Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein
Cover Artist: Nic Klein
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: Storybabbler
The Infernal Hulk has arrived. After a major confrontation between the Hulk and Eldest in the possessed body of The Abomination, Eldest did the impossible and separated Bruce Banner from the Hulk. Now, with the body of the Incredible Hulk and consuming the Mother of Horror’s flesh, Eldest has now become the Infernal Hulk. Read Infernal Hulk #1 to see the beginning of the Age of Monsters!
Review:
Alright, it’s time. Time for the big event: the Infernal Hulk has arrived! This has been the culmination of everything Phillip Kennedy Johnson has been building up in his prior Incredible Hulk 2023 run. And it all starts with a huge bang. Let’s get into it. Fair warning, there will be SPOILERS in this review.
So, let’s get it out of the way real quick. The comic’s credits page delivers enough of a refresher/recap on the essentials for those who didn’t read PK Johnson’s Incredible Hulk run or didn’t finish it. You know what’s different about Hulk, who Eldest is, and what she plans to do now with the power and body of the Hulk.
The comic starts with a fairly calm introduction in Kentucky as two men, the lead man in a red shirt is named David Bridger, working on construction and wrapping up some work. They are about to head home, but something’s off. Loud noises in the distance, then the evacuation siren goes off, and Bridger knows that none of it is good. He’s proven right when the comic fast forwards 3 hours into the present where Bridger and other local military soldiers have set up a barricade and are armed to the teeth awaiting with fear of who’s coming. And it’s not long before that someone arrives – the Infernal Hulk.
From there, Nic Klein’s art and PK Johnson’s atmospheric writing and the characterization of Bridger and the soldiers does a fine job of getting us to like them enough to feel so bad when Infernal Hulk just destroys them in mighty brutal fashion. None of these soldiers stands a chance, and Klein’s art just captures this bloody one-sided encounter brilliantly as Johnson really follows through on making Hulk a monster. Because this is an utter nightmare, an epic horror show as Hulk just lays waste to all the soldiers, tanks, and helicopters, everything and everyone dies.
Naturally, what makes it worse is that’s not all the Infernal Hulk does. Remember, this is the Hulk possessed by Eldest who has the corruptive powers of the Mother of Horrors now. So, Hulk does more than just kill the soldiers, and I won’t spoil too much, but Bridger gets caught up in this “monsterification” if you will. And again, Nic Klein delivers on the art as the Infernal Hulk feels right at home, and readers get to see what is the beginning of this “Age of Monsters” Johnson wants to explore.
Now, obviously I love this first issue. I truly believe this is what Phillip Kennedy Johnson has actually wanted to do with the Hulk title. Everything leading up to this series, in my eyes, has been a grand prelude, and now he gets to deliver on his big story. Of course, the only thing that keeps this comic from being a straight 10/10 is the simple fact that it’s going way too big with the whole “Age of Monsters” thing. Especially the selling angle that it’s “going to change the entire Marvel universe.” As if we haven’t heard that before from every other title for the past 10 years straight and 99% fail to deliver because they do stuff that’s too big, too gimmicky, far from additive, and some thankfully never stick. And I believe the same will happen in Infernal Hulk where we get some big changes that shock us for a while, but by the end will either be undone or swept to the side. That said, I do believe we’ll still have a good time along the way, so I’m all in with this series.
Final Thoughts:
Infernal Hulk #1 kicks things off with a huge bang of a first issue. Readers get the necessary recap, solid atmospheric buildup, and the reveal of the possessed Hulk is right out of an action-horror movie. The titular Hulk illustrated spectacularly by Nic Klein is great as is the following destruction that’s appropriately epic and brutal. And by the end of the comic, the seeds of what’s to come in future issues are already being planted.