Flesh-Weaver is supposed to be a wielder of dark and terrible magic on top of his flesh manipulation ability, he should’ve lasted a little longer and done some really crazy stuff. But he doesn’t. And there’s his true form which is…okay. He looks good drawn by Nic Klein at least.
Then there’s the fact that while the Soul Cage story is done, the real story isn’t. Earlier, I said I was glad the story was just two parts and wasn’t going to be dragged out for more. Well, that only applies to finding and confronting the Flesh-Weaver. The true story of helping Charlie is far from over. It turns out that while Sumanguru could make her a new body, he can’t safely place Charlie’s soul into it. But he knows what can and tells Bruce and Hulk where it is. He essentially sent them on a new side quest to go somewhere else to find this other thing that will hopefully do what they need it to do. It just feels like the series has been avoiding tackling the main plot for a while now and it needs to recenter itself after Bruce and Hulk help out Charlie.
Final Thoughts:
Incredible Hulk #13 delivers the second part of the Soul Cage story. In this comic we get some solid character interaction between Bruce and Hulk especially Bruce who stands up to the green goliath in a way that even caught Hulk off-guard. The grotesque horror and design of the Soul Cage is well done thanks to Nic Klein’s art, and the heroes’ encounter with the Flesh-Weaver felt straight out of a horror story. The only downside is that the fight is pretty short-lived and Bruce is essentially sent off to another location in what feels like a side quest.