Now that Bruce Banner and the Hulk have been ripped away from one another. The shell of the Hulk has been possessed by Eldest and powered by the Primordial Seed of Corruption which gives the Hulk even more power. Will earth be ready for the hell that will be unleashed, and can our heroes stop this new Infernal Hulk?
CREDIT: MARVEL COMICS
The Infernal Hulk #1
Written By Phillip Kennedy Johnson - Art By Nic Klein
Colors By Matthew Wilson - Letters By Cory Petit
Edited By Jordan D. White - Published By Marvel Comics
***Minor Spoilers Possible***
STORY OVERVIEW:
The Bruce Bannerless and possessed Hulk is on a rampage to destroy rural Kentucky. Human forces are trying to stand their ground and stop the Hulk at all costs. But this is a new Hulk, a more powerful Hulk, an Infernal Hulk. Leading the human forces is David Bridger, a war hero, which gives many of the troop’s hope. However, when the Hulk hits the frontline, all hope is lost.
As the Hulk destroys the troops and countryside, he also claims souls making an army of monsters. As the Hulk sits on his throne overlooking the beginnings of his new empire, our heroes from are all watching this play out and can’t believe what they see.
WRITING:
The Infernal Hulk #1 kicks off a brand-new era for the Hulk, one of which we’ve never seen before. Phillip Kennedy Johnson does a great job of showing us this vicious and brutal new world that we find ourselves in. Johnson really starts to show how important Bruce Banner was in keeping the Hulk in check, well exploring the evil side of not just the Hulk but of the being that has possessed him.
The downside of this issue is that it feels like story wise, it is mostly a rehash of the ending of the previous run. The action and gore beats are fantastic, but the story doesn’t develop more than it has from The Incredible Hulk #30.
ARTWORK:
The art in this issue is awe inspiring and really goes into gory detail of what is going down in the story. Nic Klein does an awesome job with the character design, and overall depiction of the world we find ourselves in.
Where Klein truly shines is the violence, action, and gore of the battle and creation of the monster army. Matthew Wilson compliments the art perfectly with the color choices. Using trippy colors and really drawing the readers eye onto every panel. The art is the all-star of issue one, and that alone is a reason to check it out.
FINAL POINT: Overall Grade: 7.7/10
The Infernal Hulk #1 is a brutal, violent, and borderline horror start to a new age and era. The art really encapsulates this perfectly and is absolutely stunning. The story has started off more as a recap than moving the story too forward. This isn’t a completely bad thing, as that means there is room to grow.
But for anyone who was reading the latest run of The Incredible Hulk, this feels more like a “previously on” then a start to a new era. Overall, this is still a good book to pick up at the LCS this week and keep your eye out for issue two and see where it goes.