Ancient beasts return to life in THE INCREDIBLE HULK: AGE OF MONSTERS, out January 16th from Marvel Comics.
AGE OF MONSTERS collects issues #1-5 of THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2023) by writer Phillip Kennedy Johnson and artists Nic Klein & Travel Foreman, with colors by Matthew Wilson, and letters by Cory Petit & Travis Lanham. It also includes the HULK ANNUAL (2023) by writer David Pepose and artist Caio Majado, with colors by Edgar Delgado.
“It’s about rage, violence and all the dark, profane things that watch us from watery graves, condemned laboratories, potter’s fields and cosmic hellscapes.”
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Johnson’s introduction to this collection gives readers the perfect idea of what to expect in the pages they’re about to read. THE INCREDIBLE HULK is first and foremost a horror story, and — more specifically — a monster story. In many ways, this run is a spiritual successor to THE IMMORTAL HULK, which also brought the Green Goliath back to his horror roots, though the story does spin directly out of the more recent, action-oriented HULK run. However, readers don’t have to be familiar with either run to enjoy this current story; PKJ’s script recaps the necessary information without any cumbersome exposition dumps.
With the Green Door shut at the end of IMMORTAL HULK, ancient evils have reawakened on Earth seeking to free the “Mother of Horrors” — and somehow, taking down the Hulk is the key to their success. Meanwhile, Bruce Banner is on the run, and not just from the federal government. Hulk wants to make Banner suffer for imprisoning him in his own mind, and he’s not all that concerned about collateral damage.
The stories in this volume follow a fairly basic “monster-of-the-month” formula, as the Mother of Horrors’ disciples come after Jolly Green. It’s nothing groundbreaking (or perhaps I should say “world breaking” since we’re talking about Hulk), but there is a beauty to the simplicity. PKJ knows that a good horror story doesn’t need to be overly complicated; what you need are compelling characters and a haunting concept, and this story has both. If anything, the simple story allows the character beats and horror scenes to stand out that much more.
The straightforward nature of the plots is actually brilliant, because it allows the artwork to do most of the heavy lifting, which is probably this INCREDIBLE HULK run’s greatest strength. This is a visually disturbing book in the absolute best way possible. As you can see above and below, Klein, Foreman, and Wilson craft grotesque body horror sequences that are then amplified by Petit and Lanham’s letters. You can not only hear Banner’s bones breaking and flesh tearing as he and Hulk transform — you feel it.
Action sequences are equally gross and unsettling, as Hulk battles each creature that comes for him. The fights are explosive, and yet, despite how well these guys do monstrous, gnarled images, their character moments can be delicate and full of emotion. The journey that you’ll take through this story based on the visuals alone is worth the price of admission.
INCREDIBLE HULK is an excellent marriage of superhero storytelling and horror. Johnson, Klein, Foreman, and the whole troupe are putting on a showcase for how to tell bone-chilling tales in mainstream comics, and the basic plot structure makes this an easily accessible book for any reader.
