Review: ‘Incredible Hulk’ #1 Heads Back Into Horror
by Tony Thornley
The Hulk has always straddled Marvel’s line in-between their superheroes and their horror and monster lines that preceded them. In Incredible Hulk #1, that link is explicit, and it makes for a horrifying new path for the Jade Giant.
Phillip Kennedy Johnson, Nic Klein, Matthew Wilson, and Cory Petit begin the age of monsters.
The Green Door is closed. The Age of Monsters has begun. And the Hulk is about to become the most important player in a war between man and monster.
Johnson jumps in with both feet here in probably my favorite new volume launch in some time. There’s a mish-mash of horror influences here- ancient curses, southern gothic, a little bit of cosmic horror- but he mashes them together in a way that flows well. The new villains, the Children of Horror, are genuinely scary, much more at home in a Vertigo book than the Hulk. Johnson’s take on the dichotomy of Banner’s psyche is familiar, but evolves their conflict in a way that’s additive not derivative. He also creates some fun new characters to follow along Bruce’s journey on top of the monstrous antagonists.
Petit cuts loose on the letters. There’s multiple balloon styles and fonts used throughout the issue. They all create an aura of foreboding, and gives the characters unique visual personalities that expand beyond the art.
Klein and Wilson go nuts with this issue though, and I hope they’re on for the long haul. Their Hulk is horrifying, taking the body horror from the previous two volumes of Hulk and making it look painful and mentally scarring rather than gooey and stomach churning. The monsters have just enough familiar elements to catch your eye, but then get scarier the longer you look, as you absorb the detail that both the line art and color art add. Wilson’s colors create a feel and atmosphere that establishes the tone for the story to come too. This isn’t a standard book in the Marvel line, and I love that.
Incredible Hulk #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
Overview
This is just a hell of a lot of fun. The entire creative team comes together to make for the creepiest superhero book in a lot time, and a more than worthy successor to Immortal Hulk.
