INFERNAL HULK # 1 REVIEW
Here’s my Infernal Hulk # 1 review by Philip Kennedy Johnson and Nic Klein
Jumping back into the Hulk books because I was kind of hyped for the new relaunch and the new look that Marvel previewed months back and I have to say that it’s got potential. It’s definitely borrowing a lot of elements from the Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk book but takes it into a scarier and darker realm and I’m saying that both literally and figuratively.
Like check out this sequence, when the US Military try to intercept the Hulk and call him out as Bruce Banner, the Hulk gets out of the hole he landed on with an orange, hellish tint, first his hands and then later his entire hulking frame.
It’s got Hulk written all over it but then the twist comes after when our dark Infernal Hulk comes out and looking like hell.
Nic Klein’s art and the color work here by Matthew Wilson is also superb, giving off the horror vibes from the start. The use of muted colors together with big shadows also makes the visuals more horror coded. Another thing I liked about the execution for Infernal Hulk # 1 is that we aren’t compelled to read the previous volume of the Hulk book. Rather they give us what we need to move the story forward like being told that the Hulk isn’t the Hulk anymore but is possessed by this hellbound being and that said hell-bound being has also taken over from her mother whom we are told, she had to consume to get back to the land of the living. The script and the flow doesn’t compel you pick up the entirety of the past volume but nudges you to maybe read bits and pieces down the line.
And just to fill you in, basically, evil entity possess Hulk’s body, tears through middle America, kills and maims the soldiers and turns them into undead minions, uses his dark powers to summon an entire kingdom from down below where (in a badass fashion) takes the thrown. Meanwhile superhero community watch in horror and its implied that they are getting ready to deal with the Hulk including Bruce Banner who has been apparently kicked out of the body of the Hulk.
Overall, this was a fun read. A little scary, a little gory but just good enough to make you wait for the next issue. It’s definitely not Immortal but it’s looking like it will carve its own path. Hopefully it’s going to be as fun as the past Hulk books.
