The Incredible Hulk [2023] #13 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 13, August 2024

Delivering a truly terrifying trip through the disconcertingly dark mind of Phillip Kennedy Johnson, this particular twenty-page periodical arguably contains so much outrageously grotesque imagery, most notably an upside down Portuguese person being eaten alive at the kneecaps by a gaggle of sightless demons, that many a Hulk-head will probably be surprised the comic isn’t actually part of the New York City-based publisher’s explicit content “Red Band” range, as opposed to simply sporting a “Rated T+” warning on its front cover.

Setting aside all these horrors and physical mutilation though, there’s also a darn good yarn taking place inside Issue Thirteen of “The Incredible Hulk”, largely due to Bruce Banner and his enormously strong alter-ego somehow joining forces inside Doctor Voodoo’s torturous soul cage. As many a bibliophile can probably imagine this relationship doesn’t start off well at first, with the Green Goliath attempting to immediately squash his puny host flat as a pancake. But once the pair have set aside their anger at one another so as to locate Sumungaru the Flesh-weaver and hopefully save Charlie Tidwell’s life, they actually appear to work surprisingly well together.

Furthermore, this book also contains a genuinely moving moment, when the gamma radiologist’s alter-ego suddenly realises that he is actually the one responsible for poor Charlie’s death, and not the emaciated doctor waving a sword at him. This cataclysmic comprehension clearly haunts the founding Avenger for the rest of the adventure, and for once allows the Eisner-nominated writer to show a vulnerability to the titular character which has rarely been explored since the Hulk was first published way back in March 1962; “You were the kid’s hero!!! You were supposed to protect her!!! But all you can do is break things!!!”

Equally as responsible for conjuring up this publication’s plethora of ghoulish, sanity-straining creatures condemned for all eternity is Nic Klein and colour artist Matthew Wilson - who together weave a visual nightmare for the reader which is absolutely packed full of multi-eyed mish-mashes, ferociously-fanged birds, and an evil sorcerer-turned-spider abomination that will truly haunt the younger portion of this comic’s audience in their dreams for weeks, if not months, to come.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #13 by Nic Klein