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The Incredible Hulk (2023)
The Incredible Hulk, Vol. 1: Age of Monsters
A new era of Hulk begins here, from the mind of Phillip Kennedy Johnson!
THE AGE OF MONSTERS HAS BEGUN! As an enraged Hulk tries to take control of Bruce Banner’s body permanently, a mysterious immortal turns every monster in the Marvel Universe against Banner in an attempt to free their creator, the primordial Mother of Horrors. With the help of an unlikely new friend, Banner and Hulk must try to stop the world from getting plunged into darkness!
Incredible Hulk (2023) 1-5
THE AGE OF MONSTERS HAS BEGUN! As an enraged Hulk tries to take control of Bruce Banner’s body permanently, a mysterious immortal turns every monster in the Marvel Universe against Banner in an attempt to free their creator, the primordial Mother of Horrors. With the help of an unlikely new friend, Banner and Hulk must try to stop the world from getting plunged into darkness!
Incredible Hulk (2023) 1-5
168 pages, Paperback
First published January 16, 2024
About the author
Phillip Kennedy Johnson
412 books77 followersPhillip Kennedy Johnson earned a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he served as Teaching Fellow for the Department of Jazz Studies, and a Bachelor of Music degree from Eastern Kentucky University. SFC Johnson has performed with the Lexington Philharmonic, Dallas Opera, Washington Symphonic Brass, and the Moscow Ballet, and was a member of the Glenn Miller Orchestra from 2004 to 2005. SFC Johnson remains active as a composer, arranger, teacher, and clinician, and also enjoys a second career as a writer of comics and graphic novels. His work has been published by DC Comics, Marvel Comics, BOOM! Studios, and more.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 58 reviews
June 18, 2024
"It's really true, isn't it? There really are two of you in there." -- Charlie the teenager
"Not much longer." -- The Incredible Hulk, a.k.a. the beleaguered Dr Bruce Banner
My 'Marvel malaise' (see recent reviews on new initial volumes of Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four and especially Hellcat) continues to roll on down with the latest in the Hulk series called Vol. 1: Age of Monsters. While I sort of liked its horror movie-like atmosphere - the tone was kept dark, gritty, and dangerous - the addition of an abused and suddenly orphaned teen sidekick didn't do much to enhance the storyline except to be a conversational avatar for our title character. (She's a fanatic about the Hulk, but pretty much treats Dr. Banner with dismissive contempt. Oh, how joyful.) I knew it wasn't quite all working for me when I cared more about the travesty of a restored '73 Mustang (resembling 'Eleanor' from the mid-70's cult film Gone In 60 Seconds) getting destroyed by the teen's drunken lout of brutish father in an early chapter than about nearly anything else that occurs here.
"Not much longer." -- The Incredible Hulk, a.k.a. the beleaguered Dr Bruce Banner
My 'Marvel malaise' (see recent reviews on new initial volumes of Dr. Strange, the Fantastic Four and especially Hellcat) continues to roll on down with the latest in the Hulk series called Vol. 1: Age of Monsters. While I sort of liked its horror movie-like atmosphere - the tone was kept dark, gritty, and dangerous - the addition of an abused and suddenly orphaned teen sidekick didn't do much to enhance the storyline except to be a conversational avatar for our title character. (She's a fanatic about the Hulk, but pretty much treats Dr. Banner with dismissive contempt. Oh, how joyful.) I knew it wasn't quite all working for me when I cared more about the travesty of a restored '73 Mustang (resembling 'Eleanor' from the mid-70's cult film Gone In 60 Seconds) getting destroyed by the teen's drunken lout of brutish father in an early chapter than about nearly anything else that occurs here.
November 4, 2023
The Hulk is BACK!
Phillip Kennedy Johnson smartly takes hulk back to his horror roots again. This feels like immortal hulk first did when it began. Basically Bruce just trying to be away from everyone yet somehow always gets dragged into things. When he meets a young girl who looks up to him the Hulk show's his true colors, and man oh man are their some vicious and disturbing kills and transformations here. Protecting someone is Hulk's best moments next to destroying.
Overall solid first arc, showcasing a protective Hulk against the odds as always and making sure he comes out on top by smashing anyone in his way.
Also Man Thing is in this, whohoo!
Phillip Kennedy Johnson smartly takes hulk back to his horror roots again. This feels like immortal hulk first did when it began. Basically Bruce just trying to be away from everyone yet somehow always gets dragged into things. When he meets a young girl who looks up to him the Hulk show's his true colors, and man oh man are their some vicious and disturbing kills and transformations here. Protecting someone is Hulk's best moments next to destroying.
Overall solid first arc, showcasing a protective Hulk against the odds as always and making sure he comes out on top by smashing anyone in his way.
Also Man Thing is in this, whohoo!
March 22, 2024
3.75 stars. This was pretty good. Hulk is trying to take complete control from Banner. Also, an ancient evil has risen once again and says the Hulk is the only one who can stop them and they want to take Hulk from Banner. Johnson adds some interesting lore around this ancient evil as well. They have summoned and taken control of a bunch of monsters and have sent them to take on the Hulk. Got to see the jade giant kick some major ass. I’m interested to see where this goes. The annual that was in here was just average. Brought the score down from being 4 stars. Some people are trying to film their own Hulk documentary and have been going around looking for him. Again, just ok. Travel Forman is a serviceable artist and does the last two issues. But when you make him go directly after an artist like Nic Klein, it makes his stuff look a little below serviceable. Klein on the the first 3 issues was looking really good.
November 11, 2023
Combining the body horror of Ewing's Immortal Hulk with the power levels of World War Hulk (he punches gods to death in a handful of panels here) and a classic homeless wandering Banner, this is a pretty fun start to Johnson's run.
The only things I didn't like were the overused tropes of Hulk acting like a terrifying monster but secretly being a softy deep inside and, worst of all, the plucky teenage sidekick. I hated it with Rick Jones and I hate it with Charlie here.
The only things I didn't like were the overused tropes of Hulk acting like a terrifying monster but secretly being a softy deep inside and, worst of all, the plucky teenage sidekick. I hated it with Rick Jones and I hate it with Charlie here.
March 5, 2024
I wanted to give rhus book 3.5 stars. The final issue/chapter dropped it down for me. This is a lot better than the weird space/Multiverse Hulk. I can see the horror style fitting the Hulk. There are definitely aspects of the Immortal Hulk here as well.
Bruce Banner managed to lock the Hulk in his mind, using the Hulk's rage and pain to fuel starship Hulk. Now, the Hulk wants to their body all too himself. As Bruce battles the Hulk in his mind, an army of monsters has been unleashed to take him out. What is their connection to the Hulk himself?
I like the more brutal and bloody fights, I hated the Blair Witch Project style last story. That dropped the rating of the book down for me. Though I am interested to see what happens next. The book finishes with a varient covers gallery.
Bruce Banner managed to lock the Hulk in his mind, using the Hulk's rage and pain to fuel starship Hulk. Now, the Hulk wants to their body all too himself. As Bruce battles the Hulk in his mind, an army of monsters has been unleashed to take him out. What is their connection to the Hulk himself?
I like the more brutal and bloody fights, I hated the Blair Witch Project style last story. That dropped the rating of the book down for me. Though I am interested to see what happens next. The book finishes with a varient covers gallery.
April 5, 2024
Not a restart of Hulk as horror genre, following up some chaos of the previous run and trying to recreate the magic of Ewing's Immortal Hulk. Will take some time to see if it's a success tho
Read
July 11, 2024After reading Philip Kennedy Johnson's Action Comics: Warworld Rising, I fell in love with his approach to character writing. He gleefully brings his protagonists into a Golden Age-style world of strange science fiction and grotesque monsters. And the same is certainly true here.
This is Hulk being returned to the realm of horror. Monsters have been risen by an ancient evil known as Eldest, and each of them is now being thrown at Hulk. This means plenty of graphic transformations, plenty of visceral action scenes, and some real dark moments involving zombies, ghosts, and eldritch creatures.
There's a real 70s and 80s horror movie vibe to the tone and aesthetics here, and I am all for it. Hulk is a monster and he fits so well into a world of monsters. Beautiful, exciting, strange, and enthralling. Loved every panel.
This is Hulk being returned to the realm of horror. Monsters have been risen by an ancient evil known as Eldest, and each of them is now being thrown at Hulk. This means plenty of graphic transformations, plenty of visceral action scenes, and some real dark moments involving zombies, ghosts, and eldritch creatures.
There's a real 70s and 80s horror movie vibe to the tone and aesthetics here, and I am all for it. Hulk is a monster and he fits so well into a world of monsters. Beautiful, exciting, strange, and enthralling. Loved every panel.
August 9, 2024
Engana-se quem achar que essa nova fase do Incrível Hulk é uma continuação natura de Imortal Hulk de Al Ewing e do desenhista brasileiro bolsonarista. E vamos esquecer a fase de Donny Cates. Não se trata de uma continuação. Os únicos elementos que ainda estão ali é a transformação e destransforamção bizarra entre Hulk e Banner e o fato de que nada pode matar o Hulk. O fato de ser uma produção dentro do gênero do terror é uma diferença e não uma semelhança. O terror de Ewing era existencial e cósmico, enquanto que o de PKJ é um terror mais visceral, de monstruosidade, um terror mais visual e violento. Isso é comprovado na escolha dos desenhistas para esta fase: Nic Klein com seu estilo sujo e pesado e Travel Foreman com seus rostos deformados (obviamente prefiro Klein). A fase de PKJ promete e já trouxe novas camadas tanto para o Hulk como pra Bruce, coisa que Cates não fez, mas que ainda não é tão revolucionária quanto a fase de Ewing. Vai ser empolgante acompanhar ela também.
February 5, 2024
A solid start to a new run that does a lot of "back to basics" kind of stuff while also acknowledging the fact that we're less than a couple years removed from one of most iconic runs in the lengthy history of the character (though I'm not as high on Immortal Hulk as many others seem to be). The influences from Ewing & Bennett run are abundantly clear here, as this series has no shortage of gruesome transformations and horror tropes. Phillip Kennedy Johnson even seems to pull a little from Alan Moore's iconic Saga of the Swamp Thing run with touches of Southern Gothic to boot.
The principle story here features the Hulk dealing with an unearthly entity known as the "Mother of Horrors" who seems to be connecting with the monsters of Earth. Hulk finds himself with another plucky young sidekick in Charlie, an orphaned young girl who deals with anger issues. She's basically a new Rick Jones but with a bit more thematic tie-in to where Hulk is at this point in his lengthy saga. There are several mentions of the "green door" concept from Immortal Hulk, and Hulk even coyly references the "Smashtronaut!" silliness from the Cates & Ottley run, which goes to show that PKJ is really invested in keeping the series respectful of the stuff from before while delving into some new horizons. Unfortunately, this arc doesn't really get to much of the new stuff yet and mostly played out like any old Hulk story. Though the foundations here are strong for better stuff to come (hopefully).
Nic Klein and Travel Foreman share the artwork duties and the hand off between story arcs works pretty well. Klein is definitely taking a lot from the art direction of Immortal Hulk here, while Foreman's designs are much more subdued. Both artists handle their arcs well, though I do think I have a preference for Klein's maximal stylish choices for this book. A decent start to what will hopefully be a strong run on the character.
The principle story here features the Hulk dealing with an unearthly entity known as the "Mother of Horrors" who seems to be connecting with the monsters of Earth. Hulk finds himself with another plucky young sidekick in Charlie, an orphaned young girl who deals with anger issues. She's basically a new Rick Jones but with a bit more thematic tie-in to where Hulk is at this point in his lengthy saga. There are several mentions of the "green door" concept from Immortal Hulk, and Hulk even coyly references the "Smashtronaut!" silliness from the Cates & Ottley run, which goes to show that PKJ is really invested in keeping the series respectful of the stuff from before while delving into some new horizons. Unfortunately, this arc doesn't really get to much of the new stuff yet and mostly played out like any old Hulk story. Though the foundations here are strong for better stuff to come (hopefully).
Nic Klein and Travel Foreman share the artwork duties and the hand off between story arcs works pretty well. Klein is definitely taking a lot from the art direction of Immortal Hulk here, while Foreman's designs are much more subdued. Both artists handle their arcs well, though I do think I have a preference for Klein's maximal stylish choices for this book. A decent start to what will hopefully be a strong run on the character.
March 22, 2024
Hulk is back!! No more of the meta crap of "Immortal Hulk" or "Spaceship Hulk" like they've done previously. (Again, I know the "Immortal" run is loved, but I didn't like it) When I read a Hulk book, I want some story, but lots of Hulk Smash...
This Volume is setting up something huge, involving a new "Age of Monsters" with the mysterious "Eldest", and it appears as we might actually get a separation of Hulk and Banner, or a full absorption of Banner into Hulk.
Looking forward to another Volume. Hope its not too long.
Recommend.
This Volume is setting up something huge, involving a new "Age of Monsters" with the mysterious "Eldest", and it appears as we might actually get a separation of Hulk and Banner, or a full absorption of Banner into Hulk.
Looking forward to another Volume. Hope its not too long.
Recommend.
May 2, 2024
Interesting start to a more monster vibe Hulk.
I'm getting a SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN vibe ..but that might be me.
Love TRAVEL FOREMAN'S art in a couple of issues of this.
I'm getting a SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN vibe ..but that might be me.
Love TRAVEL FOREMAN'S art in a couple of issues of this.
June 20, 2024
3.75 stars loved how it’s based in Kentucky but however didn’t really like the annual everything else I loved in it, it felt like preacher and hulk mixed
June 7, 2024
This gave me THE GOON crossed with HARROW COUNTY and someone threw The Hulk in. Now that The Green Door is closed I guess we're going to explore other magical creepy worlds. The girl sidekick? So. Unnecessary.
May 2, 2024
Philip Kennedy Johnson, Nick Klein, Travel Foreman, and Matt Wilson bring Hulk back to the body horror direction that Al Ewing introduced in Immortal Hulk. There’s also a bit of the old tv show here too, as Bruce Banner is hitchhiking around the country, bumping into monsters. It’s going to be hard to top Ewing’s run, but this is already giving it a run for its money. The art is better, and I like the almost “monster of the week” approach so far.
August 2, 2024
Hulk/Bruce Banner return to their roots as a rageful monster and a hobo scientist. They pick up a punk kid somewhere along the way and punch a bunch of monsters. Age of Monsters is pretty clearly a reboot from all the cosmic weirdness that we've seen in Hulk comics of late, and that's fine, but it's also kinda dull. You see the big guy punch one monster, you've seen him punch them all.
I guess there's a bigger picture "Mother of Monsters" idea rolling around in the background, but it doesn't pick up a ton of steam here yet. I'll be honest: I read this book a few weeks ago and the plot has almost entirely washed from my mind. Not a great sign.
I guess there's a bigger picture "Mother of Monsters" idea rolling around in the background, but it doesn't pick up a ton of steam here yet. I'll be honest: I read this book a few weeks ago and the plot has almost entirely washed from my mind. Not a great sign.
February 28, 2024
I dug the horror elements of this book, but I feel like that was done better in Immortal than in this run. I feel like PKJ is still trying to find his footing with this run and the different artists don’t do a lot to help his case with this. My favorite scene by far was seeing the grotesque and horrible transformation that the Hulk made back into Bruce Banner within a few panels. That was pretty wild! I’m still on board to see where this goes, but I don’t think a ton has happened yet with this story.
July 8, 2024
I really liked the art for this, and the story has that classic Hulk feel to it.
August 7, 2024
Three and a half stars, good enough.
May 25, 2024
Promising start into the new story. And very creepy, great artwork that makes it even more monstrous. Can’t wait to find out what happens next.
March 4, 2024
Hulk and Banner are back on Earth but Hulk is mad at Banner for having mentally locked him up for so long. And if there’s one thing you wouldn’t like Hulk to be, it’s… y’know. Meanwhile, an ancient evil is resurrected and with it awakens a new Age of Monsters. Their sights are set on the biggest monster of all: yo mama! Hulk.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein take over Hulk from Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley and their first book is actually pretty decent, though more for the art than anything else.
The first issue is absolutely cracking. Really fast-paced, exciting set-up issue where the premise, characters, and threats are well established with Klein really impressing with the art. I had low expectations going into this one because I haven’t enjoyed anything Johnson’s written to date but he wrote the hell out of that issue - great stuff.
Then… the not-so-great stuff, ie. the rest of the book, which doesn’t live up to the opener. The story of the undead Bible-bashers in an abandoned mining town sees Johnson emulating the worst traits of Tom King’s writing by copying out song lyrics in lieu of a script, in what wasn’t all that compelling a story either. But, again, Klein’s art is so damn strong that even if the words did nothing, the visuals definitely held the attention. The way he draws Hulk bursting out of Banner’s body is really something.
Travel Foreman takes over the art for the next story, which is a good choice given that he’s a talented horror artist and Johnson’s Hulk is ostensibly a horror book. Man-Thing cameos in this one, which is nice to see as he’s very much a fringe Marvel character, but the story is again no great shakes with Hulk and Man-Thing teaming up to fight a giant crab. None of these monsters are real threats to Hulk, so it’s not exciting to see him fight them as we know he’ll easily smash them (and does).
The final story is the annual, written by David Pepose with art from Caio Majado. It’s a found-footage story where a film crew sets out to do a Blair Witch-style doc about the Hulk. It has that “footage hasn’t been edited” disclaimer at the start but the chronology is very much in the style of a superhero comic which immediately shatters the already-feeble illusion. It’s also not much of a story - Hulk fights what looks to be Giganto - with Majado’s art failing to measure up to the heights of Klein or even Foreman’s that preceded it.
Banner’s new sidekick, the angry teen runaway Charlie, who idolises the Hulk but not Banner, is an intriguing new addition, mainly to see what role she’ll play in Hulk’s revenge on Banner. The monsters after Hulk are less so as they just don’t seem like a viable threat. And though I love me some horror, I’d’ve much preferred if the focus of this book had been on the conflict between Banner and Hulk, which is vastly more compelling than seeing Hulk effortlessly topple one contrived monster after another. Hopefully we see more of that in future books and less monster-of-the-week action.
The Incredible Hulk, Volume 1: Age of Monsters has some of the best art in a Hulk book I’ve seen for some time courtesy of Nic Klein, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s story has some promising excitement to it, like how Hulk and Banner resolve their current beef. A lot of the book though has too much blah Hulk/monster action that simply isn’t interesting enough, making this first book more of a visual treat than a storytelling one. Not a bad start to this new Hulk series though and I’ll keep an eye out for the next one.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein take over Hulk from Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley and their first book is actually pretty decent, though more for the art than anything else.
The first issue is absolutely cracking. Really fast-paced, exciting set-up issue where the premise, characters, and threats are well established with Klein really impressing with the art. I had low expectations going into this one because I haven’t enjoyed anything Johnson’s written to date but he wrote the hell out of that issue - great stuff.
Then… the not-so-great stuff, ie. the rest of the book, which doesn’t live up to the opener. The story of the undead Bible-bashers in an abandoned mining town sees Johnson emulating the worst traits of Tom King’s writing by copying out song lyrics in lieu of a script, in what wasn’t all that compelling a story either. But, again, Klein’s art is so damn strong that even if the words did nothing, the visuals definitely held the attention. The way he draws Hulk bursting out of Banner’s body is really something.
Travel Foreman takes over the art for the next story, which is a good choice given that he’s a talented horror artist and Johnson’s Hulk is ostensibly a horror book. Man-Thing cameos in this one, which is nice to see as he’s very much a fringe Marvel character, but the story is again no great shakes with Hulk and Man-Thing teaming up to fight a giant crab. None of these monsters are real threats to Hulk, so it’s not exciting to see him fight them as we know he’ll easily smash them (and does).
The final story is the annual, written by David Pepose with art from Caio Majado. It’s a found-footage story where a film crew sets out to do a Blair Witch-style doc about the Hulk. It has that “footage hasn’t been edited” disclaimer at the start but the chronology is very much in the style of a superhero comic which immediately shatters the already-feeble illusion. It’s also not much of a story - Hulk fights what looks to be Giganto - with Majado’s art failing to measure up to the heights of Klein or even Foreman’s that preceded it.
Banner’s new sidekick, the angry teen runaway Charlie, who idolises the Hulk but not Banner, is an intriguing new addition, mainly to see what role she’ll play in Hulk’s revenge on Banner. The monsters after Hulk are less so as they just don’t seem like a viable threat. And though I love me some horror, I’d’ve much preferred if the focus of this book had been on the conflict between Banner and Hulk, which is vastly more compelling than seeing Hulk effortlessly topple one contrived monster after another. Hopefully we see more of that in future books and less monster-of-the-week action.
The Incredible Hulk, Volume 1: Age of Monsters has some of the best art in a Hulk book I’ve seen for some time courtesy of Nic Klein, and Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s story has some promising excitement to it, like how Hulk and Banner resolve their current beef. A lot of the book though has too much blah Hulk/monster action that simply isn’t interesting enough, making this first book more of a visual treat than a storytelling one. Not a bad start to this new Hulk series though and I’ll keep an eye out for the next one.
February 7, 2024
When I make a top ten list of my favorite Marvel comic book characters, the Hulk never makes the cut, yet I have read every single Hulk book since I got back into comics in 2001. Hulk stories, like Daredevil stories are never generic, and unlike some of the writers on Daredevil books, Hulk writers are willing to really get nuts.
The perfect example of this is Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing. Al Ewing took the Hulk status quo and exploded it from the inside, turning it into a terrified rotting corpse with its bones and organs on the outside. Everyone compares the visuals in Immortal Hulk to The Thing and they are right, but I also always picture the T-1000, after the rocket explodes inside of him, as the usual state of characters in Immortal Hulk. Donny Cates tried to keep the momentum going with his follow up to Al Ewing’s run, but his book wasn’t horrifying or gross, but instead more bizarre.
With THE INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 1, Philip Kennedy Johnson simultaneously brings the Hulk story to its roots, while also adding a layer of Lovecraftian mythos to the Hulk lore.
This is the Hulk as an early Vertigo book. It is that time period when they didn’t have the Vertigo label yet, but characters that were born in the DC universe, like Sandman and Swamp Thing were getting the full vertigo revision. This trade is broken up into a handful of monster encounters, between the Hulk and what I would assume are brand new Philip Kennedy Johnson monster creations. The absolute best part of the trade? After the comic was done, there were pages in the back going into full detail about the origins of the monsters the Hulk faced.
I eat this shit up.
The ongoing story of the Hulk, told in very different ways by writers over the decades, is a back and forth between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Under one writer, the Hulk can be the dominating force, ruining Bruce Banner’s life while he is out. It is usually followed up by a run where Bruce Banner is in control of the Hulk’s body, and speaking through him.
In Immortal Hulk, the Nightmare Hulk was in charge. In Donny Cates run, Bruce Banner was piloting the Hulk like he was a spaceship. In THE INCREDIBLE HULK, by Philip Kennedy Johnson, Bruce Banner is terrified of the time that the Hulk will be unleashed, because he believes the Hulk will separate the two of them and also do something terrible to Banner and his loved ones.
They say in this book, this Hulk is not an avenger. He is pissed off at Banner and taking out his anger on the elder god monsters that are targeting him. I don’t know why I don’t have the Hulk in my top ten Marvel superheroes list. His books are always so damn good !
The perfect example of this is Immortal Hulk by Al Ewing. Al Ewing took the Hulk status quo and exploded it from the inside, turning it into a terrified rotting corpse with its bones and organs on the outside. Everyone compares the visuals in Immortal Hulk to The Thing and they are right, but I also always picture the T-1000, after the rocket explodes inside of him, as the usual state of characters in Immortal Hulk. Donny Cates tried to keep the momentum going with his follow up to Al Ewing’s run, but his book wasn’t horrifying or gross, but instead more bizarre.
With THE INCREDIBLE HULK VOL 1, Philip Kennedy Johnson simultaneously brings the Hulk story to its roots, while also adding a layer of Lovecraftian mythos to the Hulk lore.
This is the Hulk as an early Vertigo book. It is that time period when they didn’t have the Vertigo label yet, but characters that were born in the DC universe, like Sandman and Swamp Thing were getting the full vertigo revision. This trade is broken up into a handful of monster encounters, between the Hulk and what I would assume are brand new Philip Kennedy Johnson monster creations. The absolute best part of the trade? After the comic was done, there were pages in the back going into full detail about the origins of the monsters the Hulk faced.
I eat this shit up.
The ongoing story of the Hulk, told in very different ways by writers over the decades, is a back and forth between Bruce Banner and the Hulk. Under one writer, the Hulk can be the dominating force, ruining Bruce Banner’s life while he is out. It is usually followed up by a run where Bruce Banner is in control of the Hulk’s body, and speaking through him.
In Immortal Hulk, the Nightmare Hulk was in charge. In Donny Cates run, Bruce Banner was piloting the Hulk like he was a spaceship. In THE INCREDIBLE HULK, by Philip Kennedy Johnson, Bruce Banner is terrified of the time that the Hulk will be unleashed, because he believes the Hulk will separate the two of them and also do something terrible to Banner and his loved ones.
They say in this book, this Hulk is not an avenger. He is pissed off at Banner and taking out his anger on the elder god monsters that are targeting him. I don’t know why I don’t have the Hulk in my top ten Marvel superheroes list. His books are always so damn good !
October 30, 2023
This was really good, I like how this run is bringing back the elements of body horror and all like the Immortal hulk after Donny cates run and here Hulk is the monster thats haunting Banner and again a fun reversal from Cates run where it was Banner haunting Hulk and just the tension it creates is so awesome, its like Bruce escaping into the American south and PKJ has such fun with that and I love it.
The first arc vs Brother deep was quite awesome, you understand who he is and like his weird church zombies are a fun threat to Bruce and yeah there is an overarching plot with "Eldest" and "Mother of horrors" and who they will turn out to be will be fun and I like how its setting up such interesting things just like Al ewing set up "TOBA" in early parts of his run, so the same level of excitement is here and yep this is something I just adore. :)
I also love how he gets a new companion in Charlie, who has her own traumatic story and is like the audiences new POV just like Rick used to be, and her dynamics with both Hulk and Banner are so fun, and yeah when she is attacked by Brother deep, you see Hulk rescue her and the bond they have is interesting.
And then the second arc #4-5 which brings in Swamp thing and is vs Swamp witch, whose origin we get in the "bestiary" aka the back matter is so awesome and if you read that first and then this one it really makes you enjoy the story so much, its like haunting in a way yeah but also has a lot of other fascinating angles it explores!
So yeah fun arc which delves into horror again and is essentially a monster book which I love and I can't wait to see where it goes, specially the Hulk vs "Mother of horrors" battle that will be the big story and yeah I just freaking loved the art here, and also the Betty appearance was fun! :)
The first arc vs Brother deep was quite awesome, you understand who he is and like his weird church zombies are a fun threat to Bruce and yeah there is an overarching plot with "Eldest" and "Mother of horrors" and who they will turn out to be will be fun and I like how its setting up such interesting things just like Al ewing set up "TOBA" in early parts of his run, so the same level of excitement is here and yep this is something I just adore. :)
I also love how he gets a new companion in Charlie, who has her own traumatic story and is like the audiences new POV just like Rick used to be, and her dynamics with both Hulk and Banner are so fun, and yeah when she is attacked by Brother deep, you see Hulk rescue her and the bond they have is interesting.
And then the second arc #4-5 which brings in Swamp thing and is vs Swamp witch, whose origin we get in the "bestiary" aka the back matter is so awesome and if you read that first and then this one it really makes you enjoy the story so much, its like haunting in a way yeah but also has a lot of other fascinating angles it explores!
So yeah fun arc which delves into horror again and is essentially a monster book which I love and I can't wait to see where it goes, specially the Hulk vs "Mother of horrors" battle that will be the big story and yeah I just freaking loved the art here, and also the Betty appearance was fun! :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 22, 2024
More or Less Marvel has turned Hulk into Swamp Thing. Taking Hulk back to his horror roots is not a bad idea. Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues the story that Al Ewing started in the pages of Immortal Hulk. By the way check out The Immortal Hulk Omnibus. This tale is not complicated, a traveling Bruce Banner is on the run trying to escape a mysterious force while trying to keep his inner Hilk from taking full control of his body. Even though this is taking place in the larger Marvel comics universe, Johnson manages to write a more self-contained story. It also helps that artist Nic Klein is making this book a fun read with his hypnotic artwork. This book has some great visuals and the panels are paced amazingly well. Some pages are going to make some incredible posters. The coloring is well done also in these issues. Phillip Kennedy Johnson is knocking this out of the park. This is one of the best books Marvel is publishing currently. I am not a stranger to Johnson's work as he wrote a killer Superman tale recently and one of my favorite original works published in comics. I recommend comic readers read Phillip's writing on Superman: The Warworld Saga and The Last God 1. Both were real top-notch comic book series.
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March 11, 2024I haven't been wowed by the writer's work to date, but I figured it was worth one more try before I cut off this Johnson, and yeah, this is a decent enough attempt to build on what Immortal Hulk achieved in terms of recasting Hulk as a horror series, without (re)treading on its toes. Don't think too hard about the metaphysics, the attempt to corral all of Marvel's 'monsters' into one terrifying ancient lineage (weren't they only living together humorously in Staten Island with Deadpool as their king five minutes ago? And isn't one of the examples here blatantly a ghost not a monster anyway?), just enjoy the backwoods creepiness, Nic Klein's three issues bringing a Harrow County vibe to things stirring in the old mine. I'm not as convinced that Travel Foreman suits the subsequent Man-Thing encounter, but sure, the very design-y, cocaine flatness of the visuals is still unsettling in its own way. The collection closes with an annual which is clearly set before what we've just read, but you can see why they opted not to open with it given it's by a different writer and really quite bad. Found footage feels like a gimmick that would have landed better some years back, and even by superhero science standards 'gamma-fracking' is taking the piss.
One data point of possible wider usefulness: added to the long line of UK swearing that flies under American radar, this has uncensored appearances by 'kinell.
One data point of possible wider usefulness: added to the long line of UK swearing that flies under American radar, this has uncensored appearances by 'kinell.
January 12, 2024
After the success of Immortal Hulk, you'd give Marvel a break if they tried to take Hulk back to his superhero roots for a while - that was Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman's Hulk run, and now we're right back into the scary, fucked up, body horror of it all, and it's glorious.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson attacks the idea of the Hulk from a different direction to Ewing, so while this is still clearly in the horror genre, it's definitely tackling things in a way we haven't seen. Hulk Vs. Monsters is pretty straight forward, but there's a lot more going on in the background, a mythos that PKJ is building (not unlike what he did with The Last God and his Action Comics runs recently) that will no doubt turn things on its head as we go forward. Hulk's new sidekick character adds some comic relief as well as some heartstring tugging moments, because we all know Hulk lives and dies on his supporting cast when he's not feeling particularly chatty.
On art we have Nic Klein, who does big bombastic action unlike anyone else, and Travel Foreman, who I think is under-utilised in the horror genre - his Animal Man run for DC was truly terrifying.
Come for the flash, stay for the gross, and enjoy yourself all the way through. Another hit for Hulk, if this continues.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson attacks the idea of the Hulk from a different direction to Ewing, so while this is still clearly in the horror genre, it's definitely tackling things in a way we haven't seen. Hulk Vs. Monsters is pretty straight forward, but there's a lot more going on in the background, a mythos that PKJ is building (not unlike what he did with The Last God and his Action Comics runs recently) that will no doubt turn things on its head as we go forward. Hulk's new sidekick character adds some comic relief as well as some heartstring tugging moments, because we all know Hulk lives and dies on his supporting cast when he's not feeling particularly chatty.
On art we have Nic Klein, who does big bombastic action unlike anyone else, and Travel Foreman, who I think is under-utilised in the horror genre - his Animal Man run for DC was truly terrifying.
Come for the flash, stay for the gross, and enjoy yourself all the way through. Another hit for Hulk, if this continues.
March 4, 2024
Phillip Kennedy Johnson starts his run on the Incredible Hulk and it's a vast improvement over the previous run, although not quite on the level of Immortal Hulk (yet).
The Hulk returns to having a horror tone. The premise is that there is an ancient evil called The Eldest, who has called upon all monsters to hunt the Hulk in order to release the Mother of Horrors. That being the case, we get to see some cool monsters battling the Hulk.
There's a couple changes to the status quo in this book. The Hulk is now accompanied by a runaway teenage girl named Charlie who idolizes the Hulks strength. The Hulk and Bruce Banner have also returned to having an antagonistic and hostile relationship where each wants to get rid of the other. While it's a bit disappointing that Banner and Hulk hate each other again after the development in Immortal Hulk, it's understandable due to the events in Donny Cates run.
With this book, the Incredible Hulk returns to being one of the better comics produced by Marvel. It's also a very good introduction to new readers who might be interested in the character.
The Hulk returns to having a horror tone. The premise is that there is an ancient evil called The Eldest, who has called upon all monsters to hunt the Hulk in order to release the Mother of Horrors. That being the case, we get to see some cool monsters battling the Hulk.
There's a couple changes to the status quo in this book. The Hulk is now accompanied by a runaway teenage girl named Charlie who idolizes the Hulks strength. The Hulk and Bruce Banner have also returned to having an antagonistic and hostile relationship where each wants to get rid of the other. While it's a bit disappointing that Banner and Hulk hate each other again after the development in Immortal Hulk, it's understandable due to the events in Donny Cates run.
With this book, the Incredible Hulk returns to being one of the better comics produced by Marvel. It's also a very good introduction to new readers who might be interested in the character.
March 24, 2024
Writer Phillip Kennedy Johnon takes over the Hulk starting with this first volume, and he leans in hard to the horror angle as something called the mother of all horrors is hellbent on ressurection, and only the jade giant can stop her. The tale itself is well-told and when Nic Klein is on art duty it totally works. The problem is that Klein is only on for three issues, and then he's replaced by artist Travel Foreman, and his pencils leave a lot to be desired.
This is the problem with Marvel at the moment. There's no consistency in the artwork department. Klein is an excellent choice for Hulk. Unfortunately, he's not able to do more than 3 issues at a time. Foreman's work simply isn't good, and it's a huge downgrade from Klein. No matter how good the story is that Johnson is trying to tell, I can't see myself sticking around if either (a) Klein isn't on the majority of the book, or (b) they don't replace Foreman with a better artist.
It's a shame as I'm digging where Johnson is taking this whole thing, but Marvel has to do a better job of finding quality fill-in artists.
This is the problem with Marvel at the moment. There's no consistency in the artwork department. Klein is an excellent choice for Hulk. Unfortunately, he's not able to do more than 3 issues at a time. Foreman's work simply isn't good, and it's a huge downgrade from Klein. No matter how good the story is that Johnson is trying to tell, I can't see myself sticking around if either (a) Klein isn't on the majority of the book, or (b) they don't replace Foreman with a better artist.
It's a shame as I'm digging where Johnson is taking this whole thing, but Marvel has to do a better job of finding quality fill-in artists.
February 3, 2024
3.5/5 So it's been quite awhile since I've read any American comics. In true Greg fashion I get a random itch for a random character and picked up the newest iteration of The Hulk. I haven't read a Hulk story line since Planet Hulk and World War Hulk in the early 2010's ish.
This was a fun read even not knowing anything that's been happening with The Hulk for the last decade. I saw some of The Totally Awesome Hulk (different character) in The Champions series and he was fun but no Bruce Banner.
I was able to pick up on the plot line very quickly. The Hulk persona of Banner is trying to completely take control while Banner once again roams like a vagrant. In the meantime some monstrous entity known as The Eldist is sending monsters after him. So we get some fun and well drawn monster fights.
The story line is a little shallow but I still enjoyed it and the hulk transformation sequences are now pretty grotesque American Werewolf in London esque scenes which are a lot of fun to me.
Read 2/1/2024
This was a fun read even not knowing anything that's been happening with The Hulk for the last decade. I saw some of The Totally Awesome Hulk (different character) in The Champions series and he was fun but no Bruce Banner.
I was able to pick up on the plot line very quickly. The Hulk persona of Banner is trying to completely take control while Banner once again roams like a vagrant. In the meantime some monstrous entity known as The Eldist is sending monsters after him. So we get some fun and well drawn monster fights.
The story line is a little shallow but I still enjoyed it and the hulk transformation sequences are now pretty grotesque American Werewolf in London esque scenes which are a lot of fun to me.
Read 2/1/2024
December 3, 2023
I'm digging this new Hulk book. It reminds me a ton of Al Ewing's Immortal Hulk run with its own flavor. Less body horror and more traditional horror. It does reference the Green Door and there's this new big bad, the Mother of Horrors. She's sending all of these old horrors after the Hulk and here he goes up against zombies and some kind of river monster. He meets up with an angry teenage girl with a terrible home life and a scarred face from her shitbag father. Banner and the Hulk are at odds with the Hulk trying to make things as awful as he can for Banner.
Nic Klein and Travel Foreman handle the art on the first 5 issues and it all looks terrific with Matthew Wilson's colors. I really like how in the back of some issues Johnson eschews a letters page for a history of the monster from that arc.
Nic Klein and Travel Foreman handle the art on the first 5 issues and it all looks terrific with Matthew Wilson's colors. I really like how in the back of some issues Johnson eschews a letters page for a history of the monster from that arc.
January 20, 2024
THIS is back to the creepy horror Hulk stories people were loving...
No more spaceship Hulk. No sad (Kluh) Hulk. Not even a super smart Professor Hulk.
This is back to Hulk doing what he can to excise Banner (which he did back in Jason Aaron's 2012, 'Hulk' run). Just swap out The Eldest for Doom and things will look an awful lot like they used to. Major difference this time is a SUPER hard lean into the horror story elements. We even get a several panel look at the disturbing transformation from Hulk back to Banner. Gross!
Bonus: How many of the supernatural beasts already IN Marvel comics will get called out?
Bonus Bonus: I'd like to see more of this Green Door explained in this story. Creepier the better.
No more spaceship Hulk. No sad (Kluh) Hulk. Not even a super smart Professor Hulk.
This is back to Hulk doing what he can to excise Banner (which he did back in Jason Aaron's 2012, 'Hulk' run). Just swap out The Eldest for Doom and things will look an awful lot like they used to. Major difference this time is a SUPER hard lean into the horror story elements. We even get a several panel look at the disturbing transformation from Hulk back to Banner. Gross!
Bonus: How many of the supernatural beasts already IN Marvel comics will get called out?
Bonus Bonus: I'd like to see more of this Green Door explained in this story. Creepier the better.
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