Writer: Phillip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klein
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson
Cover Artist: Nic Klein
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Reviewer: StoryBabbler
Bruce Banner is being hunted by monsters summoned by the mysterious new villain called the Eldest. Her target? The Hulk. This time, a monster with a corruptive influence called the War Devil has taken root in some poor souls to use as its hunters. But the Hulk has found an ally in a new Ghost Rider from World War II, who’s protecting a small community from these monsters. Read The Incredible Hulk #8 to see the two face off against a new wave of monsters.
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Review:
Alright, the chapter starts out with a solid horror approach as we start in Bruce’s mindscape, where he’s trapped fighting for his life against dangerous apparitions until a foreign entity makes themselves known. And they do not like what they find, as the War Devil tries to possess the Hulk. At first, this sounds like it’s about to go from 10 to 1,000 for Charlie and the others, even if the possession doesn’t last long, Hulk could kill them all with his signature thunderclap. But before War Devil gets the chance, Ghost Rider WWII shows up to help, or Uncle Sal as he’s called. For the rest of this review I’ll refer to the new Ghost Rider as Ghost Rider WWII.
And just as quickly as Ghost Rider WWII shows up, Hulk reclaims control of the mindscape and exorcises the War Devil from him in a quickness. From there, we get a royal rumble as the War Devil molds his possessed bodies into a new form, that could possibly be his true form and the action rolls on from there. To put it mildly, the art and action are what sell this comic. Seeing the Hulk and Ghost Rider WWII team up and face the War Devil is cool, and slight SPOILERS, but we get two sets of double page spread epicness with these two taking down the War Devil.
When it comes to the War Devil, the latest new monster, I’ll keep my thoughts on him short and straight to the point. He’s a functional villain, but barely. He gets a lore page at the end of the comic, just like the others did, and while it informs the personality and dialogue, that’s about it. Hopefully, the next new monster called Frozen Charlotte in the next story arc will be more of a genuine menace to the Hulk. Little bit of a nitpick, but it’s frustrating that we got a lore page for the War Devil instead of the new Ghost Rider WWII who was more interesting. I would like to believe we’ll see him return later in the series, but I’m not holding m breath.
The stars of this issue are the art from Nic Klein and the colors by Matthew Wilson. The way they bring the Hulk, Ghost Rider WWII, and the War Devil to life just make this comic, heck the series, worth the read. Nothing against Phillip Kennedy Johnson, he’s actually one of a handful of comic writers at both Marvel and DC Comics that I genuinely like. But the stars for this issue were mainly the art since it’s not like there’s much serious dialogue going on until the very end of the comic.
Final Thoughts:
The Incredible Hulk #8 wraps up this story arc with a cool team-up between the Hulk and the new Ghost Rider from WWII against their common enemy, the War Devil. The art is the real star here, Nic Klein’s art and Matthew Wilson’s colors really sell this comic, which is pretty straightforward and to the point with its plot. The action we get, while not inspired, is still pretty cool to see as Hulk and the Ghost Rider use some brutal tried and true methods to take down the War Devil. The only disappointment for this issue is that we don’t get to know more about the new Ghost Rider, but there’s hope we’ll see him again in the series at some point.