Review: The Incredible Hulk#1

The Hulk is no stranger to sharp turns of direction when it comes to how his story is told. Recent runs have explored the green goliath from wild and often deeply psychological perspectives. The well-loved Immortal Hulk run well and truly ripped open the classic Hulk narrative leaving no stone unturned. Most recently, Donny Cates had Brace Banner take command of the Hulk’s body, buying the Hulk deep within his psyche and using his rage as fuel on a complex journey across space and various dimensions. While highly entertaining, all this vast and varied storytelling inevitably left a difficult job for any future creator looking to add a fresh take to one of Marvel’s oldest characters.

But, If anyone could take on a well-trodden character and give it new life, it was Philip Kennedy Johnson. Johnson’s ability to produce the goods with well-loved characters was well-established with a resume that includes well-received work on Green Lantern, Superman, James Bond, Captain America, and the Alien Universes. But, the challenge presented by previous runs wasn’t lost on Johnson, who stated, “Immortal Hulk was so impactful and spoke so clearly to me personally, it was impossible to come up with the idea that wasn’t inspired by it”.

However, any doubt that Hulk#1 is a brand new, unique and horror heavy tale is put to rest in the frightful opening scene, where a group of earthbound explorers find themselves in the mix with a new horrific villain, setting the action-packed tone of things to come. As for the Hulk, after having Bruce trying to gain control of him in a myriad of ways, he now wants the king’s seat in the shared psyche, permanently. Bruce is back to his wandering, broody loner best and suitably stressed by the Hulk’s desire to dominate. The essence of this new story centres around a group of dark occultists, led by an Immortal, who are fixed on the Hulk and reaching their goals of ushering in a new age of monsters. These are a no-nonsense set of bad guys who quickly begin carrying out there dark plans , with dark and nasty results, as the ending teases a new world of monsters for the Hulk to battle as he rages on once more! This fresh set of characters connects instantly, especially Charlene, a young, tough girl trying to escape her less-than-charming father and finds herself entwined with the Hulk. Tough, capable characters have always surrounded Bruce Banner and Charlene, and the beginnings of her story, create a strong core to the story and sets the path for some softer elements of what seems to be an epic Hulk adventure.

It’s hard to overstate how on-point the writing in this issue is.

The real juice in any Hulk arc is the internal relationship between Bruce Banner and the Hulk, and getting this right is the foundation of a great Hulk story. The decision to go down the horror route, leaning into Stan Lee’s original vision of the Hulk as a Jekyll and Hyde-type monster, produces a much more subtle approach to the critical ‘internal rage’ dynamic while losing none of the impact. Adding this to the small-town horror vibes and magical overtones makes this new take feel like an awesome classic Hulk tale but with a unique, mysterious edge. The confidence in this vision shines throughout, and ultimately, Johnson tells a fresh new story with his always excellent dialogue and narration.

Nic Klein’s art is stunning. The pages burst with raw stylistic energy. A mix of fine detail and engaging, vibrant images produce a visual feast of tense bone-crunching horror. The colour work adds beautiful dark and pastel tones, combing with excellent use of shadows that add wonderful depth and gothic energy to the classic horror tale.

The new Incredible Hulk#1 succeeds in setting off an exciting new chapter in the Hulk’s journey. This is a well-crafted, expertly paced and highly readable first issue using the man vs. internal monster narrative in its rawest form.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colours – 5 Stars

Overall-5 Stars

Writer: Philip Kennedy Johnson
Artist: Nic Klien
Color Artist: Matthew Wilson