The Incredible Hulk [2023] #18 - Marvel Comics

THE INCREDIBLE HULK No. 18, December 2024

Starting with the recently deceased Charlie Tidwell suddenly being brought back to life from whatever foul dimension her sprit was sent to, and then subsequently showing the poor girl floundering inside a four-walled room somewhere deep beneath Las Vegas, Phillip Kennedy Johnson’s opening to Issue Eighteen of “Incredible Hulk” probably caused a fair bit of confusion with its readers. Indeed, even for those bibliophiles wise enough to read the writer's story summary at the book's beginning, it arguably won’t be until Eldest personally spells it out to a heavily-chained Green Goliath that all the plot’s pieces will probably fall into place; “The Pactum Aeternus has been honoured. And now, a moment I’ve dreamt of for an age and an age.”

Happily though, once the penny does drop and it becomes clear that despite Bruce Banner’s betrayal of his super-strong alter-ego, the firstborn of the Mother of Horrors still won’t be able to access the founding Avenger’s great power, this twenty-page periodical becomes unputdownable. True, the swift treachery of skinwalker Katie does debatably lead to some scenes of bodily mutilation which appear as irrelevant as they are highly gratuitous. But the rest of the yarn cracks along at an enthralling pace, with danger seemingly lurking behind every dark corner for the wholly discombobulated Tidwell.

Furthermore, the Eisner-nominated author does a first-rate job in providing this publication’s primary antagonist with a quite memorable side-kick in the guise of the dog-like Teelget. This almost quite literal walking (and talking) bag of bones with a terrifying horned skull appears to be a serious threat to poor Charlie’s wellbeing, and the fact the demonic creature states its disagreeably depraved intentions right in front of the Hulk doesn’t bode well for the non-furry fiend’s future. 

Possibly only increasing the audience’s confusion at the start of this comic is the decision to have both Nic Klein and Danny Earls repeatedly swap back and forth as the book’s artist. This notion is perfectly acceptable when the focus is either exclusively on Stan Lee’s co-creation or the emerald-hued monster's young female friend. However, once the aforementioned Katie starts dipping into both illustrator’s panels, things start to get a bit visually bewildering – to the point where the odd bibliophile may well find themselves momentarily ‘thrown out’ of the tale, and annoyingly have to re-read whatever event has just taken place again.

The regular cover art of "THE INCREDIBLE HULK" #18 by Nic Klein