The Incredible Hulk [2023] #2 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 2, September 2023

Arguably a somewhat perplexing twenty-page periodical for its opening half, any fans of “the Jade Giant” must surely have enjoyed Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s storyline for Issue Two of “Incredible Hulk” once they were transported to the George A. Romero inspired horror haven known as Red Creek. Indeed, the quiet little town’s genuinely terrifying church congregation provides this comic with an utterly enthralling band of undead antagonists, who are as captivating to read about as their emaciated limbs are decaying.

Somewhat frustratingly though, before entering this rancid, long “abandoned coal mining” settlement the audience must first penetrate a series of befuddling dream sequences and a slightly awkwardly penned camp-fire scene in which Bruce Banner’s new friend Charlie declares her motivation for siding with the scientist’s alter-ego at a time when “every eldritch horror and primordial being has its eyes set” upon the founding Avenger; “Sometimes heroes need partners, and… then sometimes their partners grow up to be --”

Happily however, just as soon as the fly-infested Sheriff William appears, this publication transforms into an unputdownable fright-fest, which is strangely reminiscent of Marcus Nispel’s 2003 remake of “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” as the two lead characters are supposedly transported to a place of safety in the patrol car of an evidently evil police officer. This sequence proves especially captivating, as it’s made clear almost from the start that the law enforcement agent means the fleeing pair harm. But his fake sincerity and professional politeness doesn’t give them any cause to run for their lives and risk a bullet in the back.

Similarly as successful as this comic’s spine-chilling factor, are the wonderfully detailed layouts of Nic Klein. The German illustrator is particularly good at pencilling the living dead, using a few tiny, winged insects or a frail form beneath ill-fitting clothes to suggest a person has already shuffled off this mortal coil, rather than just resorting to grotesque, physical injuries. Furthermore, colour artist Matthew Wilson deserves a ‘shout out’ for his bleached grey palette – something which adds an additional sombre touch to the pale-skinned parishioners and subsequently makes the vividly green glint of the Hulk’s emergence all that more impactive.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #2 by Nic Klein