The Incredible Hulk [2023] #1 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 1, August 2023

Announced in March 2023 as a “chilling new ‘Hulk’ run by Phillip Kennedy Johnson” in which “Bruce Banner takes on Marvel’s most gruesome monsters”, this comic’s opening certainly must have pleased the majority of its readers with a genuinely disturbing exploration of a long-forgotten tomb in Iraq. But whilst graverobbing Trudy’s truly horrific transformation into a frighteningly fanged nightmare from beyond the grave is incredibly well-penned, what follows in Estill County, Kentucky, a year later, arguably isn’t quite so compelling.

In fact, this thirty-page-periodical’s plot debatably becomes a tad unfollowable as the founding Avenger is suddenly stalked by a seriously scary diabolical quartet who seem just as eager to feast upon hapless human flesh as they are determined to locate Stan Lee’s co-creation. Just who this ungodly troupe are is never really revealed, apart from them being led by the aforementioned, demonically possessed Trudy, nor how the “mysterious immortal” has somehow managed to force Banner’s ex-wife to accompany her murderous band of malcontents in tracking down Bruce’s alter-ego; “The belief of cattle means little. But this place does have the stink of the Green Door.”

Far more intriguing is probably the Eisner-nominated writer’s sequences featuring a badly battered Charlie desperately attempting to escape her obnoxious father by finally fixing the Mustang her “gramma left me”. This headlong flight through the woods at night from a drunk, domestic abuser gives the audience plenty of opportunities to witness both the young girl’s cleverness and raw courage, especially once she shockingly stumbles upon an already highly agitated Hulk and bravely decides to meet the monster’s chilling gaze rather than strike out into the dark forest alone.

Similarly as strong as the makeshift mechanic’s understandable determination to improve her lot in life are Nic Klein’s energy-packed panels and reimagining of the “Green Goliath” as a long-haired monstrosity with a genuinely disconcerting death-stare. Furthermore, the German artist’s ability to imbue poor Charlie with all the pent-up frustration and hatred a bibliophile might expect from an ill-treated adolescent really comes to the fore when Rusty’s friend finally takes the opportunity to sock it to her addled parent and rains down upon his face a series of palpable blows.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #1 by Nic Klein